I liked my friend's piece. S/he is a talented composer. There was a degree of hip-hoppery, with a bit of minimalism and some Second Viennese School spread over all. The performers were all young, or aspiring to look young; black clad, with the disappointed but defiant mien that contemporary music specialists share with minor functionaries in a revolutionary state who have just learned that they have been denounced as fifth columnists by former colleagues.
The audience for this event numbered between 25 and 30. As far as I could tell from the social interaction, almost all were either friends, family or students of the composer (and/or the players).
Turning the programme over I saw that the event was made possible with the support of a variety of public funded organisations, including the Arts Council and other usual suspects.
An art that is dying? A monument to elitism and cronyism? Or merely no way to run a railway?
