Bang on a Can

Steve Martland's compositions contain a driving vernacular sense of being music of our time, of the street, of pop culture, yet they are organized with a tremendous amount of clarity. Essential to his work is the conviction that his pieces are being dropped into a struggle and they have the power to influence that struggle, that music exists in a political world. Classical music is all about authority and respecting what you have learned in the past. Like his teacher, Louis Andriessen, Steve is a revolutionary. His music is not about beautiful orchestration or beautiful notes, but about musicians working together with a common difficult task, challenging the musical ideas we have inherited. The struggle to achieve this task mirrors the struggle people live with, particularly in a political sphere. In a recent article, Steve reveals his commitment to this cause: "The late 20th century is racked with doubts, skeptical of certainties, scornful of ready-made panaceas, unsure about the future.... This fear of the future has created a culture of nostalgia. The past is seen as an infinitely more comforting place where problems can be ignored.... In the face of this huge regression, both of political will and poverty of imagination, music has a function as never before--not to reflect reality (all art does that anyway) but to confront it: music as a weapon against despair. This is the challenge that faces the contemporary composer... Music should be a protest for human values, a prophecy for change. In an apocalyptic world, it gives the possibility, however remote, of affirmation."
-David Lang