Why would a composer choose a career that minimizes new compositional work?
I think this is true for many composers, but I thought about it the other day about Eric Whitacre. Eric is a celebrated choral composer, with a huge number of “hits” in the choral world. I have no doubt that he could take on as many commissions as he wanted, at a premium rate, and make a good living just composing. Instead, he’s chosen the much more physically taxing conducting/clinic circuit – he must spend hundreds of hours a year in airplanes and airports, traveling to work with choirs and give talks.
It’s an amazing career, and I don’t fault him for taking that path. Indeed, I think I understand why he made that choice.
It’s that hard to compose. Particularly when you are as celebrated as him, there are expectations to live up to – both your own and the world’s. But even without those oversized expectations, the pressure, stress, and frustration of the compositional process is nothing compared to an eight-hour flight and a bout of jet lag.
It’s that hard to compose.