The distinguished, soon-to-be nonagenarian composer Thea Musgrave is one of the music world's great raconteurs. Her numerous anecdotes about everyone from her one-time teacher Nadia Boulanger to electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram to Aaron Copland, with whom she studied briefly at Tanglewood, are full of take away value for other composers or, for that matter, anyone else dedicated to an artistic pursuit since at the root of all of Musgrave’s anecdotes is a deep sense of practicality. But that doesn’t mean she believes in avoiding risk-taking, as she explains to Frank J. Oteri in this video by Molly Sheridan. A full transcript of their conversation is available on NewMusicBox: nmbx.newmusicusa.org/thea-musgrave-where-the-practicality-comes-in/
