1920/2019

Named Musical America’s 2020 Composer of the Year, Joan Tower is regarded as one of America’s most important living composers, with works that have been commissioned and performed by major orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists worldwide. Her compositions have garnered GRAMMY® Awards, the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, and in 2019, she was awarded the League of American Orchestras’ highest honor, the Gold Baton. When she began her career in 1968, however, those kinds of accolades were virtually unheard of for a woman.

Following the breakthrough success of her 1981 orchestral work Sequoia, Tower became composer-in-residence with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, where then-Music Director Leonard Slatkin became her champion. Other residencies included a ten-year residency with the Orchestra of St. Luke's (1997-2007) and the Pittsburgh Symphony (2010-2011). She was the Albany Symphony’s Mentor Composer partner in the 2013-2014 season. Tower was co-founder and pianist for the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players from 1970-1985. She has received honorary doctorates from Smith College, the New England Conservatory, and Illinois State University. She is the Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972.

1920/2019 premiered on December 3, 2021, by the New York Philharmonic. The composer has provided the following program note on the work:

“1920/2019 was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden, Music Director. It is dedicated to Deborah Borda, the orchestra’s President and CEO, in recognition of her vision for the creation of Project 19.

“Project 19 is the Philharmonic’s initiative to commission and premiere 19 new works by women composers in honor of the 2020 centennial of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Project 19 is the single largest commissioning project for women in history.

“1920 was the year when the amendment was ratified and adopted—an important and long-sought-after achievement. I began writing this music in 2019 as the #MeToo movement continued to grow. Victims of sexual abuse, assault, and harassment are ending their silence, finding strength by sharing their experiences and beliefs. These two years—1920 and 2019—were probably the two most historically significant years for the advancement of women in society.

“The 14-minute work features a steady repeated note/chord beat in various tempos and textures, alternating with runs (in scales and broken chords) that include first a cello solo and then a violin solo.

“Later on, there is a section of solos, a duet, and two quartets—starting with the clarinet, then trumpet solos, and a unison piccolo/flute line followed by four horns, ending with a percussion group.

“It is a piece largely about rhythm and texture (hopefully) set in a dramatic and organic narrative.”