Despite the characteristic scepticism that British audiences reserve for musicians who cultivate more than one discipline, Vinko Globokar can be considered a phenomenon. Yet reasons can be adduced for his remarkable versatility. His jazz background has proved invaluable in his collaborations with exponents of free jazz and other improvising collectives. Improvisation has also been used as an educational tool. His close ties with Austro-German, French and Italian composition have given him significant insights into their historical development. Finally, his Slavonic origins have given him a unique view of the Western tradition, while heightening his awareness of various cultural, political and social problems, notably exile and alienation.

South African composer Stefans Grové celebrates his eighty-fifth birthday this year. Grové studied under Erik Chisholm in Cape Town, took his Master's at Harvard under Walter Piston and attended Aaron Copland's composition class at the Tanglewood Summer School. He taught for over a decade at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore before returning to South Africa in 1972. He is Composer in Residence at the University of Pretoria.

The folk view of composition is often that of an isolated, possibly unhinged genius, struggling alone at the piano or desk. However, in this article we will investigate the collaborative aspects of compositional life, showing how such an individualistic model of the composer is both accurate and inaccurate, and how this paradox is played out in current attempts to valorize collaborative work in composition. Although we intend some of the observations and conclusions from this article to generalize, we are fully aware that such a case-study can only really be illustrative and provocative. Given that this is the case we will finish by attempting to make some general points about the aesthetic and social contradictions which this study has brought to light. Our concern in this article is more prospective than retrospective: although we will refer to some historical data, we aim to reflect mainly on contemporary compositional practice in the West, and particularly the UK.

The year 1930 marked the end of a brief artistic collaboration between the composer Paul Hindemith and the playwright Bertolt Brecht. This collaboration, which began in 1929, brought forth the 1929 Lehrstück and Der Lindberghflug, the latter also involving the contributions of Kurt Weill. However, this artistic relationship, which from its outset was on borrowed time, quickly deteriorated as the result of a heated disagreement regarding the 1930 Schott score of Lehrstück. In the score's preface Hindemith stressed the adaptability of the work according to the circumstances of the performers. The confrontational Brecht felt offended for what he perceived to be the subordination of his text to purely musical aims. Further, Brecht and Hindemith quarrelled on the goal underlying the didactic Lehrstück. Hindemith approached the work as a means to propagate his ideas regarding a modern audience (Laienmusik – or ‘music for the laymen’) and the new musical conventions of a Gebrauchsmusik (a complex concept developed later in the discourse).

London, Barbican: Henze's ‘Scorribanda Sinfonica’ Malcolm Miller

Huddersfield: Contemporary Music Festival, 2006 Paul Conway

London: White, Smith and Hinton Martin Anderson

London, Queen Elizabeth Hall: Lachenmann John Wheatley

California, Napa: Anders Hillborg's ‘Arietta Quartet’ Jeff Dunn

London: Finnish premières Martin Anderson

London, Warehouse: Finnissy's ‘Back to Earth’ Jill Barlow

London, Barbican: Pintscher and Fedele Malcolm Miller

Varèse Rodney Lister

Claude Vivier Evan Johnson

Kurtág's choral works Rachel Beckles Willson

Julian Anderson on CD Paul Conway

Elisabeth Lutyens Richard Leigh Harris

Richard Rodney Bennett Paul Conway

HK Gruber Calum MacDonald

Homages to Wilfrid Mellers; Walker; Jack Peter Palmer

Simon Bainbridge Richard Leigh Harris

Hovhaness Bret Johnson

Beat Furrer's ‘FAMA’ Evan Johnson

Philip Ramey's piano music Rodney Lister

Contemporary American Bret Johnson

Olav Anton Thommessen, Matthew Taylor, Will Todd Guy Rickards, Paul Conway, Jill Barlow