“Spotlight Illuminates Work by 2 Composers”
The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2012

Just back from a brief but badly needed vacation to find the annual New Season issue of The New York Times Arts & Leisure section is out. I haven't had any time to digest this year's epistle, but for years now (since long, long before I became a Times contributor), this feature has been one I've looked forward to throughout the late summer, then used as a directory in the weeks and months that followed.

It's not always easy to find a clever topic that will stand out among the contributions of my excellent colleagues, but this year, I took a different tack: Rather than digging around for trends or themes or other curious linkages, I simply wrote about two composers whose works I'm eager to hear this season, David T. Little and Olga Neuwirth…and conveniently, each had two big events coming up in the months ahead.

From there, though, it was curious and fascinating to find at least a few minor points of commonality between these two composers, whose styles are otherwise sharply contrasted.