What makes one work better than another is often a matter of programming and the performer’s style and approach to learning a new piece, but it can also be an issue of playability.

Similar to fashion, some artists and ensembles have lots of style while others only blend in with the crowd, and some people just don’t care about fashion—musical or otherwise.

I ask the age-old question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound? Or, if a composer writes a piece of music, and there is no one to perform it, does it matter?

An American pianist takes a program of new music from the US to the 2005 Beijing Modern Music Festival.