Freakonomics Radio 674. How Does a Composer Feel After the World Premiere?
89 snips
May 8, 2026 
Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic, on why the orchestra commissioned and staged David Lang’s work. David Lang, composer and Yale professor, on emotional rollercoasters after premieres and the craft decisions behind The Wealth of Nations. They discuss rehearsals, soloist choices, costs and patronage, audience reactions, and the piece’s moral and structural arc.
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Post Premiere Depression Scales With Success
- Composers experience deep post-premiere depression that grows with the scale of the work.
- David Lang described a checklist of a thousand tiny orchestration and detail worries that only he notices after a premiere.
Rehearsal Is Building A Musical Community
- Rehearsals are less about learning notes and more about building a musical community to realize the composer's instructions.
- Lang watched 100 performers practice individual parts, then cohere in rehearsals to create the piece's communal life.
New Music Relies On The Patrons It Critiques
- Large-scale new music depends on philanthropy and institutional patronage despite often criticizing wealth and power.
- Lang noted he worried board members might be upset, but several thanked him instead after performances.
