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Photograph: Ian Philips-McLaren

Game of Attrition
Arlene Sierra, 39; London, England

The composer says: “An important feature is the competitive duo, where two solo instruments of similar tessitura compete for dominance or territory within the overall sound.”
Magnus Lindberg says: “As Arlene explains, it’s a kind of game where in nature two species compete for existence. You’ll have two instruments, they’ll play very similar types of melodies; one wins and one loses.”
The performers say: “It looks to be a sort of miniature: an intimate work that treats the ensemble like a single organism of infinite possibilities.”—Daniel Druckman, percussion
She wishes she saw: Edgard Varèse, Ionisation (New York City, 1933) “The first concert work for percussion alone, it was described by a critic as ‘a sock in the jaw.’ ”—Arlene Sierra

Photograph: Carl Cao

Verge
Lei Liang 36; San Diego, CA

The composer says: “This piece was composed on the verge of an exciting moment in my life: the birth of my son, Albert Shin Liang. Albert’s name asserts itself in different configurations; his heartbeat also makes an appearance.”
Magnus Lindberg says: “It’s extremely beautiful music versus extremely fast music. The piece is also unusual in the way it’s set up—it’s for 18 string players grouped in four quartets, and then, on the left and right, double basses.”
The performers say: “In Verge, I find the mixing of Mongolian and Eastern idioms with Western musical notation and tradition interesting.”—Hae-Young Ham, violin
He wishes he saw: Mozart, Ave Verum Corpus (Baden bei Wien, Austria, 1791) “Every time I listen to this short motet, it never fails to remind me why I need music in my life.”—Lei Liang

Photograph: Roger Mastroianni

Melodia
Marc-André Dalbavie, 48; St. Cyprien, France

The composer says: “The inspiration is just personal: It comes from the fact that my music had started with a strong harmonic and color exploration, to evolve to a more melodic technique where I am now.”
Magnus Lindberg says: “It’s a beautiful, soft, elegylike piece, yet on top of that there is interesting orchestration with slowly descending micro-intervals. For the concert, I put it in the spot of the slow movement.”
The performers say: “I can proudly say the brass section is in the final round of the game. You’ll have to come to the concert to see who wins.”—Amanda Stewart, associate principal trombone
He wishes he saw: Igor Stravinsky, Le Sacre du Printemps (Paris, 1913) “I would love to have heard the premiere. It is probably the piece that has had the most impact in my life.”—Marc-André Dalbavie

Photograph: Alan Messmann

Macunaíma
Arthur Kampela, 49; New York, NY

The composer says: “Macunaíma, by the Brazilian modernist writer Mário de Andrade, is considered a turning point in the renewal of South America’s literary and cultural identity.”
Magnus Lindberg says: “This music is wild, extremely complex and loaded with unusual ways of playing. There is a huge variety of exotic percussion; almost everybody is involved in playing some unusual instrument.”
The performers say: “There’s a certain excitement with preparing and performing material for the first time—to see it go from pen to paper to sound to performance.”—James Markey, bass trombone
He wishes he saw: Igor Stravinsky, Le Sacre du Printemps (Paris, 1913) “This poly(a)tonal work of Stravinsky was at the crossroads of two centuries, analogous to the meeting of two rivers.”—Arthur Kampela

The New York Philharmonic plays new music at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Dec 17 and the Metropolitan Museum of Art Dec 19

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