Trans people are used to seeing ourselves refracted through the eyes of cis artists. Sometimes it’s done very well; more often it’s not. But what happens when we’re the ones making the art? Much has been written about video games, novels, and rock and pop music by trans artists, but our presence in the contemporary classical world has largely gone undiscussed. So here are nine pieces by trans composers which in some way reflect our experience of moving through the world—sometimes directly and sometimes obliquely, through text, symbolism, deconstructions of classical music’s traditional binaries, and deep dives into esoteric online subcultures.
A Trans Composers Playlist
Politics, aesthetics, and deconstructed binaries, curated by Alex Temple
