Composer Conversations with Daniel Vezza

Ondrej is a Czech composer who is currently living in Berlin. He studied composition at the academy of music in Prague and at the Conservatoire de Paris. He composes orchestral, chamber, vocal and electro-acoustic music as well as working with choreographers of contemporary dance. He has received numerous commissions such as the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, Agora Festival (IRCAM, Paris), Les Musique (GMEM, Marseille), Warschauer Herbst, and from ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Orchestre National d’Île de France, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, the Brandenburger Sinfoniker and the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra. You can listen to more of his music at www.ondrejadamek.com

In out conversation we talk about his time studying in the Czech Republic and Paris, the level of pragmatism he has when working with players, and the difference between discovering sounds and imagining them.

Marianthi is a Greek composer who is currently based in Berlin. Her work includes compositions for instruments and sound objects-sculptures that she creates herself and in collaboration with artist Pe Lang. Papalexandri’s work focuses on the production and reception of sound by questioning and transforming the role and function of the instrument as a sound-generator (object as instrument and instrument as object) as well as the type of sound production and behavior of the performer. You can listen to more of her music at www.marianthi.net.

Marianthi’s music is visually dependent so if you want to see what we are talking about please click on the following links…

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Irene is a Spanish composer currently based in Berlin. She studied composition with Pedro Guajardo, Cornelius Schwehr and Johannes Schöllhorn, and has been recognized by several fellowships and awards such as La Caixa-DAAD, Association des Amis de Royaumont, Artist-in-Residence of the NRW Kunststiftung and the Goethe Institute in Mumbai. Her music has been performed by ensemble Surplus, Aleph Gitarrenquartett, Linea Ensemble Strasbourg, ensemble aisthesis, ensemble cross.art, vorEcho, ensemble alarm, L’Autre mOnde Ensemble, and Handwerk.

In our conversation we talk about what brought her to Germany from Spain, the use of language in her music, and how she takes inspiration from other forms of media. The piece played in this interview is called A Handful of Earth and was performed by Handwerk.

Martin is a composer based in Berlin as well as theory and composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt. His music has been performed by such ensembles as Trio Accanto, Ensemble Modern, MusikFabrik and the RSO Frankfurt. In 2002 Martin won the Kranichsteiner Kompositionspreis of the Darmstadt Summer Courses. You can listen to more of his works at martinschuettler.wordpress.com.

In our conversation we talk about the year long break he took from composing, being part in the decision making process when working with institutions, and the relationship he has to the pop music of his childhood.

Lucia is an Italian composer who is currently based in Salerno and Berlin. She has been the recipient of the Music Theater Now Prize, the Prize Fonds Experimentelles Musiktheater NRW, and had been the Composer-in-residence at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart.

In our conversation we talk about her need to remove old pieces from her catalogue, her close collaboration with the Neue Vocalsolisten, Stuttgart, and how she is able to write for individuals within an ensemble. The piece played in this interview is called Pinocchio, una storia parallela and is performed by the Neue Vocalsolisten, Stuttgart.

Tirstan is a New York based composer and visual artist. His works are inspired by the aesthetic simplicity of math, physics and code. He has had solo exhibitions at bitforms gallery (NYC), Mikrogalleriet (Copenhagen), Museo Carandente (Spoleto), The Addison Gallery (Massachusetts), Katonah Museum (New York), Monster Truck (Dublin), LEAP (Berlin) amongst others. As a composer he has been a featured artist at Sonár 2010 in Barcelona, and in 2009, the Prix Ars Electronica awarded him the Award of Distinction for his composition Active Field. Rhizome awarded him a 2010 commission for Microtonal Wall, an audio installation with 1,500 speakers. You can listen to and look at more of his works at www.tristanperich.com.

In our conversation we discuss the precision and risk when writing for computer chips, his approach when combining electronics and performers, and what it is like when working on long term projects.

Maximilian is a composer from Germany who is currently based in Berlin. He studied percussion, instrumental and electronic composition in Lübeck and Essen, Germany. In his series Compounds he focusses on the transcription of concrete sounds, mostly recorded in everyday life situations. He is also part of the new music collective Stock 11. You can listen to more of his work at www.marcoll.de.

In our conversation we talk about the inherent hierarchy when working with large ensembles, his unique way of working and gather field recordings, and an interesting experience he had while creating a politically charged sound installation. The piece played during this interview is titled “Compound No.4″.

Andrew is a composer and musicologist who has been living in Berlin since 2003. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the Manhattan School, and a Masters of Music in Composition from the University of Southampton. He has also earned a doctorate in Musicology at the Technische Universität Berlin. His articles have been published in scholarly journals and he has taught courses in Musicology and Music History at the Technische Universität. If you live in Berlin you can hear more of his music performed by KNM Berlin tomorrow (19.06.13) at Villa Elisabeth.

In our conversation we talk about his beginnings as a Jazz Saxophonist, how he composes around the social setting of the concert hall, and composition as a tool for introspection. The intro music is a excerpt from Andrew’s piece titled The Beauty of the Dream Vanished and the piece played in this interview is the second half of a 40 minute work titled The Party Line.

Emily is an English composer based in Manchester. She has had works performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra, and has been featured in such festivals as Wien Modern, New Music 20×12, and the BBC Proms. You can check out more of her music at www.emilyhoward.com

In our conversation we discuss her beginnings studying Maths and playing Chess, how and when she decides to take risks with orchestral music, and collaborations she has done with the acousmatic composer Sam Salem. The pieces played in this interview are Calculus of the Nervous System (a short excerpt) and Zugzwaenge.

Ashley is an American composer of acoustic, electroacoustic, and installation works that have been performed throughout Europe and North America. She holds degrees in composition from Oberlin Conservatory, IRCAM, and Harvard University. She has recieved a 2012 Darmstadt Stipendienpreis , a 2012 Staubach Honorarium, a 2011 Jezek Prize, an Adalbert W. Sprague Prize, and two ISCM World Music Days nominations. You can listen to more of her to music at www.ashleyfure.net.

In our conversation we talk about composing in comfort, intentionality vs. perception, and how she uses physically awkward movements to create tension in her music. The piece played in this interview is titled Soma.

Matthew is a composer from Australia who is currently based in London where he co-directs the new music ensemble Plus Minus and teaches Experimental Music at the Royal College of Music. He has composed works for groups such as Champ D’Action, Ensemble Offspring, EXAUDI, Nieuw Ensemble, Quatuor Diotima, and the Ricciotti Ensemble. You can listen to more of his music at www.shlom.com.

In our conversation we talk about New Music’s emphasis on the multiple listening experience, his use of popular music as a social critique, and his work with Plus Minus. The music played in this interview is from a series of pieces called Popular Contexts. The outro music is titled Hi hat and Me.

Clara is an Italian composer who is currently living in Berlin as part of the DAAD Artists Program. She has had her works performed by Trio K/D/M, Ensemble Aleph, Talea Ensemble, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, and members of Ensemble Recherche. You can listen to more of her music at www.claraiannotta.com.

In our conversation we talk about her transition from flute to composition, the new music scene in Italy, and the effect IRCAM has had on her approach to acoustic music. The piece played in this interview is called Àphones and was written for the ‘Journées de la composition’ festival at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse.

Bryan Jacobs is a New York based composer and guitarist. His music has been performed by ensembles such as the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, The McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble, Wet Ink, International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, and Ensemble Pamplemousse. He has had performances at Festival Ai-maako (Chile), La Muse en Festival (Paris, France), Festival Archipel (Geneva, Switzerland), as well as numerous other music festivals in Canada and the United States. You can check out more of his music at www.bryanjacobsmusic.com.

In our conversation we talk about his original plans to become an organic farmer, how he reduces the difference between conception and reality in his compositions, and the need for composers to hide their methods and influences in their own works.

Mark is an American composer who is currently based in Berlin. He works in the areas of concert music and concert installation. Recent commissions include new works for the Donaueschingen, Witten, and Darmstadt festivals as well as for ensemble recherche, KNM Berlin, and Ensemble Intercontemporain. You can listen to more of his music at www.mark-barden.com.

In our conversation we talk about his former life as a pianist and why he chose to become a composer, his frustation and solution for writing in a concert hall setting, and combining Arabic poetry with Western art music. The piece played in this interview is Alam and was performed by KNM Berlin.

Philip is a composer from the UK who is currently based in Berlin. His commissions have included the Bregenz Festival in Austria, the BBC Singers , and the BBC Symphony Orchestra . Other works have been written for and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, Rambert Dance Company, and the Cheltenham International Music Festival. You can listen to more of his music at www.philipvenables.com.

In our conversation we discuss his background in the natural sciences, the new music scene in London and the UK, and his collaboration with the ex-boxer/poet Steven J Fowler.

Johannes is a German composer currently living in Berlin. We reference a lot of his conceptual works in our interview so if you want to understand them in detail the following links to his work might help.

“Product Placements” which is played at the beginning of this interview.

“Charts Music” Melodies derived from Stock Charts, arranged with Microsoft Songsmith.

“Fremdarbeit” cheap composers from asia exploited.

His protest against the SWR orchestra merger, and the reaction it received from social media.

In our conversation we talk about his use of contradictions, the difference between art based on conception and craft, and how he thinks about critiques from the public and his contemporaries.

Richard is a New York based composer, pianist and conductor. His music has been performed internationally by the New York Philharmonic, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Darmstadt Summer Festival, Merkin Hall, JACK Quartet, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and others. You can listen to more of his works at www.richardcarrick.com

In our conversation we talk about his origins as a club med baby, his use of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s Flow Concept, and the stylistic shifts that happened after his education.

Fabien is a French composer who is currently living in Berlin. He studied composition with Gérard Grisey at the Paris Conservatoire. His works have been performed by the Ensemble Recherche, the London Sinfonietta, the Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, and the Berlin Radio Symphony orchestra (among others). He won the 2004 Förderpreis from the Ernst von Siemens Foundation for music. He is currently Assistant Professor of Composition at Columbia University in New York (USA) and senior professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold in Germany. You can listen to more of his music at www.fabienlevy.net.

In our conversation we talk about his past life working for a bank, composers who write music at different paces, and his experience teaching and living in New York. The piece played in this interview is titled Danse Polyptote and was performed by Teodoro Anzellotti & Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Reiko is a German composer and performer based in New York. He has been commissioned by the Wet Ink Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, and the Dresden Chamber Choir . He is also a professor in composition and theory at the Manhattan School of Music. You can listen to more of his works at www.reiko-fueting.de.

In our chat we discuss how he ended up living in New York, the use of historical music in his own compositions, and how his past professors have influenced his approach to teaching. The piece played in this interview is a solo violin piece titled tanz.tanz, and was performed by Miranda Cuckson.

Malin is a Swedish composer who currently resides in Berlin as part of the 2012 Berliner Künstlerprogramm. Her work includes music for instrumental ensembles, orchestra, staged music, electronic music, instrumental sound installations and performance pieces. She is also the composer and co-artistic director of the Curious Chamber Players, a Swedish based New Music Ensemble. You can listen to more of her music at www.malinbang.com.

In our conversation we talk about the influence the Berlin improvisation scene has had on her music, her focus on energy and noise as musical parameters, and her use of found objects as musical instruments. The piece played in this podcast is called Turbid Motion and was performed by the Curious Chamber players and dB productions.

I normally edit each interview to fit into one podcast, but Martin has too many great stories, including one interesting encounter he had with Luigi Nono, which he wrote about in the New York Times, and many others about studying with Ligeti. So Martin gets two episodes. In part one we talk about different political climates and the music being made in them. In part two we focus on his music and aesthetics. You can listen to more on his website www.martinbresnick.com.

Martin is a composer from New York who teaches at Yale University. He has written music for films, orchestras, and chamber ensembles, and has won numerous prizes including three N.E.A. Composer Grants, a residency at the American Academy In Rome, the ASCAP Foundation’s Aaron Copland Prize for teaching, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an elected membership to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

I normally edit each interview to fit into one podcast, but Martin has too many great stories, including one interesting encounter he had with Luigi Nono, which he wrote about in the New York Times, and many others about studying with Ligeti. So Martin gets two episodes. In part one we talk about different political climates and the music being made in them. In part two, which will be released next week, we focus on his music and aesthetics. You can listen to more on his website www.martinbresnick.com.

Martin is a composer from New York who teaches at Yale University. He has written music for films, orchestras, and chamber ensembles, and has won numerous prizes including three N.E.A. Composer Grants, a residency at the American Academy In Rome, the ASCAP Foundation’s Aaron Copland Prize for teaching, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an elected membership to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Simon is a Berlin based composer, performer and installation artist as well as a lecturer of composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Århus. His works include instrumental music, electronics, video, and performance within a range of settings. You can listen to more of his music at www.simonsteenandersen.dk .

In our conversations we talk about his time living in Paris, what makes a piece of music durable from performance to performance, and his unique approach to choreography in instrumental music.

David is a New York based composer and the founding artistic director and drummer for the chamber ensemble Newspeak. He has a new CD out of solider songs, an opera-theatre work exploring the perceptions versus the realities of war through the eyes of a soldier. One of the tracks is featured in this interview.

In our conversation we talk about when and when not to us precision while writing, how composers and performers discover each other for collaborations, and how he navigates the world of politics and music.

Eric is a New York based composer pianist, and Executive Director of Wet Ink. His music has been performed by Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, ICE, Yarn/Wire, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and The Knights. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition at Oberlin Conservatory. You can listen to more of his music at www.wubbelsmusic.com

In our conversation we talk about the satisfaction of performing and listening to scrutable music, the critical apparatus of New Music in the U.S., and finding a methodology when composing.

Sam is a New York based composer and improviser. He is Technical Director and electronics performer for the Wet Ink Ensemble, and has been commissioned and premiered by Mivos Quartet, Yarn/Wire, ICE, Timetable Percussion, RIOT Trio, and So Percussion. You can hear more of his music at www.sampluta.com.

In our conversation we talk about his transition from computer science to electronic music, the time he spent working and studying in the UK, and the inherent aesthetic preferences of computer music programs.

Alex Mincek is a New York-based composer and performer. He is currently the saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and artistic director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, which he founded in 1998. You can check out more of his music at www.alexmincek.com or go to an upcoming concert featuring his music alongside composer Eric Wubbels on Feb 8^th at the DiMenna Center in Manhattan.

In our conversation we talk about why he founded Wet Ink, the continental lag for European Composers gaining attention in the U.S., and the influence they have had on his music.

Kate is a composer and vocalist based in New York and Boston. She is a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Cambridge MA, and is Managing Director and performer for the new music ensemble Wet Ink. You can listen to more of her music at www.katesoper.com, or go to her publisher’s page at Project Schott New York.

In our conversation, which took place about a year ago, we talk about her involvement with Wet Ink, her experiences working in a scene that is mostly male, and methods she has developed when writing vocal music.

Timo is a Brooklyn based composer and pianist who is part of the composer collective Sleeping Giant. He has had commissions and performances from the New World Symphony, Albany Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. You can check out his blog and music at www.andres.com

In our conversation we talk about a composer having a sense of consistency, different ways style can evolve and change over time, and the DIY aspect of an artist’s own image.

Sarah is a Berlin based composer. She has worked with such groups as Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Ensemble Accroche Note, Trio Accanto, Ensemble Adapter, Nomos Quartet, and the International Ensemble Modern Academy. You can find out more about here at www.sarah-nemtsov.de

In our conversation we talk about creating associations in music without text, what happens if there is an aesthetic shift during a long-term project, and curators programming composers based on a theme.

Scott is a composer based in New York. He was the Artistic Director of Red Light New Music and is currently Associate Director of New Publications for Project Schott New York. You can listen to and look at his music at www.scottwollschleger.com. I also attached a score to this post.

In our conversation we talk about his opinions and goals on music publishing and marketing in the U.S., his approach to creating his own scores, and how he wants his music to feel when being performed.

Evan is a composer from the U.S. who is currently based in Berlin. He has also spent an extended amount of time in Norway where he studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music. His music has been played by such groups as, Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Jack Quartet, and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. You can find more of his music at www.evangardner.com.

In our conversation we talk about when a composer should or should not write safe music, the difference of expectations between European and American audiences, and risk assessment in both poker and composing.

Paul is a composer living in Berlin. He is part of the composer collective Klangnetz as well as a band member of the trio Brandt Brauer Frick, whose music is featured at the end of this interview. The piece is called Teufelsleiter.

In our conversation we talk about his time living as a composer in Barcelona, his love for complexity in dance and club music, and adapting elements of electronic music into acoustic realities.

Robert is a composer and pianist living in Brooklyn, NY. He co-founded the Sleeping Giant composer collective and co-directs the Fast Forward Austin music festival. You can listen to more of his music at http://www.roberthonstein.com/

In our conversation we talk about the importance of staying involved in a new music scene, the delicate balance of collaborations, and being stylistically flexible depending on the circumstances of a commission. The first piece played on this recording was part of a project done by Sleeping Giant and contains music from both Ted Hearne and Robert Honstein.

Heather is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, improviser and experimental flutist and works on sound installations. You can listen to more of her music at http://heatherfrasch.wordpress.com/

In our conversation we talk about her time living and studying in France, when people need and don’t need a structured lifestyle, and different methods and reasons for notating music outside of convention. We talk about her piece “the silence that reigns…” as well as the program note she wrote for it, so I’ve attached the first 10 pages of the score to this post.

Heather Frasch the silence that reigns

Oscar is an Italian-Swiss composer who has studied in Milan, Paris, and New York. He has been awarded numerous prizes, such as the Gaudeamus first Prize, the Dussurget Prize, the Asm-Stv Prize, the Aargauer Kuratorium fellowship and the Ictus fellowship. You can find more of his music at www.oscarbianchi.com/

In our conversation we talk about being able to develop an overview between cultures, the contradiction between synthesizing new aesthetics and further refining craft, and his work with the Ictus Ensemble on his cantata Matra.

Missy is a composer based in New York as well as the keyboardist for Victoire, a band dedicated to playing her own compositions. In our conversation we talk about why certain genres are emphasized in academia, finding the joy in networking, and learning how to filter and react to criticism. You can find more of her music at www.missymazzoli.com

Special thanks to Eight Blackbird and Cedille Records for their permission to use Still Life with Avalanche in this interview.

Mauricio is a Costa Rican composer and electric bass player based in the UK. He is co-director and founder of the Distractfold Ensemble and of the Altavoz Composers. He also performs with the Manchester-based trio, A Greater Horror. You can listen to his music at www.mauriciopauly.com/

In our conversation we talk about the first half of a composition workshop we participated in with Ensemble Dal Niente, how composers gain experience and improve, and if artists need structure in their daily lives.

Jacob is a composer living and working in New York. He is a member of the composer collective Sleeping Giant, as well as having been a faculty member at Amherst College.

In our conversation we talk about his opera Timberbrit, his approach to electronic music, and if staying too long in an academic institution can be counter productive. You can listen to more of his works at www.jacobcoopermusic.com/

Asmus is a composer who is currently working towards a Ph.d in philosophy at Humboldt University. He is also a member of Klangnetz, a collective of young composers living in Berlin, as well as co-founding the publishing house Lunardi Verlag.

In our conversation we talk about the international culture in Berlin, what its like living in a city with no aesthetic consensus, balancing life as a composer and philosopher, and the effect higher learning institutions have on the artists associated with them.

Andrew is a composer studying and teaching at Stanford. He is also one of the resident composers of Ensemble Pamplemousse. You can check out his music at http://www.andrewgreenwald.net

In our conversation we talk about many topics including the movie A Serious Man and a book called Foreskin’s Lament, but a good chunk of the conversation is about the importance composers place on the musical document and the purpose of complexity in Andrew’s music. So if you want to see what we‘re talking about you can download a score with this post or go to http://www.andrewgreenwald.net/scores/strquartet5compressed.pdf

Iñigo is a composer from Bilbao Spain who is now living in Berlin. As mentioned in the beginning of this podcast a lot of his work is quite theatrical, so check out the video on his website www.iginermiranda.com/

In out conversation we talk about his time living in Amsterdam, what it is like working as a foreign composer in Berlin, and if it’s a positive development if music can be qualified by people’s ability to talk about it.

Philip is a composer living in New York. The piece played in this podcast uses what he calls non-linear feedback system. He is also part of duo called R We Who R We with Ted Hearne who is mentioned in the beginning of this interview.

We talk about his life as a jazz guitarist in Charleston and the idea of self-sabotage during an improvisation. You can listen to more of Philip’s music at http://www.prwhite.net/

Jarkko is a composer based in Helsinki. We met while he was living in Berlin on a grant from the Finnish government. In our conversation we talk about the problems of post-grant life and what it’s like to write music for different types of audiences.

You can check out more of his music on his SoundCloud page http://soundcloud.com/jarkko-hartikainen

Aaron and I talk about his time at IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique), his relationship to music and technology, and the difference between writing music for Europeans and Americans. Listen to more of his music at http://aaroneinbond.wordpress.com/

Special thanks to Yarn/Wire and Carrier Records for permission to use Aaron’s piece Passagework.

Abel Paúl is a composer from Valladolid Spain who now lives in Berlin. If you like the piece played in this podcast you can listen to more of it on his website www.abelpaul.net/

In our conversation we discuss our lives as expats in Berlin, his experience as a finalist in the Gaudeamus Music Competition, and the problems that arise when writing music with no association with an institution.

In this inaugural podcast Andrew and I talk about why he writes orchestral music as well as the problems of working with large ensembles as a young composer.

You can visit Andrew’s website at andrewnormanmusic.com. Special thanks to Andrew Gourlay and the BBC Symphony for permission to use Andrew’s piece “Unstuck”