Interviews

Interviews, Podcasts

My Ears Are Open. This week on the podcast: Brad Lubman

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Brad is another musician who needs little introduction to S21 readers. He has worked with a seemingly endless list of ensembles across the United States and Europe, primarily as a conductor, but also as a composer. I caught up with him between Signal rehearsals in a Greenwich Village coffee shop.

The thing I love about this episode is that Brad has an almost Zen-like attitude about meeting and working with composers. He really wants us to be open to anything and everything, to be as receptive as possible, and to take it all in. You’ll want to listen to his thoughts on the “age of the masterpiece” – is it over or just getting started?

You can listen to the audio now by clicking here.  For more information about the podcast you can always check-out the website.

by James Holt
Boston, Electro-Acoustic, Interviews, Piano, Podcasts

My Ears Are Open. This week on the podcast: Seda Röder

4Seda Röder is a Turkish pianist who currently teaches in Boston.  Those of you who are interested in electroacoustic music may remember her performance back in April during the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival at the CUNY Graduate Center.  If you live near Boston, take a look at her website: she will be playing four concerts in the area between September and the end of the year.

Seda has been very active recently, performing and recording works by young Turkish composers including Tolga Yayalar and Hans Tutschku. She believes that most Americans don’t know much about young Turkish composers — I believe she is correct!

You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the podtrac-player at myearsareopen.net or at instantencore.com.

Click here to subscribe through iTunes. Click here to add it to your RSS.
by James Holt
Interviews, Performers, Podcasts, viola

My Ears Are Open. This week on the podcast: John Pickford Richards

161406554_2a1aeaa283 This week on the podcast, I wrap-up the month of violist interviews with John Pickford Richards. For those of you not sure who John is, he’s best known as the violist in Alarm Will Sound and the JACK Quartet. Our three violists in May posed some important questions, not just for composers, but for performers as well. Beth Weisser asked, “What is the core of what we do?” Nadia Sirota encouraged us to embrace who we are. John Richards asks, “What is the opposite of a cheerleader?” Also, have you ever wondered if John has been hit by a composer? Listen to this weeks episode and find out.

Click here to subscribe through iTunes. Click here to add it to your RSS.

I wish I could tell all of you how excited I am about the interviews lined up for the summer, but I need to keep a few of them a secret until I actually finalize and record them. For now, I will just mention that July is devoted to the members of a certain unique string quartet, and August and September will feature musicians from outside New York (and even a few from outside the US).  In the meantime, check back in June for my interviews with Seda Röder and Brad Lubman. And thanks again to Beth, Nadia and John.

For those of you in NYC, I’ll see you today at the Bang on a Can Marathon!

by James Holt
Composers, Interviews, New Amsterdam, Performers, Podcasts, viola

My Ears Are Open. This week on the podcast: Nadia Sirota

For those of you keeping track, this week’s episode is the second of three highlighting violists. Last week, Elizabeth Weisser; this week, Nadia Sirota. Nadia has some good advice for musicians: it may sound obvious, but that thing that makes you unique is the thing that makes you special. Not only is this good advice for performers but it’s good for composers to remember as well. The more we can embrace our “craziness”, the more comfortable we can be with ourselves. Musicians on the podcast talk a lot about working and collaborating with composers, but Nadia actually has some suggestions for making these relationships work in mutually respectful ways. Nadia also has a new CD, first things first, which will be released on New Amsterdam Records on Tuesday, May 19 (Steve had a nice pre-release-party-post last week).

Looking ahead, the week of May 31 will feature violist John Pickford Richards, and during the month of June I’ll be talking with pianist Seda Röder and conductor/composer Brad Lubman.

May 31 also happens to be the annual Bang on a Can Marathon in New York City– are there any musicians you would like me to try and track down for an interview? I will also be in Chicago in early June – is there anyone in the second-city I should be in touch with? If you have suggestions please email them to:

podcast@jamesholt.net

And for those of you new to the show, you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes by clicking here, point your blog-readers here, or find it on InstantEncore by clicking here.

by James Holt
Composers, Interviews, Performers, Podcasts, viola

My Ears Are Open. This week on the podcast: Elizabeth Weisser

As promised, during the month of May I’ll be talking exclusively with violists, beginning with Elizabeth Weisser of the iO Quartet. I swear it’s a total coincidence that, two weeks in a row, I’ve talked with musicians who had great experiences with Helmut Lachenmann (and I already know there will be one more mention this month). Elizabeth does have lots of other things for us to think about, though, for instance: when a composer brings material to a musician, the musician improvises, and the composer notates the improvisation, then whose music is it? She also asks, “What’s the core of what we do? What’s the main thing we are trying to get across? And, why?”

Looking ahead, the week of May 17 will be my interview with violist Nadia Sirota and the week of May 31 will be violist John Pickford Richards.

Want to take a listen? Subscribe in iTunes here, or point your blog-readers here. You can also find it on instantencore by clicking here.

by James Holt
Chamber Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Interviews, Music Instruments, New York, Percussion, Performers, Podcasts

My Ears Are Open. This week on the podcast: Alex Lipowski

It’s hard to imagine a percussionist that you would want to perform your music more than Alex Lipowski. Alex has a passion for the new, the challenging and the unusual and I find him to be one of the most inspirational musicians I’ve ever met. He spent much of our time together explaining how important it is to take risks and to find new and innovative sounds — good advice. You can see Alex and the Talea Ensemble on April 28 at the Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street, NYC.

Looking ahead, there will be three episodes in May and I’ll be devoting the month to violists. Check back on May 3 and see what Beth Weisser of the iO Quartet has to say.

Not sure where to find the podcast?

– Subscribe in iTunes here

– Subscribe with your RSS reader here

– Find it on InstantEncore here

P.S., If you were not able to make it to the bake sale then you missed out on a very special event. Even if you don’t care for all the music it’s hard to deny the sense of community from having so many different groups all in the same room – we are all in this together! Tip of the hat to Newspeak and Ensemble de Sade for making it happen.

by James Holt
Bang on a Can, Boston, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Interviews, Performers, Podcasts

My Ears Are Open. This week: Evan Ziporyn

First, a quick introduction and thank you are in order.  My name is James Holt and I am a composer living in New York.  I started a podcast where I interview musicians specializing in performing contemporary music, and I ask them about their experiences with composers.  Simple. I want to thank Sequenza21 for inviting me to come on the site every couple weeks as a recurring feature to tell you about the new episodes.

This week is my interview with Evan Ziporyn…I’m sure that he’s someone who needs no introduction to most of the s21 audience, but just in case: Evan is probably best know as the clarinetist in the Bang on a Can All-Stars and as director of Gamelan Galak Tika.  He is also producing a new music festival in Boston called the Beeline Festival which happens to begin today if you’re in the area.

The easiest way to listen and subscribe to the podcast is through iTunes.  You can search the iTunes Store for “my ears are open” or click here to go there directly.  If you have any suggestions for musicians you’d like me to interview you can do that here (you’ll need a google account though).

I hope you enjoy this project as much as I do.  Coming up on April 19:  Alex Lipowski, percussionist.

by James Holt