Interviews

Composers, Conductors, Electro-Acoustic, Experimental Music, Festivals, Improv, Interviews, Music Events, Opera, San Francisco

Let’s ask Gino Robair

The San Francisco Electronic Music Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this week.  On the final festival night, Saturday, September 19th, the program will include a special all-electronic performance of the opera I, Norton, by San Francisco Bay Area composer Gino Robair.

I, Norton is based on the proclamations of Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, who lived during the Gold Rush era in San Francisco. The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. at the Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street, San Francisco. Tickets are available online from Brown Paper Tickets.

Gino RobairGino Robair has created music for dance, theater, gamelan orchestra, radio, and television. His works have been performed throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. He was composer in residence with the California Shakespeare Festival for five years and served as music director for the CBS animated series The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. His commercial work includes themes for the MTV and Comedy Central cable networks. Robair is also one of the “25 innovative percussionists” included in the book Percussion Profiles (SoundWorld, 2001). He has recorded with Tom Waits, Anthony Braxton, Terry Riley, Lou Harrison, John Butcher, Derek Bailey, Peter Kowald, Otomo Yoshihide, the ROVA Saxophone Quartet, and Eugene Chadbourne, among many others. He is a founding member of the Splatter Trio and the heavy metal band Pink Mountain. In addition, he runs Rastascan Records, a label devoted to creative music.

S21: His Imperial Majesty Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, is an “only in San Francisco” kind of personage.  What inspired you to make him into the central character of an opera?

GR: He’s the kind of complex character one needs for an opera. And I like the fact that he’s mythologized somewhat.

Although many people see him as this incoherent, homeless vagrant, I think the reality is that he was bright man who was determined to make a difference in a world that was hostile, confusing, and often out of control. We’re talking about the Old West, here!

Remember, he was a Jewish immigrant from South Africa. Try to imagine the culture shock he experienced arriving in mid-19th-century California during the Gold Rush. It makes total sense to me that he’d conclude that the only way to solve the problems in his new environment was to roll up his shirt sleeves and do the job himself.

(more…)

by Polly Moller
Composers, Contemporary Classical, Interviews, Premieres

To the stars with mandolin!

Chris ThileIt doesn’t seem all that long ago that I heard the world premiere of Blind Leaving the Blind. (Read about it here: S21 Review.) It was quite a night @ Zankel, St. Patrick’s Day 2007. Chris Thile has since recorded the work with the Punch Brothers, and made a duo album with Edgar Meyer. Now Thile is about to embark on another journey – a mandolin concerto, Ad astra per alas porci.

This week he plays with The Colorado Symphony (September 17, 19, and 20, 2009; with Jeffrey Kahane), then six more chances to hear it, with the Oregon Symphony (September 26, 2009; with Carlos Kalmar), the Alabama Symphony (October 29, 2009; with Justin Brown), the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (January 23 and 24, 2010; again with Jeffrey Kahane), the Winston-Salem Symphony (March 13, 14, and 16, 2010; with Robert Moody); the Delaware Symphony (March 19 and 20, 2010; with David Amado);and the Portland Symphony (March 28, 2010; with Scott Terrell).

I talked with Thile about the new work, enjoy the first part of our discussion, including using amplification or not, and about his Steinbeck title: Interview Part 1

More tomorrow, including how the piece came about and if others might perform it!

by John Clare
Cello, Chicago, Interviews, Performers, Podcasts

My Ears Are Open, Chicago. Part II.

nicholas_photinosLast week on the podcast: Cliff Colnot (download Cliff’s interview here).  This week: Nicholas Photinos, cellist in eighth blackbird (download Nick’s interview here).

Turns out that 8bb was just finishing up some studio sessions at the end of last month for Reich’s Double Sextet.  Unfortunately, we will need to wait over a year until we actually get to hear it.  (Incidentally, Galen has some commentary about how frustrating it is that we have to wait so long for these recordings here.)  Anyway, I don’t know how many ensembles think about their programming in terms of a five-course meal, but these guys do, and Nick tells us a little bit about that process.  More beer!

Check-in next week for the first of two interviews with members of the Chicago based new music ensemble, dal niente.

As always, you can subscribe in iTunes here, on the web here, or just click here to download Nick’s episode.

by James Holt
Composers, Electro-Acoustic, Experimental Music, Festivals, Interviews, Performers, San Francisco

Let’s ask Donald Swearingen

SFEMF

The San Francisco Electronic Music Festival (SFEMF) kicks off next week, and several of its original founders will be performing in celebration of the festival’s tenth anniversary.  One of them, Donald Swearingen, will take the stage on Thursday, September 17th along with Maria Chavez, Mark Trayle, and Mason Bates.  The show starts at 8 pm in the Brava Theater, 2781 24th Street, San Francisco. Tickets are available online or at the door.

It’s hard to coax Donald Swearingen away from his many projects, but I did manage to get him to share some background and a few hard-to-find details about his upcoming SFEMF performance.

S21: How has the SFEMF evolved since you helped found it in 1999?

Now in its 10th year, the child has definitely come of age. It’s grown into larger (and progressively more comfortable) venues, and from embracing primarily Bay Area artists, to an impressive roster of local, national, and international talents, both obscure and well-known. All this is a result of the dedication and ongoing efforts of the steering and curatorial committees, whose vision and energy have been the essential ingredients in the success of the festival. I should mention that I personally have not been directly involved in these activities in recent years, serving only to offer a comment here or there. But I’m amazed at the amount of effort (and it indeed takes lots of effort) that goes into the planning and execution from year to year. (more…)

by Polly Moller
Chicago, Conductors, Interviews, Performers, Podcasts

My Ears Are Open, Chicago. Part I.

Colnot

One of the simple rules for the podcast is that there is a new episode every two weeks.  That rule was broken in July when all four members of ETHEL were featured.  And, that rule is being broken again in September when four musicians based in Chicago will be featured.

The month starts out with conductor Cliff Colnot (best known for his work with Contempo, Chicago Symphony’s MusicNow, ICE, and others).  Cliff is a unique person in that he feels so strongly about notation and rehearsal efficiency, that he has produced documents outlining the way he likes to see things as a conductor–and gives them away to anyone who asks.  Some of his thoughts on the topic are rather controversial, but anyone who has met him knows that it is hard to find a more appropriate word to describe him than “efficient”.   Even if you disagree with him on some of his points of view, it’s hard to argue with the fact that composers should be preparing scores and parts in a way that doesn’t waste rehearsal time.  Cliff describes how to get these documents for free at the end of his episode.

As always, you can subscribe in iTunes here, on the web here, or just click here to download the episode.

by James Holt
Interviews, Podcasts

My Ears Are (Still) Open

Let’s just say that “life” has distracted me a bit lately from my updates here.  But, for those of you who have been following, you know that the good times never ended and that podcast episodes have been arriving on schedule.

So, where were we?

ethel_gasJuly wrapped up Parts III-IV of interviews with the members of ETHEL.  What did we learn here?  Perhaps the cliché that a quartet is more than the sum of its parts?  Am I the only one who is continually amazed that ensembles like string quartets even work?  Can you imagine committing yourself to playing for years and years with three other people whose attitudes about music are seemingly totally different?  Maybe that’s where the special magic comes from: the coming together of opposites.

All four interviews are still available by clicking here:

Part I with violinist Cornelius Dufallo
Part II with violist Ralph Farris
Part III with cellist Dorothy Lawson
Part IV with violinist Mary Rowell

PHpic7With August upon us, what’s next?  This month is devoted to two international musicians, conductor Paul Hillier and violist William Lane.  Paul’s episode is now available, and William’s will be up August 23rd.  I really want to thank Paul Hillier for agreeing to be part of this project; I have so much respect for him and the amazing musicians he works with.  The big take-away from his episode is, basically, to think global and act local.  He has great advice for composers considering sending their music to musicians in other countries—especially musicians you have never met!  You can listen to Paul’s interview here.

Before I sign off, let’s take a quick look ahead into the fall and winter – I can’t resist!  You might remember or notice that the podcast is making an effort to engage with musicians outside of New York City.  September will feature musicians from Chicago, and October will feature California.  January will feature Boston, and February will feature Seattle!

You can subscribe to the podcast here and here.  You can send comments or suggestions here.

by James Holt
Composers, Contemporary Classical, Hilary Hahn, Interviews

Hilary and Harold

The Hilary is Hahn, with her monthly installment of a video chat with a composer; the Harold is Meltzer, one of those composers with lots of great awards and commissions (finalist for the Pulitzer this year, no less), whose work always grabs my ear with interesting things unfolding, but whose recorded output is pitifully small! The awards and concerts are wonderful; but the few thousand who’ve had the chance to experience his inventive music could easily be multiplied by some factor of ten, with just a few more good recordings released. Here’s hoping… In the meantime, you can watch all four parts of Hilary’s interview, where Meltzer talks about his own creative process:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ohVzdXvPyQ[/youtube]

by Steve Layton
Interviews, Podcasts, viola

My Ears Are Open, ETHEL. Part II.

ralphAs promised, today is Part II in my series of podcast interviews with the members of ETHEL. I’m happy to announce that violist Ralph Farris gets the My Ears Are Open “prize” for not only providing us with the longest episode to date, but I think it’s fair to say that he also has the most opinionated episode to date. It will be a 30-minutes well spent.

If you would like to subscribe to the series you can do so here and/or here. And, as always, feel free to send comments, suggestions, and recipes to podcast@jamesholt.net

If you missed Part I with violinist Cornelius Dufallo you can listen now by clicking here. Next up is Part III with cellist Dorothy Lawson on July 21 and Part IV with violinist Mary Rowell on July 26.

Is there a person or ensemble you’d like me to interview for the show? Over the next several months I’ll be featuring more musicians from places OTHER than New York so please send along your wish lists and don’t be shy.

by James Holt
Interviews, Podcasts, Violin

My Ears Are Open, ETHEL. Part I.

dufallo_bioI am excited to say that this month on the podcast I am featuring all four members ETHEL. I was able to spend some time with the band before their performance at the Bang on a Can Marathon and would like to thank them for being so generous with their time. It was difficult to decide who should go first, so I’ve decided to go alphabetical by last name (brilliant, right?!), which means that we’ll begin with violinist, Cornelius Dufallo.

If you want to keep up with this series, I’d recommend subscribing in iTunes or through your blog-reader. Or, you can listen to this week’s episode now by clicking here.

Check back on July 16 (for violist, Ralph Farris), July 21 (for cellist, Dorothy Lawson), and July 26 (for violinist, Mary Rowell).

And before I go, I just want to mention that I’ve had a chance to listen to Cornelius’ new CD, Dream Streets, which you can find on iTunes or Amazon, and is well worth spending some time with. If you are into the whole amplified-violin-looping-thing then you’ll love this recording. He has an original voice in this genre and I really love that when I’m done listening I don’t feel like he was just showing off or trying to impress someone.

by James Holt
Composers, Contemporary Classical, Hilary Hahn, Interviews, New Amsterdam, Violin

Hilary Hahn’s enquiring mind wants to know

Hilary Hahn doesn’t need much introduction; as one of the leading violinists today, many of you have any number of her recordings or have been lucky enough to catch her in concert.

Usually we put our stars up on some pedestal, always with that remove of the stage between us. But Hilary herself has a different idea of what a star should be up to in between wowing folks at those concerts. She happens to love to talk to people, especially other musicians, and is genuinely interested in what makes them tick. And she loves to share what she hears with us, often using her own trusty laptop to record her interviews. As she says: “Through interviewing, I find out things about people which would never come up in casual conversation: how they work, what their creative processes are, how they view their artistic output, what they value in their professions, and so on. To me, those topics are fascinating.”

Hilary was especially interested in doing a whole series of interviews with contemporary composers; since that’s what s21’s all about we thought “why not hook up?” So here’s the deal: each month Hilary will be visiting with a different composer, posting the interview to her YouTube channel.  We’ll let you know as soon as each goes up, give you the first part here and guide you to the place to view the rest. We’re really happy to work with Hilary, and to bring a bit of “real people” to the sometimes too-serious perception of our “art”.

First up, Hilary paid a visit to Judd Greenstein, a composer who’s not only been getting a lot of acclaim for his music, but is also one of the founding forces behind the exciting, young and extremely buzz-worthy New Amsterdam recording label. Hilary and Judd discuss self-presenting, artist-driven labels and the indie classical scene:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm42bhkvTEc[/youtube]

For the rest just head on over to Hilary’s YouTube channel.

by Steve Layton