The Violin Channel recently sat down with Swiss composer David Philip Hefti to learn more about "Feu d'artifice" (Fireworks), a piece for solo violin commissioned especially for the candidates of the 2024 Stuttgart International Violin Competition.

Organized by the Guadagnini Foundation and the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts, the second edition of the competition took place in February 2024. You can read more about the 2024 winners and rewatch the competition at this link.

Tell us about “Feu d’artifice” that you composed for the 2024 Stuttgart International Violin Competition.

"Feu d'artifice" is a short composition in which the participants in the competition can demonstrate a wide range of their artistic skills, covering technical as well as musical and interpretative aspects. The work constantly oscillates between different emotional states and moods, and between free and precisely notated passages. All the tempo changes are made in relation to each other and are based on the fundamental tempo that is given at the end of the piece. Although sparks fly in this work, its focus is on cantilenas and shifting surfaces of sound, often moving in quartertones.

Where did the inspiration behind the piece come from?

The composition is a portrait of my three-year-old son Gian, to whom I also dedicated the piece. In contrast to his rather calm and well-balanced brother, his character and emotional range are enormous. On the one hand, he's the sweetest boy you could ever imagine, but on the other, he can be quite annoying! (laughs)

Of course, I'm aware that all children are like that... However, as the two extremes are so strong in my son, I decided to translate his character into music. When I listen to the piece now, I have to say that I did a good job! (laughs)

Did your process change knowing that the piece was being written for one of the most important violin competitions in the world?

I feel very privileged to have been able to compose for outstanding musical personalities, ensembles, and orchestras for three decades now. I have also composed compulsory pieces for other competitions. So when I started working on "Feu d'artifice," the routine was a positive one.

The great difficulty with the compulsory piece for Stuttgart was to avoid trying to fit everything into this short work. Of course, the participants should be able to shine by mastering technical challenges, shaping cantilenas, and presenting contemporary techniques. Nevertheless, the short composition should not be overloaded and should be as concise and atmospheric as possible. In this case, it was clear to me that less is more!

How does it feel to hear several excellent musicians interpret your work?

I was very lucky to hear my piece "Feu d'artifice" performed eight times by eight different, high-level performers in the second round of the competition. The score of "Feu d'artifice" is meticulously notated, so the corset is very tight for the performers. I was thrilled by the eight interpretations, as they were completely different, even though the musicians followed the score exactly. I experience this again and again and it shows that contemporary music can also be interpreted and must be interpreted. In this sense, there is no difference to early music...

Do you feel they played it the way you envisioned?

Absolutely. The level of the participants blew me away! The eight performances were so excellent that it was difficult to decide who should get the prize for the best interpretation of my piece. As already mentioned, I was particularly pleased that the eight performances were different, even though the musicians used exactly the same score. The outcome was eight mature and independent interpretations – and that's exactly what I was hoping for.

What advice would you give to a composer who is just starting out in their career?

A young composer should definitely trust what he has in his head, stomach or heart. However, notating this in the score is not easy, as there are many outside influences. He should also be endlessly curious and acquire a huge amount of knowledge by absorbing everything like a sponge. Add to this musical and especially extra-musical life experience and the young composer is already on the right path.

Watch Jakow Pavlenko, winner of the special prize, sponsored by Lions Club Stuttgart-Altes Schloss for the best interpretation of a commissioned piece perform David Philip Hefti's "Feu d'artifice" :

Born in Switzerland in 1975, David Philip Hefti studied at the music academies of Zurich and Karlsruhe, where his teachers included Wolfgang Rihm, Rudolf Kelterborn, and Cristóbal Halffter. His oeuvre encompasses some 100 works, including orchestral, vocal and chamber music. Hefti has enjoyed a working relationship of several years’ standing with artists — such as Juliane Banse, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Lawrence Power, Hartmut Rohde, Baiba Skride, Jan Vogler, and Antje Weithaas. As both conductor and composer, he has worked with orchestras and ensembles including the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Bavarian Radio, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Berlin Baroque Soloists, the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, the Ensemble Modern. In 2013, Hefti was awarded the Composer Prize of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, in 2015 the Hindemith Prize of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and in 2023 the Composer Award of the International Classical Music Awards ICMA. In the current 2023/24 season David Philip Hefti has been Composer and Artist in Residence at the Zermatt Music Festival.

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On March 28, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s will perform these three U.S. premieres, led by guest conductor Steven Mercurio, alongside internationally renowned soloists Sharon Azrieli, Sepideh Raissadat, Naomi Sato, and Zhongxi Wu.

The Violin Channel talked with Iman Habibi to discuss his piece "Shāhīn-nāmeh," which you can hear below:

What are you excited about for the US premiere of your piece?

What excites me the most about every performance is the opportunity to make music with new and old friends. I have had the fortune of working with musicians from the Orchestra of St. Luke's many times in the past, and I am excited to go through a new journey with them through this music. Every performance etches new memories into the music for me, new responses and reactions that I relive with every repeat performance, and new discoveries that help me go further the next time I sit at my desk. So what my friends at OSL bring into this music will live with me for the rest of my life.

How has the piece evolved since you composed it?

A piece is never done until after its post-premiere revisions. No matter how meticulously we plan every detail that goes into the score, prior to the premiere, the music primarily lives in our imagination. It is only after it is realized that we can assess its strengths and weaknesses, and make any final adjustments (and we do not always have the luxury of repeat performances with orchestral works). It is so incredibly important for us, composers, to have the space and time to make such revisions. But once these revisions are done, the piece then mostly lives and evolves with the performers that breathe life into it. In this particular case, Shāhīn-nāmeh, we have a piece that allows its soloist freedom to improvise around written notes, and as such, the most apparent transformations of the music would happen in the solo part.

What are you gaining from the experience of working on your piece with different orchestras and conductors?

There are always new challenges that arise with different groups of players; every acoustic space allows a different hearing, and the tempi are always different. The kaleidoscopic perspective this brings about help me improve on my work as a composer. It teaches me to write music in such way that can still work effectively at slightly different tempi, or with slightly different balancing of the instruments.

How does it feel to hear your pieces with (we’re guessing) slightly different interpretations?

The interpretation is always different, even when the same group of performers perform the piece multiple times, and I think this is one of the greatest joys of being a composer. The best performers I have worked with have been able to take what I have written out of the page, make it theirs, and show it to me in a new light that is equally convincing, or in some cases, more convincing than how I had originally imagined the music. There is nothing more rewarding than the realization that a performer has arrived at a different, possibly better or equally valid, interpretation of your own music and have truly made it theirs.

This NYC Concert is your last commitment for the Azrieli Music Prizes. How would you characterize your prize journey? What would tell other composers about the AMP experience?

The Azrieli Music Prizes went above and beyond to make sure that I had every tool I needed to make the best music I possibly could, and I am extremely grateful to them for that. They put their trust in me with their international Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, addressing the question of "what is Jewish music," despite the fact that I am not Jewish. They gave me a blank canvas with as many colours as I could possibly dream of having, and then gave me important platforms to showcase the final product. Their support extended far beyond the initial prize or performance, and continues in perpetuity through their Azrieli Music Prizes Performance Fund, which will provide up to $25000 CAD in support to any groups interested in performing Shāhīn-nāmeh in the future. I strongly urge everyone to apply to Azrieli Music Prizes. This is the finest of all composition prizes or competitions I know of in the world today.

How did Shāhīn-nāmeh change between the premiere and the recording, specifically in the 4th movement? How did the recording process go?

The 4th movement was primarily improvised at the premiere. Shortly before the performance, Mahsa Amini's death inspired widespread protests in Iran, a moving experience for the Iranian community worldwide. Sepideh Raissadat (our soloist) wanted to take more freedom with this movement as a personal tribute to the suffering of our fellow Iranians. I heartily agreed with her on this decision. What Sepideh performs on the recording, which is quite different, is closer to what I had written for her in the score. It is a more elaborate improvisation on my notes. Pouyan Biglar's performance of this movement in London with the Philharmonia is nearly identical to what I had notated, and it was Pouyan's choice to stay true to the original writing in his performance. The piece is designed in such way that the performer is free to either perform the written notes exactly as they are, or to improvise around them. Performers active in the Persian classical/traditional world are incredible improvisers, and I wanted to give them freedom to showcase that side of their art as well.

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The Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) – celebrating 10 years of excellence in music creation – will return to New York City with three remarkable new works for soloists and orchestra by Iman Habibi, Aharon Harlap, and Rita Ueda.

On March 28, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s will perform these three U.S. premieres, led by guest conductor Steven Mercurio, alongside internationally renowned soloists Sharon Azrieli, Sepideh Raissadat, Naomi Sato, and Zhongxi Wu.

The Violin Channel talked with Aharon Harlap to discuss his piece "Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord," which you can hear below:

Aharon, what did it mean for your work to be recognized through the Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music? Can you tell us more about your inspiration behind this piece?

To be recognized on an international level such as with the Azrieli prize is without doubt a great honor. Being Jewish myself and winning a prize of this status for Jewish music is certainly very meaningful to me. I have chosen the Psalms that have offered solace, peace, and comfort for many generations, not only to the Jews but to Christians as well. These psalms translated into musical terms pass from despair to hope and to the final celebration of the highest praise for God's works, and the complete and utter confidence in His power and strength. The words and meaning of these psalms have been my inspiration throughout.

How has the piece evolved since you composed it?

I originally composed the work for solo soprano and piano. As I developed as a composer, I decided to orchestrate the piano accompaniment for chamber orchestra, which without doubt, through the different colors of the many orchestral instruments gives a new and more powerful meaning to the text, not to mention the confidence and support it instills in the soprano's performance.

What are you gaining from the experience of working on your piece with different orchestras and conductors? How does it feel to hear your pieces with (we’re guessing) slightly different interpretations?

There is no greater gift for a composer than to hear his/her works performed by wonderful orchestras such as the Montreal Metropolitan, London Philharmonia, and the St. Luke's in New York. Having different conductors perform this work in the past and present has given me new insight through their different interpretations (dynamics, tempi, phrasing ), and thus has paved the way in many respects for future compositions.

This NYC Concert is your last commitment for the Azrieli Music Prizes. How would you characterize your prize journey? What would you tell other composers about the AMP experience?

The Azrieli Prize journey has been uplifting in many ways. Firstly, I am uplifted by the status it has given me as a composer, the confidence it has instilled in me for future compositions, and knowing that my music is enjoyed and admired by the soprano soloist, conductor, orchestral members, and audience alike. It has also been a great honor and privilege to meet my wonderful co-Laureates Iman Habibi and Rita Ueda, not to mention the entire Azrieli staff. I believe that all of the above is enough to recommend to composers wherever you are, to apply for this prestigious event.

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The Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) – celebrating 10 years of excellence in music creation – will return to New York City with three remarkable new works for soloists and orchestra by Iman Habibi, Aharon Harlap, and Rita Ueda.

On March 28, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s will perform these three U.S. premieres, led by guest conductor Steven Mercurio, alongside internationally renowned soloists Sharon Azrieli, Sepideh Raissadat, Naomi Sato, and Zhongxi Wu.

The Violin Channel talked with Rita Ueda to discuss her piece "Birds Calling… from the Canada in You," which you can hear below:

What are you excited about for the US premiere of your piece?

Rita Ueda: This is not just a US premiere! It’s in New York! Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center! Orchestra of St. Luke’s! I used to watch concerts from the Lincoln Centre on television as a little girl, and I used to dream about having a performance there. This is amazing! I can hardly contain my excitement! It is doubly exciting to be working with great colleagues, Naomi Sato (sho, Japanese mouth organ), Zhongxi Wu (sheng, Chinese mouth organ and suona, Chinese shawm), and Steven Mercurio (conductor).

How has the piece evolved since you composed it?

The piece is a soundscape concerto that requires all the wind players to be seated in the balcony where they imitate the 450+ varieties of Canadian wild birds. I really wanted to create the effect of the birds flying around in the sky. I thought this would be a simple matter of creating a seating map in the score. As the performances moved on from its premiere with the Orchestra Métropolitain at the Maison Symphonique (Montreal) to the Philharmonia Orchestra at Cadogan Hall (London), and then the Esprit Orchestra at Koerner Hall (Toronto), I discovered that no two concert halls are alike. Every performance in a different hall requires a new seating plan that has to be carefully planned and coordinated with the entire production staff. The performance at Alice Tully Hall is no different. It was discovered during pre-production that some of the balcony seats are not wide enough to accommodate large instruments (like the tuba). I am grateful to the Azrieli Foundation for allowing me to fly into New York last January so I can create a new seating plan.

What are you gaining from the experience of working on your piece with different orchestras and conductors?

As a child, I was taught by well-meaning adults that orchestral music is one of the most conservative genres in Western music. Orchestral composers are not supposed to experiment, improvise, or bring in instruments and techniques from outside the Western canon. Birds Calling has three featured instruments from Asia. The sho represents Japan, my parents’ culture, and sheng/suona represent the Chinese Canadians, the most visible culture in Vancouver (my current home). Many of the most beloved Canadian birds are not songbirds – Canada geese, Atlantic puffins, blue jays, Canadian snow geese, woodpeckers, snowy owls, and Anna’s hummingbird, to name a few. The orchestra is asked to utilize structured improvisation and contemporary extended techniques (some instruments has to be taken apart during the performance!) to imitate these birds. The conductor has the most difficult contemporary part. He has to direct each member of the ensemble in the three-dimensional space because musicians are seated all around the hall. There is no time signature for him to direct. Instead, he is asked to manage the overall texture and structural direction of the performance.

Needless to say, I was shaking with fear while I was composing, and I was extremely nervous at the first rehearsal. The warm and welcoming reaction of every orchestra surprised me. So many performers approached me to tell me how happy they were to finally try something new, fun, and refreshing. I was really touched and encouraged.

How does it feel to hear your pieces with (we’re guessing) slightly different interpretations?

Birds Calling is a flexible score designed to produce same-but-different results with each orchestra and concert hall. I recently met a lady who had been to all three of the performances so far. She told me she loved how the piece brought out the different personalities of each orchestra and hall. I nearly wept for joy! It is incredible how many emails, comments, cards, and letters I have received for Birds Calling. I am so happy so many people feel the same way about the piece.

This NYC Concert is your last commitment for the Azrieli Music Prizes. How would you characterize your prize journey? What would you tell other composers about the AMP experience?

I had originally set out in 2022 to write a rousing bird call fanfare to celebrate Canada’s multicultural society. However, the news events of that year shook my belief in Canada – the discovery of thousands of unmarked graves at former residential schools for Indigenous children, the truckers’ convoy, and the rise in race-related violence. I simply could not compose a celebration. With the help of the staff and jury of the Azrieli Foundation, I was able to change course by creating a piece that would inspire much needed civil conversations about Canada. The music ends with the sound of a gunshot – a reminder to all Canadians to protect our society.

I am grateful to everyone at the Azrieli Foundation who gave me the space, time, and opportunity to go through this artistic journey. I am a more honest and courageous artist as a result.

Can you tell us about the AMP Performance Fund?

The AMP Performance Fund is a wonderful feature of the Azrieli Music Prize. Ensembles can apply for support to produce more performances of the laureates’ works beyond the initial prize performances. This is so important for a composer. All too often, a commissioned work does not have a life after the world premiere. It is so wonderful for all the AMP pieces to have a chance at further performances through this fund. I had a performance of Birds Calling last January with the Esprit Orchestra at Koerner Hall (Toronto). It was wonderful to work with Alex Pauk, who conducted the piece with much love and attention. It was a fabulous experience working with such an iconic Canadian orchestra.

How did you incorporate Japanese, Chinese, and Western musical traditions?

Sho and sheng have the same musical ancestry. The sho is the ancient form of the sheng when it was first introduced to Japan in the 7^th century. The two instruments therefore sound similar, but their playing practice have developed in different ways. The role of the sho is to play aitake, the ethereal cluster-chords that accompany music of gagaku (Japanese traditional court music). The sheng is a folk-like melody instrument with a long tradition of improvisation. During the first movement, the sho and the sheng are playing the same music as they walk parallel to each other (like wings of a jet plane – the magical bird that flew my family to Canada across the Pacific Ocean), but the musical results from the two instruments are very different. The sho is reserved, ethereal, and harmonious while the sheng is lively and whimsical with melodious energy.

The second movement was inspired by Zhongxi Wu’s training as a suona player - he was taught to imitate hundreds of different Chinese wild birds before he was allowed to play traditional music. The third movement is about the dangers of living in Canada. The sho encounters storms, floods, avalanches, snow storms, and wild fires. In spite of all the hardships, the orchestra manages come together and tune up to a unified A=440 Hz. The last movement features an orchestral improv inspired by my American former teachers: Wadada Leo Smith, Lucky Mosko, Earle Brown, and Lou Harrison. The conductor cuts of each player one at a time until the orchestra turns into a quartet, a trio, a duet, and a solo. All the while, the sho plays a gagaku version of O Canada (the Canadian national anthem) and the suona imitates the call of the Canadian loon.

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Made up of violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell, the JACK Quartet recently performed  “Beautiful Trouble” — a 5-act live performance by Natacha Diels about simplicity and beauty.

Presented at the Roulette's Theater in Downtown Brooklyn, each act (or episode) describes a particular mini-plot in the style of television’s “The Twilight Zone” or Robert Ashley’s TV opera “Perfect Lives.”

"The oversaturation of our current era is the driving force behind “Beautiful Trouble’s” focus on simple human beauty," the artists write. "The work is representative of The New Discipline, a practice of contemporary art influenced by Fluxus, Dada, the Uncanny Valley, and the social impact of ubiquitous cameras. It incorporates narrative, video, staging, and choreography to craft social commentary."

The below concert is the second performance of the work, after the premiere at Penn Live Arts in January 2024.

Composer Natacha Diels’ work combines choreographed movement, improvisation, video, instrumental practice, and cynical play "to create worlds of curiosity and unease."

Natacha is a founding member of the composer/performer collective Ensemble Pamplemousse which specializes in unique new music composition.

Her notable commissions include those from the Borealis Festival, the Fromm Foundation for the Talea Ensemble; the Nadar Ensemble for Darmstadt International Summer Institute; the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the Green Umbrella Series; and the Deustchland Radio Kultur in Berlin for Ensemble Adapter .

She has served as the artist-in-residence for Harvestworks in partnership with the MATA festival. Her work has been performed globally by Ensemble Adapter, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Nadar Ensemble, hand werk, Ensemble Decoder, TAK Ensemble, Quatuor Impact, JACK Quartet; and soloists Jay Campbell, Laura Cocks, Samuel Favre, Ross Karre, Rane Moore, and Charlotte Mundy, among others.

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Silkroad has recently announced that the next phase of its "American Railroad" project will include a multi-city United States concert tour.

Founded by cellist and cultural ambassador Yo-Yo Ma in 1998 as a model for cultural collaboration, Silkroad is a global musical ensemble named in honor of the historical Silk Road — an ancient trade route linking the West with the Middle East and Asia.

Conceived by Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, the "American Railroad" project explores the relationship between American railways and African-American, Chinese, Irish, and Indigenous communities.

As part of the project, Silkroad has commissioned a number of new works for the tour — by composers Cécile McLorin Salvant, Suzanne Kite, and Silkroad artist Wu Man.

In addition, the tour will feature re-envisioned arrangements by Giddens herself and fellow Silkroad artists Haruka Fujii and Maeve Gilchrist. All of the commissioned works featured on the tour are by female or non-binary composers.

"The 'American Railroad' project has been years in the making, and the program we've created for our first tour is only the beginning," Giddens said. "In it, we shed light on those who have been erased or overlooked throughout American history and merge with it Silkroad's unique ability to amplify voices from a multitude of backgrounds and cultures."

"The result is a tapestry of stories, traditions, and musics that have shaped our multifaceted cultural identity, and that must be heard and recognized," she added. "I hope audiences in the D.C. area and across California will leave these performances with a clearer sense of where we come from, how we got here, what it cost us — and that we collectively reflect on where we're headed."

You can read the full list of tour dates below.

November 5, 2023

Center for the Arts at George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

Tickets

Educational Activities:

Residency with Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad artists as part of Mason’s Artist-in-Residence program for the 2023-2024 season (November 6).

November 9, 2023

The Granada Theatre

Presented by UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures

Santa Barbara, CA

Tickets

Educational Activities:

Residency at UC Santa Barbara with three Silkroad artists guest lecturing on world music and ethnomusicology (November 8).

November 10, 2023

Balboa Theatre

Presented by La Jolla Music Society

San Diego, CA

Tickets

November 11, 2023

Soka Performing Arts Center

Presented by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Soka Performing Arts Center

Aliso Viejo, CA

Tickets

November 12, 2023

The Soraya’s Great Hall

Presented by the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at CSUN

Northridge, CA

Tickets

November 15, 2023

Bing Concert Hall

Presented by Stanford Live

Stanford, CA

Tickets

Educational Activities:

Residency at Stanford University with Silkroad artists (November 14).

November 16, 2023

Mondavi Center, UC Davis

Davis, CA

Tickets

Educational Activities:

Engagement with students from Fremont School as part of Silkroad Connect (November 16).

November 17, 2023

Zellerbach Hall

Presented by Cal Performances

Berkeley, CA

Tickets

November 18, 2023

Weill Hall

Presented by Green Music Center

Rohnert Park, CA

Tickets

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This year's commissioned composer for the Irving M. Klein International String Competition was Iranian-American composer Gity Razaz. Throughout her illustrious career, she has been commissioned and had her work performed by Seattle Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, National Sawdust, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and violinists Jennifer Koh and Francesca DePasquale (both top Klein prizewinners).

Currently a member of the composition faculty at Mannes School of Music pre-college division, Razaz is a graduate of the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Samuel Adler, Robert Beaser, and John Corigliano. Recent highlights include a 2021 commission from the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo for the Last Night of the BBC Proms and her accolades include the Andrew Imbrie Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Jerome Foundation award, the Libby Larsen Prize in 28th International Search for New Music Competition, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Composer Institute, and Juilliard Composers’ Orchestra Competition, to name a few.

We sat down with Razaz to learn more about her compositional process and her work with the Klein Competition.

Can you tell us about the “Suite for solo string instruments,” commissioned by the Irving M. Klein International String Competition?

When I received the commission to write four solo string pieces for the Klein International String competition, I decided to compose a 4-6 minutes work for each instrument (violin, viola, cello, and bass) that would showcase the candidates’ virtuosity as well as musicality.

What was your inspiration for the work?

Each piece is inspired by a painting by the surrealist painter of Mexican / Spanish origin, Remedios Varo. I find her works beautiful and mysterious, and therefore perfect for stirring up the imagination of the candidates, encouraging them to bring their personal voice into the performance.

What musical elements were you hoping the candidates would be able to bring out? Did they successfully achieve this?

I was hoping for the candidates to get creative with musical interpretation (i.e. phrasing, rubato, etc.), and they did! Each painting assigned to the pieces (except for the double bass piece) has a musical reference. In the performance notes, I asked the candidates to study the paintings in order to further deepen their understanding of the pieces. They all brought different and intriguing interpretations into their playing.

You have composed many pieces for stringed instruments. Tell us about your experience writing for string soloists, and how you go about the process.

The process is pretty much the same as writing any other piece, be it a large chamber work or a solo composition. I always take a deep dive into the sound world of the particular ensemble / instrument I’m writing for. I listen to a lot music and try to attend concerts (or be physically in the presence of that particular instrument) so that I can soak up the sound and feel and even visual elements. Since I’m a pianist and I compose at the piano, I need to be able to hear and constantly imagine the instrument(s) I’m writing for, even though I’m just sitting at the piano.

How do you approach writing a new commission? Do you prefer direction and perimeters or a completely open creative process to extrapolate an idea?

Every commission I’ve done so far has come with some parameters — usually instrumentation and duration, and sometimes a broad theme or a general extra-musical idea. Writing for contemporary ballet and dance is a bit different however, as I get to work with a choreographer closely, and therefore my compositional decisions aren’t always just about the music.

What’s the best piece of advice you were given when starting out in this field?

Go to a lot of concerts and make friends with colleagues and classmates in school as they might become future collaborators.

What would be your advice for young composers today, who are hoping, like yourself, to make a full-time career from writing music?

Don’t be afraid to listen to music that’s different from your taste or style. You can learn a lot from composers who have different voices.

Here you can listen to 2023 third place winner, Japanese violinist (and pianist) Ray Ushikubo, performing the first movement of the Suite, "Creation of the birds":

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Three-time GRAMMY-nominated violinist and composer, Curtis Stewart, will see his new piano quintet "The Gilded Cage," premiere at the Newport Classical Music Festival.

2023 festival artists Ariel Horowitz, Lun Li, Edwin Kaplan, Titilayo Ayangade, Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner will perform the work.

The concert will be hosted at The Breakers, a historical national landmark that was built in 1895. Formerly owned by the Vanderbilt family, the mansion symbolizes the family's social and financial wealth during the Gilded Age.

We caught up with Curtis to learn more about his new work:

What was your inspiration behind the piece?

I was chatting with my Dad, who grew up in Newport as the son of a Baptist Minister there. We were reflecting on The Breakers and those who tended to the home on a daily basis when the tenants were not on holiday. He remembered the parishioners, the gardener, the baker, the handymen ‚ all of whom may have lent service to the Gilded era mansion.

The quintet is a take on the spirit of the Breakers from their perspective — based on the music of that church, the Baptist hymnal, reframed with chromatic alterations and ghostly ponticello, runs, and special string effects to capture the spirit of the lavish, but mostly vacant space, throughout most of the year.

What do you hope listeners will take away with them upon hearing it?

I hope the piece feels like a meditation on the people of Newport and the nature of history — who gets the footnote regarding the legendary space —the ones who inherit or the ones who maintain the grounds? The piece is also a nod to the spirits that kept and keep the space what it is today.

What was your compositional process like while working on this project?

I wrote the first draft of this piece in a week and a half on the road with PUBLIQuartet! We were on tour in Virginia and the first thing I would do in every new hotel room is set up my computer, mic, and midi keyboard, and then layer record the string parts, pitch down the viola and cello, and enter in piano runs and chords note by note.

I wrote a majority of the middle section in the Norfolk airport when we were stuck due to inclement weather… I researched a lot of music from Newport, rags, and boat tunes, but the melody and harmonies from Precious Lord, from the Baptist hymnal, felt the most fertile for variation, reharmonization, and thematic fracturing.

I am not particularly religious myself, yet I just remember being moved to tears by the recording of Aretha Franklin’s version at Martin Luther King’s memorial, and couldn't shake that influence.

For audiences attending the Newport Classical Music Festival, click here for tickets to the world premiere.

"Curtis's new piece, The Gilded Cage, is the latest in our ongoing, annual commissioning initiative, which we began in 2021," added Gillian Friedman Fox, Newport Classical Executive Director.

"Newport Classical is committed to the future of classical music and working closely with composers like Curtis, who are shaping it. We are thrilled that he is our 2023 Composer-in-Residence, and that our resident Festival Artists - performers early in their professional careers - will premiere his quintet at The Breakers, the place that has in part inspired the work," she continued. "Curtis's personal, family connection to Newport makes this collaboration even more special. We can’t wait for our community to learn from and be inspired by his music."

The post Curtis Stewart's Piano Quintet to Premiere This Summer appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

The 2024 competition is seeking submissions for a cappella choral works that will match the force of its Performance Partner, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Chorus (OSM Chorus), including up to four additional instruments and/or soloists.

Submissions will be received for all four Prizes until Friday, May 5, 2023. Apply here.

Tell us about the Azrieli Music Prizes.

The Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) began as a vision I had back in 2014 for a new Azrieli Foundation program. They take place every two years. I’m proud to say that AMP is now Canada’s largest competition devoted to music composition!

In the beginning, we launched with two prizes focused on Jewish music – The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music and The Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music. The Commission encourages applicants to address the question, “What is Jewish music?” After two editions, we added a third prize – The Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music – which encourages composers to embrace the complexities of composing music in Canada today. For the 2024 edition, I’m thrilled that we’ve added a fourth and final prize – The Azrieli Commission for International Music – which allows composers to share what they find important about their musical identity within humanity’s broader cultural heritage.

While the Canadian Commission is open to residents of Canada, the other three prizes are open to the international music community with nominations accepted from individuals and institutions of all ages, genders, nationalities, faiths, and backgrounds.

Composers' and instrumentalists' careers are quite different by nature, and it can sometimes be more difficult to make a living as a composer. How do you feel winning such a prestigious prize impacts the life of a composer?

AMP is able to offer two important things to its Laureates: time to create and an encouraging community to support them in creating the best piece possible.

We also provide support beyond the world premiere, which is key to a new work’s future success. AMP provides at least two international performances of winning works and professional recordings. Plus, we have the AMP Performance Fund, which supports ensembles in preparing and presenting performances of Prize-winning works for the public.

What is AMP looking for in a potential winner?


For each edition, our focus is on a different instrumentation. This year we’re glad we can focus on a cappella choral works, now that pandemic restrictions are a thing of the past. No matter what, AMP is always looking for proposals that show the most creativity, artistry, technical proficiency, and professional expertise in response to our submission guidelines. Take a look at our website for more details.

Basically, we are looking for excellent composers – the best to be found around the world!


Can you tell us what candidates can expect to win for each prize?

Each of our four 2024 Laureates will receive a prize package valued at $200,000 CAD. This includes a $50,000 CAD cash prize; a premiere of the prize-winning work in Montréal by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Chorus (OSM Chorus) at the AMP Gala Concert in October 2024; at least two subsequent international performances; a professional recording of their prize-winning work for a future commercial release; and publicity support for all of the above.


Regardless of whether they are chosen for a prize, what can candidates gain and learn from the competition process?

We believe our call for submissions really challenges composers to flex their creative muscles. Submitting an existing work is one thing. Imagining a new work within our guidelines is a whole other matter. Sticking to a specific orchestration and work length, not to mention the four prize themes, requires a higher order of creative, critical, and professional ability. It’s very important to stick to the rules. Those who do it well will get their proposals in front of world-class juries! And even if they aren’t selected as AMP Laureates, they can benefit from the jury feedback. We find some composers enjoy the process of imagining a new piece so much that they end up composing their proposed work, even though they didn’t win the competition.

In your opinion, what impact has the organization made on the music industry thus far?

So far, AMP has helped elevate the profiles and advance the careers of 10 extraordinary composers! We are so proud of the beautiful new works we have helped bring to life. We’ve delivered four gala concerts, four albums (including the JUNO Award-winning New Jewish Music Vol. 3), streamed this content to more than 50,000 people in 65 countries, and supported more than a dozen other concerts of our Laureates’ works around the world. It’s incredible to think this all started from just an idea I had nine years ago.

What initiative are you particularly proud of since the beginning of the Azrieli prizes?

I’m so proud of the growth of AMP over the past almost decade. But in particular, the introduction of the latest prize – The Azrieli Commission for International Music – has been such a source of joy and pride for me. And just in time for our tenth anniversary! This new Prize further advances AMP’s goal of creating intercultural understanding through music, which we need more of these days!

The post Dr. Sharon Azrieli on the Azrieli Music Prizes appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Chiune Sugihara was the Japanese Vice-Consul to Lithuania, who rescued thousands of Jewish refugees during WWII. Alongside Lera Auerbach’s large-scale symphonic work honoring Sugihara’s heroism, the program will also feature Karen Tanaka’s Guardian Angel. 

This concert is a commission by Jerusalem’s World Holocaust Remembrance Center Yad Vashem and the American Society for Yad Vashem. The project was created by renowned American cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper.

Auerbach’s Symphony No. 6, “Vessels of Light,” for solo cello, choir, and orchestra, will be performed by Cooper, the New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus, and conductor Constantine Orbelian.

Approached by Cooper to write the work, Auerbach has included in her symphony layers of words and music with Yiddish poetry, the art of Japanese Kintsugi, the Shevirat ha-kelim (breaking of the vessels), and the silent words of biblical Psalm 121. The work is dedicated “to Sugihara and all those who risk everything to save others.”

Alongside Honorary Dutch Consul Jan Zwartendijk, Sugihara distributed thousands of life-saving exit visas against government policies to Jews fleeing the Nazi regime. Cooper was inspired to honor Sugihara after discovering her father-in-law was the recipient of one of his visas. 

“Chuine Sugihara’s story deeply touched me, and I felt utterly compelled to help bring this incredible story forward,” Cooper said in the press release. “I could not stop thinking about how my husband and children are alive, that they exist, because of this man’s bravery.”

The programming of Tanaka’s Guardian Angel, is symbolic of Sugihara acting as a guardian angel to the refugees. The work is inspired by a passage from the Old Testament in Exodus: “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared."

To attend the concert, click here. 

A graduate of the Juilliard School studying with Joel Krosnick, Cooper is currently a visiting professor at the Buchmann Mehta School at Tel Aviv University. She is also vice chair of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and is on the board of the Charney Forum for New Diplomacy. She plays on the 1743 “Ex-Havermeyer” Guadagnini cello.

The world premiere of Auerbach’s Symphony No. 6 took place in November 2022 in Lithuania. Attended by Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan and international dignitaries and diplomatic corps members, the performance launched a worldwide tour. 

Upcoming concerts of the piece with Cooper as soloist include the U.S. West Coast premiere with the UCLA Philharmonia and Chamber Singers, the Festival Napa Valley, Sinfonia Varsovia, and Dresdner Philharmonie. In 2024, the work will be performed by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Konzerthaus Orchester.

The post Carnegie Hall to Present “A Concert for Sugihara” and U.S. Premiere appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Andy Akiho is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and internationally acclaimed composer — known for his large-scale works and unique live performances. The only composer nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition division for 2021 and 2022, he is also a recent award recipient from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Commissioned by the Omaha Symphony, Akiho’s new piece for symphony orchestra, sculptures, and video, is inspired by and honors the work of visual artist Jun Kaneko, who was honored with the 2021 International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Each movement of the world premiere is inspired by one of Kaneko’s sculptures. The full piece will be performed with interludes — where Akiho will be playing on Kaneko’s multi-ton sculptures on-stage and on video.

Over the past year, Akiho has been in residence multiple times in Omaha to work on the world premiere piece, examining the pitch of the sculptures and repurposing them as instruments to play on. 

“The opportunity to live and work around Jun Kaneko and his sculptures has inspired me beyond belief,” Akiho told The Violin Channel. “This past year I've likely spent more time in Omaha than I have Portland, where I live, in the creation of this piece. 

“Getting to know this city, the Kanekos, and the incredible Omaha Symphony has resulted in a truly meaningful and fulfilling artistic synthesis," he continued. "I’m grateful for this truly collaborative and community-oriented experience.”

Dedicated to Kaneko, the concert on March 17 and 18, 2023, will be held at Nebraska’s Holland Center. To attend the performance, click here.

Other works will include Beethoven’s Overture and Prisoner's Chorus from Fidelio, Puccini’s Interlude and Humming Chorus from Madame Butterfly, and selections from Mozart’s The Magic Flute — opera productions that Kaneko has designed in the past, which have toured throughout the U.S. 

Akiho’s commissioned work is also part of honoring Jun and his wife, artist Ree Kaneko, as the 2023 winners of the Dick and Mary Holland Leadership Award — an annual award presented at the Omaha Symphony gala. The concert will be conducted by Ankush Kumar Bahl, and feature sopranos Karina Brazas and Jeni Houser, plus baritone Conor McDonald. A concert introduction can be viewed below.

Currently based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City, Akiho has been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony, Oregon Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and Music@Menlo. Recent projects include his collaborative album “Oculus,” with photographer Stuart Rome. 

Based in Omaha since 1986, Kaneko was born in 1942 in Japan. After studying painting with Satoshi Ogawa in his youth, he journeyed to the U.S. in 1963 to study at the Chouinard Art Institute, where he was drawn to sculptural ceramics. Studying within the period now known as The Contemporary Ceramics Movement in America, Kaneko has since taught at leading American art schools.

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The Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and Festival offers programs for instrumentalists, composers, and singers ages 14-29. Under the artistic direction of Keith Lockhart – Conductor of the Boston Pops and formerly Chief Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in London — the Brevard Music Center welcomes more than 500 students every summer to study with a distinguished faculty of over 80 artists.

Applications for 2023 is open now!

Every year, the institute and festival host a Composition Competition in which the winner will receive a full scholarship to attend Brevard the following summer. Their piece will be then premiered with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in the "Soloists of Tomorrow" concert.

The 2021 Composition Competition winner was composer and horn player, Trevor Zavac. Below, conductor Keith Lockhart leads the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in a premier performance of Trevor Zavac's Convulsions:

A graduate of Noblesville High School in Noblesville, IN, Zavac has since studied horn with Dr. Gail Lewis, Richard Seraphinoff, and Thomas Jöstlein; and composition with Dr. Michael Schelle, Dr. PQ Phan, and Dr. David Dzubay. He currently attends the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he is pursuing both a Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance and a Bachelor of Music in Composition.

Zavac’s music has been performed by multiple chamber groups and large ensembles at the Brevard Music Center, Butler University, and Indiana University; including the Butler University New Music Ensemble, the Brevard Music Center New Music Ensemble, and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, among others.

The Violin Channel had the chance to talk to Trevor Zavac about the work and his time at Brevard...

What was your inspiration behind the piece?

Well, this is actually somewhat silly. The piece is entitled “Convulsions” only because I thought it is a more serious, gripping title — it is actually inspired by the hiccups. I had them one day and I thought to myself how the act of hiccuping really isn’t all that bad; the thing that makes the hiccups so terrible is that you have no idea when the next one will occur. Immediately, I thought of “The Augurs of Spring” from The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. I know this piece so well, but I almost always place at least one of the accents in the wrong place when I sing along. I thought then it would be fun to write a piece that relies on comprehensible rhythmic and melodic motives that are constantly defying expectations.

What do you hope listeners will take away with them upon hearing it?

A smile. If listeners walk away smiling and perhaps humming one of the motives, then I have succeeded. The piece is a fast, rigid, and jerky ride with tons of unexpected twists and turns. It is true that the surface of the piece is very serious and urgent, especially the title, but that just makes it even more fun, at least for me. After all, it is an orchestral concert piece inspired by the hiccups — it would be alarming for a listener to walk away in tears.

What was your compositional process like while working on this project? 

Staying in line with the programmatic element of the piece (convulsions/hiccups), I knew I wanted to create a piece that explored quick, unexpected juxtapositions between different rhythmic grooves and melodic ideas. The first notes I wrote were the first notes you hear. In a short score (piano only) I developed that five-note idea mostly by transposing and repeating a few notes at a time, then I layered it over a variety of grooves while orchestrating in full score. For the middle section, I created a polyrhythmic texture that could be felt in divisions of 2, 3, or 4. In a 6/8 meter, we hear groupings of 2 (the bass voices), 3 (the clarinet solo), and 4 (duples in the violas, cellos, and cymbal). Once I set up this groove, I intuitively picked a few measures to throw in an interruption or substitute it with alternate grooves in the mallet percussion or woodwinds.

How did it feel hearing the piece performed at Brevard last summer?

It felt amazing! Firstly, it is such an honor when anyone asks to play my music, the fact that an ensemble of this size and prowess was willing is truly very humbling. Secondly, music is one of the only art forms created twice: The composer must first conceive the music, then convey it to the performer who interprets and conveys it to the audience. It changes so much from when the idea is in the composer’s head to when it finally reaches the audience — it is really quite magical to sit back and hear it performed. It was such a privilege to see the Maestro Lockhart and the orchestra take my ideas and make them their own, imbuing the piece with life and energy that turned this little tune that existed only in my head (and some poor MIDI realizations) into a real, living piece of music.

The winner of the 2022 Brevard Composition Competition is Jaylin Vinson, whose work "Scissor-Tailed" will be premiered at the Brevard Music Center on July 30, 2023.

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Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir will see her orchestral work CATAMORPHOSIS premiere in the U.S. by the New York Philharmonic and Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali in a program alongside Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

Co-commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and NY Philharmonic, CATAMORPHOSIS is part of the latter’s Project 19 — an initiative providing a platform for women composers and their works, catalyzing representation in classical music. 

Conductor Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic gave the world premiere of CATAMORPHOSIS in January 2021. Largely inspired by nature, Thorvaldsdottir’s music has been described by The New York Times as having “seemingly boundless textural imagination.”

“The core inspiration behind CATAMORPHOSIS is the fragile relationship we have to our planet,” Thorvaldsdottir explained. “The aura of the piece is characterized by the orbiting vortex of emotions and the intensity that comes with the fact that if things do not change it is going to be too late, risking utter destruction – catastrophe.”

“The core of the work revolves around a distinct sense of urgency, driven by the shift and pull between various polar forces – power and fragility, hope and despair, preservation and destruction,” she continued.

CATAMORPHOSIS will be performed from January 12–14, 2023 at Lincoln Center’s Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall. The program also includes Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 featuring violinist Nemanja Radulovic. For tickets, click here.

An excerpt of CATAMORPHOSIS with the Berlin Philharmonic can be viewed below.

Thorvaldsdottir’s music is performed internationally and has been commissioned by the Berlin, New York, and Los Angeles Philharmonics, Orchestre de Paris, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Wigmore Hall, BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall; plus been performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Based in London, she holds a doctorate from the University of California and is currently composer-in-residence with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. She has taught at the Stanford, Columbia, Cornell, New York, and Northwestern universities, plus the University of Chicago, Sibelius Academy, and Royal Academy of Music. Her many awards include those from the New York Philharmonic, Lincoln Center, the Nordic Council, and the UK’s Ivors Academy.

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The 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) Gala Concert, in Montréal, Canada, recently featured premiere performances by the 2022 AMP laureates, Iman Habibi, Aharon Harlap, and Rita Ueda.

Established in 2014, the competition is comprised of three categories: The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, The Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, and The Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music.

The prize for each of the three categories includes $50,000 CAD, an AMP Gala performance of the work, and a recording on the Analekta label.

The 2022 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music went to Aharon Harlap, for his "Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord." The performers featured were the Orchestre Métropolitain, conductor Alexandre Bloch, and soprano Sharon Azrieli.

The Violin Channel had a chance to learn more about the work from the composer himself...

What was the idea or inspiration behind the work?

The "Psalms" have always been a great inspiration for me, offering comfort and solace to the believer for more than 2,000 years. The many different psychological and philosophical situations related in the psalms, such as depression, hope, deliverance, strife, love for the one God, etc., offer the creative inspirations that transform the text into music by me as the composer.

Why did you decide to apply to the Azrieli composition competition?

Being a laureate of this very prestigious competition gives the composer recognition on a large scale and the possibility to have their work performed and heard worldwide. This certainly will open more doors for me in the future and give me the confidence to continue on this musical journey to the best of my ability.

What is your compositional process, and how do you take a piece from an idea in your mind to a full-fledged score?

"Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O' Lord" is a song cycle for soprano solo and orchestra. There are five movements, each of which consists of a psalm of a different mood and character. The words of the Psalms have been my inspiration throughout. I let them serve as my musical guide. For me, the work begins at the piano and once that is completed (the text and music becoming one entity), I proceed to orchestrate the work which adds enormously to the integrity, passion, and depth of the inspired text at hand.

What do you hope listeners will take away with them upon listening to the piece?

Since the Psalms are sung by soprano in the original Hebrew (a language which is not understood by the majority of audiences), I asked the Azrieli Foundation to translate in the program notes all of the Psalms that I chose into both English and French. It is important that each person in the audience read through these Psalms as they appear, close their eyes, and envision how I have related each one to music. If they are sincerely moved by this, then I can say that I have succeeded in accomplishing my goal.

How did it feel hearing your work performed at the Azrieli Gala in October?

There is no greater gift for a composer than to hear their works performed before a live audience, and to hear the positive and sincere applause at the end of the performance. It certainly is worth all those long and tedious hours to me, working alone in my room while creating this work. I believe that the Gala performance on October 20th in Montréal by all those concerned (soloist, conductor, and orchestra) was undoubtedly a wonderful gift that I have received and for which I am deeply grateful.

The post North American Premiere of Aharon Harlap's "Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord" appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Released this August by Musica Solis, "Aspire" features clarinetist Seunghee Lee and bandoneonist and composer JP Jofre, joined by the London Symphony Orchestra, conductor Enrico Fagone.

Recently nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Classical Compendium," the album’s centerpiece is the world premiere recording of Jofre’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bandoneon, commissioned by and written expressly for Lee.

Five other original compositions by Jofre round out the program, along with the Aria (Cantilena) from Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 and an orchestral arrangement of Piazzolla’s Tango Étude No. 3, also commissioned from Jofre by Lee.

The Violin Channel caught up with JP Jofre and Seunghee Lee on this recent collaboration, to gain some insights into the making of the album.

VC: Firstly, how does it feel to be nominated for a GRAMMY AWARD?!?! Congratulations!  

Seunghee: I’m incredibly honored and grateful to be recognized by the Recording Academy! The project has been in the works for over six years, and I am thrilled that it received this wonderful nomination.

Seunghee, how long have you known JP? When did you first hear his incredible music?

Seunghee: After first hearing JP perform in 2016 and listening to some of his compositions for the first time, I couldn’t help but ask him if he’s written anything for the clarinet. He told me about his piece called Primavera, which was first performed by Paquito D’Rivera. I loved it so much and so one afternoon we got together to read through more of his pieces (Sweet Dreams, Como el Agua, Tangodromo, etc) and got to love them all, and they are all included in the Aspire album.

JP, how did you go about the process of composing the concerto?

JP: To me, music has always been a way to connect with another reality, another vision, and an alternate approach to life. When composing, I look for this connection. It’s a way of returning the favor — honoring the music and the great minds that other composers have given to us. For some reason, in my case when I was a kid, musical ideas came to my mind when I faced extreme experiences, of either joy or sadness. For example, when my parents got divorced, or when I found new friends in life, brotherhood, love, etc. Sometimes I wasn’t able to express my feelings with words, but with new musical ideas, I could. This is only for the main melodic themes.

Then the process of "the form" and orchestration is a bit different. It’s more like architectural work, where I spend a lot of time thinking about how can I build structures with new materials, and expand concepts. The balance in orchestration is something that fascinates me as well — it's like another art within the music. I thought a lot about Lee's performances, life, and personality as well since the concerto was dedicated to her.

Where did this idea for the collaboration between the clarinet and the bandoneon come from?

Seunghee: The idea for this collaboration was born out of my fascination with the reedy, organ-like sound quality of the bandoneon, which blends so well with the clarinet, especially on the high registers. After hearing JP’s performances over time and growing into his unique style of compositions, I just had to follow my instincts to put together a whole album for clarinet and bandoneon. I was delighted to commission a Double Concerto for the Clarinet and Bandoneon, which is something that had never been done before for this combination. It felt like commissioning my own portrait painted in music.

For those that don’t know, can you tell us about the bandoneon — its origin, soundscape, and range? What do you think makes the bandoneon and the clarinet meld so splendidly together?

JP: The bandoneon is a wind-keyboard instrument invented in Germany in the late 1800s that became extremely popular in Argentina, leading many people to believe it is an Argentine instrument. Notable performers such as Piazzolla, Troilo, Pane, and Federico, to name a few, developed the technique and created the bandoneon repertoire. The instrument is very related to the concertina; one theory is that it was invented to play religious music in poor churches that couldn't afford to have an organ. That is why when you play it in a church, it resembles the sound of an organ or harmonium.

The most beautiful thing to me is you can play harmonies and counterpoint, sustain long notes and create your own vibrato and dynamics — it is a very sensitive and expressive instrument. It has a big range, about six octaves. To make it more mysterious, every button/key plays 2 sounds, one sound when you open and another sound when you close, so we have to learn 4 keyboards in 2 keyboards. It's a lovely exercise for the mind as well. Not to mention it is easy to travel with (lol).

Alongside the clarinet, the combination of wood and metal blends incredibly well.

What do you hope listeners will take away with them when listening to the album?

Seunghee: Through the Aspire album, I hope listeners will have gained a new level of appreciation for the clarinet and bandoneon and their unique combination of sounds. I also hope that we as a society keep pushing for innovation and embrace the limitlessness of human creativity and not be afraid to take on projects that are unconventional.

How did you find the process of working with conductor Enrico Fagone and the London Symphony?

JP: Working with Enrico Fagone was a beautiful experience, we had so much fun recording. In addition to being a world-class artist, he is a very dear friend. And what can I say about the London Symphony Orchestra? They are one of the best orchestras in the world. They made us feel at home, too. The same goes for producer Jonathan Allen, a dream team.

Why do you feel it’s important to constantly keep experimenting, adding new repertoire, and expanding boundaries within classical music? 

Seunghee: I feel that it is important for the future of classical music to work with living composers. Their creativity and brilliance should be lifted up and promoted. Classical clarinet repertoire includes some of the most beloved masterpieces written by great masters of classical music (Mozart, Weber, Brahms) for some of the most famous clarinetists of their time (Anton Stadler, Heinrich Bärmann, Richard Mühlfeld). Over time, American composers like Artie Shaw, Copland, and Gershwin also wrote for this instrument, highlighting the jazzy, Benny Goodman style.

The Aspire album showcases works by Latin American composers. The styles of writing from that part of the world have a way of speaking and touching the heart to tell a story. The deep resonating sound of the clarinet is a great match for expression and for bringing out more of the feminine qualities of the clarinet sound. My favorite moment in JP’s Double Concerto is in the Second Movement. It starts in a simple yet nostalgic way and develops into a full, magical scene straight out of a movie.

What do you think will be the first words that come to mind if your name is called at the Grammy awards?

JP: Gratitude. Whether we win or not. I know what we have accomplished. We have created something new for generations to come. That's my biggest award as an artist.

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