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.comIn 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…ExtensionsUntitled IIUntitled IV

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.comIn 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.