Composer Conversations with Daniel Vezza

Matthew is a composer from Australia who is currently based in London where he co-directs the new music ensemble Plus Minus and teaches Experimental Music at the Royal College of Music. He has composed works for groups such as Champ D’Action, Ensemble Offspring, EXAUDI, Nieuw Ensemble, Quatuor Diotima, and the Ricciotti Ensemble. You can listen to more of his music at www.shlom.com.In our conversation we talk about New Music’s emphasis on the multiple listening experience, his use of popular music as a social critique, and his work with Plus Minus. The music played in this interview is from a series of pieces called Popular Contexts. The outro music is titled Hi hat and Me.

Clara is an Italian composer who is currently living in Berlin as part of the DAAD Artists Program. She has had her works performed by Trio K/D/M, Ensemble Aleph, Talea Ensemble, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, and members of Ensemble Recherche. You can listen to more of her music at www.claraiannotta.com.In our conversation we talk about her transition from flute to composition, the new music scene in Italy, and the effect IRCAM has had on her approach to acoustic music. The piece played in this interview is called Àphones and was written for the ‘Journées de la composition’ festival at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse.

Bryan Jacobs is a New York based composer and guitarist. His music has been performed by ensembles such as the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, The McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble, Wet Ink, International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, and Ensemble Pamplemousse. He has had performances at Festival Ai-maako (Chile), La Muse en Festival (Paris, France), Festival Archipel (Geneva, Switzerland), as well as numerous other music festivals in Canada and the United States. You can check out more of his music at www.bryanjacobsmusic.com.In our conversation we talk about his original plans to become an organic farmer, how he reduces the difference between conception and reality in his compositions, and the need for composers to hide their methods and influences in their own works.

Mark is an American composer who is currently based in Berlin. He works in the areas of concert music and concert installation. Recent commissions include new works for the Donaueschingen, Witten, and Darmstadt festivals as well as for ensemble recherche, KNM Berlin, and Ensemble Intercontemporain. You can listen to more of his music at www.mark-barden.com.In our conversation we talk about his former life as a pianist and why he chose to become a composer, his frustation and solution for writing in a concert hall setting, and combining Arabic poetry with Western art music. The piece played in this interview is Alam and was performed by KNM Berlin.

Philip is a composer from the UK who is currently based in Berlin. His commissions have included the Bregenz Festival in Austria, the BBC Singers , and the BBC Symphony Orchestra . Other works have been written for and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, Rambert Dance Company, and the Cheltenham International Music Festival. You can listen to more of his music at www.philipvenables.com.In our conversation we discuss his background in the natural sciences, the new music scene in London and the UK, and his collaboration with the ex-boxer/poet Steven J Fowler.

Johannes is a German composer currently living in Berlin. We reference a lot of his conceptual works in our interview so if you want to understand them in detail the following links to his work might help.“Product Placements” which is played at the beginning of this interview.“Charts Music” Melodies derived from Stock Charts, arranged with Microsoft Songsmith.“Fremdarbeit” cheap composers from asia exploited.His protest against the SWR orchestra merger, and the reaction it received from social media.In our conversation we talk about his use of contradictions, the difference between art based on conception and craft, and how he thinks about critiques from the public and his contemporaries.

Richard is a New York based composer, pianist and conductor. His music has been performed internationally by the New York Philharmonic, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Darmstadt Summer Festival, Merkin Hall, JACK Quartet, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and others. You can listen to more of his works at www.richardcarrick.comIn our conversation we talk about his origins as a club med baby, his use of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s Flow Concept, and the stylistic shifts that happened after his education.

Fabien is a French composer who is currently living in Berlin. He studied composition with Gérard Grisey at the Paris Conservatoire. His works have been performed by the Ensemble Recherche, the London Sinfonietta, the Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, and the Berlin Radio Symphony orchestra (among others). He won the 2004 Förderpreis from the Ernst von Siemens Foundation for music. He is currently Assistant Professor of Composition at Columbia University in New York (USA) and senior professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold in Germany. You can listen to more of his music at www.fabienlevy.net.In our conversation we talk about his past life working for a bank, composers who write music at different paces, and his experience teaching and living in New York. The piece played in this interview is titled Danse Polyptote and was performed by Teodoro Anzellotti & Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Reiko is a German composer and performer based in New York. He has been commissioned by the Wet Ink Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, and the Dresden Chamber Choir . He is also a professor in composition and theory at the Manhattan School of Music. You can listen to more of his works at www.reiko-fueting.de.In our chat we discuss how he ended up living in New York, the use of historical music in his own compositions, and how his past professors have influenced his approach to teaching. The piece played in this interview is a solo violin piece titled tanz.tanz, and was performed by Miranda Cuckson.

Malin is a Swedish composer who currently resides in Berlin as part of the 2012 Berliner Künstlerprogramm. Her work includes music for instrumental ensembles, orchestra, staged music, electronic music, instrumental sound installations and performance pieces. She is also the composer and co-artistic director of the Curious Chamber Players, a Swedish based New Music Ensemble. You can listen to more of her music at www.malinbang.com.In our conversation we talk about the influence the Berlin improvisation scene has had on her music, her focus on energy and noise as musical parameters, and her use of found objects as musical instruments. The piece played in this podcast is called Turbid Motion and was performed by the Curious Chamber players and dB productions.