Due Date: Awakening

Posted on November 3, 2015 by maestrobeats

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#TFW you’re about to hear your first orchestral composition for the first time…

It’s alive! My first cello concerto, has come into the world – kicking and screaming – but alive. What a crazy experience. I’ve never done anything quite like this, and while it was a project that stretched me almost to the limit, it’s been worth it. I feel more in touch with my artistic sensibility than ever, and more motivated to continue the creative process than I have been in a long time.

I’ll save details of the piece for the day when I’m able to share a recording. In the meantime, there were plenty of lessons in the process.

Lesson 1: Everything Takes Longer Than You Think!
Lesson 2: Everything Takes Longer Than You Think, Even After Allowing For Lesson 1.

The other lessons were more fun, and didn’t require all-nighters. (which leads to apologies to my copyist, George Katehis, who should be sponsored by Red Bull.)

I learned that I am not so good at revision – I already kind of knew this, in relation to writing this blog (among other things). I think it might have something to do with my training as a performer, spending years developing the skill of memorizing quickly. Perhaps those neural pathways need to chill a bit, and not wear those grooves in so deeply on first hearing. Luckily, I’ve been getting better at it by necessity. The blog helps, but the concerto really was a breakthrough in that sense. The pressure of an impending performance where I’m presenting my own art led to much more scrutiny than I realized I was capable of.

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As usual, Mom and Dad got the first preview via Skype.

I also learned that it takes a bit longer than the warm-up time between dress rehearsal and the concert to switch from the composing mindset to the performing one. It didn’t help that the damn composer (me) didn’t give the cellist (me) the music until very late in the game. As I rehearsed, my focus was very much on the orchestra bringing my imaginary sounds to life. Listening to hear if what I had notated was being played, and if so, was it working the way I expected? In this state of mind it’s hard to do much more than play the notes. During my break, I had time with the cello alone, and quickly realized that I needed to breathe and bring myself back into that special focus that I need to perform. It worked, somewhat, but as with everything else that week it would have been easier had the details of orchestration and rehearsal been more prepared by yours truly when we showed up for the endgame. I’ve kept careful track of these lessons, and am now super excited to apply them next time around.

In fact, I have the opportunity to do much of that as I finish my revisions before the next performance with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus in January. I’m making changes now so there’s time to sit with them and continue modifying until it seems right. And then, I’ll walk away from it and just enjoy the continuing process as the interpretation can evolve rather than the notes themselves.

There’s not much to do: a couple of sections need an extra measure or two to develop the way I meant. And balance! I was sure, as a cellist who has played many concertos, that I would get the balance right the first time around. Lo and behold, I was overambitious and could tell immediately that adjustments were needed. Some of it was a matter of adjusting dynamics in rehearsals, but we didn’t get quite all the way to balance perfection. No way am I going to practice some of the ridiculous passagework if it can’t even be heard! Those are relatively easy fixes though. The more I hear others play my music, the more I realize the importance of detailed markings. They can convey a shape and a character that bring them out even if a dynamic is soft, or simply serve to hold a players’ attention in a way that attracts the ear of a listener.

I’m very grateful to all who made this project possible. To have created something that speaks of personal emotions is a great feeling, and the fact that I’m able to share it on such a platform and with the support of others is incredibly inspiring and uplifting. This is only part two – eventually there will be music to play for you, and I look forward to that moment. In the meantime, go create something!!

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Backstage after the premiere. That was intense! It was great to have David Danzmayr conduct.

My current playlist:
Ingram Marshall: Gradual Requiem
David Byrne and St. Vincent: Love This Giant
Barber: Essay No.2 for Orchestra

Joshua Roman’s cello concerto “Awakening” was premiered on October 17, 2015 with Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor David Danzmayr, commissioned by Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, The Lied Center of Kansas, and The Corral Family. For more about “Awakening,” check out the Chicago Tribune preview and its first review in Chicago Classical Review.

LIVE BROADCAST: Catalyst Quartet

Posted on March 10, 2015 by maestrobeats

Our next live broadcast on Second Inversion’s 24/7 stream is Thursday, March 19 at 7:30pm (PDT), featuring the Catalyst Quartet presented by UW World Series! They’re performing:

Montgomery: Strum
Tower: In Memory
Glass: String Quartet No.3 Mishima
D’Rivera: Wapango
Ives: String Quartet No.1
Barber: String Quartet Op.11

Join the Facebook event and invite your friends!

Catalyst Quartet was in here in November and recorded an awesome in-studio video. Here’s a taste of Glenn Gould’s String Quartet:

Stay tuned for news on more live broadcasts, in-studio recordings, videos, and broadcasts of recorded concerts throughout the year!

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: “American Chamber Music” from Seattle Chamber Music Society

Posted on January 20, 2015 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

The U.S. is home to many rich musical traditions. From jazz to country, funk to rock ‘n’ roll, and hip hop to house music, our country has made a name for itself as an innovative and imaginative purveyor of popular music.

But America has also made great contributions to the contemporary classical music genre. Though our country is often overshadowed by Europe’s vibrant and influential musical history, over the past century American composers have played an important role in shaping the future of classical music.

As such, this week’s album celebrates contemporary classical music a little closer to home: the Seattle Chamber Music Society performing an array of works by American composers.

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The album, titled “American Chamber Music,” features several musicians from the Seattle Chamber Music Society, including the group’s artistic director, renowned violinist James Ehnes. Recorded at the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s 2013 Summer Festival, the album is a compilation of works composed by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Leonard Bernstein, Elliott Carter, and Samuel Barber.

Ehnes and pianist Orion Weiss begin the album with Copland’s Sonata for violin and piano, a truly lyrical and theatrical work. Copland’s talent for composing balletic music is fully apparent in the piece’s gentle, glistening melodies and its poetic interplay between voices. Ehnes and Weiss play with the grace and elegance of dancers, transitioning flawlessly from the sweet and spirited Andante to the slow and somber Lento before closing with the sprightly, syncopated Allegretto.

Ives’s Largo for violin, clarinet, and piano is next on the program, catching the listener’s ear with its sweet, solemn piano introduction. The piece slowly builds in intensity with the addition of violin and clarinet, the music expanding into rich textures, striking harmonies, and unexpected syncopations before gradually retreating back to a soft, delicate ending.

The work is followed by Bernstein’s Trio for violin, cello, and piano, a theatrical piece with plenty of characters. The first movement features broad, beautiful violin and cello melodies soaring above sparkling piano harmonies. The second movement brings a change in texture, using pizzicato and stressed bowings to craft a busy, energetic soundscape. A lively, fast-paced, and purposeful third movement brings the piece to a dramatic close.

Carter’s “Elegy” for viola and piano is nothing short of enchanting. Violist Richard O’Neill and pianist Anna Polonsky perform the work with sincerity and tenderness, bringing to life melodies at once passionate and vulnerable. Their expressive and poignant performance makes it one of the album’s highlights.

The album finishes strong with Barber’s String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11. The musicians move gracefully through the first movement’s three themes: the first a dramatic motif presented by all four instruments in unison, the second a softer, chorale-like theme, and the third a tender, lyrical melody. The famous second movement features a slow, extended melody which moves through all of the instruments and climaxes dramatically at the quartet’s highest possible pitch range. The short but compelling closing movement brings the piece to dynamic and powerful end.

The passion and urgency of the quartet’s final movement serves as a beautiful, memorable coda for an album full of works by American composers whose determination and imagination helped pave the way for what contemporary classical music is today.

CURTIS ON TOUR: HIGDON, BARBER, KRAMARCHUK & POULENC

Posted on April 9, 2014 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Stapleton

Each year some of the finest student musicians (at one of the finest institutions in the country!) have the unique and exciting opportunity to travel around the country on a concert tour. This year, a woodwind quintet of current Curtis students, plus ’05 alum pianist Di Wu, held this honor.

On Tuesday, March 25 they made a stop just north of Seattle at the Florence Henry Memorial Chapel as part of the Highlands Chapel Music Series and Second Inversion recorded their concert of (mostly) seasonally themed works for quintet and sextet by (mostly) Curtis composer alums:

Please enjoy this exciting concert audio along with some commentary from some of the performers and David Ludwig, director of the Curtis 20/21 Contemporary Music Ensemble. Stay tuned for more live concert recordings from Second Inversion!