The Samuel Andreyev Podcast (Samuel Andreyev)
Explore every episode of The Samuel Andreyev Podcast
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
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| 23 Mar 2019 | Episode 2: John French ('Drumbo') on the making of Trout Mask Replica | 01:45:36 | |
On April 28, 2017, I took a break from lecturing at UC Berkeley, California, and sat down for an extended discussion with drummer, arranger, composer and singer, John 'Drumbo' French. I wanted to understand the strange, unique and complex working process that led to the creation of the legendary 1969 album, Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. A great deal of misinformation, exaggerations and superficial comments have obscured the truth for far too long. No one on the planet knows more about this music and was more intimately involved in its creation than John French, and what he had to say is of great historic interest. Thank you to John for agreeing to this discussion. | |||
| 07 Apr 2019 | Episode 3: How can composers earn a living? | 00:10:57 | |
In this episode, Samuel Andreyev responds to a YouTube viewer's question: how can contemporary composers (and other artists) earn a living? He offers some practical advice as a response to this difficult, and perpetual problem. | |||
| 05 Mar 2022 | Q & A: How Can Composers Earn a Living? | 00:43:54 | |
00:00 Introduction | |||
| 15 Mar 2022 | New Music in Ukraine: Dina Pysarenko | 00:45:53 | |
Born in Donetsk (Ukraine), Dina Pysarenko is a pianist, accompanist at the National Tchaikovsky Music Academy of Ukraine, soloist of the Ukho Ensemble Kyiv and a laureate of the Levko Revutsky Award (2014) as well as the 6th International S. Prokofiev Competition (Saint-Petersburg, 2013). While still studying at the Donetsk Specialized Music School for gifted children, Dina was twice a laureate of the International Competition in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz in Kyiv. She graduated with Honours from Sergey Prokofiev Donetsk State Music Academy in 2009, where she studied with Prof. Lidiya Adamenko. Eager to embrace various styles in her repertoire, Dina devotes particular attention to contemporary music: since 2006 she has premiered a number of pieces by living composers, such as Yevhen Petrychenko, Serhiy Piliutykov, Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin and Oleksiy Voytenko, performing at important Ukrainian festivals such as KyivMusicFest, GogolFEST, Donbas Modern Music Academy, etc. | |||
| 31 Mar 2022 | La naissance de la musique spectrale : Hugues Dufourt | 01:42:38 | |
**EPISODE IN FRENCH / EPISODE EN FRANÇAIS** | |||
| 21 Apr 2019 | Episode 4: Van Dyke Parks interview | 01:40:50 | |
Van Dyke Parks' music is situated at the crossroads of vernacular and art music. He has pursued his rich and utterly original musical vision over the course of an extraordinary career that now spans over 60 years. Samuel Andreyev interviews Van Dyke about his career and musical philosophy, as well as the fertile meeting of vernacular and art music. | |||
| 01 May 2022 | Ian Pace, Round 2: Music in Higher Education | 01:20:44 | |
Ian Pace is a pianist, musicologist and professor at City, University of London. This is his second appearance on the Samuel Andreyev Podcast. The conversation was recorded in London, UK on 5 April 2022. | |||
| 13 May 2022 | Michael Finnissy, composer | 01:28:02 | |
Michael Finnissy is a British composer and pianist. This conversation was recorded via Zoom on 27 April 2022. | |||
| 21 Jun 2022 | Ensemble Proton Bern | 00:52:48 | |
I spoke with four members of Ensemble Proton Bern immediately following a recording session for my composition ‘Sonata da Camera’ at the SRF Radiostudio in Zürich, Switzerland on 19 June 2022. We talked about our forthcoming album with conductor Luigi Gaggero, how our collaboration has evolved over the past 10 years, the advantages and disadvantages of CDs vs vinyl, the peculiar challenges involved in performing contemporary repertoire, and more. | |||
| 05 May 2019 | Episode 5: Adam Neely interview | 01:06:02 | |
Adam Neely has a hugely successful YouTube channel devoted to music theory. In this episode, Adam and Samuel Andreyev discuss the role of today's social media and communications technologies in the world of music. They also talk about why the Casio Rapman is so important. | |||
| 06 Jul 2022 | An Announcement — and a Special Bonus! | 00:06:49 | |
HELP US REACH OUR CROWDFUNDING GOAL! | |||
| 19 May 2019 | Episode 6: Betsy Jolas interview | 01:21:06 | |
Betsy Jolas is one of the most significant composers of her generation, and remains a vital force in contemporary European music. Now in her 90s, she continues to create a steady stream of important new works. Jolas’s substantial catalogue is known for its subtle lyricism, depth, and refinement; yet it is also informed by a staggering erudition, and highly personal view of the history of music. The daughter of Eugène and Maria Jolas, publishers of the influential literary magazine Transition, she was close to many key modernist figures — painters, writers, musicians— throughout the 20th century: James Joyce (whom she knew as a girl), Edgard Varèse, Henri Dutilleux, Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Joan Mitchell and many others, some of whom are mentioned in this interview. | |||
| 29 Jun 2019 | Episode 9: Arnold Schoenberg, a Concise Introduction | 00:13:44 | |
Composer Samuel Andreyev presents a concise introduction to the work of Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), one of the most controversial composers of the modern period. | |||
| 02 Jun 2019 | Episode 7: Samuel Andreyev in conversation with Paul Steenhuisen | 01:12:09 | |
I was a guest on the May 21st episode of composer Paul Steenhuisen's podcast, Soundlab. Paul kindly allowed me to repost our discussion here. For those who are not familiar with Paul's excellent podcast, I urge you to subscribe — there are links below. | |||
| 23 Feb 2023 | Robin Holloway, composer | 00:40:07 | |
Robin Holloway is a British composer and professor at the University of Cambridge. This conversation was filmed at the composer’s home in Cambridge on 25 January 2023. | |||
| 17 Mar 2023 | Laurence Osborn, composer | 01:15:25 | |
Laurence Osborn (b. 1989) is a British composer currently based in London. His music has been commissioned and/or programmed by the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Britten Sinfonia, The Riot Ensemble, Manchester Collective, 12 Ensemble, GBSR Duo, Ensemble Klang, and Ensemble 360, among others. He has also written for solo performers Sarah Dacey, Mahan Esfahani, Bartosz Glowacki, Zubin Kanga, Lore Lixenberg, Michael Petrov, and Agata Zubel. His music has been programmed throughout the UK, at venues such as The Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Royal Opera House, Symphony Hall (Birmingham), The Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, LSO St Luke's, St Martin- In-The-Fields, Milton Court, Wilton's Music Hall, Britten Studio (Aldeburgh), The National Portrait Gallery, The Holywell Music Room (Oxford), The Crucible Theatre (Sheffield), Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge), and at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (where he was an International Showcase Artist), St Magnus International Festival, Music in the Round Festival, and Ulverston International Music Festival. Laurence Osborn’s song cycle Essential Relaxing Classical Hits was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 2021. He won the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize in 2017, was runner up in the New Cobbett Prize for Composition (2014) and the International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition (2013) and was shortlisted for the ICSM World Music Days (2018). Laurence has won student prizes for composition while studying at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including the Adrian Cruft Prize for Composition and the Royal College of Music Concerto Competition. He has held positions in association with LSO Soundhub (2013-15), Nonclassical (2015-17), and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (2017-18).
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| 03 Apr 2023 | Dr. Tyler Foster, Mathematician and composer: Music and AI | 01:18:05 | |
Dr. Tyler Foster is a mathematician and composer working in machine learning. This conversation was recorded over Zoom on March 23rd, 2023. | |||
| 16 Jun 2019 | Episode 8: Mark Boston ('Rockette Morton') on the making of Trout Mask Replica | 01:34:51 | |
Composer Samuel Andreyev talks with bassist Mark Boston ('Rockette Morton') about his work with the Magic Band on Trout Mask Replica and other Captain Beefheart albums, as well as his involvement with the band Mallard, and his solo work. | |||
| 09 Jun 2023 | Jean-Luc Hervé, compositeur [in French] | 01:16:36 | |
**EPISODE IN FRENCH / EPISODE EN FRANÇAIS** | |||
| 11 Oct 2023 | Fifty-One Minutes About Harmony, with composer Julian Anderson | 00:51:19 | |
I had an impromptu discussion with British composer Julian Anderson about harmony. It was recorded in the Hotel de l’Hermitage in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 11 October 2023. | |||
| 14 Jul 2019 | Episode 10: A conversation with composer Julian Anderson | 01:34:20 | |
British composer Julian Anderson talks to Samuel Andreyev about his work, the avant garde, composition today and spectralism, among other topics. | |||
| 01 Dec 2023 | Jim O’Rourke, composer | 02:08:37 | |
Jim O’Rourke is a composer, singer-songwriter, producer, archivist, and former member of Sonic Youth. | |||
| 05 Dec 2023 | Gary Barwin: Artists Will Save the World | 01:03:25 | |
Gary Barwin is a novelist, composer, poet. This conversation was recorded 4 December 2023 via zoom. | |||
| 12 Dec 2023 | Martin Suckling: How to Write Beautiful Music | 01:21:45 | |
Martin Suckling was born in Glasgow in 1981. After spending his teenage years performing in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and in ceilidh bands around Scotland, Suckling studied music at Clare College Cambridge and King’s College London. He was a Paul Mellon Fellow at Yale University from 2003-5, undertook doctoral research at the Royal Academy of Music, and subsequently became a Stipendiary Lecturer in Music at Somerville College, Oxford. His teachers include George Benjamin, Robin Holloway, Paul Patterson, Martin Bresnick, Ezra Laderman, and Simon Bainbridge. He has benefited from residencies at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldeburgh Festival, Aspen, and IRCAM, and has won numerous awards including the 2008 Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize and a Philip Leverhulme Prize. He is Professor of Composition at the University of York. | |||
| 12 Dec 2023 | Luigi Gaggero: The Art of Conducting | 01:22:33 | |
Luigi Gaggero is a conductor and cymbalom soloist. | |||
| 27 Feb 2024 | Ian Pace, Round 3: The Artist in Society | 02:21:06 | |
Ian Pace is a pianist, musicologist and Professor of Music, Culture and Society at City, University of London. This is his third appearance on the Samuel Andreyev Podcast. | |||
| 01 Mar 2024 | Matthew Sheeran: The Quest for Microtonal Music | 01:36:39 | |
Matthew Sheeran is a UK-based composer, violinist and arranger. His new album, arranging music by the American microtonal composer Easley Blackwood, has just been released and can be found at the link below. This interview was filmed on December 18, 2023. | |||
| 09 Apr 2024 | Lola Salem: Opera Must Change, Or It Will Die! | 01:39:10 | |
Dr Lola Salem graduated from the École Normale Supérieure, Lyon, in 2015 (MA Musicology), the Sorbonne in 2018 (MA Aesthetics and Philosophy of Arts) and the University of Oxford in 2023 (D.Phil. Musicology). Her academic research lies in the fields of 17-18th centuries opera, performers, patronage and material conditions, with a specific focus on law. In 2018, one of her papers won the Young Scholar Prize at the STIMU Symposium, Utrecht. Since 2018, Lola has taught Music undergraduates across the University in Oxford, and since 2022 she has worked as a Lecturer in French at Wadham and St Catherine’s Colleges. At Oriel College, Oxford, Lola is a Lecturer in Music and teaches the following papers: Foundations in the Study of Music, Musical Thought and Scholarship, Historically Informed Performance, Music and Nationalisms, The String Quartet Between Classicism & Modernism, 18th Century Opera. As a child and teenager, she sang and was professionally trained at the Maîtrise de Radio France (2005-2010). Later, she became an art critic for I/O Gazette between 2016 and 2020. Since 2022, she regularly publishes in The Critic, a UK magazine, and other media such as Arthwart and Engelsberg Ideas. She is also a Civic Future Fellow and a consultant in London on issues related to education, culture, and the arts. | |||
| 17 Apr 2024 | Jim O’Rourke & Samuel Andreyev: Round Two! | 02:02:41 | |
Legendary guitarist, composer, songwriter, producer and record label mogul Jim O’Rourke returns to the Samuel Andreyev Podcast to discuss artists who have influenced him, why he is not thrilled with his album ‘Eureka’, and much more. | |||
| 10 May 2024 | Rafael Toral: Ambient Music and its History | 01:26:15 | |
This conversation between composers Rafael Toral and Samuel Andreyev was conducted on 25 March 2024. | |||
| 17 May 2024 | Curt Jaimungal: A Mathematical Physicist and Composer Walk into a Bar.. | 01:20:39 | |
A conversation between composer Samuel Andreyev and mathematical physicist Curt Jaimungal. Curt produces the wildly popular podcast Theories of Everything (TOE). The conversation was recorded on March 25th, 2024. | |||
| 19 Jun 2024 | Answering Questions from Listeners | 00:32:27 | |
Samuel Andreyev answers viewer’s questions in this Q&A session. | |||
| 24 Jul 2024 | Jean-François Spricigo: Art as a Way of Life | 01:17:14 | |
Composer Samuel Andreyev interviews Belgian photographer and multidisciplinary artist Jean-François Spricigo. | |||
| 08 Aug 2024 | John Densmore: My Life with The Doors | 00:46:52 | |
Composer Samuel Andreyev interviews drummer, actor and author John Densmore of The Doors. | |||
| 13 Sep 2024 | August 2024 Q&A | 00:37:43 | |
Samuel Andreye answers viewer’s questions. Recorded July 27, 2024. | |||
| 18 Dec 2024 | James Ingram: Life with Stockhausen | 01:10:17 | |
James Ingram is a composer, music engraver and author. He lived and worked with Stockhausen for 28 years. Recorded December 3rd, 2024. | |||
| 09 Mar 2025 | Boulez at 100: Does He Still Matter? | 00:33:00 | |
Composer Samuel Andreyev talks about Pierre Boulez, his influence, his public persona, and the state of his musical legacy. | |||
| 04 Apr 2025 | Lola Salem: An Optimistic Vision for Music | 01:23:15 | |
Dr. Lola Salem joins Samuel Andreyev for a discussion about the current state of the arts, especially music, and what a beautiful vision for the future might look like. == | |||
| 12 Oct 2019 | Episode 11: A conversation with Franck Bedrossian | 01:14:03 | |
French composer Franck Bedrossian speaks with Samuel Andreyev about his work, which is often associated with saturation music. He talks about his brief studies under Gérard Grisey, interrupted tragically by the latter's untimely death in 1998; as well as the formation of his radical aesthetic, the importance of electronics to his work, the influence of popular music, and the general situation of contemporary aesthetics today. | |||
| 20 Oct 2019 | Episode 12: Jeff Cotton ('Antennae Jimmy Semens') on the making of Trout Mask Replica | 01:52:34 | |
In this episode, guitarist Jeff Cotton (known as 'Antennae Jimmy Semens') talks for the first time ever in public about his experience working with Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band on the albums Strictly Personal, Mirror Man and of course, Trout Mask Replica. | |||
| 03 Nov 2019 | Episode 13: Chicago Lecture | 01:13:02 | |
On 10 October 2017, I presented a lecture on my work at the University of Chicago. This lecture deals, apart from general aesthetic issues specific to my compositions, with the pieces Bern Trio for oboe d’amore, viola and harp, and Midnight Audition for solo viola. The lecture is followed by questions from the students in attendance. | |||
| 17 Nov 2019 | Episode 14: Making Sense of New Music with Dan Albertson | 01:10:13 | |
In this episode, Samuel Andreyev talks with Dan Albertson, music writer, critic, translator and creator of Composers21.com. They discuss the state of new music in the world today, both aesthetically and in terms of its institutions; and the challenges and opportunities facing young composers in the 21st century. See below for Dan's recommendations of who to follow, as referenced in the podcast. | |||
| 01 Dec 2019 | Episode 15: How does a Composer Write Music? | 00:11:27 | |
In this episode, Samuel Andreyev responds to a viewer’s question: how does a composer write music? | |||
| 29 Dec 2019 | Episode 16: Nick Storring's Haunting Soundworlds | 01:29:08 | |
Nick Storring is a Toronto-based composer, writer, musician and curator. His extensive worklist includes both instrumental chamber music and studio creations that he playfully refers to as 'solorchestral' music. In this episode, Nick talks with Samuel Andreyev about his influences, his musical philosophy and the inspiration behind some of his pieces. | |||
| 12 Jan 2020 | Episode 17: Stravinsky's late period explained | 00:30:47 | |
Samuel Andreyev presents an overview of Stravinsky's late style, beginning with the pivotal work Agon, and continuing through Threni, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, and Variations Aldous Huxley in Memoriam.
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| 31 Jan 2020 | Episode 18: Composer - organist Thomas Lacôte | 01:19:23 | |
Thomas Lacôte is organiste titulaire at the Eglise de la Trinité in Paris, a post that Olivier Messiaen held for 60 years. He worked at the Paris Conservatory for six years as the assistant of Michaël Levinas, before being named professor of analysis in 2014. He was educated at this institution, receiving five first prizes with distinction between 2002 and 2006. His manifold musical activities bring together composition, improvisation, performance, teaching and research. His cycle Etudes pour orgue (2006–2015) presents a new approach to the instrument and its sonority. In 2013, his first solo CD entitled The Fifth Hammer was recorded at the Eglise de la Trinité, and released by Hortus. He is regularly invited for recitals, master classes and lectures by many international institutions, including The Royal College of Organists, Eastman School of Music, Mozarteum Salzburg, Gothenburg Music Academy, Haarlem Organ Academy, Bologna Conservatorio, etc. Along with musicologists Yves Balmer and Christopher Murray, Thomas Lacôte has devoted several years to important research on the works of Olivier Messiaen, leading to the publication of several articles in international journals (XXth Century Music, Journal of the American Musicological Society) and a book (Le modèle et l'invention: Olivier Messiaen et la technique de l'emprunt, Editions Symétrie, 2017). In 2012, Thomas Lacôte was awarded the Del Duca prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts-Institut de France. In 2019 he received the Hervé Dugardin composition prize from the SACEM. He is artist in residence at the Royaumont Foundation, and a member of the musical committee of the Prince Pierre Foundation in Monaco. More about Thomas Lacôte: | |||
| 28 Mar 2020 | Conductor Luigi Gaggero | 01:31:16 | |
Luigi Gaggero has been performing as cimbalom and percussion player and as a conductor at important concert halls and festivals all over Europe, USA, and China. With an endless passion for Medieval painting; Dante and Cavalcanti; the cinema of Tarkovsky and Tarr; Bach, Mozart and Kurtág; Heidegger and Nietzsche - Luigi is very sensitive to artists who express the Transcendental in art and therefore prioritizes, as an interpreter, a phenomenological approach to both classical and contemporary music. His interpretations are based on the empathic encounter between interpreter, composer and audience. This results in moving, colorful interpretations, where the classical repertoire gets colored with the typical freedom of interpretation of contemporary music, which, in turn, despite its complexity, abandons itself to the sweep of ‘classical’ phrasing. | |||
| 11 Apr 2020 | Cheryl Duvall, pianist | 00:57:17 | |
Toronto-based pianist Cheryl Duvall has established herself as one of Canada’s foremost contemporary music interpreters. A dynamic soloist and in-demand collaborator, Duvall has immersed herself in a wide variety of compositional aesthetics and collaborative endeavours. In 2012, she co-founded the “adventurous and smartly programmed” (Musicworks Magazine) chamber group Thin Edge New Music Collective, commissioning over 70 works, mounting multidisciplinary productions, touring worldwide, and collaborating with leading artists including Sarah Hennies, Linda Catlin Smith, and Ensemble Paramirabo. She has also worked with the likes of choreographer Peggy Baker, cellist Paul Pulford, film composer Darren Fung, and Essential Opera, and is currently commissioning new solo repertoire from several Canadian composers. | |||
| 14 May 2020 | Questions and Answers | 01:13:46 | |
This episode reproduces the audio from my May 10th, 2020 Livestream Q&A on YouTube. Viewers typed their questions into a chat window and I answered them in real time. Due to the large volume of questions received, and my inability to answer even a small fraction of them, I am considering making this a weekly feature of my channel. | |||
| 27 May 2020 | Art Tripp’s journey from Stockhausen to Zappa | 01:55:09 | |
Percussionist and drummer Art Tripp talks with composer Samuel Andreyev in a wide-ranging interview about his fascinating career working with John Cage, Frank Zappa, Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart), Robert Austin Boudreau, and many others. He also discusses meeting such luminaries as Morton Feldman, and performing avant-garde music by Stockhausen and others in the 1960s. His important contributions to albums such as Uncle Meat and Lick My Decals off Baby are covered in detail. | |||
| 22 Jul 2020 | Jonathan Bell: From Ars Subtilior to Artificial Intelligence | 01:21:10 | |
The music of Franco-British composer Jonathan Bell is influenced by Franco-Flemish polyphony, American minimalism (Morton Feldman), and spectral music. He graduated from the Paris Conservatoire with 4 prizes, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Doctorate in Musical Composition). Since 2007, he has collaborated intensely with the vocal ensemble De Caelis, which produces his music in numerous festivals (Île-de-France, European church music festival…), France Musique, and in collaboration with other ensembles (Links ensemble, choirs of several cathedrals). In Germany, he has received commissions from the Zafraan ensemble (Berlin) and SKAM (Stuttgart). In 2014-16, he followed a two-year IRCAM residency, where he developed the SmartVox web application, dedicated to the interpretation of computer-assisted speech polyphony. Since September 2017 he has been a lecturer in music at Aix-Marseille University and researcher at PRISM-lab-CNRS. In 2018, he was named a resident at the Casa de Velasquez/Membre de l’académie de France à Madrid; His music is played and presented in computer music symposiums ICMC (New-York), NIME (Porto Allegre), SMC and Tenor (Melbourne). | |||
| 26 Jul 2020 | The Labyrinthine Worlds of Chris Dench | 01:52:34 | |
Chris Dench was born in London in 1953. After periods living in Tuscany and West Berlin, the latter as a guest of the DAAD Berliner Kunstlerprogramm, he finally arrived to settle in Australia; he became an Australian citizen in 1992. He has had works commissioned by ensembles and individuals on three continents and is particularly recognized as a composer for solo woodwind instruments, having composed fourteen pieces for the genre at last count. He has enjoyed a close relationship with Australia's ELISION ensemble for over fifteen years; he has also had fruitful collaborations with other musicians, including, in the last few years, Kathleen Gallagher, Mark Knoop, Geoffrey Morris, Peter Neville, Marilyn Nonken, Michael Norsworthy, Carl Rosman, and the Libra ensemble. His works have enjoyed extensive performances, recordings, and broadcasts in Europe, Australia, North America, and Asia, including the Huddersfield Festival, the Darmstadt Ferienkurse fur Neue Musik, Music of Changes in Los Angeles, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland, the Hong Kong ISCM/ACL World Music Days, ForumMusic Taipei, and the Gobi Desert. In 2002 Peter Neville, Guy DeBlét, Elizabeth Davis, Eugene Ughetti, Mark Knoop, and conductor Carl Rosman gave the long-delayed first performances of his 1994 percussion quartet beyond status geometry. More recently, ELISION recorded for NMC a disc of his music including ik(s)land[s] and the blinding access of the grace of flesh. | |||
| 14 Aug 2020 | Anthony Etherin: From Punk to Palindromes | 01:36:43 | |
Anthony Etherin is a formalist poet, a publisher, and a musician. He tweets poetry @Anthony_Etherin and archives his published works online at anthonyetherin.wordpress.com. He founded Penteract Press and he invented the aelindrome. He hosts a (neglected, but soon to be revised) YouTube channel. He lives in the United Kingdom, on the border of England and Wales. | |||
| 24 Aug 2020 | Bill Harkleroad (Zoot Horn Rollo): the making of Trout Mask Replica | 01:39:08 | |
Bill Harkleroad was the longest-serving guitarist of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, playing on such essential recordings as Trout Mask Replica, Lick My Decals Off, Baby and Clear Spot. His significant artistic and practical contributions to these works have largely gone unacknowledged. Bill subsequently formed the band Mallard, released masterful solo recordings including 2001's We Saw a Bozo Under the Sea, authored the book Lunar Notes, and taught extensively. He can be contacted for lessons here. | |||
| 02 Oct 2020 | Andy Creeggan, composer and erstwhile pop star | 01:29:08 | |
The Canadian composer, pianist and percussionist Andrew (Andy) Creeggan is equally at home in the worlds of classical composition and pop music. A member of the wildly successful Canadian band Barenaked Ladies from 1989 to 1995, he experienced fame early in life. Deciding that being a member of a band was not for him in the long run, he left to study composition at Montréal's McGill University. Since then, he has recorded and performed in The Brothers Creeggan, a band formed with his brother Jim Creeggan, and released three CDs of his compositions: Andiwork I, II and III (order from Bongo Beat Records). In addition, he has composed chamber music and worked as an arranger. | |||
| 27 Oct 2020 | On Extended Techniques | 00:09:49 | |
In this episode, Samuel Andreyev presents a short introduction to the world of 'extended techniques', those unconventional ways of playing musical instruments that have become an almost ubiquitous feature of contemporary composition. | |||
| 30 Nov 2020 | Ian Pace: pianist and musicologist | 02:09:00 | |
Ian Pace is a pianist of long-established reputation, specialising in the farthest reaches of musical modernism and transcendental virtuosity, as well as a writer and musicologist focusing on issues of performance, music and society and the avant-garde. He was born in Hartlepool, England in 1968, and studied at Chetham’s School of Music, The Queen’s College, Oxford and, as a Fulbright Scholar, at the Juilliard School in New York. His main teacher, and a major influence upon his work, was the Hungarian pianist György Sándor, a student of Bartók. Excerpts from Ian Pace's forthcoming CD of the complete piano music of Brian Ferneyhough on Divine Art Records (in order of appearance): | |||
| 11 Dec 2020 | Richard Haynes: Introducing the clarinet d'amore | 01:17:03 | |
Clarinetist Richard Haynes performs music spanning the 18th to 21st centuries all over the world in a multitude of contexts. During the course of undergraduate study at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and further study at the University of Arts Bern his teachers included Brian Catchlove, Paul Dean, Ernesto Molinari, Diana Tolmie, Donna Wagner-Molinari and Floyd Williams. Since his solo debut with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at the age of 17 performing the Clarinet Concerto by John Veale, Richard Haynes has performed further concerti by Copland, Mozart, Rankine, Smetanin, Westlake and Xenakis to acclaim, won the title of Australia's Young Performer of the Year and the Australian Art Music Award for Performance of the Year and has received invitations to the academies of Acanthes, Bang on a Can, Darmstadt, Ensemble Modern, impuls and Lucerne Festival. Richard Haynes has maintained regular concert activity in Europe, the USA, Asia, Australia and New Zealand over the last 15 years and is a 1st Prize Winner of the International Concours Nicati Switzerland and the 2008 recipient of the Tschumi Music Prize. | |||
| 18 Dec 2020 | Studying composition in 2020 | 02:15:25 | |
In this episode, I spoke with three composition students about the musical and professional landscape they are about to graduate into: Jonty Watt, of Oxford, England; Ben Schweitzer, of the University of Massachussetts Amherst, and Thomas McGee, of Williams College. All three have one thing in common: they have all worked with me as private composition students over Skype, and though I have worked with some of them for years, we have never met in person. They are candid about the challenges they are facing, as well as some of the ways in which the world of composition seems to be evolving. | |||
| 07 Jan 2021 | Colin Matthews and Julian Anderson: a conversation among composers | 01:39:12 | |
In this episode I present a 3-way conversation between English composers Colin Matthews, Julian Anderson and myself. Colin Matthews’ music is published by Faber Music. Anderson has enjoyed commissions from bodies including the BCMG, London Sinfonietta, Asko-Schönberg Ensemble and Cheltenham Festival. Book of Hours for ensemble and electronics (2004) won the 2006 RPS Award for Large Scale Composition and featured on a NMC portrait disc. This was one of two recordings of his music to be nominated for a 2007 Gramophone Award, the other being the eventual winner, Alhambra Fantasy (Ondine). Poetry Nearing Silence (1997), originally a commission from the Nash Ensemble, was later arranged to become a successful ballet choreographed by Mark Baldwin. In 2009, Anderson and Baldwin collaborated again on a Darwin-inspired ballet, The Comedy of Change, which toured nationally. More about Julian Anderson | |||
| 28 Jan 2021 | Ask Me Anything! | 01:26:45 | |
In this episode, I took questions live from my YouTube subscribers. Thanks to everyone who participated. | |||
| 19 Feb 2021 | Brian Ferneyhough interview | 01:39:44 | |
Brian Ferneyhough is widely recognized as one of today's foremost living composers. Since the mid-1970s, when he first gained widespread international recognition, his music has earned him an enviable reputation as one of the most influential creative personalities and significant musical thinkers on the contemporary scene. Ferneyhough was born in Coventry, England, in 1943 and received formal musical training at the Birmingham School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, London. In 1968 he was awarded the Mendelssohn Scholarship, which enabled him to continue his studies in Amsterdam with Ton de Leeuw, and the following year obtained a scholarship to study with Klaus Huber at the Basel Conservatoire. Following Ferneyhough’s move to mainland Europe, his music began to receive much wider recognition. The Gaudeamus Composers’ Competition in the Netherlands awarded Ferneyhough prizes in three successive years (1968-70) for his Sonatas for String Quartet, Epicycle and Missa Brevis respectively. The Italian section of the ISCM at its 1972 competition gave Ferneyhough an honourable mention (second place) for Firecycle Beta and two years later a special prize for Time and Motion Study III which was considered the best work submitted in all categories. Recent works have included Inconjunctions (2014), Contraccolpi (2016), and a collection of encounters influenced by Christopher Tye, Umbrations (2001-2017), premiered by the Arditti Quartet and Ensemble Modern at Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik. Associated with the most prestigious teaching institutions and international summer schools for contemporary music, from 1984 to 1996 Ferneyhough was Composition Course Co-ordinator at the biennial Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik. In 1984 he was made Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and he has since been named a member of the Berlin Akademie der Künste, the Bayrische Akademie der Schönen Künste and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. Most recently, he was awarded the 2007 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. | |||
| 14 Mar 2021 | Alexander Sigman, composer | 01:31:09 | |
With a unique background in music composition + technology, cognitive science, and data science, Alexander Sigman has been active internationally as an interdisciplinary composer, performer, researcher, software engineer, and educator. More about Alexander Sigman | |||
| 19 Mar 2021 | Why You Need Carl Ruggles in Your Life | 00:31:57 | |
Carl Ruggles (1876-1971) lived to the age of 95, but published only 8 works in his lifetime — less than an hour of music. In this podcast, I present an overview of this enigmatic composer, as well as an analysis of Lilacs, the central movement of Men and Mountains, for orchestra (1924). SUPPORT THIS PODCAST | |||
| 14 Apr 2021 | Linda Catlin Smith, composer | 01:27:09 | |
Linda Catlin Smith grew up in New York and lives in Toronto. She studied music in NY, and at the University of Victoria (Canada). Her music has been performed and/or recorded by: BBC Scottish Orchestra, Exaudi, Tafelmusik, Other Minds Festival, California Ear Unit, Kitchener-Waterloo, Victoria and Vancouver Symphonies, Arraymusic, Tapestry New Opera, Gryphon Trio, Via Salzburg, Evergreen Club Gamelan, Turning Point Ensemble, Vancouver New Music, and the Del Sol, Penderecki, and Bozzini quartets, among many others; she has been performed by many notable soloists, including Eve Egoyan, Elinor Frey, Philip Thomas, Colin Tilney, Vivienne Spiteri, and Jamie Parker. Â She has been supported in her work by the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, Chalmers Foundation, K.M. Hunter Award, Banff Centre, SOCAN Foundation and Toronto Arts Council; in 2005 her work Garland (for Tafelmusik) was awarded Canada’s prestigious Jules Léger Prize. In addition to her work as an independent composer, she was Artistic Director of the Toronto ensemble Arraymusic from 1988 to 1993, and she was a member of the ground-breaking multidisciplinary performance collective, URGE, from 1992-2006. Linda teaches composition privately and at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST | |||
| 03 May 2021 | Marco Fusi: The Mystery of Scelsi | 01:51:09 | |
Marco Fusi is a violinist/violist, and a passionate advocate for the music of our time. Among many collaborations with emerging and established composers, he has premiered works by Billone, Sciarrino, Eötvös, Cendo and Ferneyhough. Marco has performed with Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, Alan Gilbert, Beat Furrer, David Robertson, and frequently plays with leading contemporary ensembles including Klangforum Wien, MusikFabrik, Meitar Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, Ensemble Linea, Interface (Frankfurt), Phoenix (Basel) and Handwerk (Köln); Marco has recorded several solo albums, published by Kairos, Stradivarius, Col Legno, Da Vinci, Geiger Grammofon. Marco also plays viola d’amore, commissioning new pieces and collaborating with composers to promote and expand existing repertoire for the instrument. A strong advocate and educator of contemporary music, he lectures and workshops at Columbia University, University of California – Berkeley, Basel Musikhochschule, New York University, Boston University, Royal Danish Academy of Music – Copenhagen, Cité de la Musique et de la Danse – Strasbourg, University of Chicago. Marco teaches Contemporary Chamber Music at the Milano conservatory “G. Verdi” and is Researcher in Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST | |||
| 18 May 2021 | Ermir Bejo: the Scorefollower project | 01:22:35 | |
Ermir Bejo, born in 1987 in Tirana Albania, is a contemporary classical and electronic music composer. Both within and apart from his music, Bejo draws significant influence from visual art, cinema, classic literature, mathematics, and philosophy. Bejo’s approach is grounded in the exploration of hierarchies and conflicts arising from the treatment of musical time as a non-linear concept. His music is performed in concert halls and music festivals by a growing roster of internationally acclaimed performers and ensembles such as Ums ‘n Jip, Nova, Amorsima Trio, Duo Chromatica, Irvine Arditti, Malgorzata Walentynowicz, Elizabeth McNutt, Redi Llupa, Alexander Richards, Yumi Suehiro, and Juan Sebastian Delgado among others. Bejo holds degrees in music composition from the University of North Texas (PhD, 2017), University of Louisville (MM, 2013), and Skidmore College (BA, 2010). He has additionally participated in numerous lessons and masterclasses with composers such as Chaya Czernowin, James Dillon, and Esa-Pekka Salonen among others. Since 2015, he has served as director of the Score Follower organization, a leading online new music resource. In collaboration with composers, performers, major publishers, and recording labels alike, the organization curates music projects with a wide international reach and participation. He has taught music composition and audio technology since 2012. From 2016 to 2017, he served as president of the Composers Forum organization at the University of North Texas. Currently, Bejo serves on the board of Kaleidoscope MusArt organization in Miami, and works as audio reinforcement technical director at the University of North Texas’ College of Music, which is the largest public university music program in the United States. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST | |||
| 28 May 2021 | Michele Zaccagnini: the 'Adorno Rule' | 01:26:30 | |
Michele Zaccagnini studied clarinet at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome, graduated cum laude with a bachelor in Economics at Universita’ La Sapienza in Rome. At Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts he graduated with a Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory where he studied with Martin Boykan, Yu-Hui Chang and Eric Chasalow. Michele’s main area of theoretical research focuses on Algorithmic Composition; he published a paper about Aldo Clementi compositional process in Perspectives of New Music, a description of one of his own compositional processes in The OM Composer’s Book n.3 (published by Ircam) and a paper about the Nonlinear Sequencer for the SEAMUS Conference in 2020 which is also available as a tool package in MaxMsp’s Package Manager. His research on has been presented at University of Plymouth within the First International Workshop of Brain Computer Music Interface, at the Ircam Forum Conference in Sao Paulo, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Michigan Technological University within the 29th International Conference on Auditory Display. Michele’s creative work consists of both music and audiovisuals implemented with idiosyncratic algorithmic techniques that are aimed at exploring static, non-narrative music. His music has been performed in the US, Italy and Germany by ensembles such as the Radnofski Saxophone Quartet, ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), Dedalo Ensemble and L’Arsenale Ensemble. More recently his work exists mainly on YouTube where he regularly posts new audiovisual works and tutorials about audiovisual composition. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST | |||
| 22 Jun 2021 | Matthew Ricketts, composer | 01:47:16 | |
Matthew Ricketts (b. 1986, British Columbia) is a Canadian composer currently based in New York City. His music moves from extremes of presence and absence, from clamor to quietude, at once reticent and flamboyant. Matthew’s music has been called “lyrical, contrapuntal, rhythmically complex and highly nuanced” (The American Academy of Arts and Letters) and is noted for his “effervescent and at times prickly sounds,” “hypnotically churning exploration of melody” (ICareIfYouListen) as well as its “tart harmonies and perky sputterings” (The New York Times). He is a 2020 Gaudeamus Finalist and a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow. In 2018 Ricketts’ multilingual opera Chaakapesh: The Trickster’s Quest (written in collaboration with renowned Cree playwright Tomson Highway) opened the Montreal Symphony’s 84th season to great critical acclaim and went on to tour Indigenous communities throughout Québec. Matthew is the recipient of fellowships from Civitella Ranieri (2020/2021), The American Academy of Arts and Letters (2020), MacDowell (2019), the Tanglewood Music Center (2018 Elliott Carter Memorial Fellowship) and the Aspen Music Festival (2017), in addition to the 2016 Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Prize, the 2016 Jacob Druckman Prize (Aspen Music Festival), the 2016 Mivos/Kanter Prize, the 2015 Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award, a 2013 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and eight prizes in the SOCAN Foundation’s Awards for Young Composers. Matthew holds degrees in music composition and theory from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music (B.Mus. 2009) and Columbia University (DMA 2017). Matthew’s principal mentors include Brian Cherney, John Rea, Chris Paul Harman, George Lewis and Fred Lerdahl. He was a Core Lecturer at Columbia University from 2017-2020. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST | |||
| 02 Jul 2021 | John Moraitis: harpsichordist and musicologist | 01:44:24 | |
John Moraitis is a musicologist, harpsichordist, and pianist currently residing in Athens. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Shorter College, a Master in Musicology from the University of Georgia in Athens, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His main fields of interest are historical performance practice and twentieth-century modernism. He has taught and conducted master classes in the United States, Austria, and Greece. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST | |||
| 08 Jul 2021 | Martin Keary (Tantacrul): composer, designer, polymath | 01:15:59 | |
Martin Keary: biography I'm an active musician with a MMUS in composition from the Royal Conservatoire in Scotland. I regularly write music for live performances, films and video games. I also run a YouTube channel called Tantacrul, where I discuss various topics related to music and design. Based on the growing popularity of this channel, I occasionally get invited to speak at conferences too. My favourite topics to discuss are music philosophy, visual music (an archaic discipline from the early 20th century) and design methodology. | |||
| 19 Jul 2021 | Larry Schoenberg: Arnold Schoenberg, My Father | 01:17:19 | |
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Arnold Schoenberg’s passing in July 13, 1951, Samuel Andreyev speaks with his son Lawrence Adam (Larry) Schoenberg. They discuss what it was like having Arnold Schoenberg as a father; Larry’s thoughts on his father's artistic legacy; Schoenberg’s teaching philosophy; and the work of the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna. | |||
| 29 Jul 2021 | Betsy Jolas: My Trip to Bali with Xenakis and Takemitsu | 00:56:08 | |
In 1972, Betsy Jolas (b. 1926) traveled to Indonesia with Iannis Xenakis, Toru Takemitsu, Henri-Louis de la Grange, Maurice Fleuret and several others. While there, she encountered the Topeng dance, which, nearly 50 years later, inspired the composition of her 8th quartet, Topeng. This piece was written for the Arditti Quartet in 2019. In anticipation of her 95th birthday on 5 August 2021, she tells us what happened on that trip, what it was like traveling with Takemitsu and Xenakis, and why it is that Bali left such an indelible imprint on her music. | |||
| 23 Aug 2021 | In the Composer's Atelier | 00:24:14 | |
In 2020, Edition Impronta published Samuel Andreyev’s second volume of solo piano pieces, n°s V—VIII. In this episode, he speaks about the genesis of this work, its aims, and presents each piece individually. The podcast includes recordings of each piece by Jana Luksts. MUSIC HEARD IN THIS EPISODE Samuel Andreyev, Piano Pieces V-VIII (2019-20) Publisher: Edition Impronta Performer: Jana Luksts SUPPORT THIS PODCAST Patreon Donorbox ORDER SAMUEL ANDREYEV’S NEWEST RELEASE Iridescent Notation LINKS YouTube channel Official Website Edition Impronta, publisher of Samuel Andreyev’s scores EPISODE CREDITS Podcast artwork photograph © 2019 Philippe Stirnweiss | |||
| 09 Sep 2021 | Julian Nott: How to be a Film Composer | 01:22:44 | |
Julian Nott came to music relatively late. After studying Music and Politics and Economics at Oxford University, he worked for a management consultancy firm in the City for a number of years. Finding that not entirely to his liking, he enrolled in the UK’s National Film And Television School, funding his studies by simultaneously working freelance for the Economist Publications. After film school, Julian worked as an independent documentary film producer, making films for Channel Four Television, Arte Channel and WGBH Boston. Along the way he qualified as a (non-practising) barrister. At film school, Julian met the animator Nick Park, writing the music for his early Wallace and Gromit films. When these films became such a huge success, the offers starting come in and Julian switched to film scoring full time. His work still includes much animation (“Wallace and Gromit in the The Curse of the Wererabbit”, “Peppa Pig”, “Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom”, “The Hungry Caterpillar”). Feature films credits include “The Decoy Bride”, “My Mother’s Courage”, “Heavy Petting” and “A Man Of No Importance”. On television, credits include all four series of the BBC’s popular “Lark Rise to Candleford”, ITV's "The Vice" and David Jason’s comedy “The Royal Bodyguard”. | |||
| 28 Oct 2021 | Christian Bök and the Aesthetics of Impossibility | 01:45:29 | |
Born in Toronto, Christian Bök focuses on the intersection of language and science in his work. His first book of poetry, Crystallography, was nominated for the Gerald Lampert Award. His book Eunoia, which won the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2002, is the best-selling Canadian poetry book of all time. Bök has also created artificial languages for science fiction television. His most recent book is The Xenotext (Book One). He lives in Melbourne, Australia. | |||
| 01 Nov 2021 | Martin Iddon: The Musical Riddles of John Cage | 01:20:06 | |
In 2020, the composer and musicologist Martin Iddon and the pianist Philip Thomas published a 400-page monograph outlining, in extraordinary detail, the genesis and the substance of one of John Cage’s most enigmatic compositions: the Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957-58). In this episode, Martin Iddon reveals why this single work exerts such a powerful draw, 60 years after its premiere. | |||
| 14 Dec 2021 | Augusta Read Thomas, composer | 01:27:19 | |
The music of Augusta Read Thomas has been performed all over the world by conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Mstislav Rostropovich, Seiji Ozawa, Oliver Knussen, George Benjamin, Vimbayi Kaziboni, Christoph Eschenbach and many others. She is Vice President for Music at The American Academy of Arts and Letters, among many other distinctions, and is a long-standing, exemplary citizen of the profession at large supporting the work of others. Her music is published by G Schirmer and, since 2016, by Nimbus Music Publishing. Her music has been featured on nearly 100 commercial CDs. Since 2013, Nimbus Records has been recording her complete works. She is currently a University Professor of Composition in Music at The University of Chicago. Thomas played piano as a young child, starting private lessons at age four. In third grade, she took up the trumpet and played for 14 years, attending Northwestern University as a trumpet performance major. She played trumpet in brass quintet, chamber orchestra, orchestra, band, and Jazz band and she sang in choirs for many years. Thomas also had the distinction of having her work performed more frequently in 2013-2014 than any other living composer, according to statistics from performing rights organization ASCAP. Augusta Read Thomas official website | |||
| 20 Dec 2021 | Nuria Schoenberg-Nono: The Composers in my Life | 01:00:45 | |
Nuria Schoenberg-Nono was born in Barcelona in 1932 to parents Arnold and Gertrud Schoenberg. She grew up in Los Angeles, California, and settled to Europe in 1954, marrying the composer Luigi Nono. In 1993 she founded the Luigi Nono Archive, and today she is president of the Board of the Arnold Schoenberg Centre in Vienna. Her experience is unique, in that the has been close to two major 20th century composers, both of whom can be said to have had a lasting impact on the music of our time. | |||
| 29 Dec 2021 | Alexander Goehr, composer | 01:20:22 | |
Alexander Goehr is a composer for whom the conventional labels of new music seem increasingly inadequate. A latent nonconformism is already suggested by the essential biographical facts. He was born in Berlin in 1932, son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. Still in his early twenties, he emerged as a key figure in the celebrated ‘Manchester School’ of post-war British composers. In 1955-56 he joined Oliver Messiaen’s masterclass in Paris. Thereafter, he worked as a BBC producer and broadcaster, and was a director of the Music Theatre Ensemble. In 1971 he was appointed Professor of Music at Leeds University, and was subsequently appointed to the chair at Cambridge in 1976. Background apart, however, the source of Goehr’s heterogeneous yet single-minded development lies in a questing musical intelligence and a special gift for elaboration, transformation and synthesis. The artistic imperative is for a step-by-step progression, wherever it might lead, from what is familiar to what is genuinely new. | |||
| 10 Mar 2019 | Episode 1: How I solved a compositional problem | 01:02:52 | |
In this episode, Samuel Andreyev presents a lecture at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. The lecture deals with how he solved a compositional problem, as well as the challenge of integrating timbre into the language of contemporary music. | |||
| 27 Jan 2022 | Kenneth Goldsmith, poet | 01:01:35 | |
Kenneth Goldsmith is an American poet. His writing has been called some of the most exhaustive and beautiful collage work yet produced in poetry by Publishers Weekly. He is the founding editor of UbuWeb, and is a senior editor of PennSound at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches. He hosted a weekly radio show at WFMU from 1995 until june 2010. He has published many books of poetry, notably Fidget, Soliloquy, Day, and his American trilogy. He is the editor of I’ll Be Your Mirror, the selected Andy Warhol interviews, which is the basis for an opera, Trans-Warhol, that premiered in Geneva in 2007. He has published three books of essays, including Against Expression, Uncreative Writing, Wasting Time on the Internet, and most recently, Duchamp is my Lawyer. In 2013, he was appointed the first Poet Laureat of the Museum of Modern Art. | |||