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Bernard Hughes

Who or what inspired you to take up composing, and pursue a career in music?

I started composing of my own accord at about the age of 8, without anyone particularly inspiring me or suggesting I do it. I just started writing things down on bits of manuscript paper lying around the house. I remember making up a key signature which combined sharps and flats and showing it to my father, who said there was no such key signature. I didn’t understand why that was, or why I wasn’t allowed to make up my own key signature. As to making a career from music, that was never intended. Most people who write music stop at some point, and I just never stopped.

Who or what were the most significant influences on your musical life and career as a composer?

I had an wonderful music teacher called Gwynne Lewis when I was about 10. He didn’t especially inspire me to compose, but he communicated a love of music and the joy of being involved in music and I carry that with me. I also learned a lot about commitment and integrity from the composer Param Vir. Apart from my teachers the inspiration above all has been Igor Stravinsky. I didn’t discover his music until the shockingly late age of 16 or 17, but once I heard the Rite of Spring I never looked back in my devotion to his music. First hearing the Symphony of Psalms was an unforgettable experience.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

As with all composers, the challenge is to have your music heard. In this I have been pretty lucky, but every composer wants more and higher profile performances and commissions.

What are the special challenges/pleasures of working on a commissioned piece?

Having a particular occasion or performed in mind can really help to shape a piece. When the requirements of the commission and you are aligned it is really fun: writing my narrator-and-orchestra piece ‘Not Now, Bernard’ was one such – I realised it was a story I loved to tell, and that the music could add to.

What are the special challenges/pleasures of working with particular musicians, singers, ensembles and orchestras?

I’ve been lucky to work quite often with the BBC Singers over many years, including on an album of my music released in 2016. The fun of writing for them is also the danger – they can sing anything and make it sound good, but if you push the boat out too far no one else will ever sing it.

How would you characterise your compositional language?

My musical language changes with each piece I write, so I don’t have a personal style as such – although I am sure there are recurring tricks if you look for them. Writing a piece is finding a solution to a problem, and when the initial restrictions vary, so does the end result. But when I write a piece like ‘Not Now, Bernard’, which is very tuneful and ‘accessible’, I don’t think of it as any less a ‘proper piece’ than my more avant-garde pieces – they are all aspects of my compositional voice.

As a composer, how do you work?

On a practical level I move between the keyboard, handwritten music notation and the computer. They each have their role within the process – although often first ideas come when I’m on my feet, either walking round my neighbourhood or in the shower. I like the handwritten element because you can trace your ideas back archaeologically if you change your mind. But I also love the opportunity the computer offers to check things like pacing, and complex harmony that is beyond my fingers.

Which works are you most proud of?

It would have to be the two large-scale pieces written for the BBC Singers. ‘The Death of Balder’ in particular, is an original conception – a ‘radio opera’ for choir on a Norse myth – and I am happy with how it turned out, after a great deal of uncertainty while composing it. I also had the opportunity to write an orchestral piece in 2012 called ‘Anaphora’ which again caused me a lot of grief in the creation but which I am in retrospect very proud of.

Who are your favourite musicians/composers?

As mentioned above, I am a huge Stravinsky fan, and always will be. Of contemporary composers, I really love Judith Weir’s music – she is also an extremely kind and generous person and it was a pleasure working with her on my album Not Now, Bernard and Other Stories, which features the premiere recording of her piece ‘Thread!’ alongside my own music. My current enthusiasm is for a French composer called Guillaume Connesson, who is very little known in this country but I think is brilliant and deserves much wider programming.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

I was lucky enough, as a child living in Berlin in the 1980s, to be taken to hear the Berlin Philharmonic a few times. The two occasions I particularly remember were hearing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and – the first time I went – Mozart’s Piano Concerto no 21. I was about 10 and both completely blew me away, just the sound of the orchestra, and I still love both pieces. I also remember, at one of those concerts, the second half being a Shostakovich symphony, which I hated; Shostakovich symphonies still don’t do it for me.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and composers?

I think it is a responsibility of composers to listen widely, and to music that is not necessarily instantly amenable. I think too many people, young people in particular, are too narrow in their range of listening. In one sense there is no excuse for not listening widely – my excuse as a youngster was that it was difficult to access music, apart from Radio 3 and my local library’s cassette collection. But the flip side is that there is so much music available now that it can be difficult to wade through it all. But it is important for composers to have open ears.

Interview date: January 2020

www.bernardhughes.net

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Who or what inspired you to take up composing, and pursue a career in music?

My music teachers at school. They were so enthusiastic about it that I thought they must be in on some very special secret….it turned out the music I’d hear in my head wasn’t that different to what they were doing….it has to get out some way or another. They helped me to get it out!

Who or what were the most significant influences on your musical life and career as a composer?

At an early age ( 8-9) it was seeing three films at the cinema within a two week period….”You Only Live Twice” , ” The Jungle Book” and ” Oliver”. All astonishing musically and visually, but music was so front and centre for these films that it made me feel like  I wanted to be a part of the process that had made me feel the way I did when I saw them in that dark theatre.

What have been the greatest challenges/frustrations of your career so far?

Challenges and frustrations are almost the same thing for me….the most fretful being the first day of composition when you have nothing but a blank page and a lot of people are waiting somewhere for me to send them something of which  they have very high expectations

What are the special challenges/pleasures of working on a commissioned piece?

The pleasure is getting it done and people being happy with it…the challenge is getting it done so people are happy with it

What are the special challenges/pleasures of working with particular musicians, singers, ensembles and orchestras?

I’m fortunate that I’m able to work with the best in the world in terms of performers. Anything I  put in front of them, they will play brilliantly and make it sound and feel immediately better. I’m spoiled in that regard. It’s important to treat individual performers with care and  attention so that they feel free and secure enough to give it their all. Then the relationship, much like that which I have with directors, is one of part therapist, part musician.

Of which works are you most proud?

I generally don’t like much of what I do, in as much as I can’t hear it without thinking I wished I had done it differently, mostly better, but there’s not much I’d change about ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’; it’s a piece that feels about right to me, it makes me happy to watch it.

How would you characterise your compositional language?

Sympathetic to what ever I’m writing about or for.

How do you work?

I hear lots of music in my head whilst just being around and about so I sing ideas into the phone or sketch the odd sequence down, depending on where I am.  Then it’s to an instrument for working out an idea  which will either survive or be abandoned – and that’s on guitar or piano working ideas up in a DAW [digital audio workstation] so others get the idea too and there’s something tangible to play to people. If it’s a film,  I’ll watch it once and then walk around with the film in my head and let it all percolate.

Who are your favourite musicians/composers?

So many. Probably the most influential would be John Barry, Stevie Wonder, Debussy and Tchaikovsky. As I get older, there’s a bit more Mahler but mainly I love great melody

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

Not having to do anything other than music and to be happy with what I’m doing and with whom I’m doing it

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

Don’t try to please others, write honestly and maybe think this:  if the person whom you admire most in the world musically was standing next to you, could you play them whatever it is you’re working on right now and not have to make an excuse for it?

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?

If I’m alive in ten years time, I’ll be happy to be anywhere doing anything

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Having nothing to worry about

What is your most treasured possession?

I have things that I love but they’re just things and I’ve stopped thinking about things being precious. My family will always be the greatest and I have no desire or ability to own them

What do you enjoy doing most?

Being childish and also cooking

What is your present state of mind?

Tangled, Busy, Yearning, Hopeful, Cynical, Stupid

David Arnold composed the score for the recent tv adapation of Judith Kerr’s classic children’s story ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. The soundtrack is now on CD and digital format from Sony Music Masterworks.

David Arnold is a multi-award-winning British film and television composer.  Best known for his work on blockbuster films such as Independence Day, Stargate and Chronicles of Narnia, he also took over the mantle from John Barry to compose the music for five James Bond films (including Casino Royale, for which he was nominated for a Grammy, a BAFTA and won ‘Best Song’ at the World Soundtrack Awards).  Other films scores include Godzilla, Shaft, Zoolander, Hot Fuzz and Stepford Wives.

David Arnold’s television work includes Sherlock (Emmy winner for best score with Michael Price) Little Britain, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Dracula and Good Omens.  Over his 20-year career, he has won Grammys, Ivor Novello, International Emmys and Royal Television Society Awards. He was recently twice nominated for an Emmy for the Amazon /BBC production “Good Omens”

In 2012 David Arnold was appointed to the prestigious role of Musical Director for the London Olympics & Paralympics Closing Ceremonies and was also involved in one of the highlights of the Jubilee Thames Flotilla, composing a new arrangement of the ‘James Bond theme’ as HM The Queen passed by the MI6 headquarters.

As well as being a world-renowned score composer, David Arnold is a highly esteemed artist, record producer, songwriter and conductor who has worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Queen, The Who, Kate Bush, kd lang, Bjork, Chrissie Hynde, Iggy Pop, George Michael, Massive Attack, the Kaiser Chiefs, Shirley Manson, Shirley Bassey and Sir Paul McCartney.

 

Photo credit: Julie Edwards

 

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Who or what inspired you to take up the violin, and pursue a career in music?

I had my first very intense musical experience at the age of six, singing Renaissance music in a small boys’ choir in my hometown, Ravenna. Since then, it was very clear to me that music would become my entertainment, my hobby and my profession. I didn’t have a standard training in violin, I don’t even have a violin diploma; in truth. I love music in its purest essence, that is, as a language and means of expression. I have never been attracted by the technical and virtuosic features of instruments, not even the violin. To me the violin is the “transfer” of my voice and I always try not to consider it the “end” of my making music, but rather a “medium”, an instrument.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

More than a teacher or a violinist, fundamental for me was the experience gained within the musical groups with which I worked, first of all the Accademia Bizantina, which I joined as the last of the second violins in 1985, at the age of fifteen. An ideal of study seen as research and constant work on “musical craftsmanship” was strongly shared and participated by all the elements of the group and it was, and still is, the thing that fascinates me the most about playing together. Anyway, in my imaginary teenage bedroom (if it had existed), I think there could have been posters of Nikolaus Harnoncourt (whose writings and performances I was struck by as a teenager), of the violinist Enrico Onofri (a fellow student in the 80s in Ravenna and a colleague in thousands and thousands of adventures) and, of course and above all, of Ottavio Dantone, the musician with the most clarifying musical vision I have ever known, an authentic luminary.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

The most interesting challenge was certainly the recording of Vivaldi’s viola d’amore concerts with Accademia Bizantina, because I’m very interested in proposing this instrument in a new light and within an aesthetic vision I strongly believe in.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

The recording of Vivaldi’s violin concertos “Per il Castello”, no doubt! If I think back to the period of preparation, to the days of recording and editing, beyond the final result of the record (which I obviously leave to the listener’s judgment), they were moments of great energy, of joyful musical construction that, together with Ottavio and Accademia Bizantina, led us to this record.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

Musically I feel related to all Italian music from the seventeenth century onwards. Vivaldi is certainly one of the composers to whom I am most attached and a very important test case for a violinist. I have now composed many cadences in his style, and I think I can say I know him very well. But I don’t forget Corelli (a fellow countryman of mine, born in Fusignano (a small village 6 km from Accademia Bizantina) and Geminiani and Handel, who together have cultivated the compositional form of the Concerto Grosso, which is at the heart of string instrument music.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

The choice of repertoire is made by combining the challenges I have set myself for the year (in these years there will be a lot of Vivaldi, of course!), the demands of the concert seasons and agencies, but also the suggestions from musicologists or musicians from Accademia Bizantina. In the future I believe there will be further possibilities to expand the repertoire beyond the normal horizons.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

I am particularly attached to the Goldoni Theatre in Bagnacavallo, where with Accademia Bizantina we record and play many concerts. It is an Italian style theatre with a capacity of 400 seats, built in the mid 19th century, with the original wooden floor and, as was customary, hollow. In this way the theatre becomes a sounding board, as if it were another musical instrument. Playing there is a bit like talking to yourself.

Who are your favourite musicians?

I know many musicians who are excellent and who are my favourites, but, above all, I love musical environments apparently far from my world, because I feel strongly inspired by them but I am not conditioned by them. These days I listen with interest to the songs of the American folk singer Rhiannon Giddens and the Irish violinist Martin Hayes.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

Definitely playing at the Disney Hall in Los Angeles, in February 2019. The arrangement of the armchairs and all the architecture is such as to make the atmosphere intimate and cosy even though you are in a large hall with 2,000 seats.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

To me success is real if it gives me the time and opportunity to implement future projects.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

I believe that the first thing is to study as much as possible from the original sources, from the manuscripts, from the first editions, but, despite this, not to remain tied to the written music, but to how it could dance in the air at the time of its first performance, and, above all, to the feelings and emotions that it could awaken. Here, in this atmosphere lies the material that we musicians can work on. I believe that the most important rule that those who make music with historically informed criteria should follow is to have their roots firmly anchored to historical and musical sources, and their mind and heart free to sail to unknown destinations.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?

I wish to be still here, making and building music with my musician brothers and sisters.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I don’t know what perfect happiness can be. However, a nice morning run, a day with my family and friends and an evening concert I think bear quite a resemblance to it.

What is your most treasured possession?

The chance to choose.

What is your present state of mind?

Passionate, positive, fragile.

Alessandro Tampiero performs Bach’s The Art of Fugue with Ottavio Dantone and Accademia Bizantina, at Milton Court at the Barbican, London, on 19 January. Further information and tickets

Born in Ravenna, Alessandro Tampieri began his musical studies in his home town and became a member of Accademia Bizantina at the age of fifteen. During his training he devoted himself with equal interest to the violin and the viola, working with such noted composers as Luciano Berio and Azio Corghi and acquiring significant experience as a violist in the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Alessandro Tampieri had been interested in the exciting subject of historically informed musical performance based on scholarly criteria since his first years of study, and soon began to appear with a number of early music ensembles, including such groups as Il Giadino Armonico and L’Arpeggiata and artists like Enrico Onofri, Philippe Jaroussky and Vittorio Ghielmi.

Since 2011 he has been first violin and concertmaster of Accademia Bizantina, collaborating in the musical life of the ensemble with its artistic director Ottavio Dantone.

His recent recording with Accademia Bizantina and Ottavio Dantone of Vivaldi’s concertos for viola d’amore and strings, also released on Naïve, received a very warm welcome from both the specialised critics and the public.

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Who or what inspired you to take up singing and pursue a career in music?

I began singing in school and church choirs – while I’m not particularly religious, my first church choir director encouraged me to take private lessons in musicianship and voice from her (an organist) and her husband (a baritone). I was inspired by my sister (a cellist) to go to conservatory for my music degree and pursue the career, and parents were (and still are) 100% supportive of my artistic goals.

I was inspired to specialize in contemporary vocal music by two groups of people – (1) my college classmates in the composition department, who exposed me to new music and encouraged me to use my creativity in creating unique sounds, and (2) a whole lot of singers who are true entrepreneurs; something that blew things wide open for me was seeing singers use their voices in their own artistic ways and creating opportunities for themselves, as opposed to conforming to the traditional operatic career. My voice has never been traditional, so seeing artists who think creatively like I do was a game changer.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

Again, composers are my greatest influence. Composers remind me to remain curious and to create sounds that are fresh and genuinely inspired. Collaborating with composers is one of the most fun things about my job, and performing/listening to new works has brought me nothing but exhilaration and rejuvenation.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

One of my greatest challenges was regaining my confidence. I lost my confidence, and almost lost my voice, in college, and after college I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with my singing, let alone how to obtain joy from singing. I knew I loved contemporary music, but taking the step to curating my first show was hard. I had to create the smallest bud of confidence for myself, and I think I did that my just focusing on my love for the music I wanted to sing, and I had to abandon the need for validation from others. I achieved this, but it took a lot of self-reflection, some therapy, and a huge leap of faith.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

Several, but one that comes to mind is a collaboration that was in the jazz / avant-garde scene. La Operación, a work for solo soprano, two saxophones, two double basses and two drumsets, was written this year by bassist Nick Dunston, and the work is an abstract interpretation of a historical phenomenon involving colorism in Puerto Rico, eugenics, medical malpractice, second-wave feminism, and American colonialism. The piece is a structured improvisation consisting of tone rows, construction sounds, and a massive pile of extended techniques. I loved singing and improvising in this work, and it opened up a new vault of sounds which I now use in my repertoire.

Within the “new classical scene”, a couple of performances that come to mind are the chamber music experiences I’ve been a part of, particularly with Wavefield Ensemble and Ekmeles Ensemble. The repertoire from each of these collaborations (including works by Kaija Saariaho, Bernhard Lang, Lewis Nielson, Victoria Cheah and Nathan Davis) was very challenging, but both groups were incredible to work with and we made some pretty incredible music. I grew immensely as an artist working with each group.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

One of my staple works is Georges Aperghis’ 14 Recitations for solo voice. I learned this work a couple of years ago, and the work is rarely performed in its entirety. I’ve performed the full work several times already, and each time I feel that I get better and better. The work fits me like a glove, and I just love singing it.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

I have a bucket list of works that I want to learn and perform. But when I go through my season, I try to strike a balance between learning new works and rehashing old ones so that I don’t over extend myself.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, NY. The music that comes out of this place is stellar. From the Resonant Bodies festival, to avant-garde improvisers, to interdisciplinary artists… This place is just filled with crazy amazing music-making.

Who are your favourite musicians?

Like, everyone. But here are a few: Claire Chase, Sarah Maria Sun, Barbara Hannigan, St. Vincent, and Janelle Monet.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

I recently gave a TEDx Talk and Performance (called “Your Voice Is A Fingerprint”) about contemporary vocal music in Waltham, MA. That was pretty amazing.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

Honestly, being happy with how music balances your life. It’s different for everyone, which is super important to be aware of, and finding that balance can lift a huge weight of your shoulders. Plus, it makes for better music-making because you’re making music for yourself above others.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

See above. I’m a huge proponent of music being a personal journey and a self-chosen journey. Whether that choice is traditional, entrepreneurial, or even a hobby, choosing how music is a part of your life (and not dictated by society or mentors or whoever) is an important part of being an honest, creative and liberated artist.

What is your most treasured possession?

I have a keepsake box in which I collect notes and such from performances. I also keep negative notes that people have sent to me or taped on my apartment door when I practice. Everything, good and bad, intelligent and ridiculous, reminds me to lock into my confidence, remain curious, and to keep going.

Colombian-American soprano Stephanie Lamprea is an architect of new sounds and expressions as a performer, recitalist, curator and improviser, specializing in contemporary classical repertoire. Trained as an operatic coloratura, Stephanie uses her voice as a mechanism of avant-garde performance art, creating “maniacal shifts of vocal production and character… like an icepick through the skull” (composer Jason Eckardt). Her work has been described as “mercurial” by I Care If You Listen, and she “sings so expressively and slowly with ever louder and higher-pitched voice, that the inclined listener [has] shivers down their back and tension flows into the last row.” (Halberstadt.de) She received a 2019 Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, and she was awarded 2nd prize in the international John Cage Awards, sponsored by the John Cage Orgel Stiftung in Halberstadt, Germany. Her curatorial work received a 2018 grant from the Puffin Foundation. Stephanie was a featured TEDx Speaker in TEDxWaltham: Going Places.

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