BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
When you work with more than 200 composers – living composers – you’re bound to have a thing or two to say about contemporary music.
That’s why we decided to ask Lisa Moore all about her new album dedicated to 21st Century minimalist composition – De La Chica: Preludes Op. 8.
In the past, the Canberra-born, New York-based pianist has collaborated with composers such as Iannis Xenakis, Elliot Carter, Philip Glass, Ornette Coleman, Meredith Monk…the list goes on. Now, she’s chosen to work with NY-based Colombian composer Julian de la Chica on this newly recorded work for piano and synthesizer.
So why has Lisa decided to dedicate much of her life to contemporary classical music?
From ’92-2009 she helped found the electro-acoustic sextet The Bang On A Can All-Stars (indeed, the ensemble is responsible for bringing new music to life in the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival – did you see our photoblog on the experience with young Australian composer Connor D’Netto?).
Lisa’s efforts as a collaborative musician have seen her record on more than 30 albums, and work across the world with musicians in the London Sinfonietta, New York City Ballet, Steve Reich Ensemble, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and many more.
We’re excited to learn more about Lisa’s career, and the philosophies that underpin her musical life.
Lisa, congratulations on your new album. Tell us how you came to know and work with Julian.
It has been a delight knowing and working with Julian. He approached me a couple of years ago. Little did I know that Julian had been ‘following’ my work.
Our official first meeting occurred when he finally introduced himself in New York City after the (le) Poisson Rouge CD launch for my disc Mad Rush (music by Philip Glass; Orange Mountain Music).
What do you love most about Julian’s music – what element really struck you about the work? And why are you well suited to communicate this?
Julian’s music is unique and beautiful. It is unabashedly tonal. It is open, warm, inviting, and beguiling. Julian stretches time, easing pace while using clear, simple, tender melodies that line the air and sculpt edges across open harmonic spaces. His gentle blend of piano and synthesizer makes cushioned swirling textures that seem to coax memory and imagery. The music is soothing and consoling, yet at the same time it contains a mysterious complexity.
I like to simplify things, especially as I grow older. This music struck me with a clarity and a quieter pace than most of the high energy tour de force repertoire I have come to be known for. It was a relief to hear and record.
Also, having recorded the Philip Glass album, Julian’s Preludes Op. 8 seemed a natural follow-on and continuation from that genre.
You’ve said that when you were a student yourself at the conservatorium, you liked communication with composers and performing their works. You’ve worked with more than 200 composers so far in your career. Why do you find value in the presentation of new music (in the way that some others may value performing historical works)?
I like to perform any music that speaks to me emotionally and imaginatively – whatever tradition or genre that might be. Right now, I’m playing a lot of Bach, Janacek, and late-20th and early-21st Century music by living composers.
When I was a first-year student, I was intimidated by the traditional 19th Century ‘meatballs’ in the piano repertoire that everyone was playing. So, to separate myself from the sheep, I started to play the music of my student friends and colleagues at the Sydney Conservatorium. Some of my cohorts and teachers were the Australian composers Michael Smetanin, Gerard Brophy, Martin Wesley-Smith, Elena Kats-Chernin, and Alison Bauld.
Performances I gave of their music in my first two years at the con were often world premieres in exciting alternative new music events (not at ‘Concert Practice’ assessments), and I was excited to be creating a tradition, rather than having to adhere to pre-conceived rules of how to play music that was already 200 years old (even though I love that music!).
Now I am older, I feel less intimidated and am embracing the enormous piano repertoire out there. Still, I don’t care too much for the overly flamboyant virtuoso repertoire that is flashy for its own sake. I am more attracted to a more restrained style of composition; one that speaks clearly and doesn’t show off for its own sake. I find the overtly flashy often just a wall of frilly noisy.
You are a widely successful pianist and well-established in your career. What do you feel is your responsibility to living composers? And similarly, do you feel other performers are responsible for presenting and documenting 21st Century composition as you have with this album?
I don’t feel responsible per se to composers – we work together. We are in this ‘niche’ business together. As a performer, I am intertwined with composers and their creations. I play their music. I edit their music. I adapt their music. I make it come it alive.
I should add here that I am married to the great composer Martin Bresnick, and I play all of his piano compositions. He has written works especially for me (as have others). Sometimes, I feel a little like Clara Schumann married to Robert (but without all the kids!). She always tried to program and include a work of Robert’s in concerts.
Naturally, I do wish sometimes I had more time to perform more new music and help more composers, but there are only so many hours in the day and I need to have a life too. It is tough sometimes, saying no to composers in the noble profession of writing music.
As far as other performers are concerned, that is their business. I don’t mind if they don’t play new music. What irritates me more is when mediocre musicians hide their bad technique and poor musicianship skills behind contemporary music, thinking they can ‘fake’ the notes – because the audience is not familiar with the work! In these cases, they don’t learn the right notes and rhythms and then they deliver unconvincing performances, which then reflects very poorly on the composer. I feel sorry for composers who are at times at the mercy of very bad performances, performed by musicians, even sometimes very famous players, who just haven’t put in the time, or who cannot actually count.
You’ve been described as a ‘natural, compelling storyteller’. How does your own story fit in with the narrative of these works?
When playing music, I often create images in my mind’s ear – images the music naturally conjures up or that I imagine – in order to enable me to create colours and shapes. When playing a melody, I look to express the longer line that tells a story. My life is a story, for sure, which has had its ups and downs, like everyone. I have worked really hard to achieve a life in [contemporary music]. I hope I have contributed to society by bringing to life the work of composers; by entertaining and opening up new worlds to audiences, and producing recordings that will last beyond my years.
Why should tentative listeners take a chance on contemporary composition?
It’s not a matter of ‘should’. Human beings are naturally curious and if they like what they hear, that’s a positive thing and something we should listen to as performers and composers.
To write music that no one wants is just self-indulgent and a one-way street. Not all contemporary music is great, or even good, and it’s really hard to write a brilliant piece of music. Really hard. It takes time and thought as well as a vivid imagination and big talent. Yet, new sounds are just as much a part of modern life as going to a gallery to see a new exhibition. With the prevalence of cheap online listening sources, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, new sounds are just a click away. However, hearing live music in concert is a special treat. I hope we can keep that concert-going tradition alive, and not just become isolated listeners living in home bubbles; inserting large or small headphones into our deafening ears.
What advice do you have for young or new Australian composers in their career, from your perspective as a performer of their music?
Listen voraciously to the great masterworks from past centuries. Don’t worry about being ‘trendy’. Be ambitious within and for your own music. Try to write the best music you can write. Edit your music. The first thing you put down is not necessarily the best you can produce. Really listen to the nature of the instruments you are writing for: the timbre, the variations of register. It’s hard to say things clearly. Develop your musical ideas. Complex, abstract music doesn’t mean it’s smarter, better music. Copying others is an okay learning and teaching tool, but try to find your own voice within that. It’s okay to borrow from others and blend with your own ideas.
Finally, please consider the performer – their ease of score reading – because the notational choices you make will affect the accuracy of the composition’s performance. Sometimes a ‘composer’s score’ is not the one that works for the performer. Simplify your notation so it is easy to read.
If you write well-notated, good music with interesting ideas, performers will perform it and you won’t have to worry about being ‘famous’. It will snowball. A little luck helps, too….so, good luck!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I was really touched when Julian asked me to record his piano music. For me, the moment seemed just right to do this album. I feel a strong visceral connection and I hope listeners do, too.
Thank you so much for this interview.
Listen to Lisa Moore’s new album De La Chica: Preludes Op. 8 now on Spotify. Lisa will perform alongside Sonya Lifschitz as a special guest in the Accompanists’ Guild of SA’s 2018 festival between 13-17 June.
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