2015,3 Interview with Johnny Reinhard
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Рецензии, интервью • Reviews, Interviews 2015,3 INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY REINHARD Anton Rovner: Can you tell me about your the Pompidou Centre. I have held important concert activities with the microtonal festival? concerts of microtonal music in Switzerland, What cities have you performed in the United for which I took eight people from New York, States besides New York, as well as what other where we introduced the music of Harry Partch countries? for concerts in Zurich and Kreuzlingen, and a Johnny Reinhard: I started my musical Zurich Radio broadcast. activities as a bassoonist. During my graduate AR: Can you tell about your microtonal studies in bassoon at the Manhattan School of festival, how it began, where do you perform Music and in ethnomusicology at Columbia and what kind of music do you perform there? University, I began to be interested in JR: In 1980 I received my Master’s degree microtonal music, which I decided to devote from Manhattan School of Music, and I learned to my full time to. In 1981 I founded the American play quartertones on the bassoon, so composers Festival of Microtonal Music, which has been began writing pieces for me. I enrolled in the in existence since then. The festival has held Music Department of Columbia University, performances of numerous musical works where I studied ethnomusicology, and I started incorporating microtones and alternate tunings to learn that different types of music of different by many composers throughout the world, peoples of past ages had different tunings. As both contemporary and from earlier times. In a result, I came up with the idea of a festival addition to that, I have performed with recitals of microtonal music, which would be inter- on the bassoon and with concerts of microtonal stylistic, where I would put together on one stage music in most European countries, different such diverse types of music as Middle Ages and cities across Canada – St. Johns, Vancouver, rock and roll on one concert, along with some Winnipeg, and Toronto – and last summer in poetry and musical improvisation. At that time Monterrey, Mexico. I have played the bassoon I did not compose any music for ifteen years, throughout the United States, including Los but only improvised. In this context, the festival Angeles, Denver, Seattle, and Winston-Salem. became a personal laboratory for me to study I performed as a vocalist in New York, Venice’s microtonal music of the most varied kinds and La Fenice, at the Barbican in London, and to develop my virtuosity. As I was studying and Bergen, Norway’s Viking Castle. I came to performing this rare type of music, everybody Russia three times, where I performed in who joined ended up being immersed in it as different festivals in Moscow, Kazan and St. well. The process continues to this day, and Petersburg. In August 19-21, 2014 I made a quite powerfully, too. trip to Knin, Croatia, where I co-directed and AR: What musicians are regular performers performed in a four-day festival of microtonal at the festival? What kind of music do they play? music, which was a great success. In addition JR: At the American Festival of Microtonal to performing, I have also given musical Music we have had some remarkable musicians lectures in the United States and various other play regularly in our concerts, in a sense, forming countries. I have visited Germany eight times, a sort of musical ensemble. One important not for performing or lecturing, but to carry out musician is pianist Joshua Pierce. He has played research work in musical libraries, as the result a lot of noteworthy pieces for piano, including of which I wrote a book, Bach and Tuning. In works by Charles Ives, Ivan Wyschnegradsky, 1995 I visited the Netherlands and gave several John Cage and others. Rock guitarist Jon Catler recitals at Amsterdam’s Ijsbreker, so I have a has been in many of our concerts, including certain reputation in that country. In Paris, I the very irst one, and played refretted guitars. conducted a new work by Edgard Varese in Violist Anastasia Solberg has played many 88 2015,3 Рецензии, интервью • Reviews, Interviews notable microtonal pieces, from the very irst also been microtonal ethnic music, folk music, concert to the latest festival. In April 2014 jazz, and rock music. The festival focuses on she took part in the performance of my string different musical styles at different stages of quartet “Seventh Heaven,” where she was the its development. There was a period of time most active and initiative player who coached when we focused on early European music in the other musicians in the quartet, teaching historical tunings, especially Baroque music. them how to play the microtonal tuning. As a At that time Bach was a feature for me for a result of that, three out of the four musicians long time, because we wanted to perform already knew how to play in that tuning – they him in Werckmeister III tuning, invented a only had to learn to play the notes. We had generation before his to make a full circle of seven rehearsals, none of which I had a chance 12 major and minor keys, but with 29 different to hear, but they played excellently. It was very musical intervals. There are certain tunings and important for them to play this music right. temperaments which work well when applied Skip La Plante on homemade instruments and to music of some composer and do not work in lutist Andrew Bolotowsky were also important the least when applied to others. In our work players. Mexican guitar player Angelo Blanco of presenting microtonal music of different [Quetzalcoatl], a virtuosic performer of music styles and traditions our goal is to push the by Julian Carillo on the instrument, has become boundaries of music further on. We are doing a regular performer at the festival, having come it in ways that no one else is. By now we have, to New York three times to perform in the in a sense, become an informal institution. We festival, and also having hosted me when I came are well-known enough that we are attracting to Mexico to play. Numerous other musicians people from all over the world. At a certain have successfully taken part in the concerts period, the New York State Council of the Arts of the American Festival of Microtonal Music suggested that we spend less time on early with more or less regularity of their appearance. music and standard repertoire and more time on AR: You mentioned that the festival has contemporary music, even encouraging me in always been interstylistic and has performed my own compositions. So I perceived that in a music from various time periods and styles. positive light, and we switched to contemporary Could you highlight some of the composers that music. At certain times we concentrated on have been performed at the festival? ethnic music, but, as a rule, that was when a JR: The irst type of music the festival certain noteworthy musician playing ethnic focuses on features works by present-day music in alternate tunings was visiting New microtonal composers. The festival has York. One example was Babukishan Das, performed music by present-day contemporary an Indian musician from Bombay, currently composers from the United States and from residing in Canada. He is a representative of many countries of the world for example Toby India’s Baul culture, a tradition over a thousand Twining, John Eaton, Gloria Coates, Svjetlana years old, which mixes different religions and Bukvich, Skip LaPlante, Manfred Stahnke, has its own music and musical instruments, Julio Estrada, Georg Friedrich Haas. There has which only they use. been a focus on the microtonal legacy of early AR: How is the festival organized? Do you and middle 20th century composers, pioneers have a board of directors or do you decide and of microtonality, such as Alois Haba, Ivan organize everything yourself? Wyschnegradsky, Julian Carrillo, Harry Partch, JR: The festival does indeed have a board Mordecai Sandburg, Percy Grainger. We have of directors. It consists of composers and presented early music, from the Medieval to performers who are devoted to preserving and the Baroque periods, performed in authentic disseminating this rare and intriguing type historical tunings and temperaments. There has of music. We meet together and discuss the 89 Рецензии, интервью • Reviews, Interviews 2015,3 repertoire we plan to perform, the funding we society. Sometimes it feels that there are more have to apply to different grants for and the performers, than there are listeners. One gets the venues we plan to perform in. One devoted impression that this is a wrong development.. member of our board of directors was composer But I know that this is a proper turn of events. Joseph Pehrson, who in the late 1990s and If we are able to attract advanced musicians, if 2000s began composing microtonal music at we have the right type of magnetism, then we my instigation, which were performed at my are on the right track. festival. We had regular board meetings at his AR: Microtonal music, as well as most apartment. Some of our frequent performers are contemporary music of the classical academic also members of the board of directors. One of type, unfortunately, receives much less inancial our newest members is Michael Hafftka, who support and much less reception and appreciation is an internationally recognized painter. He is from the general public than it deserves. It is also an excellent fretless guitar player, who amazing that you were able to do so much, mastered improvisation in pure high harmonic obviously, without receiving payment for it.