Interviews with musicians, composers and conductors
The greatest challenge is the first attempt at composing every next work: inevitably I ask myself ‘Do I have something to say with this work? Are these notes relevant to the human condition of today?’
The moments when I’m on the podium, making music, and diving into a piece, connecting with all the musicians – those are the most rewarding and fulfilling aspects of being a conductor for me.
I love music that makes me feel so completely immersed and joyful that nothing else in that moment really matters. Music that takes you on a journey and can completely alter your mindset. As a composer, I suppose those attributes have started to seep into how I put a big emphasis on melody.
The concert is a chance to share the music and live a pretty irreplaceable experience, but I think I’m happiest, not accepting applause at the end of a concert but rather at the beginning of the process, making a cup of coffee, sharpening a pencil and opening a score for the first time, full of hope and possibility!
To be taken seriously as a musician or composer, you must always create the best quality music possible, and never settle. A composer never “arrives”, only to rest on their laurels. You traverse various stylistic phases, only to seek a whole new set of challenges.
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