{"id":125713,"date":"2026-07-08T16:53:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=125713"},"modified":"2026-07-08T20:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T00:00:03","slug":"interview-toronto-composer-matthew-reid-talks-new-release-moods-limited-transposition-book-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/07\/08\/interview-toronto-composer-matthew-reid-talks-new-release-moods-limited-transposition-book-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Toronto Composer Matthew Reid Talks About His New Release Moods Of Limited Transposition (Book II)"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_125715\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-125715\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-125715\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-08T165251.784.jpg\" alt=\"Toronto composer Matthew Reid (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-08T165251.784.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-08T165251.784-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-08T165251.784-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-08T165251.784-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-125715\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toronto composer Matthew Reid (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Toronto composer Matthew Reid recently released a new piano album called Moods of Limited Transposition (Book II). It\u2019s the second release in a planned four-part project that will eventually consist of 36 short piano pieces.<\/p>\n<p>Reid\u2019s inspiration comes from the historic examples of Bach and Chopin. Interestingly, he is the only person who has led both a Second City Mainstage show and a Toronto Symphony Orchestra performance.<\/p>\n<p>LV caught up with Reid to ask about the new album.<\/p>\n<p>The Soundtrack of Life, an excerpt from The Second City Guide to the Symphony:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mJQhbqViZwQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Matthew Reid, Composer &amp; Pianist<\/h2>\n<p>Toronto native Matthew Reid has composed music for films, television, games, and theatre. Among other things, he\u2019s got a distinct specialty in the field of comedy. All together, Reid spent more than a dozen years at Toronto\u2019s acclaimed Second City in a variety of roles, including Music Director of the Training Centre, and then the Mainstage. He served as Primary Composer and Musical Director from 2006 until 2015.<\/p>\n<p>His comedic musical, titled The Second City Guide to the Symphony, has been performed by orchestras across North America since its composition in 2014. His classical music revue Mass Hysterical: A Comedic Cantata featured Colin Mochrie, Russel Braun, and members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, he worked with Derek Frey (known for his collaborations with Tim Burton) to compose the music for the award winning horror short Green Lake. He also wrote the score for Jon Stewart\u2019s 9\/11 feature documentary No Responders Left Behind (2021).<\/p>\n<p>Matthew has also written music for dance, including Ashe by Newton Moraes Dance Company, performed by Pulga Muchochoma and filmed by Red Violin producer, Barbara Willis Sweete.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sjXhi8pUO3E?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Matthew Reid: The Interview<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWhen (if?) completed, it will comprise 36 short works, the longest, most difficult project I\u2019ve ever worked on, and I will probably drop dead from mental exhaustion. Although eccentric (how could that be?) they\u2019re also approachable, and I think some of you (many) will find them interesting, mysterious, or striking,\u201d Matthew says in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>In composing the works, Reid began with a rule: once he plays a specific chord combination, he never repeats it in that piece. It\u2019s a nod to Olivier Messiaen&#8217;s musical modes of limited transposition.<\/p>\n<p>In his Moods of Limited Transposition, Reid has used the principle to create a sound world that is both minimalist and atmospheric.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a play on his theoretical work, substituting moods for modes,\u201d Reid explains. \u201cI convinced myself to use one of the things I\u2019ve been playing with over the years. I call it curated permutations,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI use three-note chords, they can be spelled six different ways. Four note chords can be spelled 24 different ways. It was kind of a Pandora\u2019s box. I opened it once, and once I started it I thought, I have to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The whole project began with the first few pieces, before he had a bigger project in mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I wrote the first one, they were just preludes or little pieces,\u201d Matthew recalls. \u201cMaybe I should start writing a piece a day. This is a year after I\u2019d made a resolution to write a piece a month just to get back into the swing of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He recalls a professor at the University of Toronto who\u2019d accomplished the same goal. It sounds like a simple principle, perhaps deceptively so. \u201cIt became nowhere as easy as a piece a day,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt ended up being much harder than that. A lot of scrunched up paper.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His \u201crule\u201d came from the desire to avoid repetition. \u201cNot repeating yourself \u2014 mowing the same lawn again and again,\u201d he says. Listeners will quickly catch on to your repeated patterns. \u201cThey already know how this ends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reid says it resulted in a productive work process. \u201cIt got into a groove, and I don\u2019t mind this sort of idea of these small tertiary form pieces,\u201d he says. \u201cLook for a surprise in the B section,\u201d he adds, \u201ca contrast. But, hopefully not too obvious in how you\u2019re developing [them].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s thinking about people who might listen to a lot of music that is written in this kind of form. \u201cI didn\u2019t want anyone to see who the killer was on page three, including myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mass Hysterical: A Comedic Cantata<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2R2e4Lah5IQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Composition<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cInspiration,\u201d he says, \u201cI think most of them \u2014 frustration. It\u2019s part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Each piece has a different mood or association, but he wants to avoid too literal an interpretation. While he creates them with a certain emotion or idea, he\u2019s titled the movements only with numbers. \u201cIt\u2019s meant to be broad; they\u2019re not in the title.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That initial spark of inspiration may also change as he\u2019s writing. \u201cGentle, calm, et cetera&#8230; They start there, but they don\u2019t necessarily end there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though most of the pieces are quite short (the longest is 2:49), he reworks and polishes them multiple times. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes composition interesting,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re lucky, you can add one bar at the end or beginning, that [&#8230;] creates a sense of discovery 20 bars later,\u201d he says. \u201cThere was a lot of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Technology helps by taking on the drudge work of transcription. \u201cI don\u2019t know where I would have been without electronic notation,\u201d he says. That said, he also writes music old school style at times. \u201cI still use pencil and paper.\u201d That often happens when he\u2019s working out ideas for certain types of pieces.<\/p>\n<p>But, using an electronic work station offers an easy way to edit. \u201cIt\u2019s the ability to visually compose,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can see it more, you can see it shaped more, and hear it immediately. I still compose at the piano for the most part.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0yPWe_9eWKU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Style<\/h3>\n<p>Reid majored in music theory at university. It doesn\u2019t make it any easier to pin down his own style.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always a hard thing,\u201d Matthew says. \u201cIn 2026, it\u2019s become even easier to research who has done things,\u201d he adds. When he began, it was more difficult to contextualize without extensive research. He recalls being at university and playing the work of a Russian composer who\u2019d used similar concept of serialism for his work. \u201cI didn\u2019t recognize what they were doing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, he sees himself as a composer of his time. \u201cI\u2019ve just thought of myself as contemporary classical music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where he uses AI \u2014to point him towards discussions of musical theory. \u201cIt could point me to conversation threads where they\u2019re discussing this very thing,\u201d he explains. It was in one of those discussions that he found references to American composer Tom Johnson, who used mathematical concepts in his work. \u201cI suspected there was at least one [composer] who did that, albeit in a very different way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reid was looking to create his own sound using the ideas he found. \u201cI was very conscious of not trying to sound like the poor man\u2019s version of other composers,\u201d he says, \u201ctrying to avoid neoimpressionism or neoromanticism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Along the way, he came up with his own theories. \u201cI call one of the techniques I use curated permutation. It\u2019s not strict permutation,\u201d Matthew explains. He carefully selects a nine-note scale that offers a set of chord progressions.<\/p>\n<p>While it begins with theory, though, it develops musically. \u201cAnd then, making it sound like something I\u2019d like to listen to,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the root of what he strives for as a composer \u2014 to have the same kind of impact as the music that first inspired him. \u201cI discovered the Well Tempered Klavier, and I discovered The Messiah. It was in our piano bench. They were the most magnificent things I\u2019d ever discovered,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy favourite works of art are those that made me want to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every month, he shares his work in an online salon with other artists. \u201cIt\u2019s a show and tell,\u201d he explains. It gives him an impetus to keep working on a regular basis. \u201cI would like to have something new.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7lsBTFYdEzs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Moods Of Limited Transposition<\/h3>\n<p>Reid hopes to release the remaining two books of his planned series by the end of this year, although paying gigs have gotten in the way since he started.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost six months I spent on the first two books,\u201d he says. \u201cI took a little break. I\u2019ve started No. 1 in Book III. I\u2019m on my third rewrite,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe original idea was to have it done within a year. Probably January, February, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although the pieces are short, it doesn\u2019t translate into easy or quick when it comes to composition. \u201cShort pieces \u2014 condensing it is its own sort of art,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Book I, a few of those pieces went beyond four minutes, even five minutes. The idea too, is that the harmonic language expands as the books progress,\u201d Reid explains. \u201cI explore the idea of transposing the modes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By Book IV, he wants to have explored each mode in full.<\/p>\n<h2>Listen To The Music<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Find Matthew Reid on Spotify [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/0TrkVAcqxuyL1XWjaee9rD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<li>He\u2019s on Apple Music [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/ca\/artist\/matthew-reid\/291397065\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? 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