{"id":62831,"date":"2019-09-30T12:36:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T16:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=62831"},"modified":"2019-09-30T19:33:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T23:33:00","slug":"interview-fresh-views-anna-pidgorna-heather-schmidt-ingrid-jensen-soundstreams-top-brass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/09\/30\/interview-fresh-views-anna-pidgorna-heather-schmidt-ingrid-jensen-soundstreams-top-brass\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Fresh Views From Anna Pidgorna, Heather Schmidt And Ingrid Jensen On Soundstreams\u2019 \u2018Top Brass\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soundstreams\u2019 \u2018Top Brass\u2019 brings top notch soloists and fresh works for the trumpet, including three new works no one\u2019s heard yet to the stage.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Anna
Anna Pidnorna, Ingrid Jenson and Heather Schmidt talk about their roles in Soundstreams’ ‘Top Brass’ (Photos: Courtesy Soundstreams\/Amanda Bullick)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>rumpet declares. It prompts and signals. And on October 3, 2019, the trumpet(s) shall sound, at the Soundstreams<\/a><\/span> 2019-20 opener: Top Brass<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>. Three virtuosos: Ole Edvard Antonsen<\/a><\/u><\/span>, Jens Lindemann<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span> and Ingrid Jensen, will gather to create a complex portrait of the trumpet, from the familiar golden Baroque of the past, to the present and its parallel world of macabre. And in contrast to the traditionally male-dominated world of brass, (which is slowly changing), here are fresh views from the three essential women of Top Brass <\/i>\u2014 <\/i>Anna Pidgorna, Heather Schmidt, and Ingrid Jensen.<\/p>\n

Anna Pidgorna<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span> had a proper maelstrom of a journey while composing The Three Woes<\/em>. Lawrence Cherney, Soundstreams\u2019 artistic director, expressed interest in further exploration within Anna’s work, adding dramatic elements: musicians moving and utilizing different points in space. Anna said yes. \u201cI really ran with this idea. There is quite a bit of moving around, and I had to write the music in such a way that all this could be executed while still giving the piece a satisfying musical form.\u201d Not being in Toronto posed an unusual challenge. \u201cSince I don\u2019t live in Toronto, and couldn\u2019t go to the hall, I had to guesstimate how long it might take people to get from the different points in the hall. I hope those timings will work!\u201d<\/p>\n

Anna had free rein for the commission, with simple restrictions: it had to be for three trumpets and string orchestra, and 8-10 minutes in length. Such freedom in the commission process is a welcome thing for a composer. \u201cThis is one of the things I really appreciate about working with Soundstreams,\u201d she says. \u201cThey commission me because they like what I do, and they ask me to write for them when my interests happen to align with their ideas. They trust me to make the artistic choices that make the most sense for me based on what I\u2019m interested in at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

For The Three Woes<\/em>, she ended up choosing climate change. And the Book of Revelation<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/em>. In the Revelation<\/em> \u2014<\/i> the most colourful and violent book of the Bible \u2014 seven trumpets bring in world-ending catastrophes, as they herald the final judgment; most life on earth will be wiped out clean, so that the chosen few can be admitted to the new paradise on Earth. The last three of these seven are known as The Three Woes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ironically, Anna initially picked Revelation<\/em> because it was not a personal matter: objective ideas are often much easier to mold, where working on personal matter can bend you<\/i> instead. \u201cIn a way, this piece was very easy for me to write because it was a lot less personal than my music usually is. I wasn\u2019t drowning in my own emotions while I did this as I often do. I was not raised religious at all so the Book of Revelation<\/em> is fictitious mythology to me. I was having fun exploring these ridiculously creative horrors that the prophesy promised. The piece was fairly abstract from an emotional point of view for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, like the rising sea level and fatal heat waves, climate change slowly and surely seeped into her mind, and it became inevitable \u2014 a prophecy coming to life, work, and her own consciousness. \u201cOnce I started reading about the prophesy, I was struck by the fact that a lot of what it describes is either already happening or is likely to happen as the effects of climate change worsen,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Ole
Ole Edvard Antonsen (Photo : Courtesy Soundstreams)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he thing that I was thinking about the most when processing the end of the world prophesy was this idea that after all this carnage and the natural disasters that will wipe out most of humanity and basically destroy the earth, the people that are deemed worthy of living in the Kingdom of Christ are supposed to now build paradise,\u201d Anna says. \u201cHow will they be able to rejoice and live in happiness after witnessing all this, after watching most of their loved ones die? Or will their memories be erased as they enter paradise? And who is going to clean up the earth to turn it into paradise? I was really fascinated by this idea of a triumphant heralding of the arrival of paradise amidst all this destruction. There is a cognitive dissonance there. Similarly, there are people who choose to ignore what\u2019s happening with the climate and the catastrophes that are sure to come. I think some of them think that being rich will somehow keep them safe. But even if they can buy their way to islands of safety, how will they be able to enjoy their lives with all this destruction around them? This is what I was thinking about when creating the dramatic arc for the piece, this cognitive dissonance of paradise amidst destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is curious what The Three Woes<\/em> might conjure for the audience \u2014 music without words often expresses without specifics. Sad music is often set as happy music \u2014 as good music can simply evoke emotion without any other help; it\u2019s our own contextual experiences and interests that determine what it means. There will be program notes. There are pre-show discussions. But being so deeply immersed in its creation, what\u2019s Anna\u2019s expectation?<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an artistic point of view, it\u2019s really not essential for people to know about the climate change connection,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s more like, \u2018Oh, by the way, what the prophesy is describing is eerily similar to what\u2019s going on now. Let\u2019s ponder this while we are here.\u2019 I can\u2019t really control the conversation about this piece though, because whatever I may have intended, I have to release it into the world and let it have its own life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The peppered jollity of (possible) terror continues in the program, especially in Ligeti\u2019s Mysteries of the Macabre<\/em>. <\/i>This selection of three arias from the opera, Le Grand Macabre<\/em>, became wildly popular thanks to Toronto favourite Barbara Hannigan<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span>\u2019s<\/span><\/span> \u201cGepopo\u201d \u2014 she\u2019s been singing it to international acclaim for the last ten<\/span> years<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>, and in Top Brass<\/em>, we will get to hear the version for trumpet and piano, featuring Jens Lindemann and Heather Schmidt<\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> It\u2019ll be a busy night for Heather \u2014 in addition to the amazing absurdity of the Mysteries<\/i>, she\u2019s also in Andr\u00e9 Jolivet\u2019s Concertino for Trumpet, String Orchestra and Piano<\/em>, which has a terrific piano solo part, and features as the composer of Titanomachy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cJens Lindemann the trumpet soloist approached me about the project, and I was immediately interested, since although we are very familiar with each other’s work, we had never worked together before. We are both Canadians from Alberta, (me from Calgary, Jens from Edmonton), and we both currently live in Los Angeles,\u201d says Heather.<\/p>\n

Drawing from the popular Shostakovich piano concerto<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>, where piano and trumpet work together like a double concerto, Heather zooms in to the idea. \u201cThe concept of two soloists seemed to lend itself to the idea of a battle between the two instruments,\u201d she says. \u201cI mentioned the battle idea to Kim Turney, (this piece is dedicated to her), and she specifically suggested Titanomachy<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/em>. I immediately loved the idea and thought that this instrumentation would be a fun way to represent this concept. I’m always interested in Greek mythology and have written other works inspired by this area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Greek poem draws from a ten-year battle between the Titans and Olympians, and in Heather\u2019s version, the two factions, trumpet (Jens is featured soloist) and piano, will lock horns for supremacy, with plenty of colouristic fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve written a lot of orchestral music, so I’ve frequently written for brass within an orchestra, but I haven’t written as much chamber music for brass, and never a concerto-style soloist part for trumpet, so this has been a fun project for me,\u201d she says. \u201cI did meet with Jens to discuss some specific trumpet idioms, and the two specific ideas that came out of that conversation and made it into the piece are: first, the idea of the trumpet playing into the open piano strings with the damper pedal down, which causes the piano strings to resonate even though the piano isn’t being played, (this happens at the opening of the piece), and secondly, Jens also had the idea of switching between different trumpets, so he actually plays three different trumpets in the course of the piece \u2014 trumpet in C, flugelhorn and piccolo trumpet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ingrid
Ingrid Jensen (Photo : Courtesy Ingridjensen.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span>ngrid Jensen<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>, the 2019 recipient of Jazz Journalists Trumpeter-of-the-Year, is excited to be joining this diverse program. Mainly known for her jazz work as both performer and teacher, (she is currently on faculty at both Purchase College and the Manhattan School of Music), Ingrid grew up on the Canadian west coast, her childhood filled with music. \u201cI grew up with a mom who played amazing classical piano,\u201d she recalls. \u201cIn her 30s, she discovered stride and jazz piano, and continued to fill our childhood ears with amazing music, from Chopin to Debussy, to Oscar Peterson and more. I wanted to play the trombone, but ended up on a trumpet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon, Ingrid went out to the world with her horn, and she has been playing and exploring ever since, including milestone projects such as the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and Artemis.<\/span><\/span><\/span> \u201cThe challenge of the instrument led me around the world to play and study with every style of teacher and player that made themselves available for me.\u201d And so Ingrid was delighted to accept Jens\u2019 invitation for Top Brass<\/em>, as she finds everything about the project exciting. She will get to step out of her very jazz-and-improvised world into a more organized and orchestrated classical setting.<\/p>\n

For Top Brass<\/i>, Ingrid will be performing as part of the trumpet trio, and is the feature soloist for Allan Gilliland<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>\u2019s lush <\/i>Stranger on the Prairie<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/em><\/span>. Being a true chamber musician, Ingrid\u2019s very interested in how the three big personalities will influence and merge in such a varied program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are all very different pieces, and I am learning from all of them as I practice and study the scores, and am definitely challenged as well. We won\u2019t know until rehearsal exactly how things will unfold \u2014 I can\u2019t wait to play them live and see how the resonance of the sound connects with everything around me in Toronto! I\u2019m expecting a very deep creative process to unfold in rehearsals, as we find the correct musical spacing for all three trumpet players\u2026 I\u2019m very excited to hear how all three of us blend and phrase together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest of the program will feature a few familiar classics, including the radiant Concerto for 3 Trumpets<\/em> by Telemann, and works by R. Murray Schafer and Takemitsu, and a third world premiere (in a single concert!), Brian Current\u2019s Serenade for Three Trumpets<\/em>. The brilliant trumpeters will receive additional support from a 15-member string orchestra led by Joaquin Valdepe\u00f1as, and from lovely jazz musicians Robi Botos on piano, and Mike Downes on bass.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to continue to live in the past, whether it be a trumpet as a herald in the old days of kings and queens, or towering men playing trumpet with sweat dripping down their faces. It\u2019s been a good long while since Louis Armstrong, Miles and Dizzy died, yet it still takes a bit of time for the general public to name a trumpet player other than those three \u2014 maybe Chris Botti and Alison Balsom will get a mention. Yet the trumpet, the instrument, remains such a familiar thing, and Top Brass<\/em> promises so much \u2014 top notch soloists and fresh works for the trumpet, including three new works no one\u2019s heard yet (how often does that happen today, where everything is shared instantaneously, and globally?) Get your tickets and come with excitement. You will<\/em> find new things.<\/p>\n

Soundstreams present: Top Brass, 8pm on 03 October 2019, at Trinity St. Paul\u2019s Centre, Toronto. Details here<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us\u00a0on Facebook<\/b><\/span><\/a>, Instagram<\/b><\/span><\/a> <\/b>or Twitter<\/b><\/span><\/a> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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