{"id":5625,"date":"2014-02-21T03:22:04","date_gmt":"2014-02-21T03:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=5625"},"modified":"2014-02-26T01:03:10","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T01:03:10","slug":"re-blog-composer-interview-victoria-bond-on-rashomon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2014\/02\/21\/re-blog-composer-interview-victoria-bond-on-rashomon\/","title":{"rendered":"Re-blog: Composer interview- Victoria Bond on \u201cRashomon\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Re-blogged from ensemble-epomeo.net<\/a><\/p>\n

On\u00a0Sunday, the 23rd of February<\/a>, Ensemble Epomeo and shakuhachi virtuoso\u00a0James Schlefer<\/a>\u00a0will give the world premiere of composer\u00a0Victoria Bond<\/a>\u2018s new work for shakuhachi and string trio, \u201cRashomon.\u201d We asked Maestra Bond a few questions about her new work and her distinguished career.<\/p>\n

\"\"composer Victoria Bond<\/div>\n

EE<\/strong>\u00a0Your new quartet is titled Rashomon. Most people will recognize the title from the iconic Kurosawa film. Can you tell us a little bit about your use of the title- is the piece based on the film, and if so, how?<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0I have actually based my composition on two short stories by the Japanese author Ryunosuke Akutagawa; \u201cRashomon,\u201d and \u201cIn a Bamboo Grove.\u201d\u00a0 These, in turn, were taken from Konjaku Monogatarish\u016b\u2019s\u00a0Anthology of Tales from the Past<\/i>, also known as theKonjaku Monogatari,<\/i>\u00a0a\u00a0Japanese collection<\/a>\u00a0of over one thousand tales written during the late\u00a0Heian<\/a>\u00a0period \u00a0(794-1185). The volumes cover various tales from\u00a0India<\/a>,\u00a0China<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Japan<\/a>. The subject-matter is largely drawn from\u00a0Buddhist<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0secular<\/a>\u00a0folklore<\/a>. The folkloric tales mostly depict encounters between human beings and the supernatural. The typical characters are drawn from Japanese society of the time \u2014 nobility, warriors, monks, scholars, doctors, peasant farmers, fishermen, merchants, prostitutes, bandits, beggars. Their supernatural counterparts are\u00a0oni<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0tengu<\/a>. The work is anonymous. The date of the work is also uncertain. From the events depicted in some of the tales it seems likely that it was written down at some point during the early half of the 12th century, after the year 1120. Many of the tales which appear in the Konjaku are also found in other collections, such as ghost story collections; having passed into the common consciousness, they have been retold many times over the succeeding centuries. Modern writers too have adapted tales from the\u00a0Konjaku Monogatarish\u016b: a famous example is\u00a0Akutagawa Ry\u016bnosuke<\/a>\u2018s\u00a0In a Grove<\/i><\/a>,<\/i>\u00a0well known in the West from\u00a0Kurosawa<\/a>\u2018s film\u00a0Rashomon<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

EE-<\/strong>\u00a0Rashomon is structured as a theme and variations, one of the oldest Western musical forms. What is the appeal for you of this formal structure as composer working today? Is your approach to variation form in this work based on any existing formal models?<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0theme and Variations is one of my favorite musical forms and I have written many throughout my compositional career.\u00a0 It was this convergence of musical and literary forms that drew me to the story of\u00a0Rashomon<\/i>\u00a0in the first place, and I was struck by the implications of this abstract musical form in a dramatic context. Within each of the four movements, each being a variation of the theme presented in the first movement, is another form, as follows:<\/p>\n

I. The Gate \u2013 Theme
\nII. The Murder: A Crime of Violence \u2013 Variations
\nIII. The Murder: A Cold Calculation \u2013 Passacaglia
\nIV. The Murder: A Crime of Passion \u2013 Rondo<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EE-<\/strong>\u00a0The Rashomon story suggests a strong Japanese influence on the piece. Did you feel like the sound of the shakuhachi almost mandated some Japanese element in either the musical language or programmatic structure of the piece?<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0The theme itself has a Japanese character, being a descending pentatonic scale with an ambiguous chromatic element. In addition to the shakuhachi, I also wanted to imply the sounds of traditional Japanese instruments in the string parts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EE-<\/strong>Does the piece have any typically Japanese melodies or stylistic traits?<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0The melodic material is original, though influenced by traditional Japanese melodies and timbres.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EE-<\/strong>\u00a0If so, had you ever written in a cross-cultural style before?<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0I have been influenced by many cultures, having travelled extensively as part of my life as a conductor. Some of those cultural influences are: Chinese, Brazilian, Irish, Puerto Rican, English, French, German, and Italian.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EE-<\/strong>Are there different challenges working with material from a non-Western musical tradition?<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0The challenge of working with materials from other cultures is to maintain one\u2019s musical identity and not to simply adapt folkloric influences.\u00a0 My desire is to absorb these influences and make them my own, so that they become part of the musical fabric of my creative world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EE-<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019ve managed to maintain a diverse and successful career as both a conductor and composer- that\u2019s quite an achievement. How has composing shaped your work on and off the podium? Do feel you study scores or rehearse differently because of your experience as composer?<\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: Having a double life as composer and conductor has many advantages, the principal one being an intimate and working knowledge of the literature and of performers. I approach the study of a score looking for clues, and asking myself \u201cwhy has the composer made these decisions?\u201d These insights become an important component in shaping my interpretation of a work. Conducting instrumentalists and singers gives me valuable insight into what works technically and dramatically for each artist in the context of a given work, and especially what doesn\u2019t work. This information becomes an essential part of my own compositions.\u00a0 I often feel as though I have had the opportunity to be my own \u201cComposer-in-Residence\u201d during a rehearsal period with an orchestra, opera company or chamber music ensemble.\u00a0 The one great challenge of maintaining a conducting and composing career is that of time, and in that regard, I have decided that composing is more important to me, and I am devoting the majority of my time to it, cutting back on all of my conducting activities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EE-<\/strong>\u00a0What are your conducting and compositional ambitions for the future?<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0I am completing work on an opera about Clara Schumann, called \u201cClara\u201d which will have a concert reading next season, and a Hanukkah opera called \u201cMiracle!\u201d which will premiere next December.\u00a0 I am also completing two concertos, one for violin and string orchestra and one for trumpet and brass ensemble as part of a project for Albany Records and Roosevelt University.\u00a0 This project is called \u201cFour Presidents\u201d and celebrates George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt with works for narrator and a variety of ensembles, the text being adapted from the writings and speeches of each of the presidents by historian Dr. Myles Lee.\u00a0 In addition, each work features a solo instrument and pays homage to the music of the period as follows:<\/p>\n

George Washington<\/p>\n

Pater Patriae<\/i>, a concerto for flute and wind ensemble, using material adapted from fife and drum tunes of the revolutionary period.<\/p>\n

Franklin Roosevelt<\/p>\n

The Indispensable Man,\u00a0<\/i>a concerto for clarinet and wind ensemble, using material from the big band era of the 1940\u2019s<\/p>\n

Thomas Jefferson<\/p>\n

The Soul of a Nation<\/i>, a concerto for violin and string orchestra, using material that Jefferson actually played on the violin<\/p>\n

Theodore Roosevelt<\/p>\n

Title TBD, a concerto for trumpet and brass ensemble, using material from the time<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EE<\/strong>– What music excites you these days? Have there been any \u201cwow\u201d moments in the last year or two where you discovered a new piece, a new work or a new insight into a familiar one that really made a huge impression.<\/p>\n

VB:<\/strong>\u00a0I produce a new music series called\u00a0Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival<\/i>each year in New York, and present a wide variety of composers and performers throughout the month of April at Symphony Space in Manhattan.\u00a0 This allows me to be in touch with established as well as emerging composers, and I have so many positive impressions of what is being written today, that the list would be very long!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ensemble Epomeo \u2013 Diane Pascal, violin; David Yang, viola; and Kenneth Wods, cello with James Nyoraku Schlefer, shakuhachi. And exciting combo os shakuhachi and strings featuring two new KSA premieres: Rashomon by\u00a0Victoria Bond<\/a>, for shakuhachi and string trio and\u00a0Sidewalk Dances<\/em>by James Nyoraku Schlefer for shakuhachi and cello. Plus Beethoven, Kurt\u00e1gand Weinberg.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Tenri Cultural Institute<\/p>\n

43A West 13 Street<\/p>\n

New York, NY<\/p>\n

Tickets $25 and $15 for students.\u00a0Advance purchase with priority seating at \u00a0brownpapertickets.com<\/a>\u00a0or 1-800-838-3006<\/p>\n

Beethoven \u2013 Trio in D Major Op.9
\nVictoria Bond \u2013 Shakuhachi Quartet \u2013 World Premiere (a Kyo-Shin-An Arts Commission)
\nGy\u00f6rgy Kurt\u00e1g \u2013 Signs, Games and Messages (String Trio)<\/p>\n

James Nyoraku Schlefer \u2013 Duo for Shakuhachi and Cello
\nMieczyslaw Weinberg \u2013 String Trio<\/p>\n