eugene . birman
composer
eugenebirman.com - official website
all photos © Kaupo Kikkas
news >
> monday > 10 june 2013 > Oxford, UK
The beginning of summer might bring with it long days of vacation for some, or even obnoxiously fanciful champagne parties for others, as is becoming common with the Estonian “ascendant” bourgeuoisie - for me, it means working on the chamber symphony piece, Manifesto. I still hold out hope that summer will arrive one of these days, preferably the former version; one wouldn’t guess by the Oxford weather, which, with few exceptions, maintains an unyielding, chilly hold over what seems like all of Western Europe. Work must go on, and it is really gratifying that the piece which now consumes my days is an exciting one, a real manifesto (I hate to use that word now, given the different context it represents for the chamber symphony piece) of my orchestrational ideas.
There are nevertheless news to break up the daily routine: the 18th October Latvian premiere is finally official, or as official as it can be. This link from the Sinfonietta Riga’s website gives all the details, including the exciting performance space, one very appropriate to the occasion: a former factory. I was also the subject (for lack of a better term!) of a one-hour episode of NYYD-muusika on Estonia’s Klassikaraadio, which is what I’m told is kind of an honor. The show made use of an extisting interview I did with musiclogist Annika Kuuda during the Nostra Culpa rehearsals in April, with the addition of a new interview with my dear friend and mentor Toivo Tulev, and some recordings of recent pieces - The devil in the street, in the middle of the whirlwind; I awoke and there were no walls to shield me from the moonlight; and Nostra Culpa. Toivo’s quote that I am, above all, “a very clever boy” became the subject of a headline article on the Klassikaraadio page as well! And besides that, my dear girlfriend kindly made a photo of recent publications which are not so instantly accessible: pictured here are an issue of Aplaus, the magazine of Eesti Kontsert, a rather huge article by esteemed journalist Vilja Kiisler in the Latvian high-brow journal, Rigas Laiks, while the SIRP interview in the flesh completes the background.
Last and probably “most” - the recording of Ah, libertà has finally arrived and takes pride of place on the “Listen” page. The piece was indeed a risky experiment that seems to have worked in some ways, and perhaps failed in others. But the wonderful performance by the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör and conductor Florian Benfer certainly does not disappoint!
> friday > 31 may 2013 > Oxford, UK
Yesterday I returned to the UK from many days away, from a trip that was meaningful and surprising in very subtle ways. I believe that I will carry it within for a long time. To see Israel again with fresh eyes, to experience Jordan as it really is, not as it is condensed to be, and to live those days with my family - all unforgettable experiences.
The blur of that time in Mechelen, Belgium with Tenso and the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör temporarily behind me (I say temporarily, because I will soon have the choral commission to do and I have already imagined many beautiful possibilities), I am about to embark on finally writing the symphony orchestra piece for the GrassRoots Music Festival. The piece, to be titled Manifesto, will explore uncharted musical terrain for me: new ideas about register and timbre, and for the first time, I am imagining a really deep integration of the percussion section into the orchestra as more than simply a tool of timbral decoration, but as a fundamental piece of rhythm and even form itself. I will be posting updates from the piece’s development as I go along.
Climbing up a great red sand dune in Wadi Rum, Jordan, looking out over the vivid, inhospitable landscape, I saw many possibilities in my music laying out before me like a map of some place yet to be discovered. As my Bedouin guide related, to climb somewhere there and imagine the vastness of the world, and simultaneously to condense one’s thoughts on one specific thing, is to really “think”. And now that I have thought, it is time to write, to create.
> tuesday > 21 may 2013 > Amsterdam, the Netherlands
It was news - it is news! - that I simply couldn’t hold back anymore. Saturday, after the premiere of Ah, libertà at Tenso Days Mechelen / Festival van Vlaanderen in Mechelen, Belgium, it was announced by the members of the jury of the Tenso Young Composers Workshop, that I have been granted the 2013 Young Composers Award and commission from Tenso - the European network for professional chamber choirs. The commission is to write the inaugurual piece in a program among all Tenso choirs marking one hundred years since the beginning of World War I. The opportunity is an amazing one and I am truly proud. But beyond that, I am very grateful to all those whose faith, encouragement, support (and criticism!) have gotten me to this point. The positive attitude and kindness of the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör, conductor Florian Benfer, and chief conductor/artistic director Fredrik Malmberg, their performance and advice, were simply unparalelled. And judging by the exciting programs of the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör, Cappella Amsterdam, and the Cor de Cambra de Palau de la Musica - anyone who still suggests that classical music is in decline should see what happens during Tenso Days!
I hope to be able to post the recording of Ah, libertà during my next update; the piece required some modifications to get an ideal performance, but I really couldn’t be happier with how the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör performed the difficult piece. And equally happy that the judges saw my commitment to exploring new ways of sound production for the choir.
I have, actually, two upcoming very exciting projects for choir but in the near future, I will be working for a piece for the GrassRoots Music Festival for symphony orchestra, incorporating the steel pan drum, which will be performed by a young virtuoso on the instrument, Mia Gormandy. I can’t wait to start writing it, but also can’t wait to see my family, whose presence in my life I have missed very much. If I can yet label my career as “international,” then it seems it must far too often sacrifice those closest to me. Yet, not even music is worth that. At moments in which the role of others in my life is strongest, such as this one - it is impossible to ignore, and very difficult to solve.
> tuesday > 30 april 2013 > Oxford, UK
If the aftermath of a performance is simply ringing memory, then surely the weeks following must lead to a steadily fading association. Yet Nostra Culpa has steadily remained an outsize influence and will perhaps remain so: Sinfonietta Riga will perform the piece at the Arena Music Festival on 18th October, 2013 (last year, Latvian Radio Choir performed La rosa rosa to an absolutely packed St. John’s Church), with Iris Oja reprising the vocal part, which now - veritably - has been heard around the world. It’s an ambitious statement to make, but it was literally the case when I signed the contract with CNN for worldwide distribution of the Nostra Culpa video in perpetuity. When was the last time a piece of modern music made it to CNN? When was the last time a piece of modern music really made it anywhere?
And while I am still on the topic, I have to mention some reviews of the piece, which have approached the entire thing from different angles. It’s the job of a composer to focus on the positive, but I was interested in the response as a whole, because the audience for this premiere was so wide, and the expectation was...well, no one quite knew what to expect. The most thoughtful reviews tended to be the most positive, with Samuel Breen of the Independent commenting on the tasteful execution of the piece’s libretto - which, in fact, is somehow it’s raison d’être anyway. Estonia’s eminent critic (and composer himself!), Igor Garšnek, commented on the entire Estonian Music Days in the last issue of SIRP, but made special mention of the, er, rather unorthodox source material of Nostra Culpa. There were even TV programs in Estonia on the subject, including a very positive review by musicologist Saale Kareda on Tallinna TV and a special on Estonia’s national television channel, ETV, here.
It’s temporarily time to move on; I had hoped to complete, by this time, a new choir piece for the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör - a transformational, special piece. In some ways, I am glad that my two-week residency at the Visby International Centre for Composers, did not lead to the piece’s completion. On the other hand, as it had done four years ago, it led me to think very much about the nature of such a piece. It must be ready quite soon, by the end of the week, and as I see it shaping up, it will perhaps be worthy of the high hopes I have had for it since the beginning. And on to future projects. I’ve spent the last time enjoying some calm and respite in Tallinn with Anna, while keeping up a heavy work schedule. Perhaps there is nothing which can steadily fade in this profession, exciting and exhausting all at the same time. To keep my mind clear, I contributed a very well-received article to Estonia’s business daily Äripäev (it translates quite literally,) about wage theory. But nothing keeps the music out. It’s for the best this way.
Reminders about concerts and premieres, both choral: 14th May in London at the BBC Maida Vale Studios with the BBC Singers, premiering Lamentations - III and 18th May in Mechelen, Belgium with the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör premiering a piece yet to be finished for Tenso Days!
> wednesday > 10 april 2013 > Visby, Sweden
I want to thank two people regarding Nostra Culpa; that’s what this blog post is really about. First, to Scott Diel, because not only did he come up with the idea of writing a piece based on the financial crisis, he also compelled me not to waffle about it and really do it. Being committed to the view, myself, that politics doesn’t belong in music, I nevertheless found a way to write a piece that serves as a manifestation of the financial crisis, rather than one that simply comments on it. But above all, Scott is a great writer and a great librettist; in the end, after much contemplation on my part, his words began to really take hold of me and inspire me like few texts ever had. What he has done for my career is hard to estimate now; it is only appropriate that I realize that contribution early and hope I have made something positive to him too.
And secondly, I want to thank Anna-Maria for giving me so much of something I cannot even describe, but it has made me feel like I can do anything as a composer, that I can translate any sound in my mind and make it music. I could not have written this piece nearlty the same way without her. She has supported me like my own family has, to whom I also owe my deep and unceasing gratitude and loyalty.
Perhaps what I mean to say, in all of this, is no matter what success or failure one sees, is to never forget those whose presence in one’s life is a true gift. A million times, thank you.