Page 132 - PDF Flip TR Program Demo

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The Music at Tippet Rise
Timo Andres is a Brooklyn-based composer and pianist whose work is often influenced by close personal collaborations.
Devanney Haruta: How has learning and playing piano shaped the way you approach composition?
Timo Andres: To me, they’re inseparable to the point of almost feeling as though they’re the same thing. I don’t think I would be able to do one without the other. A lot of what I write is inspired by music that I’ve been working on as a performer. That process of learning, interpreting, and performing the music is the best way I’ve found to study and absorb music that I love. And similarly, one of the jobs of a classical performer is to put yourself in the place of the composer and interpret the music through a compositional lens. You’re not simply following the set of written instructions on the page; you’re also trying to figure out:
why are those instructions written in a certain way, and how can I convey the overarching idea that the composer had in mind? Of course, especially when the composer happens to be no longer alive, it’s hard to know. I think being a composer gives me a little bit of a leg up on that.
DH: Do you collaborate with the musicians for whom you compose?
TA: It really has to do with the situation, the logistics, and where people live in terms of how much collaboration you end up doing. Sometimes people ask me to write a piece, and our roles are very distinct: I write it, I deliver it, and they play it. Other times, it’s really hands on: I’m in the room with the performers, trying out different things and workshopping the piece as I’m writing it. I find it especially helpful to do hands-on workshopping with instruments that I’m not as familiar with or with a very specific performer situation. For me, especially with vocal music, it’s very
CONVERSATION WITH
TIMO ANDRES