How would you classify your music?
My music is new and based on tradition, authentic, neo-romantic and polyphonic. Free in tonality and full of spontaneity. In my chamber music there is no accompaniment. Sometimes the instrumental parts of my artsongs have been performed as solos…
Who are some of your top 5 musical influences?
All the great composers… to name a few:
Dowland, Beethoven, Brahms, Scriabin, Schönberg, Mahler
What do you want fans to take from your music?
Emotions: love, warm hearts, positive moods, comfort, balance, inner development, inspiration
How’s the music scene in your locale?
There are a number of music festivals during the summer, of which the “Festival de Lessay” is the biggest, and there is a lovely italian-style theater in Cherbourg which -with two other theaters- form the Trident. Also there are concerts on an ad-hoc bases.However, the French systems are very closed and it takes a good management and a lot of influence to get to participate. For an individual artist it is impossible.
What is the best concert you have been to?
My
own debut concert as a composer. The public wouldn’t leave, people were in
tears and it took over an hour before they had left.
Others: Alfred Brendel playing Schubert piano sonatas.
The best concerts are those that encourage me to create new work.
What do you like most about playing live?
Creating a bond with the public is the most important; enjoying that the love I feel reaches the hearts of others.
Is there a song on your latest CD release here that stands out as your personal favorite, and why?
I
have no officially released CD with my own compositions yet; although I do have
several professional recordings, and one official CD where I play a historical
organ near where I live but no compositions of my own.
My favorite recording is “Liefde, is er geen ander pad” for baritone,
cello and piano because it expresses a transformation: a means of surviving by
way of creativity, finding a deeper inner self and true identity and
authenticity.
How have you evolved as an artist over the last year?
Recently I have finished a concerto for cello and orchestra; it was my first orchestral endeavor and it lifted me to a higher level. (And the conductors and cellists who have seen the scores are very enthusiastic and speak highly of it!) Since this I have written a song for soprano and string orchestra (“Iam” on a poem by John Clare), and I hope to write more orchestral works.
If you could meet, play a gig, co-write a song, have dinner, have a drink with any band or artist (dead or alive) who would it be?
Philippe Jarusski; I would love to write a song for him. He inspires me always more then enough to write for him and I am sure he would love to sing it, but how do I bypass his management shield?
Clara
Haskill & Athur Grumiaux, absolutely delightful; Alfred Brendel, Alexandre
Tharaud
Arthur Rubinstein, Gustav Mahler, Zubin Mehta, Rostropovitch, …
What’s next for you?
I would love to write a symphony, in the knowledge that it will be rehearsed and performed. Likewise, I am fighting for my cello concerto to be performed.
End of Interview