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Overview
It is a common misconception that it is difficult or impossible to discuss music, that a piece of music simply speaks to the listener—or not. Paul Steenhuisen, in conversation with composers, offers readers insight into the creative process, and ways of listening and entering into works of new music. Steenhuisen, himself a composer of merit, talks one on one with thirty-two of his contemporaries—twenty-six of whom are Canadian—with a colleague’s candour, sympathy, and expertise. These rare intimations afford fellow composers, musicologists, students, and inquisitive listeners a comparative look into the lives of the people who write some of the most innovative, challenging, and sublime music today.Synopsis
It is a common misconception that it is difficult or impossible to discuss music, that a piece of music simply speaks to the listener—or not. Paul Steenhuisen, in conversation with composers, offers readers insight into the creative process, and ways of listening and entering into works of new music. Steenhuisen, himself a composer of merit, talks one on one with thirty-two of his contemporaries—twenty-six of whom are Canadian—with a colleague's candour, sympathy, and expertise. These rare intimations afford fellow composers, musicologists, students, and inquisitive listeners a comparative look into the lives of the people who write some of the most innovative, challenging, and sublime music today.
Composers Interviewed:
R. Murray Schafer
Robert Normandeau
Chris Paul Harman
Linda Catlin Smith
Alexina Louie
Omar Daniel
Michael Finnissy
John Weinzweig
Udo Kasemets
Pierre Boulez
Barbara Croall
James Rolfe
John Beckwith
Yannick Plamondon and Marc Couroux
George Crumb
Peter Hatch
John Oswald
Francis Dhomont
Martin Arnold
Helmut Lachenmann
Juliet Palmer
Christian Wolff
Mauricio Kagel
John Rea
Gary Kulesha
Howard Bashaw
Christopher Butterfield
Keith Hamel
Jean Piché
James Harley
Hildegard Westerkamp