Gordon Beeferman Interview

From the Roulette blog:

Gordon Beeferman is a composer and pianist whose work spans opera, orchestral and chamber music, improvisation, and collaborations with dance and other arts. On Tuesday, September 22nd Gordon presents, at NYC's Roulette Space, “Music for an IMAGINARY BAND” – a (real) 7-piece group comprised of some of New York’s most uniquely creative musicians. The band explores the territory where classical ‘new-music,’ jazz and free improvisation intersect. Beeferman’s compositions range from the gnarly to the operatic, and are both incredibly detailed and very free.

ROULETTE: Do you consider yourself more a composer or a performer?
GORDON BEEFERMAN: I really consider myself a composer-performer. For me the two are really inseparable. I grew up playing piano and writing music at the piano, and I’ve written plenty of music for myself to perform. These days I spend more time composing than performing, but that’s not necessarily by my own design– there are a few reasons. One is the ecology of the local music scene. There aren’t very many places for me to perform — I’m a pianist and very few experimental music venues have proper pianos (Roulette is a major exception). I used to perform a lot on junky uprights, but I’ve gotten a bit weary of it. The other reason is that composing demands so much of me — in time and energy– that I don’t have as much opportunity to get out there as I’d like. When you’re composing you don’t have to worry about things like junky pianos or bad sound systems or scheduling rehearsals. It’s just you and the music. It’s kind of ideal. Unfortunately you can’t stay there though.

I think it’s a great time to be a composer-performer. There was a period not long ago when composers were expected to be specialists — up in the ivory tower. It makes a lot more sense to be down on the ground in the nitty-gritty of making your music happen. You get a better result and it’s a whole hell of a lot more fun. Recently I saw an LP in a used record store– Stravinsky conducting “Les Noces” with Barber, Foss, Copland and Sessions playing the four piano parts. To me, that’s the best thing ever. Composers performing their own music, and each other’s.

Read the rest of the interview here. Gordon Beeferman played Soundlab as part of the group Rara Avis (Gordon Beeferman/Seth Misterka/Jeff Arnal) on 03/19/04, with BWO (Brett Masteller/JT Rinker/ Leif Nicklas) opening.