Talks and discussions involving many of the composers and musicians from the 33rd Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival last November can now be listened to and downloaded as free MP3s from the hcmf// website. The talks complemented concerts in the festival programme, giving audience members the chance to hear more about the inspirations and processes involved in creating contemporary music, and to ask their own questions – hot topics this time ranged from the relationship between colour and sound in Rebecca Saunders’ work to the effect of an Italian cycling holiday upon Graham Fitkin’s composing style.

Click on the links to the right to listen to or download each talk. You can also download transcripts using the links at the bottom of the page.

Mapping Music 20.11.10

The work of John Cage as artist and composer, his notation and visual art, creativity and legacy are discussed by a panel featuring Laura Kuhn from the John Cage Trust, musician/composer Alvin Curran, Sam Belinfante from the Hayward Gallery, Philip Thomas from the University of Huddersfield and chaired by Robert Worby, presenter of BBC Radio 3’s Hear and Now.

Rebecca Saunders and Graham McKenzie 20.11.10

Rebecca Saunders, Composer in Residence for hcmf// 2010, talks to the festival’s Artistic Director Graham McKenzie about her musical development, being a British composer in Berlin and the evolution of her work Chroma.

Graham Fitkin and Robert Worby 21.11.10

Graham Fitkin tells Robert Worby about the two-wheeled genesis of his piece Twenty-Six Days – which was premiered at the festival by Ensemble 10/10 – and the challenges of keeping music interesting in the 21st century.

Entropic Song Meditations 23.11.10

Anton Lukoszevieze from Apartment House and Graham McKenzie speak to Robert Worby about collapsing time and the allure of decay in the new work Schumann: Entropic Song Meditations.

Sculpting Sounds in Space 24.11.10

Composers Denis Smalley and Jonty Harrison, Jean-François Denis, founder of the Montreal-based CD label empreintes DIGITALes, and Monty Adkins from the University of Huddersfield exchange views on the future of electroacoustic music.

Rebecca Saunders and Sara Mohr-Pietsch 27.11.10

Hear and Now presenter Sara Mohr-Pietsch speaks to Rebecca Saunders, who offers further insights into the Chroma experience and where her music will go in the future.

Rolf Wallin and Sara Mohr-Pietsch 27.11.10

Composer Rolf Wallin tells Sara Mohr-Pietsch about the broad stylistic range covered by his work and the creation of his own musical curiosity cabinets.

Oslo–Warsaw 25.11.10

Musician/composer Mats Claesson and Asbjørn Flø from NOTAM, the Norwegian Centre for Technology in Music and the Arts, pay tribute to leading Norwegian composer Arne Nordheim, who died in June 2010.
Sound file

Related attachments

• Mapping Music transcription 20.11.10
• Rebecca Saunders talk #1 transcription 20.11.10
• Graham Fitkin transcription 21.11.10
• Entropic Song Meditations transcription 23.11.10
• Sculpting Sounds in Space transcription 24.11.10
• Rebecca Saunders #2 transcription 27.11.10
• Rolf Wallin transcription 27.11.10

Comments