• Classicalite Q&A with Andrea Bocelli

    Wagner had Bayreuth in northern Bavaria. Years later, Pierre Boulez would get his IRCAM under the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. And on Thursday, July 27, 2006, on the outskirts of a frazione in the province of Pisa, finally, a lawyer-cum-tenor from nearby Lajatico christened his own grand edificio d'arte: Andrea Bocelli's Teatro del Silenzio.

  • Classicalite Q&A with Colleen

    Much like myself, french multi-instrumentalist Colleen aka Cécile Schott takes sonic influence from Terry Riley, Arthur Russell, traditional African and Jamaican music and, naturally, the Wu Tang Clan. All of which she delved into on her edition of VF Mix 14, a vinyl-only mix series hosted by The Vinyl Factory, quoting “Bells of War” as her choice Wu cut. These influences trace back to Cecille’s childhood obsession with her parents cassette tape “The Kings of Reggae”, mostly consisting of Lee “Scratch” Perry tracks from 1976 to 1979. In her own work, she uses her voice and the baroque instrument treble viola da gamba to recite intricate tales of the human mind and heart. Her latest release, Captain of None on Thrill Jockey Records is possibly the most experimental album in her repertoire featuring tracks heavily influenced by her Jamaican and African music obsession, embossed bass lines and, new to her, percussive effects. Recorded, mixed and produced entirely by Cecille in her San Sebastian, Spain music studio, Cecille imparted dub production techniques, a melodica, a Moogerfooger and delay pedal and echo effects. Another intricacy of Captain of None: rather than bowing the instrument in a traditional manner, Cecille tunes the viola da gamba like a guitar and plucks it for a fresh perspective on what a string instrument is and can be. I had an e-conversation with Colleen on her Thrill Jockey release, where her love of the viola da gamba came from and the very real struggle for non-American artists to tour in the States.

  • Classicalite Q&A with Ólafur Arnalds

    Iceland's BAFTA-winning producer Ólafur Arnalds has always appreciated the intricacies and depth of Frédéric Chopin, even when he was pounding out blast beats from behind his throne in metalcore outfit Fighting Shit. But the stolid tradition of "classical recording," not surprisingly, that seemed especially flat for the Broadchurch composer. An iconoclast, perhaps, Arnalds (not to be confused with his singer-songwriter cousin, Ólöf Arnalds) wanted to put a finer point on Chopin's music here in his own digi-age.

  • Classicalite Q&A with Loren M. Connors

    The one, true guitar hero, Loren Connors is nothing if not prolific: 50-plus records as far flung as Drag City to Ecstatic Peace/Father Yod to Table of the Elements, as well as countless more via his own imprints (Daggett, St. Joan, Black Label, etc.) under at least as many aliases (Loren MazzaCane Connors, Loren Mattei, Guitar Roberts, ad inf.). Despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's in the early 1990s, live and in-person, Connors continues pretty much unabated (cf. with Keiji Haino at the Whitney, with Tim Hecker at the Wick, that sold-out show at ISSUE Project with girl-in-a-band du jour Kim Gordon). Faster than Derek Bailey, more powerful than Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca combined, able to leapfrog over Ry Cooder with a single, boundless bar of blues, his 65-year-old l'éminence grise answered some of Classicalite's none too pressing queries via e-mail.

  • Classicalite Q&A with Banjo Player Jake Schepps

    Banjo player Jake Schepps sure is opening up the possibilities for his instrument: contemporary classical bluegrass? Yes, a thousand times so. In fact, his latest album, Entwined (Fine Mighty), is the perfect manifestation of a seemingly non-existent genre. Featuring new compositions from the likes of Marc Mellits, Gyan Riley, Matt McBane and Matt Flinner, Schepps' traditional, five-band string band sounds anything but trad here. Curious how Schepps & Co. got wise, Classicalite got on the horn with this Scruggs-slash-Stravinsky to talk process, commissioning and what's next for him, instrument and ensemble.

  • Classicalite Q&A with Sharon Isbin

    Multi-Grammy winner, head of the studio at both Juilliard and Aspen, responsible for more new works than any other player, yes, Sharon Isbin is the very model of a modern, major guitarist. Not only does Ms. Isbin reign supreme as thee international heavyweight of the classical guitar, clearly, she's a woman--the XX-chromosomed champion of, regrettably, an all too often hyper-masculinized instrument and repertoire. To boot, Sharon Isbin is also gay.

  • Violinist Rachel Barton Pine Talks Mozart with Marriner and St. Martin, Childhood Poverty and Adult Tragedy, How to Play Your Own Cadenzas

    No, Rachel Barton Pine is not a stranger to Mozart. In fact, you may even call her an expert. On January 13, for Avie Records, the acclaimed violinist released 'Mozart: Complete Violin Concertos and the Sinfonia Concertante K364'--accompanied by Sir Neville Marriner's Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Ever the scholar, and well before any mics were placed, Pine spent a lot of time reading, listening and absorbing as much as she could about that celebrated son of Leopold

  • Classicalite Q&A with Ian Williams

    Ian Williams, erstwhile guitarist in math rock pioneers Don Caballero, has been busy as of late--working on a new Battles record, writing his first piece for the American Composers Orchestra to perform at Carnegie Hall, fathering his first child. With Classicalite favorites George Manahan behind the podium, Theo Bleckmann on vocals and members of the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble lending support, Williams debuted his Clear Image work during the ACO's Orchestra Underground: Monk's Sphere, opening night of that storied ensemble's 38th season. We recently caught up with Williams to chat about his rocker past, the ACO collaboration, having a daughter and even his cameo in High Fidelity.

  • Classicalite Q&A with Cameron Carpenter on 'If You Could Read My Mind', His International Touring Organ and Working With Terry Riley

    We recently caught up with celebrated organ virtuoso Cameron Carpenter last week in Berlin where he is touring in support of, You Could Read My Mind. His latest record quickly became the top-selling classical album in the U.S. To wit, he has recently completed a custom built International Touring Organ (ITO) giving him the mobility to attract modernity in classical music abroad.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Classicalite Q&A with Violinist Joshua Bell on HBO & Mendelssohn's Octet; D.C. Metro & Bach's Concertos

    With his Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority mulligan miles behind him, Joshua Bell is Skyping with me from his suite at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai. As per usual when talking to the press, the world's greatest living violinist is in between rehearsals. Yes, Bell has traveled to the United Arab Emirates to perform Felix Mendelssohn's 'Violin Concerto' in E minor, Op. 64 at the Royal Opera House Muscat with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields--the storied British band, founded by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958, that Bell remains the only American to have led as both music director and conductor.
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