(Michael Wilson)
Who are today's most talented emerging composers - and whose music do you want to hear at Carnegie Hall? Join Orpheus and WQXR as we find out through Project 440.
I wrote Some Connecticut Gospel in the couple of months leading up to the 2008 presidential election. It’s partly a piece about Charles Ives and how his music and inimitable personality have become a legend for composers, and also about some strange feelings (hope? patriotism?) that had been welling up inside me for the first time in my life.
Connecticut is unlike some other states whose residents seem to have a strong sense of group identity, even pride. I never feel “Connecticutian;” I tend to think of myself as a misplaced Californian, even though I only spent the first five years of my life in the Bay Area. Did Connecticut used to have more of a personality? Before the factories shut down, before every city became a depressed corpse, before Route 7 became a parade of strip malls and the southwest corner a spec-house paradise, the state must have had some real charm. Some Connecticut Gospel is a song of praise to this imagined place—Ives's Connecticut.
Yale’s Woolsey Hall is a peculiar acoustic environment. Its high ceiling, shallow stage, and hard, nonporous surfaces create a staggering 13-second reverberation, flattering some sounds and completely overwhelming others. The mighty Newberry organ sounds fantastic; anything fast or staccato, not so much. The effect is that of a giant bathroom.
When the Yale Symphony Orchestra asked me to write a piece in memory of one of their past conductors, I knew I wanted to write for the hall that the orchestra has struggled with and triumphed in for some 40 years. I didn’t know William Harwood (he died the year I was born), but I did play keyboards in the YSO for several years, experiencing first-hand the camaraderie and fierce playing that the group inspires.
That said, Bathtub Shrine is an elegy, based on a chaconne in parallel fifths. Rising fifths also act as a melodic impetus, on which first the saxophone and then other wind instruments ponder, debate, and elaborate, in that order.
Timothy Andres (born 1985 in Palo Alto, California) is a composer and pianist. He grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, New York. His compositions meld a classical-music upbringing with his interests in the natural world, graphic arts, technology, cooking, and photography. He has been praised for his “acute ear” by Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times’s and his “stubborn nose” by Alex Ross in The New Yorker.
Comments [26]
Very nice! I like the cords
Excellent fusion of jazz and contemporary concert sounds, bringing a fresh and fervent perspective to the table.
Timo's music is beautiful and thoughtful, and as a person he is grounded and humble. Very deserving!
I can hear Timo writing a piece for Orpheus. He's got the precision and the energy down.
This is one of my favorite pieces by TImo. Simple, beautiful and it grooves. I never get tired of it!
Timo draws on the techniques and gestures of so many different world of compositional thought and he does it with grace, craft, and power. I love his music and I'd be so excited to hear what he'd have in store for Orpheus!
Was listening to "Shy and Mighty" when I stumbled upon this page. Timo has a truly unique and unusually accessible style -- I look forward to hearing much more!
Having known Timo the better part of my life, I can say with certainty that he is an inspired pianist, composer, and musician. I can't wait to hear more.
Timo is a hugely imaginative composer. His music is as playful as it is thoughtful.
I believe in Timo's music - it seems to me to be really deeply felt and never just simply written down. I love the way Some Connecticut evolves over time - I'd love to see what he would do with Orpheus.
What a gifted and inspiring young composer... I look forward to hearing more of his work.
I have seen several posts from Dr. Giles and they are nothing but pointless ad hominem attacks ("...if it were more inspired..."???) If only his comments were more interesting, if only they were more detailed, if only they were more substantive...
... but then, he would be an entirely different commenter. Only then would his opinion be worth listening to.
Absolutely delightful and inspiring. Timo's music can be compared to an architectural singularity that is meticulously detailed. His work is infused with enthusiasm and ferocity that is unparalleled; it always brings us a pleasant surprise.
When I started airing modern works on Music for Internets over a year ago, Timo was one of the first composers to catch my ear. I find myself continuously going back to his music just for the shear personal pleasure of it.
Absolutely Fabulous!
I love "Bathtub Shine", but I don't think that's an appropriate name for this piece. The piece is melancholic and in the beginning it makes me think of Copland's "Our Town". With a name like "Bathtub Shine", I expected to hear something on the goofy side. Keep 'em comin', Timo!
I've listened to Timothy's music with great interest over the last year -- his work is specific and evocative, and never fails to move me. I'd love to hear whatever he and Orpheus might do together!
"Some Connecticut Gospel" is not very original nor as expertly put together as one would wish. If it were more interesting, if it were more detailed, if it were more inspired...
... but then it would be an entirely other piece. I am appalled that the composer took a "couple of months" to write this very modest little piece and I hope that, with more practice and schooling he attains greater proficiency.
I've heard Timo's compositions become more mature and refined over the years, but never at the expense of its unique voice. And he himself is a perfect blend of passion and professionalism.
Just listened to Bathtub Shine. Truly beautiful.
timo is a knowledgeable and graceful composer with real craft and real soul. he would do great things with orpheus.
I've seen this composer's work grow and develop over the last few years - I'm excited to hear what is to come.
Timo Andres has a fresh, strong voice that carries through both small chamber music works to large orchestral pieces. His music is both compelling in rhythmic grove, and the layering of voices to create soaring melodic lines that evolve organically. He is extremely professional, and wonderful to work with.
This composer uses words as well as musical notes beautifully. I look forward to more of his work.
I love Some Connecticut Gospel! It's totally an earworm--I'll be humming it for days!
Not only a good friend, but also a fantastic composer and pianist.
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