Interview with MOMENTA QUARTET
Described by Time Out New York as a “striking new-music quartet,” the Momenta Quartet (Emilie-Anne Gendron and Asmira Woodward-Page, violins; Stephanie Griffin, viola; and Michael Haas, cello) has premiered over 40 works since 2004, alongside classical, Renaissance and contemporary masterworks. On October 2nd at Roulette, the Momenta Quartet opens its seventh season with music by composers who blur the boundaries between uptown and downtown aesthetics such as Huang Ruo, Gordon Beeferman, Melissa Hui, and Philip Glass.
Initials designate who is responsible for each answer:
Emilie-Anne Gendron: EG
Stephanie Griffin: SG
Michael Haas: MH
Asmira Woodward-Page: AWP
ROULETTE: What is Momenta doing at Roulette?
SG: For our October 2nd concert at Roulette, we have put together a program of four compelling works that in some way reflect the diversity of the American music scene. In honor of Roulette’s mission, all of the composers have some connection with experimentalism. Young New York composers Gordon Beeferman and Huang Ruo are both composer/performers: Gordon in the avant-jazz tradition (his Music for an Imaginary Band has performed at Roulette) and Huang Ruo in the Chinese folk/rock idiom. Both of their pieces on this program reveal a strong influence from their prospective musical backgrounds. To the best of my knowledge, Chinese-Canadian composer Melissa Hui is not an improviser, but her Map of Reality for string quartet is definitely the most “experimental” piece on this program. It consists of a set of written instructions (words!) which we must interpret to create the piece. Philip Glass was a pioneer of musical experimentation in the 1960s, who all but invented the downtown composer/performer. We will close the program with his String Quartet no. 5 (1991), which reveals him working more in the classical vein.
R: How did you meet your collaborators?
SG: Personally I have known Huang Ruo (www.huangruo.com) for many years; we were both doctoral students at Juilliard. Until this Roulette concert, we have never worked together but have met at many concerts at both uptown and downtown venues. Through countless conversations we found that we share many of the same tastes and passions. For example, we are both improvisers as well as classical musicians, and we are also strong believers in a non-Eurocentric (and non-academic) view of contemporary music. Asmira knows Huang Ruo from when she was a member of the new music ensemble Counter)induction; she performed his music at the MATA festival. Emilie has also performed Huang Ruo’s music before; she recently gave the world premiere of the string quintet version of his piece “The Three Tenses” with the Toomai Quintet.
I met Gordon Beeferman (www.gordonbeeferman.com) at least ten years ago as a fellow “spammer.” The poor unsuspecting composer signed my email list for the new music series I was running at Galapagos at the time. Soon he was sending me emails too. We never met in person until he happened to be at a Floriculture gig at Freddy’s Back Room about three years ago. Judging from all the amazing gigs I had read about in his spams, I had a vision of him as an august, bearded presence in the downtown improvisation scene; now I know that he is younger than me! A few months after that encounter, he re-emerged in my life as the orchestra manager for Riverside Symphony. We immediately became friends and I was extremely excited when I first heard a recording of his string quartet – this is incredibly groovy stuff and all of Momenta is thrilled to be playing it!
Michael brought Melissa Hui to our attention. He writes: “I met Melissa Hui in July at the Yellow Barn music festival in Putney, VT, where she was the composer in residence. She worked with me on Changes, a piece of chamber music she wrote in 1990, which includes a percussionist playing with sticks and rocks. I love the way Melissa takes standard instrumentation, such as the symphony orchestra or string quartet, and breaks the normal rules for how one should compose for them. When I heard Map of Reality this summer I immediately wanted to play it in New York with the Momenta Quartet.” When Michael showed us the score, it was immediately apparent that this piece was very “Momentable.” Our favorite slogan is: “Momenta Quartet: no pitch, no rhythm, no exceptions.” This piece also has no music notation! Jokes aside – Hui’s instructions are quite specific about pitch and rhythmic materials. We enjoy this type of score that leaves a lot of room for creativity and some improvisation. In fact, over the next season we will be engaging in an in-depth exploration of the role of improvisation in composition – this piece fits the bill!
None of us have met Philip Glass, but both his fifth quartet and Music in Similar Motion are cherished pieces in the Momenta repertoire.
R: What was the last music you listened to?
MH: Brahms First Symphony. For me, Brahms is the musical equivalent of comfort food!
EG: My most recent iPod plays are Tom Jobim’s “Aguas de Marco” (with Elis Regina); Gil Shaham’s Sibelius violin concerto; and a bootleg recording of Schnittke’s 1st violin sonata (with performers who will obviously remain nameless!)
SG: Just last night I was listening to the new double CD set celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bolivian composer Cergio Prudencio’s OrquestA ExperimentaL de InstrumentoS NativoS (Experimental Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments, OEIN). Highly recommended! You can order it on-line – mailed straight to you from Bolivia.
AWP: I most recently listened to the NYC-based Tibetan singer Yungchen Llamo (not to be confused with the cheesy Chinese version YANGchen Llamo): She has an amazing personal story and has recorded on the Realworld Label. Her main traditional form of Tibetan prayer singing is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PBEJ5RZIBg
R: Chocolate, Vanilla or Rocky Road?
AWP: First choice, Rocky Road; second choice: chocolate; third: vanilla.
EG: I hate to be unfair, but if I have to choose, then Rocky Road. (The nuts make it healthier, right?)
MH: Chocolate!
SG: Vanilla ALL THE WAY – the organic kind with visible streaks of squashed vanilla pods.
R: Who do you see as instrumental in your development as an artist?
AWP: My teachers (Harry Curby, Prabhakar Dhakde, Miriam Fried & Robert Mann), collaborators, colleagues, and experiences traveling, performing and meeting people have all shaped the sort of musician I am today. One experience in particular that transformed my musical thinking, was the period of time I lived and studied Hindusthani classical music in India at age 18. For me it was only a brief introduction to a vast body of knowledge that could only truly be imbibed by someone who grew up in that culture (I was only there for a few months). But those few months taught me so much. About being in the music – whether as a listener or a performer, no matter what was being performed. About trusting that sublimely charged current of the present moment to carry you though the music, so that it can be free to speak for itself. That was a very exciting time for me.
MH: One of my teachers was Joel Krosnick, cellist of the Juilliard String Quartet. I am constantly inspired by the vitality that he brings to standard classical repertoire as well as new music.
EG: Won-Bin Yim was my violin teacher through my teenage years at the Juilliard Pre-College. He constantly stressed the importance of establishing relationships with living composers and seeking out opportunities to premiere new works. At a point when most kids my age were obsessed with the traditional concerto “war horses,” usually to the exclusion of everything else, he encouraged me to study works by 20th and 21st century composers rather than be trapped by the narrow and misleading definition of “standard” repertoire. By keeping my technique grounded but my musical mind inquisitive, he showed me the possibility of becoming a concert artist in the conventional sense while still feeling at home in both standard and non-standard realms. It is thanks to him that my repertoire list now is quite varied, and I’m not afraid to program new or rarely programmed works (or to play some downright insane things with Momenta). Maybe that has become my comfort zone—going where few or no people have gone before.
SG: Just to shake things up, I will answer for the quartet in general. Momenta would not exist if it were not for the composer Matthew Greenbaum (www.matthewgreenbaum.com). He has stood behind us from before we even formed and is responsible for our first employment – our residency at Temple University in Philadelphia, which still continues, six full years later!
R: What is interesting to you about your own work?
EG: I think Momenta’s strength is that, as a highly experienced new music group consisting of classically trained members, we bring the best of both those worlds to our work. I think there is a misconception that a classically trained quartet couldn’t possibly have the edge to play new music well; and on the other end, I think there is a backward misconception among those not experienced with new music that it all sounds harsh and ugly, it is all played without nuance, and even that the performance standard can be lower because “no one knows these works anyway.” Our quartet is versatile and skilled enough to overturn these misconceptions. We bring the same degree of thought, commitment, and time to a new work as we would to any hallmark of the quartet canon. That isn’t to say that we play new music from a “classical” perspective or attempt to “beautify” everything. The point is that we respect the wishes of the composer, whoever he or she may be, and carry out their vision with imagination and conviction.
AWP: Playing in a quartet is an extremely satisfying thing to do. The unique range of sounds – from the most delicate line to the full richness and scope of an orchestra – are a rare treat (and challenge!) to experience as a chamber musician. It is wonderfully inspiring to share in the making of this type of music with my talented and dedicated colleagues who all bring so much to the table.
R: Do you do other things aside from music?
AWP:
- Meditation
- Member of several environmental activist groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists.
- Parent two kids, look after a puppy as well as a few too many houseplants.
- Research nutrition (the research of Weston Price greatly interests me)
- Cooking (probably because I love to eat!); if one stinks of garlic for days after a meal, then it was worth eating!
- dream about when I’ll have time to go hiking and camping again. It’s on the cards.
MH: I am a recent Bikram Yoga enthusiast when rehearsal schedule allows.
SG: Precious little, these days –the way I get around this is by playing a lot of different types of music. Some highlights include Carl Maguire’s Floriculture (www.carlmaguire.com); Adam Rudolph’s Go Organic Orchestra (come hear it at Roulette every Monday in November!); all sorts of other “conduction” style projects such as with Butch Morris, Laura Andel, Jason Hwang, Hans Tammen (also coming to Roulette on October 6th); collaborative dance projects with my friend Stephanie Sleeper (www.sleepdance.org); in-depth work with composers from Asia and Latin America…Every day is a new adventure!
EG: In what feels like another life (i.e. college), I was a Classics major concentrating in Latin literature. I did an academic major as part of the 5-year Columbia-Juilliard joint program. It was pretty difficult to do both simultaneously–it definitely is a state that can only be temporary. However, it showed me a worldview larger than the practice room, and my hope was to become a better musician for it. (On a more practical side, I also learned some creative multitasking techniques, which would probably have horrified my teachers at both schools.) Now that I’m out of school, my favorite non-musical activity is to go to museums. Sometimes I pretend I’m a time traveler. To see the incredible things humans have created in every era of our existence (not just recently) is humbling. I can’t explain it well, but it’s important to me to be able to respect and revere these objects–they are part of our accumulated human legacy.
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