Trailer: Season 3 Episode 20, David Hackbridge Johnson -- Composer & Multi-instrumentalist

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For this episode, I interviewed Mr. David Hackbridge Johnson, one of the prolific British composers of our time, who whose piano works were recorded by Mr. Lowell Lieberman, whom I got to interview last season.

I got a friendship request from Lowell, and I thought, wow, because I'd heard of him because he's a major American composer, and I knew he was a fine pianist as well. He did write to me, and he mentioned that during lockdown he was playing the piano a lot, and he'd already produced an album, a double album actually, of some of his favorite rather demonic pieces, including things like Liszt's Totentanz, and he said he was planning another album which would include another bunch of favourite pieces. He asked me whether I would like to write a piece. I wrote a piece that very evening and I sent it to him by the following morning and said, 'Look, I want to dedicate this to you.' I concocted a nocturne for him which was based on a very weird dream I'd had about this peculiar devil-like creature sitting on a rock playing an instrument with very strange tunings. And I thought, okay, I'm going to write this. And I sent it to him the next day. He seemed to like it. And he then at that point, he decided, you know what, I'm going to do an album entirely of your music, David. So I think probably within 6 months of us having any kind of official communication, he had an album out and Steinway had agreed to issue it. But it was the fact that the way he played the pieces just so impressed me. For me as a composer, he got right inside the style, right inside the marrow of the music to produce these very, very intense, intimate performances, which I was absolutely thrilled by. If you're thinking in terms of improvising, which of course I do all the time, it's one of the things that— Music to me can often hover into the strange. It might start out perfectly straightforwardly and simply, but it can then change. And I think it's the process of change that fascinates me, how you get to— how you get from A to B, where you've got an emotional trajectory that's taking you away from an idealized form of expression. It's just one of those strange things that you— the music comes out, you think you know what you're doing, but sometimes it's a bit strange, the creative process. Sometimes you're not thinking, you're listening. Normally it's the listening that dictates the process. Often the music is already there, it's kind of up there somewhere, so I can see it and hear it, an object, and all I have to do is bring it down and write it out.

To hear the entire conversation with Mr. David Hockridge-Johnson, one of the most prolific British composers of our time, please join the chat during the premiere of this special episode tonight, Tuesday, June 20th, 8 PM Eastern on The Piano Pod's YouTube channel. The audio podcast will be split into two parts, and Part 1 will be dropped on your favorite podcasting platform tonight at 8 PM. Don't forget to subscribe or follow The Piano Pod All the links are in the description. See you tonight.

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You're listening to a podcast right now. Driving, working out, walking the dog. If you're into podcasts, chances are you have something to say too. With RSS.com, starting your own podcast is free and easy. Upload an episode and we distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. Track your listeners, see where they're from, and start earning from ads just like this. If you've been thinking about starting a podcast, this is your sign. Start your new podcast for free today at RSS.com.