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Happy New Year 2021 and welcome back to another episode of the PianoPod.

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I am Clara Zhang.

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I am Yukimi Song.

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And I am Eric Hunter.

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The PianoPod is a monthly podcast where we interview some of the brightest talents in

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the industry.

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Each episode features a guest speaker who is making bold new innovations that may change

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the way we play or teach piano, or even the way we think about music.

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We have been so lucky to have some wonderful guests in our first five episodes last fall.

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If you missed any of them, you can catch up on your favorite podcast platforms such as

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iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or iHeartRadio.

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We also have an amazing guest lineup for the next several months, which you can see on

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our social media.

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And if you want to find out more about us, be sure to check out our introductory video

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where we explain who we are and why we started this podcast.

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Today we have our first guest of 2021, Dr. Paolo Marzitini, a composer, clarinettist,

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and composition theory professor at the Manhattan School of Music and formerly at the Berklee

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College of Music.

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He was a prize winner of the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Competition in 2005 for his composition

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of violin concerto.

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His music has been performed by such orchestras and ensembles as the Orchestra de la Toscana,

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Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, and broadcasted by Vatican Radio,

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Rai Radiotore, and Swiss Radio.

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He has just released his first orchestral album, entitled The Month Has Ended, produced

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by his label New Focus Recording and available on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, and directly

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from his website.

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Congratulations Paolo.

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Thank you.

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Thank you for hosting me.

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Of course.

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And are these the only websites that people can, audience can find your CDs or are there

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other places?

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If people go on my personal website, they can find a way to, if they're interested to

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find my CD also there.

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Also through the recording label, New Focus Recordings.

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So there are different ways.

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It's available on iTunes, Spotify, as you mentioned.

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Of course, Barcelona, where all the CDs are sold.

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So without any further ado, let's welcome Paolo.

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Thank you so much.

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I will start off with some questions of maybe your background.

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I know you're originally from Rome, Italy.

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What was your upbringing like in Italy, Rome, and I believe you also lived in Milan for

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many years?

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No, I mostly lived my life in Italy and Rome.

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And I was born in Rome and I was studying in Rome.

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So I'm truly Roman.

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And regarding music, I studied in Conservatorio of Santa Cecilia, one of the oldest in the

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world.

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And it's in a very historical building, very beautiful ex-convent where there were nuns

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in the past.

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Wow.

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Right now it's a conservatory, it's very beautiful with some Roman colonists, some altars, some

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beautiful, beautiful...

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My conservatory.

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And you can feel the aura of the great past because there were great composers who were

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teaching there like Respighi.

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And actually Santa Cecilia was founded by Palestrina, an agent from Renaissance time,

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and Accademia Santa Cecilia came from him.

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So I studied in a very, very old institution and I'm very happy about that.

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So were they super hard on you guys?

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I remember the story, you always talked about the three days exam that you had to take where

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you had to stay there.

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Yes.

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What was it like?

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Actually, I think right now the things are a little bit different because people try

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to update the international system.

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When I was there, I studied the time I studied clarinet, I took the Roman clarinet, so in

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the composition and the choral music and choral conducting by the three fields.

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And all of them were actually very, very intense and long, long program.

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Composition is 10 years imagine, like it's very, very long program.

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Yes, as you Clara mentioned, the final exam of composition was kind of medieval type of

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exam because they lock me, not only me, all the candidates for three days in a room.

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Only just for the composers, the composer students.

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Yeah.

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I see.

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We had to compose a fugue in three, in two days and we had to compose the orchestral

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variations in three days and also sonata in three days.

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So it was very, very intense.

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When I came out from that exam, I was exhausted and I was so happy to be done.

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I wonder if that's what they did in the very beginning, they say, 14th century, right?

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The Italian music.

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Why?

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It's actually, they gave us some teams that we had to develop.

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And so it was really like an old fashion exam.

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That's really cool, actually.

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It was a very good, we had to.

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Right.

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You have to ring the bell.

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Yeah, we had to ring the bell and there were some, you know, young people who were handsome.

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Maybe you are from actually two centuries ago, who knows?

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Well, tell us a little bit about your Elizabeth competition.

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How did you start?

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There was a piece I wrote after I finished my studies in conservatory.

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I did also kind of a master, another composer.

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I studied in Santeria Cilla regarding composition with a great composer who actually passed

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away a month ago.

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So I'm happy to homage to him because he was a great musician, Ivan Van.

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He was a teacher.

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Yeah, he was Hungarian but naturalized Italian.

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Yeah, he was a great artist and great teacher.

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He studied with Petrassi, he was a very important figure in Italy for composers, not only composers.

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But after him, I went to study also in an academy of Santa Cilla, which is after, you

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know, a regular degree in conservatory, like a master.

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And during that period, I wrote this violin concerto.

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And I sent to this competition with no expectation because I usually don't like competitions.

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I don't believe so much in competition.

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But I was, I think I did the right thing to send this piece to D'Astor.

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And I received that important prize.

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I won, I was second, like, yeah, after the winner was not me, the first prize, I was

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the second prize.

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So I received some money and some, you know.

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So did that help you to eventually, I believe you had some CDs released back when you were

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in Italy, right?

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And Orchestra Works and did you ever compose an opera or how was it like, like the publishers

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in Italy before you moved here?

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Oh, in Italy, I was working a lot as a performer too.

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I was playing at for classical and contemporary music in orchestra.

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I was playing with Opera Theatre of Rome for a while.

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I was playing together with Ennio Morricone, a famous film composer.

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I recorded, also passed away a few months ago.

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And what I was saying, so I was playing with him.

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I recorded some of his soundtracks and I was composing.

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I was composing for concerts, concert seasons and chamber music and some orchestra works.

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I had some recordings, but most of these recordings were like, you know, compilation of different

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composers.

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We unified our, you know, researches and we made it together with other young composers.

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We made some CDs.

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So I have had pieces in different compilations.

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So I'm glad about this new CD you can just came out because it's just...

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Right.

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Despite of, you know, what's happening right now, it's magnificent that you get to produce

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a CD like this.

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And so I just want to start out with the origin of this album.

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How did you...

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And also you have quite several pieces, major orchestral work with the concertino.

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So I want you to tell us how did you compile all these pieces?

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Yes.

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So this new album comprehend five works for orchestra, two of them with soloists.

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So one is with the great soprano Aldo Cagliello and another one with me as a clarinetist,

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as a soloist.

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And these five works are from...

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I mean, the oldest one is from 2011.

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So it's kind of old, almost nine years ago.

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And their most recent is from 2018.

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So those pieces are kind of like represent the passage from Italy to US and it's like

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a combination of...

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I mean, they show how my style changed over time, also with the clash with the new environment,

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American environment, who adopted me.

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So I think it was interesting in this CD for this reason.

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Also I had the orchestras from both Italy and the US in this same album.

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So it really represent kind of like a love letter for both countries, Italy and the US.

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And I combined the two.

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Those recordings are all live.

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So I didn't record in studio because right now you can imagine with COVID that would

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be impossible.

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And also I had a very good recording, a live recording of these performances.

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And so of course I edited them, I made them the sound with the sound engineer of New Focus

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label.

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We did...

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I mean, they did a great job of adjusting the sound.

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I mean, live recording, they're always challenging for that reason.

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But they did a great job.

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Yeah.

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So when you compose, do you think of poetry or do you get inspired by a story or do you

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try to imagine a story as you compose? So regarding this specific piece, of course,

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I had the guidance from the poet, the great poet Emily Dickinson, which through her words

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helped me to create a story through my music. Because of course, when there is a poetry,

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we always have kind of like, you know, the poetry suggests us the form of the piece,

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also the structure and the differentiation of moods during the piece. In that case,

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when there is a text, I usually try to follow my instinct, but according to what the text suggests

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to me. Regarding the other pieces, which are more abstract because there is no any text,

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I try to create a story as well, even if there is not a specific plot. But I like to imagine

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like through music, like a story, like usually with contrast, dramas and release of tension

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and conclusion. Also, I like the mystery to create some kind of tension that

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creates expectation from the listeners. I like to create the sense of waiting for something

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that's going to happen. I don't know if I succeed in that, but I try to. And yeah, but it depends.

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Some pieces I have before the idea of the general form. Other times, the idea of the form

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step by step becomes more clear while I'm composing. Especially when I heard the first one, Mercy,

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I just felt like maybe you're thinking about maybe some certain story, not directly taking

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something out of it. But I felt like because there were, I guess, sections, especially toward

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the end, it was just very moving, like second half or maybe one third toward the end. There was a

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cello solo with the orchestra in background and was just very moving. And especially times like

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this, and you get very vulnerable and sometimes lonely and really have mercy on me, right?

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That prayer or the longing was really carried out by the melody and harmony.

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I'm glad you felt that. So tell us about Mercy.

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Yeah. So when I composed this piece, I had in mind another piece from the past,

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which is Miserere. Miserere is like Latin version of Mercy. And there is a famous story that this

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Miserere by a composer, which is not that famous, but his name is Allegri. And he's famous mostly

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for this piece. But this piece was like glorious, like was one of the most famous piece of Renaissance

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time and was very secret. So apparently in Rome, in St. Peter's Church, they play this piece during

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Easter time. And only once a year they play this piece, if I'm wrong, once or twice a year.

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And this piece was very mysterious. So no one could access to the score of this piece.

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So it was very mysterious. Only in Vatican, I mean, inside of the church of St. Peter,

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only few people, the musicians could access to the score. But there is a legend that the young

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Mozart went to with his father to Rome. And of course, with the great here he had, he transcribed

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everything. I mean, it's not that a complex piece is doable, but in any case, Mozart could have done

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very easy. And this piece is beautiful and very like, you know, merciful, of course. And when I

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received this commission in 2013 or 2012, I think 2012, from Orchester della Toscana,

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the commission means this piece for a festival, which is called, the play it was called. And it

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was a beautiful festival with a lot of all Italian composers from the oldest to the youngest. And

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I was already living in US. And in that time, Italy was having some trouble in politics and economy.

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And I felt a lot of compassion for my country, for my friends, for my family, for myself too.

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All humans, I felt like, oh my God, how miserable, all of we, a human heart, like suffering.

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So I wanted to, you know, to make a modern version of this type of piece, of mercy on us,

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like this wonderful words from the gospel. And I wanted to create something, update to our time,

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of course. And so I used actually, I don't know if I can play, but this is improvised, but, you know,

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there is the material, if I don't remember wrongly, of this piece. It's based on a suspension,

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you know, the famous suspension when I do like, for example,

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this type of suspension. So of the third, actually this is from the original Miserere. So all the

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piece is based on these five notes, actually. One, two, three, four, and then I made a picardy third.

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This is the, this is the first one.

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This is the very simple idea that came from this, sorry, this piece.

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And I use these five notes in a very different way. So I like to transform the material. So I

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started from this idea, actually, I didn't invent anything because I took this fragment from,

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it's just an archetype, you know, comes from everybody use this cadence, like this suspension.

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But I use these five notes in dividing the piece in three parts. The first part,

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I want to represent the abstraction of the search for purity and the fact that the beginning of the

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piece is very abstract. We have these notes like looking for, searching for something,

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and we have some repetition, kind of a lament of the brass and the winds.

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This is the first part. It's kind of slow and mysterious and abstract, I would say, almost cold.

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The second part is that I wanted to represent the hectic, you know, quality of life, especially in

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big cities like New York and Rome. So it's much more rhythmical, more contrast, more excitement.

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And the last part is the real miserere, the real mercy. And it's the part where these five notes

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become like a chorale. And so it's like the conclusion of all the journey we heard before.

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But this was the idea. The idea, the formal idea came actually from movies,

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because at that time I was watching, this can be probably interesting for the listeners,

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people were watching us because Stanley Kubrick is one of the most famous director of our time,

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movie director. At that time I was watching some of his movies, especially one very violent,

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very violent, terrible movie, Full Metal Jacket. I don't know if you know it.

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Full Metal Jacket, oh!

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About Vietnam, yeah.

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Oh, that is a very shocking movie.

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Yeah. But I like how he divided the movie in exactly three parts, which are clearly divided

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during the movie. And I did actually the same because my piece is really like a triptych,

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like divided in three parts.

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Yeah. I have to watch the movie again. It's been such a long time. Why?

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I was not inspired for the content because of course the movie is about war and violence.

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But I was inspired by the form, formal aspect of his work.

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I see. So you seem to get inspiration from other form of art as well, I guess.

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Yes. I try. Sometimes I get more ideas from visual art, like painting or installations,

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sculptures, literature too. Yeah. More than music sometimes.

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Oh, yeah.

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Also music, of course. Music of the past. I like to go back on time and I like to talk to

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my ancestors.

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Yeah.

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You have several influences actually in these five pieces you wrote. And one of them is Ennio

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Morricone. And you just mentioned with Clara that you get to work with him or you...

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Yeah. He wrote a film movie by Tarantino, right?

250
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Yeah.

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Which one was it?

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The movie of Tarantino. I mean, Tarantino used this music many times, but he took it from

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other movies, from previous movies. But the last movie he did, which... No, sorry, the second to

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the last movie he did, which is The Hateful Eight, asked finally to Ennio Morricone to do an original

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soundtrack for his movies. And he won an Oscar, yeah. But he deserved the Oscar much before with

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other movies, in my opinion, even better. That was his first one, right?

257
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Yeah. He won another Oscar for a career, but never for another movie.

258
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Oh, wow. That's incredible.

259
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What's it like to work with him?

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So it was very interesting. I was playing clarinet. So I was playing clarinet mostly in orchestra

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with him. I recorded some of his soundtracks, but I did also concerts with him because he used to be

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conducting his music around Europe. And I was touring with him in the orchestra playing clarinet.

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I played also his contemporary music because he was also a composer for concerts.

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So it was very interesting for me. He was a very serious composer, serious man, all the fashion,

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all the fashion around composer. Actually studied with the same teacher of my teacher. So in a way,

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I belong to the same tradition. And it was very interesting. I don't think my piece

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was influenced by his music, but one of the pieces of the CD is dedicated to him for his 90th birthday.

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And I quoted a little bit of one of his famous soundtracks from The Good, The Bad,

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, a famous Western movie. I quoted this famous tune

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at the end, but I made it very, very hidden. So no one could tell. Even he didn't realize I was

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there, I think. But I was very happy because I had this piece together with another piece of him.

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During the concert, and I gave this score to him and he was very happy, liked the piece.

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Unfortunately, he died the next year. So I was happy to give him this final gift.

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That's amazing.

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Yeah, musical gift.

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But last question. So I was also fascinated by the design of the album, the cover.

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It's so beautiful. And so who designed it and what's the inspiration?

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Happy to mention his name is my friend, the artist Marco Gallotta, who lives in New York.

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He is a very successful artist and he specializes, I would say, in portrait.

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He does a lot of portraits, cutting the paper. So what you see is like he made my face and then he

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cut after with the scissors and he makes these cuts, which are like kind of his style.

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His style. And yeah, I think he's amazing. And we are very good friends. So I had the idea to ask

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him to create a cover for me and I think I'm very, very beautiful.

284
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Yeah, the design and then your music just go together so well. So congratulations again.

285
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So

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I know you're an amazing clarinetist and I mean, we listened to your concertino on the album.

287
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You clearly have some chops on the clarinet. But as we are a piano podcast and I know you also

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play the piano, I wanted to ask you about your relationship with the instrument and especially

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if you use it in your compositional process.

290
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Yes. So actually I started playing piano. It was my first instrument when I was a baby, I mean a kid.

291
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And piano for me is really important. I could not compose just on the clarinet.

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Anytime I think music, I visualize the keyboard of piano. So for me, it's very, very important.

293
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And I compose usually at the desk. I'm a traditional composer with pencil and eraser.

294
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But I always try things out on the piano and I also need the physical contact with the instrument,

295
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the piano. Sometimes I compose at the piano, but most frequently at the desk. But usually I check

296
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all the time. So especially if I have to write for piano, I need the piano.

297
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Sure. Sure. Have you written a lot of compositions for piano?

298
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I did. I mean a lot, no, but I did. Yeah. I wrote many pieces. Yeah.

299
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Wonderful.

300
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:09,600
I want to chime in for one thing. I forgot to ask. I want to ask about the Prelude and the Fugue.

301
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Those are piano pieces, right?

302
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:21,360
Yes. So I finished last year this other big project, which actually is going to be

303
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:29,440
published very soon. I'm in the middle of this publishing and it's a big work. It took one year

304
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:38,560
of my life and it's 24 Preludes and Fugues. I follow the model, the great model of Bach

305
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that I made in my own way. Of course there are tonal Fugues and tonal Preludes. I respect all

306
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the different keys, 24 keys. And I'm very excited because for me it was, I tried to update,

307
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you know, this old form in my own way, putting inside some contemporary vibes, you know, like

308
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some jazz influence, African, minimal music, different influence. I mean anything that could

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come to my imagination I used in this work, but always of course being careful that I had to respect

310
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the old tradition. And this is another project I'm very happy and I can't wait to present.

311
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:32,880
It was not still performed.

312
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:38,000
Oh, okay. And the scores will be available for purchase when it comes out?

313
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:46,000
Yes. I am in the middle of, I mean, we are publishing with an Italian publishing company

314
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called the Curci Editore and it's going to be, hopefully this year, will be published

315
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before the summer, hopefully, maybe even sooner.

316
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:05,040
And so if people are interested in finding scores of your older works, where could they get them?

317
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:13,440
Good question. So I have some works with an Italian publisher, which is Rai Com.

318
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:20,640
In the past it was called the Rai Trade, but now it's called Rai Com and it's connecting with

319
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Italian radio and Italian TV. And I have a lot of works self-published, so you can find some of my

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works on my website. And of course you can contact me through my website and I can, of course, send

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my score if somebody wants to purchase or find specific work. And right now, as I mentioned,

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I'm going to publish my 24 Produce and Fugue with another publishing company, which is the Curci Editore.

323
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So yeah, and for anybody who's listening, the links to Paolo's website, where you can find

324
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all his works and recordings, will be in the description.

325
00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:32,240
Now, when we were talking earlier, you said you're even getting into electronics this year.

326
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:43,680
Electronic is a big work. But I was trying to, I used this bad period of, you know,

327
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isolation and COVID, the problems, to learn something new for me. So I had to buy actually

328
00:32:53,280 --> 00:33:01,280
for a working reason, I had to buy a new computer, because the one I had before was not able to

329
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:10,400
work fine on Zoom. Sorry guys, I'm a little bit tired. So sometimes my English becomes weak.

330
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:14,000
No, you're doing great. I'm right there with you.

331
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:23,040
So what I was saying, I bought a new computer and also I bought a new program for me of editing and

332
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yeah, and composing, which is, I don't want to make, can I say the name or maybe not?

333
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:30,400
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.

334
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:37,600
It's famous, Logic is called, I mean, many people use it as one of the most popular.

335
00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:43,840
And because I play clarinet, I also play, and now I bought a saxophone and I have different

336
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type of clarinet, bass clarinet, regular, I mean, A clarinet, B flat. Now I have these alto sax

337
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and I have a piano, electric keyboard, et cetera. So I became kind of a one man show

338
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of one man music. Band in your apartment. Sorry, one man band. So I made some songs,

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even pop, a little bit pop. And yeah, maybe in the future I will do an album of this more light,

340
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more lighter songs.

341
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I like the song so far, the ones I've heard.

342
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:28,480
Yeah, it sounds like you're always looking for the next new thing to push yourself, which I really

343
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admire in any composer or any creative for that matter. You know, one thing I really like speaking

344
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as a digital composer myself is that I feel like it's cheating because if you have a digital

345
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keyboard plugged into a computer and some sample libraries, you can be any instrument in the

346
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orchestra. Have you gotten into that at all yet? Or you're...

347
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:52,000
Yes, yes.

348
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:58,240
Actually, when I use the guitar from the keyboard, like I play myself, I try to... It's actually fun

349
00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:05,360
because even if you use a keyboard, like a piano, but every time you use the sound of a guitar

350
00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:12,480
or a flute, the challenge is to create, to follow the style of the instrument. So you'll make

351
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:19,200
arpeggios as to sound like a guitar or the way to create a melody on flute sound has to be like a

352
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flute. Yeah. But I was trying to use as much as I can, like real sound from the instrument I can

353
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play. Even my voice, I record my voice, I made some choral pieces and yeah, I'm experimenting

354
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just for fun and to see what will come out of it.

355
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:46,400
Yeah, wonderful, wonderful.

356
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:52,480
So aside from what you're working on right now, we just talked about, do you have any future

357
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:59,360
prospects, future projects or aspirations for things in years to come?

358
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:05,440
Yeah. So I have to finish a piece for ensemble that I'm in the middle of,

359
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:16,160
chamber ensemble. And after this piece, I would love to work on with voice again. So either,

360
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I'm not sure if I will go back to a project I started about an opera, a real opera,

361
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but it's a big, big work. So maybe I will start with something smaller like with a

362
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this time using a tenor probably or baritone solo because the piece with the Emily De Quince

363
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poem feature a soprano. So I want to make another kind of a twin of that piece with a male voice.

364
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So I have to find the right poem. I still don't know exactly.

365
00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:00,320
For sure, I want to go back to work with voice.

366
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:07,840
Okay. You know, talking about these huge works and I mean, you sound so busy and I'm sure you

367
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are. It just makes me wonder, what does your day look like and how much time do you spend

368
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:17,920
composing every day? I'm sure it's different for every composer, right? But I'm just curious.

369
00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:27,040
I wish it was more sometimes. And so when I have my schedule, full schedule of teaching, I have to

370
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be very diligent and find the way that because teaching is also draining a lot of energy.

371
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Actually right now with the online teaching is very tiring. So I have to really sometimes

372
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push myself and force myself to have like some hours that I know that are dedicated to composition.

373
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But you know, sometimes I change. I'm not like, you know, always regular. Sometimes I can work

374
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many hours in the same day. Sometimes I don't compose at all. Sometimes I try to compose

375
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regularly, a few hours a day. So it depends. I'm not always consistent. I have crisis,

376
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some moments where I cannot write. I don't want to write. So I admire composers who can compose

377
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exactly every day, the same hours from 8 in AM until I'm not that type. I change time all the time.

378
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I usually prefer the morning. Morning is my favorite. It helps a lot for me when I have

379
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the commissions, when I request. I feel like I'm much more motivated and I compose more,

380
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I compose faster. But even if I don't, sometimes we don't have always commission. So even if,

381
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when I don't have commission, I try to imagine which piece I would love to compose, even if no

382
00:38:54,960 --> 00:39:01,120
one asked me. Sometimes it's even more exciting sometimes.

383
00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:09,680
Yeah, I really like that idea. Because certainly composers and performers, I think most musicians

384
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:15,360
really work best under a deadline, right? That's when we do our best work. That's when we work the

385
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most. And I think really it doesn't have to do with procrastination or not being motivated,

386
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:30,240
but we need to know that we're valued in the world. It's not easy being a musician and ultimately

387
00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:34,880
it's something that we're doing for other people. So that really gives us that extra juice.

388
00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:42,960
We need to feel that somebody's waiting for us, I think is important. I think it's always an exchange.

389
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:50,480
Yeah, so it's tough, especially right now that we don't have concerts because

390
00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:58,080
everything is frozen. It's been many years, but everywhere in the world. So for us finding

391
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:06,960
motivation right now is very hard. But we have to accept, I mean, we don't work in the bank.

392
00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:11,120
So we have to accept the up and down.

393
00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:18,800
And I love your idea of just let me do what I would most love to do for myself right now.

394
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Because the other side of it is when it rains, it pours. And sometimes we get more work than we have time for.

395
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And then we don't get to do these passion projects. So now is really the time to take advantage of that.

396
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,520
I think that's really smart.

397
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,520
Yes, you're right.

398
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:40,560
This is called the piano pod rapid-fire.

399
00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:49,200
We're going to ask really from five dollar questions to a million dollar question at the end.

400
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:58,080
And then nobody gets the money. But it's a fun question. So I would like for you to answer in.

401
00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:02,080
Oh, sorry. In very short answer, please.

402
00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:12,480
OK, so I'm going to start. OK, you ready? All right. Let's do it.

403
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:16,160
Question number one. Five dollars. What is your favorite food?

404
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:18,160
Oh, fast.

405
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:24,400
All right. Number two. Cats or dogs?

406
00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:26,400
Dogs.

407
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:34,720
All right. Do you have a pet? No. No. OK. All right. What is your word or words to live by?

408
00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:36,720
Love.

409
00:41:36,720 --> 00:41:45,120
Oh, good one. All right. What is the most important quality you look for in people?

410
00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:49,120
Imagination.

411
00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:54,800
What is the worst quality you look for in people?

412
00:41:54,800 --> 00:42:00,960
What is the worst quality in people you want to stay away from?

413
00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:02,960
Opportunism.

414
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:06,960
Oh, yeah. Opportunism. Yeah, that's a good one.

415
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:13,760
All right, Eric. Oh, yeah. OK, my turn. Name three people who inspire you, living or dead.

416
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:17,760
In music or in general, whatever.

417
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:24,960
Stravinsky, Verdi and Michelangelo.

418
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:32,160
Wonderful. Who would you like to take lessons from? I guess this is a historical figure.

419
00:42:32,160 --> 00:42:36,160
Who would you like to take lessons from if they were still alive?

420
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,160
Doesn't have to be a musician.

421
00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:40,160
Yeah, Stravinsky.

422
00:42:40,160 --> 00:42:50,160
Stravinsky, OK. And which historical figure or composer would you want to hang out with at a bar?

423
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:56,160
Verdi. Verdi? Sounds like fun.

424
00:42:56,160 --> 00:43:00,960
All right, we're having a party. All right. So I'm going to bring out the million dollar question.

425
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:02,960
All right. Let's do it. One piece?

426
00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:04,960
In your current playlist.

427
00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:06,960
One piece?

428
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:08,960
In your current playlist.

429
00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:16,960
I don't have any playlist, but one piece.

430
00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:18,960
That you're listening to right now.

431
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:20,960
You listen to any music?

432
00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:22,960
Schumann. Schumann.

433
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:24,960
Wow. All right.

434
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:26,960
Schumann Quintet.

435
00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:28,960
Schumann Quintet.

436
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:30,960
Giano Quintet.

437
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:32,960
Oh, my favorite.

438
00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:34,960
Name a book title you're currently reading.

439
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:42,960
OK, I'm reading a book, Lorenzo da Ponte, the memoir, Memories.

440
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:44,960
The British of Mozart.

441
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:46,960
Right.

442
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:48,960
And it's, I'm almost done. It's a big book.

443
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:50,960
It's kind of a Don Giovanni.

444
00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:52,960
A couple of guys.

445
00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:54,960
And it was very fascinating.

446
00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:56,960
Fun.

447
00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:00,960
You get only one song piece to listen to for the rest of your life.

448
00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:02,960
What would it be?

449
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:08,960
Very cool. Probably John Cage, The Fourth Minute, 133 Syllable.

450
00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:10,960
Very cool.

451
00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:12,960
Good one.

452
00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:18,960
And a few in the blank. Music is?

453
00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:20,960
If I am in the?

454
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:24,960
No, a few in the blank. Music is blank.

455
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:26,960
What is your blank?

456
00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:28,960
Ah, OK. Music is dream.

457
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:30,960
Oh, look at that.

458
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:32,960
Ding, ding, ding.

459
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:34,960
You win.

460
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:36,960
You are the winner.

461
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:38,960
But we have.

462
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:43,960
All right. So that concludes this episode of the Piano Pod.

463
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:46,960
Thank you so much, Paulo, for joining our program today.

464
00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:50,960
And thanks to you, our audience, for listening.

465
00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:58,960
We want to remind the listeners and the viewer of this episode that Paulo Martini's new album, The Month, has ended.

466
00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:08,960
On the music streaming services such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, the place that Paulo just mentioned earlier.

467
00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:12,960
And all the links are listed in the description of this episode below.

468
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:20,960
If you enjoyed today's episode, please hit the thumbs up button down below and be sure to subscribe to our channel.

469
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:25,960
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.

470
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:28,960
The links are listed in the description.

471
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:39,960
And as always, if you have feedback for us, please leave it in the comments, send us a DM, or you can also email us at the pianopodnyc.gmail.com.

472
00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:43,960
Hope to see you for the next episode of the Piano Pod.

473
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:48,960
Bye, everyone. Bye, everyone. Thank you, Paulo. Thank you for hosting me.

474
00:45:48,960 --> 00:46:06,960
Bye. Bye.

