Happy New Year 2021 and welcome back to another episode of the PianoPod.
I am Clara Zhang.
I am Yukimi Song.
And I am Eric Hunter.
The PianoPod is a monthly podcast where we interview some of the brightest talents in
the industry.
Each episode features a guest speaker who is making bold new innovations that may change
the way we play or teach piano, or even the way we think about music.
We have been so lucky to have some wonderful guests in our first five episodes last fall.
If you missed any of them, you can catch up on your favorite podcast platforms such as
iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or iHeartRadio.
We also have an amazing guest lineup for the next several months, which you can see on
our social media.
And if you want to find out more about us, be sure to check out our introductory video
where we explain who we are and why we started this podcast.
Today we have our first guest of 2021, Dr. Paolo Marzitini, a composer, clarinettist,
and composition theory professor at the Manhattan School of Music and formerly at the Berklee
College of Music.
He was a prize winner of the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Competition in 2005 for his composition
of violin concerto.
His music has been performed by such orchestras and ensembles as the Orchestra de la Toscana,
Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, and broadcasted by Vatican Radio,
Rai Radiotore, and Swiss Radio.
He has just released his first orchestral album, entitled The Month Has Ended, produced
by his label New Focus Recording and available on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, and directly
from his website.
Congratulations Paolo.
Thank you.
Thank you for hosting me.
Of course.
And are these the only websites that people can, audience can find your CDs or are there
other places?
If people go on my personal website, they can find a way to, if they're interested to
find my CD also there.
Also through the recording label, New Focus Recordings.
So there are different ways.
It's available on iTunes, Spotify, as you mentioned.
Of course, Barcelona, where all the CDs are sold.
So without any further ado, let's welcome Paolo.
Thank you so much.
I will start off with some questions of maybe your background.
I know you're originally from Rome, Italy.
What was your upbringing like in Italy, Rome, and I believe you also lived in Milan for
many years?
No, I mostly lived my life in Italy and Rome.
And I was born in Rome and I was studying in Rome.
So I'm truly Roman.
And regarding music, I studied in Conservatorio of Santa Cecilia, one of the oldest in the
world.
And it's in a very historical building, very beautiful ex-convent where there were nuns
in the past.
Wow.
Right now it's a conservatory, it's very beautiful with some Roman colonists, some altars, some
beautiful, beautiful...
My conservatory.
And you can feel the aura of the great past because there were great composers who were
teaching there like Respighi.
And actually Santa Cecilia was founded by Palestrina, an agent from Renaissance time,
and Accademia Santa Cecilia came from him.
So I studied in a very, very old institution and I'm very happy about that.
So were they super hard on you guys?
I remember the story, you always talked about the three days exam that you had to take where
you had to stay there.
Yes.
What was it like?
Actually, I think right now the things are a little bit different because people try
to update the international system.
When I was there, I studied the time I studied clarinet, I took the Roman clarinet, so in
the composition and the choral music and choral conducting by the three fields.
And all of them were actually very, very intense and long, long program.
Composition is 10 years imagine, like it's very, very long program.
Yes, as you Clara mentioned, the final exam of composition was kind of medieval type of
exam because they lock me, not only me, all the candidates for three days in a room.
Only just for the composers, the composer students.
Yeah.
I see.
We had to compose a fugue in three, in two days and we had to compose the orchestral
variations in three days and also sonata in three days.
So it was very, very intense.
When I came out from that exam, I was exhausted and I was so happy to be done.
I wonder if that's what they did in the very beginning, they say, 14th century, right?
The Italian music.
Why?
It's actually, they gave us some teams that we had to develop.
And so it was really like an old fashion exam.
That's really cool, actually.
It was a very good, we had to.
Right.
You have to ring the bell.
Yeah, we had to ring the bell and there were some, you know, young people who were handsome.
Maybe you are from actually two centuries ago, who knows?
Well, tell us a little bit about your Elizabeth competition.
How did you start?
There was a piece I wrote after I finished my studies in conservatory.
I did also kind of a master, another composer.
I studied in Santeria Cilla regarding composition with a great composer who actually passed
away a month ago.
So I'm happy to homage to him because he was a great musician, Ivan Van.
He was a teacher.
Yeah, he was Hungarian but naturalized Italian.
Yeah, he was a great artist and great teacher.
He studied with Petrassi, he was a very important figure in Italy for composers, not only composers.
But after him, I went to study also in an academy of Santa Cilla, which is after, you
know, a regular degree in conservatory, like a master.
And during that period, I wrote this violin concerto.
And I sent to this competition with no expectation because I usually don't like competitions.
I don't believe so much in competition.
But I was, I think I did the right thing to send this piece to D'Astor.
And I received that important prize.
I won, I was second, like, yeah, after the winner was not me, the first prize, I was
the second prize.
So I received some money and some, you know.
So did that help you to eventually, I believe you had some CDs released back when you were
in Italy, right?
And Orchestra Works and did you ever compose an opera or how was it like, like the publishers
in Italy before you moved here?
Oh, in Italy, I was working a lot as a performer too.
I was playing at for classical and contemporary music in orchestra.
I was playing with Opera Theatre of Rome for a while.
I was playing together with Ennio Morricone, a famous film composer.
I recorded, also passed away a few months ago.
And what I was saying, so I was playing with him.
I recorded some of his soundtracks and I was composing.
I was composing for concerts, concert seasons and chamber music and some orchestra works.
I had some recordings, but most of these recordings were like, you know, compilation of different
composers.
We unified our, you know, researches and we made it together with other young composers.
We made some CDs.
So I have had pieces in different compilations.
So I'm glad about this new CD you can just came out because it's just...
Right.
Despite of, you know, what's happening right now, it's magnificent that you get to produce
a CD like this.
And so I just want to start out with the origin of this album.
How did you...
And also you have quite several pieces, major orchestral work with the concertino.
So I want you to tell us how did you compile all these pieces?
Yes.
So this new album comprehend five works for orchestra, two of them with soloists.
So one is with the great soprano Aldo Cagliello and another one with me as a clarinetist,
as a soloist.
And these five works are from...
I mean, the oldest one is from 2011.
So it's kind of old, almost nine years ago.
And their most recent is from 2018.
So those pieces are kind of like represent the passage from Italy to US and it's like
a combination of...
I mean, they show how my style changed over time, also with the clash with the new environment,
American environment, who adopted me.
So I think it was interesting in this CD for this reason.
Also I had the orchestras from both Italy and the US in this same album.
So it really represent kind of like a love letter for both countries, Italy and the US.
And I combined the two.
Those recordings are all live.
So I didn't record in studio because right now you can imagine with COVID that would
be impossible.
And also I had a very good recording, a live recording of these performances.
And so of course I edited them, I made them the sound with the sound engineer of New Focus
label.
We did...
I mean, they did a great job of adjusting the sound.
I mean, live recording, they're always challenging for that reason.
But they did a great job.
Yeah.
So when you compose, do you think of poetry or do you get inspired by a story or do you
try to imagine a story as you compose? So regarding this specific piece, of course,
I had the guidance from the poet, the great poet Emily Dickinson, which through her words
helped me to create a story through my music. Because of course, when there is a poetry,
we always have kind of like, you know, the poetry suggests us the form of the piece,
also the structure and the differentiation of moods during the piece. In that case,
when there is a text, I usually try to follow my instinct, but according to what the text suggests
to me. Regarding the other pieces, which are more abstract because there is no any text,
I try to create a story as well, even if there is not a specific plot. But I like to imagine
like through music, like a story, like usually with contrast, dramas and release of tension
and conclusion. Also, I like the mystery to create some kind of tension that
creates expectation from the listeners. I like to create the sense of waiting for something
that's going to happen. I don't know if I succeed in that, but I try to. And yeah, but it depends.
Some pieces I have before the idea of the general form. Other times, the idea of the form
step by step becomes more clear while I'm composing. Especially when I heard the first one, Mercy,
I just felt like maybe you're thinking about maybe some certain story, not directly taking
something out of it. But I felt like because there were, I guess, sections, especially toward
the end, it was just very moving, like second half or maybe one third toward the end. There was a
cello solo with the orchestra in background and was just very moving. And especially times like
this, and you get very vulnerable and sometimes lonely and really have mercy on me, right?
That prayer or the longing was really carried out by the melody and harmony.
I'm glad you felt that. So tell us about Mercy.
Yeah. So when I composed this piece, I had in mind another piece from the past,
which is Miserere. Miserere is like Latin version of Mercy. And there is a famous story that this
Miserere by a composer, which is not that famous, but his name is Allegri. And he's famous mostly
for this piece. But this piece was like glorious, like was one of the most famous piece of Renaissance
time and was very secret. So apparently in Rome, in St. Peter's Church, they play this piece during
Easter time. And only once a year they play this piece, if I'm wrong, once or twice a year.
And this piece was very mysterious. So no one could access to the score of this piece.
So it was very mysterious. Only in Vatican, I mean, inside of the church of St. Peter,
only few people, the musicians could access to the score. But there is a legend that the young
Mozart went to with his father to Rome. And of course, with the great here he had, he transcribed
everything. I mean, it's not that a complex piece is doable, but in any case, Mozart could have done
very easy. And this piece is beautiful and very like, you know, merciful, of course. And when I
received this commission in 2013 or 2012, I think 2012, from Orchester della Toscana,
the commission means this piece for a festival, which is called, the play it was called. And it
was a beautiful festival with a lot of all Italian composers from the oldest to the youngest. And
I was already living in US. And in that time, Italy was having some trouble in politics and economy.
And I felt a lot of compassion for my country, for my friends, for my family, for myself too.
All humans, I felt like, oh my God, how miserable, all of we, a human heart, like suffering.
So I wanted to, you know, to make a modern version of this type of piece, of mercy on us,
like this wonderful words from the gospel. And I wanted to create something, update to our time,
of course. And so I used actually, I don't know if I can play, but this is improvised, but, you know,
there is the material, if I don't remember wrongly, of this piece. It's based on a suspension,
you know, the famous suspension when I do like, for example,
this type of suspension. So of the third, actually this is from the original Miserere. So all the
piece is based on these five notes, actually. One, two, three, four, and then I made a picardy third.
This is the, this is the first one.
This is the very simple idea that came from this, sorry, this piece.
And I use these five notes in a very different way. So I like to transform the material. So I
started from this idea, actually, I didn't invent anything because I took this fragment from,
it's just an archetype, you know, comes from everybody use this cadence, like this suspension.
But I use these five notes in dividing the piece in three parts. The first part,
I want to represent the abstraction of the search for purity and the fact that the beginning of the
piece is very abstract. We have these notes like looking for, searching for something,
and we have some repetition, kind of a lament of the brass and the winds.
This is the first part. It's kind of slow and mysterious and abstract, I would say, almost cold.
The second part is that I wanted to represent the hectic, you know, quality of life, especially in
big cities like New York and Rome. So it's much more rhythmical, more contrast, more excitement.
And the last part is the real miserere, the real mercy. And it's the part where these five notes
become like a chorale. And so it's like the conclusion of all the journey we heard before.
But this was the idea. The idea, the formal idea came actually from movies,
because at that time I was watching, this can be probably interesting for the listeners,
people were watching us because Stanley Kubrick is one of the most famous director of our time,
movie director. At that time I was watching some of his movies, especially one very violent,
very violent, terrible movie, Full Metal Jacket. I don't know if you know it.
Full Metal Jacket, oh!
About Vietnam, yeah.
Oh, that is a very shocking movie.
Yeah. But I like how he divided the movie in exactly three parts, which are clearly divided
during the movie. And I did actually the same because my piece is really like a triptych,
like divided in three parts.
Yeah. I have to watch the movie again. It's been such a long time. Why?
I was not inspired for the content because of course the movie is about war and violence.
But I was inspired by the form, formal aspect of his work.
I see. So you seem to get inspiration from other form of art as well, I guess.
Yes. I try. Sometimes I get more ideas from visual art, like painting or installations,
sculptures, literature too. Yeah. More than music sometimes.
Oh, yeah.
Also music, of course. Music of the past. I like to go back on time and I like to talk to
my ancestors.
Yeah.
You have several influences actually in these five pieces you wrote. And one of them is Ennio
Morricone. And you just mentioned with Clara that you get to work with him or you...
Yeah. He wrote a film movie by Tarantino, right?
Yeah.
Which one was it?
The movie of Tarantino. I mean, Tarantino used this music many times, but he took it from
other movies, from previous movies. But the last movie he did, which... No, sorry, the second to
the last movie he did, which is The Hateful Eight, asked finally to Ennio Morricone to do an original
soundtrack for his movies. And he won an Oscar, yeah. But he deserved the Oscar much before with
other movies, in my opinion, even better. That was his first one, right?
Yeah. He won another Oscar for a career, but never for another movie.
Oh, wow. That's incredible.
What's it like to work with him?
So it was very interesting. I was playing clarinet. So I was playing clarinet mostly in orchestra
with him. I recorded some of his soundtracks, but I did also concerts with him because he used to be
conducting his music around Europe. And I was touring with him in the orchestra playing clarinet.
I played also his contemporary music because he was also a composer for concerts.
So it was very interesting for me. He was a very serious composer, serious man, all the fashion,
all the fashion around composer. Actually studied with the same teacher of my teacher. So in a way,
I belong to the same tradition. And it was very interesting. I don't think my piece
was influenced by his music, but one of the pieces of the CD is dedicated to him for his 90th birthday.
And I quoted a little bit of one of his famous soundtracks from The Good, The Bad,
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, a famous Western movie. I quoted this famous tune
at the end, but I made it very, very hidden. So no one could tell. Even he didn't realize I was
there, I think. But I was very happy because I had this piece together with another piece of him.
During the concert, and I gave this score to him and he was very happy, liked the piece.
Unfortunately, he died the next year. So I was happy to give him this final gift.
That's amazing.
Yeah, musical gift.
But last question. So I was also fascinated by the design of the album, the cover.
It's so beautiful. And so who designed it and what's the inspiration?
Happy to mention his name is my friend, the artist Marco Gallotta, who lives in New York.
He is a very successful artist and he specializes, I would say, in portrait.
He does a lot of portraits, cutting the paper. So what you see is like he made my face and then he
cut after with the scissors and he makes these cuts, which are like kind of his style.
His style. And yeah, I think he's amazing. And we are very good friends. So I had the idea to ask
him to create a cover for me and I think I'm very, very beautiful.
Yeah, the design and then your music just go together so well. So congratulations again.
So
I know you're an amazing clarinetist and I mean, we listened to your concertino on the album.
You clearly have some chops on the clarinet. But as we are a piano podcast and I know you also
play the piano, I wanted to ask you about your relationship with the instrument and especially
if you use it in your compositional process.
Yes. So actually I started playing piano. It was my first instrument when I was a baby, I mean a kid.
And piano for me is really important. I could not compose just on the clarinet.
Anytime I think music, I visualize the keyboard of piano. So for me, it's very, very important.
And I compose usually at the desk. I'm a traditional composer with pencil and eraser.
But I always try things out on the piano and I also need the physical contact with the instrument,
the piano. Sometimes I compose at the piano, but most frequently at the desk. But usually I check
all the time. So especially if I have to write for piano, I need the piano.
Sure. Sure. Have you written a lot of compositions for piano?
I did. I mean a lot, no, but I did. Yeah. I wrote many pieces. Yeah.
Wonderful.
I want to chime in for one thing. I forgot to ask. I want to ask about the Prelude and the Fugue.
Those are piano pieces, right?
Yes. So I finished last year this other big project, which actually is going to be
published very soon. I'm in the middle of this publishing and it's a big work. It took one year
of my life and it's 24 Preludes and Fugues. I follow the model, the great model of Bach
that I made in my own way. Of course there are tonal Fugues and tonal Preludes. I respect all
the different keys, 24 keys. And I'm very excited because for me it was, I tried to update,
you know, this old form in my own way, putting inside some contemporary vibes, you know, like
some jazz influence, African, minimal music, different influence. I mean anything that could
come to my imagination I used in this work, but always of course being careful that I had to respect
the old tradition. And this is another project I'm very happy and I can't wait to present.
It was not still performed.
Oh, okay. And the scores will be available for purchase when it comes out?
Yes. I am in the middle of, I mean, we are publishing with an Italian publishing company
called the Curci Editore and it's going to be, hopefully this year, will be published
before the summer, hopefully, maybe even sooner.
And so if people are interested in finding scores of your older works, where could they get them?
Good question. So I have some works with an Italian publisher, which is Rai Com.
In the past it was called the Rai Trade, but now it's called Rai Com and it's connecting with
Italian radio and Italian TV. And I have a lot of works self-published, so you can find some of my
works on my website. And of course you can contact me through my website and I can, of course, send
my score if somebody wants to purchase or find specific work. And right now, as I mentioned,
I'm going to publish my 24 Produce and Fugue with another publishing company, which is the Curci Editore.
So yeah, and for anybody who's listening, the links to Paolo's website, where you can find
all his works and recordings, will be in the description.
Now, when we were talking earlier, you said you're even getting into electronics this year.
Electronic is a big work. But I was trying to, I used this bad period of, you know,
isolation and COVID, the problems, to learn something new for me. So I had to buy actually
for a working reason, I had to buy a new computer, because the one I had before was not able to
work fine on Zoom. Sorry guys, I'm a little bit tired. So sometimes my English becomes weak.
No, you're doing great. I'm right there with you.
So what I was saying, I bought a new computer and also I bought a new program for me of editing and
yeah, and composing, which is, I don't want to make, can I say the name or maybe not?
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.
It's famous, Logic is called, I mean, many people use it as one of the most popular.
And because I play clarinet, I also play, and now I bought a saxophone and I have different
type of clarinet, bass clarinet, regular, I mean, A clarinet, B flat. Now I have these alto sax
and I have a piano, electric keyboard, et cetera. So I became kind of a one man show
of one man music. Band in your apartment. Sorry, one man band. So I made some songs,
even pop, a little bit pop. And yeah, maybe in the future I will do an album of this more light,
more lighter songs.
I like the song so far, the ones I've heard.
Yeah, it sounds like you're always looking for the next new thing to push yourself, which I really
admire in any composer or any creative for that matter. You know, one thing I really like speaking
as a digital composer myself is that I feel like it's cheating because if you have a digital
keyboard plugged into a computer and some sample libraries, you can be any instrument in the
orchestra. Have you gotten into that at all yet? Or you're...
Yes, yes.
Actually, when I use the guitar from the keyboard, like I play myself, I try to... It's actually fun
because even if you use a keyboard, like a piano, but every time you use the sound of a guitar
or a flute, the challenge is to create, to follow the style of the instrument. So you'll make
arpeggios as to sound like a guitar or the way to create a melody on flute sound has to be like a
flute. Yeah. But I was trying to use as much as I can, like real sound from the instrument I can
play. Even my voice, I record my voice, I made some choral pieces and yeah, I'm experimenting
just for fun and to see what will come out of it.
Yeah, wonderful, wonderful.
So aside from what you're working on right now, we just talked about, do you have any future
prospects, future projects or aspirations for things in years to come?
Yeah. So I have to finish a piece for ensemble that I'm in the middle of,
chamber ensemble. And after this piece, I would love to work on with voice again. So either,
I'm not sure if I will go back to a project I started about an opera, a real opera,
but it's a big, big work. So maybe I will start with something smaller like with a
this time using a tenor probably or baritone solo because the piece with the Emily De Quince
poem feature a soprano. So I want to make another kind of a twin of that piece with a male voice.
So I have to find the right poem. I still don't know exactly.
For sure, I want to go back to work with voice.
Okay. You know, talking about these huge works and I mean, you sound so busy and I'm sure you
are. It just makes me wonder, what does your day look like and how much time do you spend
composing every day? I'm sure it's different for every composer, right? But I'm just curious.
I wish it was more sometimes. And so when I have my schedule, full schedule of teaching, I have to
be very diligent and find the way that because teaching is also draining a lot of energy.
Actually right now with the online teaching is very tiring. So I have to really sometimes
push myself and force myself to have like some hours that I know that are dedicated to composition.
But you know, sometimes I change. I'm not like, you know, always regular. Sometimes I can work
many hours in the same day. Sometimes I don't compose at all. Sometimes I try to compose
regularly, a few hours a day. So it depends. I'm not always consistent. I have crisis,
some moments where I cannot write. I don't want to write. So I admire composers who can compose
exactly every day, the same hours from 8 in AM until I'm not that type. I change time all the time.
I usually prefer the morning. Morning is my favorite. It helps a lot for me when I have
the commissions, when I request. I feel like I'm much more motivated and I compose more,
I compose faster. But even if I don't, sometimes we don't have always commission. So even if,
when I don't have commission, I try to imagine which piece I would love to compose, even if no
one asked me. Sometimes it's even more exciting sometimes.
Yeah, I really like that idea. Because certainly composers and performers, I think most musicians
really work best under a deadline, right? That's when we do our best work. That's when we work the
most. And I think really it doesn't have to do with procrastination or not being motivated,
but we need to know that we're valued in the world. It's not easy being a musician and ultimately
it's something that we're doing for other people. So that really gives us that extra juice.
We need to feel that somebody's waiting for us, I think is important. I think it's always an exchange.
Yeah, so it's tough, especially right now that we don't have concerts because
everything is frozen. It's been many years, but everywhere in the world. So for us finding
motivation right now is very hard. But we have to accept, I mean, we don't work in the bank.
So we have to accept the up and down.
And I love your idea of just let me do what I would most love to do for myself right now.
Because the other side of it is when it rains, it pours. And sometimes we get more work than we have time for.
And then we don't get to do these passion projects. So now is really the time to take advantage of that.
I think that's really smart.
Yes, you're right.
This is called the piano pod rapid-fire.
We're going to ask really from five dollar questions to a million dollar question at the end.
And then nobody gets the money. But it's a fun question. So I would like for you to answer in.
Oh, sorry. In very short answer, please.
OK, so I'm going to start. OK, you ready? All right. Let's do it.
Question number one. Five dollars. What is your favorite food?
Oh, fast.
All right. Number two. Cats or dogs?
Dogs.
All right. Do you have a pet? No. No. OK. All right. What is your word or words to live by?
Love.
Oh, good one. All right. What is the most important quality you look for in people?
Imagination.
What is the worst quality you look for in people?
What is the worst quality in people you want to stay away from?
Opportunism.
Oh, yeah. Opportunism. Yeah, that's a good one.
All right, Eric. Oh, yeah. OK, my turn. Name three people who inspire you, living or dead.
In music or in general, whatever.
Stravinsky, Verdi and Michelangelo.
Wonderful. Who would you like to take lessons from? I guess this is a historical figure.
Who would you like to take lessons from if they were still alive?
Doesn't have to be a musician.
Yeah, Stravinsky.
Stravinsky, OK. And which historical figure or composer would you want to hang out with at a bar?
Verdi. Verdi? Sounds like fun.
All right, we're having a party. All right. So I'm going to bring out the million dollar question.
All right. Let's do it. One piece?
In your current playlist.
One piece?
In your current playlist.
I don't have any playlist, but one piece.
That you're listening to right now.
You listen to any music?
Schumann. Schumann.
Wow. All right.
Schumann Quintet.
Giano Quintet.
Oh, my favorite.
Name a book title you're currently reading.
OK, I'm reading a book, Lorenzo da Ponte, the memoir, Memories.
The British of Mozart.
Right.
And it's, I'm almost done. It's a big book.
It's kind of a Don Giovanni.
A couple of guys.
And it was very fascinating.
Fun.
You get only one song piece to listen to for the rest of your life.
What would it be?
Very cool. Probably John Cage, The Fourth Minute, 133 Syllable.
Very cool.
Good one.
And a few in the blank. Music is?
If I am in the?
No, a few in the blank. Music is blank.
What is your blank?
Ah, OK. Music is dream.
Oh, look at that.
Ding, ding, ding.
You win.
You are the winner.
But we have.
All right. So that concludes this episode of the Piano Pod.
Thank you so much, Paulo, for joining our program today.
And thanks to you, our audience, for listening.
We want to remind the listeners and the viewer of this episode that Paulo Martini's new album, The Month, has ended.
On the music streaming services such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, the place that Paulo just mentioned earlier.
And all the links are listed in the description of this episode below.
If you enjoyed today's episode, please hit the thumbs up button down below and be sure to subscribe to our channel.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.
The links are listed in the description.
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.
Hope to see you for the next episode of the Piano Pod.
Bye, everyone. Bye, everyone. Thank you, Paulo. Thank you for hosting me.
Bye. Bye.