Letters from the Earth

28 April 2008

2008-04-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

28 April 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

I want to talk about teachers. By teachers, I can mean both direct and indirect. There are those who teach us directly, through classroom or lesson or even pure discussion, and those who teach and influence us through their body of work, even though we may never have met them personally.

The main reason I am writing this is because I just learned of the passing of Jimmy Giuffre. Jimmy was my jazz teacher at New England Conservatory and one of the most influential people on both my playing and writing. I worked with him both privately and in an ensemble where we played his arrangements. His writing style was superb, matched only by his artistry as a clarinet and sax player. The sound that I have is a direct result of his influence, and my writing and concept of instrumental color has also been heavily influenced by his work.

The interesting thing is, strangely, that I was as influenced by his recordings as I was by his person. You knew that it was the same person, but for some reason, it hits you differently. Knowing his recordings from the 50s and 60s was very different then knowing him as a student in the 80s. He had evolved, but the concepts were the same.

I think this is a great problem with jazz (and pop/rock) musicians where they get pigeon-holed into a style and can’t escape it. I knew Stan Getz very well; I also knew that he began to hate Bossa Nova because that’s all that people wanted him to play. This style made (or at least revived) his career in the 60s, and for the next 25 years he couldn’t escape it. Every time he would try something new he would be chastised by his audience. It’s the same for others, as well. Think about pop or rock musicians who were big during a certain era; they can never escape that. Their audience wants only what they know. And believe me, the artists are not happy about it…they are stuck in time.

Jimmy kept evolving. His playing and writing style was unmistakable, but it evolved. He wasn’t stuck.

In an earlier letter, I talked about the passing of Karlheinz Stockhausen and his influence on me. I never met him; I just knew of him through recordings and performances-including my own-of his music. I don’t know if I would’ve liked him as a person, but that doesn’t matter-the influence was there, and I felt his passing. John Cage was equally, if not more important, to me, but I knew Cage personally, worked with him. His influence was his personality, equal in impact to his music.

I mean, I can state influences and ‘teachers’ all the way back to Josquin during the Renaissance, but even the ones we never meet I think have more impact on us if they are creating during our lifetimes. Charles Ives was my first great contemporary music and spiritual influence, but he died in the 50s. Others, like saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, was releasing recordings into the 1990s (he died in 1996); his influence on me was great, and yes, I felt the loss of him, even though we never met. He shaped my early love for jazz. As I said, I knew Stan Getz personally, but his influence wasn’t nearly as strong on me as Mulligan’s. Some, like Aaron Copland, only started to influence me after their death-strange that it took an event like an artist’s death to really become aware of them.

Jimmy was the first of my ‘creative’ teachers to pass. I have had close classroom teachers pass, music theory or history professors, but not one that had direct influence on my creative evolution. It was his playing and writing that intrigued me as a Conservatory student, made me want to work with him when other students wanted to study with the newer, younger, ‘slick’ players. It was Jimmy’s sound that I admired and his control that I wanted to achieve. It was Jimmy’s concepts that I went to during my first post-Conservatory ‘Dark Period’ (early 90s), when I stopped playing saxophone for over a year and a half; I played only clarinet, and focused only on sound concepts-his sound concepts-one note at a time, always exploring the possibilities. During this period, I was also writing a lot; his recordings were one of the major influences here-they shaped my modern sound. I still use what I had learned during this time, and still practice this way and use these ideas in my writing-it has just evolved.

I have evolved, as we all do. I hope that as artists, we keep learning and evolving. I know that there comes a point where we don’t need formal ‘teachers’ anymore, and that‘s natural. There is even a point when we do our best to even distance ourselves from our teachers to prove our individuality-I’ve gone through this, and I hope that I have grown out of it. Teachers can still come to us in many ways, not just formally. We just have to be open to the possibilities, and be willing to listen; they don’t even have to do what we do, but they will give us insight to ourselves and our creativity.

I can only hope that I can do this for others, as my many ‘teachers’ have done for me.

Thank you, Jimmy. Hope to see you next time around.

Yours always,

Demetrius

April 17-22, 2008 (Germany)

2008-04-26T01:17:00.000-07:00

April 17-22, 2008 (Germany)
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

Germany…wow…what a great place. As you know, I was invited to participate in a concert with Pianowaves, which consists of Susanne Kessel, piano, and Leon Milo, electronics and percussion. This was really one of the best chamber music experiences I have ever had; just fantastic interplay and interaction.

But I’ll get to all that.

You know, it’s really difficult to get to anywhere from St. Petersburg. One would think that it would be easy; it’s the second largest city in Russia (and the CIS), and is extremely close to Europe-a 5 hour train ride to Helsinki. Unfortunately the way that Russian air carriers work is that they send you through Moscow for almost all international flights; mind you, St. Petersburg is an international airport, but you have to go East before you can go West…doesn’t make much sense…not that any system here makes much sense, so I shouldn’t be surprised…

Needless to say, I was ecstatic to find Germanwings Airline; a DIRECT flight from St. Petersburg to Bonn/Cologne…wow! They seemed to have a good reputation, so I went with them. I have to say that I believe that I was destined to have a great experience: when I boarded the plane, I noticed that the name of it was “City of Athens”. That was a good sign.

And it was such a nice plane. You have to realize that I had been traveling throughout the CIS on airplanes that were probably made in the 1960s…most seemed to be held together by string and sealing wax…the nicest plane from the CIS that I was on, Aerosvit (Ukraine), ran over a truck on the runway, if you recall. So this was a pleasant experience. I was, however, shocked to find out that I had to pay for food and beverage-nothing was complementary. And it was 5-½ Euros for a sandwich and coffee…that’s like $8 and a quarter! So, I begrudgingly paid for my cheese baguette, but WHAT a cheese baguette! It was the best cheese sandwich that I had ever had! Wow! This wasn’t hunger talking or the fact that I had to justify paying over 8 bucks for it…well, maybe a little…but it was still good.

Bonn/Cologne airport is quite lovely; modern, clean, efficient…a perfect representation of Germany as a whole. I was met at the airport by Leon and Susanne’s boyfriend David. Now, like all of my collaborative adventures this year, I had never met, or even spoken with, Susanne or Leon before this. I have been extremely lucky thus far that all of my new connections have been great experiences. This, as I mentioned above, was to turn out to be the best thus far. I instantly liked both David and Leon. Leon was different than I expected; I hadn’t had as much communication with him as I had with Susanne, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. What I got was a very warm and kind individual whom I instantly liked and got along with, which was great.

Susanne was recovering from being ill, so at first she was a little stand-offish, mostly I believe not to infect the rest of us, and also, of course, that she didn’t know what to expect from me. I can be scary, you know…but seriously, she was taking a great chance in inviting me to Bonn to play; as much, if not more, than the chance I took in going there. For all of us, it was a leap of faith.

And it paid off, ten times more than expected. We all instantly connected-well, the second day we connected better; I was pretty burned out after I arrived and not playing very well, and Susanne was still in recovery mode (but playing beautifully), and Leon discovered that some of the equipment he rented had parts missing. But that second day we started to gel. By the third, we were an ensemble, we were feeling each other, we achieved uni-mind, as I call it. Pieces that at first seemed like potential disasters started to come together better than expected.

Now, we were an ensemble.

The day of the concert was intense. Susanne first played a solo program of new compositions by Icelandic composers to promote her new CD. She blew my mind, to put it bluntly. I have worked with a lot of great pianists in my time (and many horrible ones…), but Susanne is the best that I have ever experienced live; her tone, expression, artistry…just beautiful. To put it into words almost diminishes it, so I’ll stop trying. But combining this with the fact that she is also an incredibly kind and pure soul just makes the experience that much greater.

Our program, which started about a ½ hour after Susanne finished, was really fantastic. We clicked on all accounts. From the premier of my piece “Gymnopaedia”, to the solo and duo works, to the trios, all was very uplifting. I really enjoyed working with Leon, most especially in our improvisations. He is fantastically creative, and it’s such a great experience to work with a composer who is also a performer (like me!), someone who understands both sides. It’s very refreshing. This way, we can both explore structural and performance aspects of an improvisation; there’s no limitation.

I can’t say enough good things about the concert, so I’ll stop trying. The following day of relaxation in Cologne was also a beautiful experience. Visiting the Cologne Cathedral was an experience, as was enjoying the downtown area with my friends. Susanne wants us both (me and Leon) to move there. I can be talked into it…the city, the culture, the cleanliness, the people, the quality of life…fantastic. The only thing I don’t like is the lack of palm trees (I do love a Mediterranean climate), but it seems to be my lot in life to live in cold climates…so I can deal. Plus, knowing and working with such artists is far more warming than any amount of sunshine.

So, begrudgingly, I went back to Russia…yuck. Ah, well, at least I can relax a little when I get back; I had to be up at 3AM to get my flight, and I hadn’t slept much at all this weekend, so a day of sleeping was really appealing to me. Think that happened? Nope. Margaret, bless her, after meeting me at the airport stated that she had good news and bad news. The good news was that I was invited to be a guest artist at the Jazz Filarmonia, St. Petersburg’s version of Jazz at Lincoln Center-cool-the bad news was that I was playing in a couple of hours…so much for sleeping…

So, I went, and to say that I was disappointed was a vast understatement. Russian jazz players…well, I thought that I either stepped back into the late 1930s or that I was watching a Ken Burns production…the tunes, the style, the solos, all taken from off the records, NOTE FOR NOTE! They were playing these tunes like etudes-no soul, no style, no creativity-everything was copied. Literally. So, of course, when I was introduced, I wanted to do something a little…different. I thought, “OK, let’s do something a little more modern, but nothing that will scare the audience TOO much”. I suggested a couple of tunes and the rhythm section looked at me like I had horns…they knew none of the tunes I mentioned. “What?”, I said in shock, you don’t know “Black Orpheus”, you don’t know any Miles Davis?”. OK, fine, do you know “St. Thomas”? The bass player did-OK, that’s a start-I had to sing the rhythm to the drummer so he could understand what I meant by Calypso. The bass player told the changes to the piano player and we actually started something. I, of course, couldn’t stay in the straight-ahead world too long went a little free jazz (peppered with R&B) on them…they were scared…GOOD, they need to be scared. The other players had no idea what I was doing. On a later tune, a soprano player came up started playing something rather more modern-he was instantly shunned by the others-so I of course spoke to him. He said that he loved what I was doing, that he understood modern jazz and that he works with American musicians on a cruise ship and is on top of new trends and styles-ah, good! He also couldn’t stand the Jazz Filarmonia for the same reasons.

There’s hope yet…

Well, my friend, thus ends the Bonn experience. Fantastic place…I may be brushing up my German sooner than later…it’s such a stark contrast to here, and in many ways, it really is the pinnacle of Western culture.

Time to dust of the Berlitz tapes…

Your traveler,

Demetrius

9 April 2008

2008-04-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

9 April 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

Well…it happened. I had to do it. It was time to take on the greatest challenge of my time here with no idea of what the outcome might be. Granted, I had been stranded in Ukraine, harassed by Passport Control, in an airline accident on the runway, threatened by Customs, and almost arrested in Uzbekistan, but nothing, NOTHING, gave me more cause for alarm then this…

…the prospect of a Russian haircut…

Now, don’t think that I’m blowing this out of proportion. You have to understand that in a culture where good taste is, well, rather non-existent, the Russian haircut reigns supreme. In all honesty, the women’s hair styles are not so bad, assuming that you like bangs and mahogany dye, but all in all not offensive. The men’s styles (if I may use the term loosely) are another matter altogether. Here we encounter a level of taste so Infernal that it would frighten Mephistopheles; the bowl cut, the buzz cut, and the mullet: the Unholy Trinity itself!

I had to do it, it was time. I tried to resist, truly I did. My last haircut was last July. I was determined to let it grow for the year; after seeing the carnage around me, I had sworn folic asceticism. “There is NO WAY these people are touching my hair” I proudly declared, “NO WAY!”…

Umm…make that “WAY”…it seemed that my last haircut, although lovely in July, had grown out rather unattractively. It was flat and bushy on the top and there were so many wings flying off in a multitude of directions that I could’ve been mistaken for a Seraphim. The last days here have been extremely windy, and this also led to my decision; it kept getting in my eyes, nose, mouth, etc…I also have a performance at the Hermitage tomorrow that will be video taped for publication and broadcast…OK, it’s time…I give in…the March to the Scaffolding…beat the executioner’s drum…into the lion’s den go I…

But, I wasn’t going in empty-handed, uh-uh, no way. Since I didn’t know the Russian phase for “no mullet”, we printed out a picture of me playing one of my concerts in Athens in October; it was a nice picture that showed my hair from a good angle. I thought “OK, I’ll smile and show them this; in the worst case scenario, I have Margaret, bless her, for ‘quality control’; what could go wrong?”…this last phrase was meant to quiet the growing doubts, but I was ready.

So, we went to the place. It was a biggish store with three ladies working; none spoke English. The little one was going to take me; an older, stocky lady whom I believe I had seen elbowing much larger and younger travelers on the metro…but maybe I was just expecting the worst…the worst started to come true when, disregarding the photo that she was shown, shoved my head under ice-cold water (she was strong and wily, that one…) to execute…oops…I mean ‘begin’ the procedure…

I’ve got to admit, I don’t think in all of my haircuts combined had my head been bent and shoved in so many random directions, and so quickly…granted, it could have been the fact that her glasses were about as think as my wrist…remember, this women had sharp objects near vital arteries…Margaret, bless her, did jump out of her chair at one point to make sure that the nice lady had seen the picture and knew what we were going for.

There was more than one instant when my hair was starting to exhibit ‘mullet-like’ qualities; this frightened me. But, this did not frighten me nearly as much as the what I caught out of the corner of my eye, between the chair and the sink…dried blood…LOTS of it…splattered on the wall and floor. “She’s as blind as a bat!”, I was thinking, “ and, she’s obsessively, MANIACALLY, cutting of less than a millimeter at a time from one side, then the other. She’s like, preparing me for the kill, dressing the lamb and leading me to slaughter…”.

Actually, Margaret, bless her, after the event did present a plausible explanation for the blood: it was dried mahogany dye…OK, maybe it was, but for the duration of the haircut, I was fearing for my throat…

You know what else didn’t help the situation? Well, I’ll tell you: a radio blasting Russian pop music! Dear God, if the Russian haircut wasn’t bad enough…taste takes another nose-dive here to nether-depths unfathomable, and it’s EVERYWHERE: cafes, trains, airplanes, churches…OK, not in churches, but you get my point. In some of it they are trying to copy American R&B and pop styles-which is rather difficult in a culture with no sense of rhythm-but mostly, it just ends up sounding like some perverted genetic experiment that mated the Bay City Rollers and Bollywood…

Anyways, back to the haircut…after what seemed like hours on the chair due to both fear and mullet-awareness, the haircut was finished. It’s not horrible…it’s like nothing that you would get in the US, but it is better then before: I was starting to look a little too much like St. John the Baptist. Now, with my trendy facial hair, I look more like a Victorian Prince of Darkness, which kinda works for me; all that’s missing is the horns…

Thus ends the Russian haircut experience. Margaret, bless her, is happy with the results and is no longer ashamed to be seen in public with me…and, to be honest, it’s so much nicer now not to be mistaken for a Muppet.

Until next time,

Demetrius

March 24-27 (Ukraine)

2008-04-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

March 24-27 (Ukraine)
Mark Twain
United States of America
Dear Mark,

Ukraine…well, this was a trip…

Actually once I got there, it was very good; it was getting there that was the real adventure.
So…I go through passport control and security at Pulkovo 1 terminal in St. Petersburg; everything is normal. We board the plane-Aerosvit Airlines out of Kiev-and prepaare to take off. We are taxiing down the runway when suddenly, there’s a huge bump, a smashing sound, and the plane bounces, yes bounces, up and back…everything stops and we are asked to leave the plane…

…it seems as if we ran over a truck on the runway…I’m not kidding here…ripped a large hole in the fuselage. Needless to say, the flight was cancelled. Pandemonium then ensued…
People were screaming and yelling. There were no more flights to Kiev that day (which was where my transfer to Dnipropetrovs’k was) and it turned out later that there ended up being no more flights for 2 days-this is when the Pandemonium really kicked in…people rushing the Aerosvit offices, me included, to find a way to our destinations. Of course, no one spoke English, so my questions went unanswered…the one official who spoke any (and not much, mind you…) English just said…”no flights for you”…but he did sign my ticket for a refund.

This didn’t help…I had a big concert and master class the next day at the Dnipropetrovs’k Conservatory that had been publicized across the country and they expected there to be many in attendance. This trip was also being funded by the US State Department. I had to contact all and say that it’s not looking good. Reactions to this ranged from disbelief to downright anger…my contact at the Conservatory who organized this, Yuryi Serdyuk, said “but…but…you don’t understand…we made posters!…you have to make it…they’ll HANG me!”.

A man that eloquent can not be let down…I wasn’t finished with the system…but I needed reinforcements…

By day: an unassuming scholar, just seemingly one of many researching in the Russian library…but…when duty calls, she dons her red cape (OK…a red hat and scarf, but you get the picture…) and flies into action for Truth, Justice, and the American Way!

Margaret saved all of our butts that day…the Conservatory’s, the US State Department’s, mine…and I can safely say that Mr. Serdyuk was NOT hanged.

Margaret was functioning as translator for all-me, the information desk, other airlines, the Conservatory-we tried to come up with a solution. I didn’t need to get to Kiev, I needed to get to Dnipropetrovs’k (by the way, I still can’t actually pronounce this name properly…) by the next morning; there were no flights…

…but, we had an idea: I asked “where in Ukraine can you get me?” and “how close can you get me to my destination?”.

As it turned out, there was a flight leaving in a half hour for Moscow; from there, I could catch a flight to Donsek, which was about 4-5 hours (think Boston to NYC) away from Dnipropetrovs’k by bus or car…hmmm…”Yuryi! Who do you know in Donesk?”…it turned out that Mr. Serdyuk had a colleague there; he contacted him to meet me in the airport and get me to the bus station.

So I took the flight. Now, of course, when my flight was cancelled, the nice man at Passport Control put a big “CANCEL” stamp in my passport where the stamp for the original flight was…needless to say, I had to explain this throughout the trip: leaving and entering both Russia and Ukraine…I am going to laminate a card (in Russian) to give with my passport so I’m not trying to explain by gesture why I have this stamp…which, by the way, I must admit was a spectacle…especially when I gestured the plane running over the truck…they got the idea…

I got to Donesk and met Yuryi’s frind Valeri, who also didn’t speak English, but he brought along his young son who is studying English in school. They got me to the bus station and booked me on an overnight bus to Dnipropetrovs’k.

It was interesting. I was sitting in an outdoor waiting area, by myself, in the middle of the night, somewhere in Eastern Ukraine…one can’t help but reflect on one’s life and travels. I actually couldn’t help it, but I started to laugh out loud. “What a crazy, mixed up life I lead…” I thought, “where the Hell am I, anyways?”. “I’m just a kid from Lowell, Massachusetts, and now I’m in a deserted, practically pitch black, outdoor bus station in the heartland of the former Soviet Union…who woulda thought?“ Paul Simon’s “Homeward Bound” kept floating into my consciousness. Yup, a long way from home…

The bus came, and I went. I arrived in Dnipropetrovs’k at about 5 the next morning, looking like I have been traveling for 20 hours, which I had been. There, waiting for me, was Yuryi’s smiling face…he gives me a hug and says “OK?”…and I say “I’m here, aren’t I?”

After crashing for a couple of hours, I headed to the Conservatory for my master class and concert. Both were successful, as was the next day of classes. I talked about American music and college level music study and we compared ideas. Other than my interpreter, who was a clarinet student, no one actually spoke much English. Strangely though, it’s amazing how much we could actually understand each other…this was mostly due to the tremendous amounts of cognac and vodka consumed during the day. When language inhibitions break down, boy, do people make sense! We described for each other our entire methods and concepts of practice and study, our careers and lives, as well as other topics like fishing…understood all of it…

Thus ends my Ukrainian adventure. Great people-kind, considerate-and Yuryi Serdyuk is a fantastic conductor and musician, as well as a beautiful human being. He and I are not finished collaborating; I’ll do my best to help him get some gigs in the US. But that’s what these trips are all about: making connections and building bridges.

Until next time,

Demetrius

20 March 2008

2008-03-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

20 March 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

This will be a different kind of letter. I can't say just yet why I'm writing it or what specifically its about. All I know is at this point, this letter has to be written. I want to talk about ethics and morals.

Society has imposed certain beliefs upon us. For good or bad, these beliefs have defined us and our relationship to society as a whole. Granted, many beliefs, such as those in religion and government, have been strained and even lost over the years. I am not referring to anything or anyone specifically-that is not my intent. My intent is to look at the effects that modern society has on an individuals sense of ‘self’, and more importantly, how that individual views the common rules, both written and unwritten, of that society.

Firstly, I believe that I should define my terms; people, or at least American college students (and I’m sure other college students across the globe), confuse the terms ‘morals’ and ‘ethics’. When I was younger, when confronted by a friend saying that I had no morals (we won‘t get into why…), I would always grinningly reply “wrong, I have a tremendous morals; what I lack are ethics!”. Morals are the rules of weal and evil that one puts on oneself, while ethics are those of society. The question for me has always been if what was good for society was equally good for the individual.

What I think has really sparked this was an article (or actually, many articles and recent discussions) in the St. Petersburg Times. The article in question had to do with quality of sold food products. A new study has shown that over 50% of Russian oil, meat, and dairy products are unfit for human consumption. The article continued to say that many labels are incorrect and that food is sold without any of the real ingredients listed and also well after the food in question has spoiled. It also went on to say that the worst food products actually went to schools and orphanages, provoking numerous accounts of poisoning.

Now, I have had recent conversations with friends who stated that in Soviet days, the products were extremely limited, but what you got was of tremendous quality. One friend, who loves fish, said that he will no longer buy it because the quality is so bad. Twenty years ago, they wouldn’t always have fish, but when they did, you were sure that it was good and fresh.

Now, since the fall of communism, the Russian economy has undergone great change. From what I understand, what went from limited good quality products went to numerous, low quality products that make more money. Something was missed here in the transition. The societal concept improved, but the morality didn’t; if anything, it deteriorated. In the West, especially in certain European countries, the choices and quality of products are much, much greater. Granted, this has to do with decades, if not centuries, of a free-market economy, but both the ethics and morals, at least in this topic, are both of high quality. Just because something is good for the economy doesn’t mean that it will be produced; it has to be good and safe for the consumer.

Article number two: a train carrying nuclear waste was parked in a district of St. Petersburg. Radiation levels were 30 times acceptable levels. For economic reasons, it made sense, but the human factor was completely disregarded. Does one do what is good for the society, or does one listen to their individual morals. The environmentalists who were there to monitor the levels were threatened by a guard with a loaded and cocked machine gun.

Article number three: nationalism has caused a great deal of race related violence. A young African student was stabbed over 30 times after a soccer game. Groups of nationalistic youths threw bananas at the opposing (French) team’s black members. Here is another frightening point: what is being portrayed as this society’s ethics? Patriotism is one thing, but nationalism to the extent where violence is accepted against foreigners is bordering on something else. Is racial purity becoming an ethic, and if so, what of the individual’s morals? Do these also adapt to the new ethics? Is it out of mass-thinking, or ignorance, or is this being taught? What changes a supposed all-accepting, educated communist society to a violent, nationalistic, neo-fascist, only-caring-about-money society? Where did the ethics go wrong?

Discussion: at one point, education, most especially in the arts and sciences, was considered one of the most important goals of an individual. Everyone was well versed. At one point, being a piano teacher was an honorable career. Now, this has changed: education means nothing and making money has become the only factor of importance. From what I have been told, the level of students has dropped considerably in the last 15 years.

Now, Mark, you know that no one hates communism more than I. In all of my letters, I have always praised the individual and shouted the doctrine of Humanism and the Enlightenment from the rooftops. I am not praising communism here, but something has changed. Maybe, they weren’t ready for the change. A society’s ethics and yes, even an individual’s morals don’t change that drastically; or, at least, I didn’t think so. The West has succeeded in a democratic, free market because, well, the West invented it. I think that the cultural ethics of Europe and the strong morality of the US helped to temper this to work over many, many decades for the benefit of society as a whole; granted, there are still issues-nothing is perfect; and it’s better or worse depending on the country-but all in all it functions well.

Here, I think that they once had the cultural aspirations to be Western Europe and even in some ways a rival educational system, but with the opening of the markets the society flipped completely, embracing all of the degeneration and corruption of money without the balance of cultural wisdom to temper this. Kid’s let loose in a candy store…they gorge and gorge and don’t share…this leads to suspicion and more corruption, and eventually to an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, which is the breading ground for nationalism and hate crimes.

Do they, the Russians, have a new set of societal ethics? Have individual morals evolved to now display these new ethics? I don’t know. All I know is that the democratic experiment here has produced some frightening results, and I don’t know how long this will last, if democracy even still exists here.

Maybe, in some ways, it’s better. The cultural mentality is not Western. They didn’t have Ancient Greece or the Renaissance or the Enlightenment. The vast majority of people don’t think as individuals; maybe they need to be shown the way, if not ruled. Maybe the only way to bring order and stamp out corruption and violence here is to have a strong leader. I don’t know…I can only hope that it is NOT this way and that this country will eventually find its ’sea legs’ as a strong, democratic nation.

All I know is that I see a society in flux. I like these people, very much-I want them to be alright and to be a part of the world society. I want them to be a democracy, and to take their rightful place as allies with the Western powers. The West, the world, can only benefit from a strong Russia with a strong moral streak. This way, we can all help each other; not just economically, but also to guard against moral or ethical injustices from any of us.

Until next time,

Demetrius

March 1-7, 2008 (Kyrgyzstan)

2008-03-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

March 1-7 (Kyrgyzstan)
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

Kyrgyzstan is breathtaking. In all of my travels, I have never seen a place of such natural beauty and splendor, save the Grand Canyon. Granted, the two are in a way opposites: one a desert canyon and the other a mountainous landscape, but both should be on everyone’s ‘top two list’ of what to see during their lifetime.

The Kyrgyz are a very traditional people; a nomadic culture that was brought to settlement (for good or bad…) by first the Russians and then the Soviet Union, who also exploited their resources. The people, however, being on the Silk Road, have not allowed this to effect their kindness and hospitality, which is unmatched in most regions of the world. There are also strong parallels between them and the Native American cultures and there has been speculation on a common heritage.

This traditional outlook may have also led to the way that music education is presented in both the earlier and advanced schools. The training is very Russian in its approach and tendencies (and you KNOW my views on that…), yet it doesn’t have the inclination towards experimental or Avant-garde ideas which the other post-Soviet nations seem to be embracing. The training to me seems very conservative, and like it’s post-Soviet neighbors there is a lack of knowledge of Western music and compositional techniques after the 1960s. Where the other CIS countries (like Russia) seem to be constantly flailing around in the mid-20th Century Avant-garde, the Kyrgyz training appears to disregard much of it…this is where I come in.

But more on that shortly…

My hosts were fantastic! The US Embassy rolled out the red carpet for me, and I can only hope that I honored their commitment to inter-cultural connection that seems to be a main priority here. My main contact person and host, Kamila Kojokmatova, who is a musicologist turned cultural ambassador in her own right, is dedicated to improving the academic situation here and bringing the music programs (as well as other artistic initiatives) up to Western standards. She also created (with the backing of the US Embassy) the American Music Center where I gave many of my talks and lectures to students from all Bishkek colleges. This is a great resource and she has acquired many good recordings and important scores, which is fantastic. The students here have something to start their education of music from the West, which is far better than what I have seen in other countries.

The other member of our traveling trinity was my interpreter, Elita Asankulova, who was just great for numerous reasons; the most important of which being the fact that she translated all of my lectures and interviews and followed all of the unimaginable nuances of my East Coast dialect. Even though I’m from New England, there’s very little of proper English pronunciation left, let me tell you…she also (along with Kamila) has a great sense of humor, which is crucial in dealing with me for an extended period of time…

The students were great. I think that some were a little frightened at my concerts; coming from such conservative training, the music that I play (I played solo, with electronics, and with film) was very much out of their, and their teacher’s, comfort zones. This, I think, was good for them. They reacted, which means that it had an impact. Many didn’t know what to make of me, my music, and my ideas. Actually, the Rector of the Bishkek College of Music gave after my main concert what sounded to me like a disclaimer, and I paraphrase “this was new; some liked it, some didn’t”…hey, that’s OK. I think what was even more interesting was the reaction in my composition seminar the next day when I told them that my music is actually considered conservative (I do love a good tune…) by Western academic circles and that I probably would never get a full-time academic position due to this. This hit home when I played some recordings of more experimental music and they really didn’t know how to react. “See”, I told them, “my stuff’s not so bad now, is it?”; they nodded sheepishly…

One of the major events that was taking place while I was there was the week leading up to International Women’s Day. This is a Socialist holiday turned Hallmark (in a post-Soviet sort of way). I did, however, get to officially ‘congratulate’ women many times, including on Kyrgyzstan television (where I also played Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”; seemed like a good choice) and at a special solo concert I gave at the US Ambassador’s residency. The pieces I played were all American women composers. Now, to be honest-and I KNOW these particular ladies feel the same way about this as I-I dislike putting them into a category of ‘Women composers’ rather than just ‘composers’. Alex, Carol, Denise, and Molly are all kickin’ composers! The pieces are fantastic and I have played them all year on tour, and will keep playing them. Using these terms forces these artists to be judged separately rather then how they should be, which is with their peers. I have always felt the same way with any competition or job ‘audition’; the best person should always win, regardless of any gender, creed, or race (I also hate this use of this word; we’re all one race if I remember correctly; just with a whole lot of neat variations…) concerns. That was probably the only thing that state Communism got right; equality across the board. Communism’s problem was this (oops…no, I guess they didn’t quite get this right either then, I’m afraid…) was that it should’ve been an equal starting block for employment, etc., and then it should have allowed for the person’s individuality to carry them to the highest planes they could reach for. Blank slate (or the ‘blind audition’) at the beginning, then let the Individual be exalted! I know…I’m just a dreamer…it’s that wild-growing Humanism hair again…amazing how much it’s grown since I’ve been here….

But back to Kyrgyzstan…these are a wonderful people; kind, considerate, giving, and wanting to learn and to be included on the world stage. It’s this last idea where I think that I may have had the most impact. The students, mostly composers, who weren’t afraid of what I was doing and were even intrigued by the possibilities, will be the ones to lead them to this. They see the possibilities, and they see how they can use what I taught them to expand their own individual voices. This has been my hope all along: not to inundate students across the CIS with American and other Western musical ideas and history, but to bring the West’s most important gift, Individuality, to young artists seeking a way to express themselves in a closed, mass-minded, environment.

I hope that here, as well as elsewhere, I have planted this seed. I want to return here, soon, to see how it may have taken root. We have spoken about an extended stay here in the near future, even a Fulbright to work with students intensely…this intrigues me, not just for the opportunity to live in this remarkable place, but also to see the evolution of thought that I, that WE, are bringing about.

Until next time,

Demetrius

February 24-29, 2008 (Uzbekistan)

2008-03-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

February 24-29, 2008 (Uzbekistan)
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

In the next two letters, I will be writing about my most recent trip to Central Asia, beginning with Uzbekistan. One thing that I have to say beforehand is that during this entire trip, I began to become aware of the idea of home and belonging. Many of the conversations that I had with people, for one reason or another, dealt with this topic. It was very interesting to see how people, especially artists in closed societies, thought about their place in these societies and their relation to the world as a whole. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are in stark contrast socially and politically, but both are traditional cultures whose influence reaches well beyond politics. These experiences also started to make me think about my sense of home and being, with rather unsettling results…but more on that later.

My return trip to Tashkent felt more like a homecoming rather then an exotic adventure. I have been in close contact with many people from last time, and this of course brings a strong sense of familiarity. The city itself seemed like an ‘old stomping ground’ and I was quickly oriented. The Black Box Festival had been going on for about a week before my arrival, so things were in full swing at the Ilkhom Theater.

The preparations and execution of my multimedia program went very well; this group of artists and technicians understands multimedia and brought the presentation to a new level with staging and lights. The only problem was an issue with DVD formats, but even that was handled and solved quickly and professionally. For me, the highlights of the performance were my collaboration with Nikolay Leonuv on the film “In Celebration of Sunrise”, and the Omnibus Ensemble’s live performance of my music to “Elastic Stronghold”, my collaboration with Justin Heim. Nikolay’s film, which I saw for the first time the day before the performance, is extremely strong and works beautifully with my music-it was a rare instance where the film maker creates a film around the music, not unlike a music video, but obviously more involved-and my role was as both performer and ‘actor’; the special screen for the performance could be see through with special lighting, so I performed behind the screen, and also interacted within it. Very powerful. It was even more interesting to actually sit in the audience and let Omnibus perform the music to “Elastic Stronghold”. My only regret was that I wish that I could’ve enjoyed it more-the performance was fantastic, but I, of course, was concerned with coordination and seeing how all worked rather than sitting and enjoying. This is probably a control issue; since I’m not performing it myself, I can’t control the outcome. The ensemble under Artyum Kim played brilliantly, and he knew exactly what to do.

Another great highlight of this trip was watching performances by the Ilkhom Theater. Most impactual was their presentation of Orestes, which was done with a very modern twist. Here we had multimedia: music, dancing, acting, great scenery, video, lighting effects; very powerful presentation. They are taking this and other works on tour to the US for two months, and I wish them the greatest of success.

My one free day, which was the 28th, I was planning on taking a day trip to Samarkand…this didn’t happen. Instead, I decided to work with composition students from the State Conservatory, since they all wanted to show me some pieces-as far as I’m concerned, I am happy to help, so for me it was no problem, plus I usually enjoy the interaction. However, seeing these students again just brought home the issues that I have been encountering with students from all over the former Soviet Union and it‘s neighbors: an unfortunate lack of technical composition skills. It’s very interesting because it seems that many composers ‘in the know’, including my friend Artyum Kim and others in different countries, completely agree with my assessment. Composition students are taught philosophy and ideas but not technique and craft. Every piece, it seems, must have a great philosophy behind it. Craft and technique are completely disregarded, and it is painfully obvious. There is no understanding of balance or orchestration, how to develop a melody or concepts of counterpoint. The piece ends up being just ideas that seem to hang on precariously in the wind. The idea of writing purely objective music is considered heresy, and if a composer writes anything, it must be a grand statement of philosophy. I don’t even think that they experiment outside of writing, and I know that they have never done counterpoint exercises or choral setting practice to build these techniques. The worst part is that students, both here and other places in the East, actually argue with me about it, arrogantly so. There is this belief that composes are on a higher plane of existence then everyone else. “Why should we care what the conductors or performers think”, they say, “my music will make them better musicians because they will have to come up to my level”. This was from a student who wrote passages for instruments which were basically physically impossible on those instruments. These kids have no idea what is in store for them if they try and have a career outside of these countries. Here, these ideas keep perpetuating themselves, and at least in the schools there are people who are coerced to try and perform these pieces; if they go West to study or try to work, they are in for a rude awakening and I really don’t want to witness the fallout…

The US Embassy in Tashkent was very gracious in supporting me in my visit here. For them, I presented a lecture and performance on American music for their Chay Chat, their version of American Center/Corners in other countries. Great students here who are excited to learn. I must say, however, that I was very disturbed by the US Embassy complex. It was basically a huge, armed fort walled off from the society around it. Now, I do completely understand why and I do appreciate that they take such security measures to protect American citizens and Embassy workers, but it’s unfortunate that current issues in the world make it this way. A country’s embassy should completely interact with the host country because this is where dialogues and exchanges of ideas happen, a true cultural nexus. Here we have two incredible cultures, one a representative of Eastern values and society, the other the epitome of Western philosophy-these two should be learning from each other, not separated by walls and guns. We can only hope that these issues will improve in years to come.

Until next time,

Demetrius

18 February 2008

2008-02-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

18 February 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

I apologize for the long span between letters; recent traveling has made writing progressively more difficult. I am now back in St. Petersburg for a few days before heading off to Central Asia. My hope is to write you again before I leave, for after that it will probably be a couple of weeks until I can write again.

I wanted to write about some cultural experiences that I had in Moscow. Actually, they are more than cultural experiences, more like cultural epiphanies.

The first occurred on a Saturday evening. We had just been walking through Red Square and decided to take a particular side street that was lined with small churches. Only one, St. George the Victorious, seemed open. We went inside. They were holding an evening vesper service and the lights were out; only candles lit the faces of the priests, 5 of them, holding service. It was beautiful, even more so when the lights came on (we stayed quite a while). I have to say that my ‘Organized Religious’ experience in the USA has always been somewhat…lacking. I was brought up (Greek) Orthodox Christian, the same as the Russians. Religious services back home seemed, well, overshadowed by politics and fashion to such an extent that I was disgusted from attending-no one was listening, no one seemed to care. Granted, I know that some do, but to be honest, they were few and far between. I felt worse after attending, so then, why bother? It seemed more important for the attendees to be seen rather then to be in Communion with the Church.

To see these people, after decades of religious oppression, once again being able to Celebrate the Divine Liturgy (as the Orthodox call Mass) out in the open with no fear of government persecution is an experience that I can’t really begin to explain. There they were-not just the very old, but younger generations whose families practiced in secret-not caring who was there or who ran the church or who was wearing what; just pure, simple, total devotion. I can only hope that this is something that I can bring back to the West, and hope even more so that I can make some understand it. I guess the people who want to listen, will-Free Will, which is our Gift-humanity’s gift that is constantly threatened by these oppressive regimes…but, as we have seen, the human spirit does eventually prevail.

Speaking of oppressive regimes, let’s talk about the Soviet Union some. The reason that I’m bringing this up is that I also experienced Russia’s ‘other religion’: Pushkin.

Now, to most Westerners, Pushkin is a name that is synonymous with Russian literature, even though none of us have actually read any of his works. I will be the first to admit this. Even if I did, it would be nothing but an English translation, and Pushkin’s genius is in his use of Russian, so I still wouldn’t get it…

Now, one of the main things that I had noticed here in Russia is the tremendous number of buildings, parks, museums, streets, railway stations, etc., named for Pushkin. It is as if you couldn’t go a couple of blocks before running into the “Pushkin Center for the Arts”, or “Pushkin Metro Station”, or “Pushkin Place”. I didn’t get it…why?

It has been told, or at least implied heavily, to me that during the Soviet regime, since God was outlawed, people turned, in a way, to Pushkin as the epitome of Russian art and culture and he became a sort of surrogate divinity. And like a divinity, he had (has) a following of cult worshipers that seems to be the vast majority of Russians.

So…I went to a special ceremony at the Pushkin Museum (which, it seems, is the only place that actually has something to do with Pushkin…but not really…see below) to celebrate the anniversary of his death. Now, Pushkin was born in Moscow, but lived mostly in St. Petersburg…BOTH claim him. This has led to problems. The Pushkin Museum in St. Petes actually has personal belongings and manuscripts. Moscow, not to be outdone, built their own modern museum-which, by the way, was BY FAR the most attractive modern building I’ve seen in all Russia-as a dedication to their idol. Now, they actually don’t have anything BY or OF Pushkin, but the faithful followers have made donations of items from their own family heirlooms that could possibly in some way relate to Pushkin and his times, such as: a china set from the early 1800s, or modern recordings of Pushkin’s favorite music, or antique furniture…you get the picture…

So…in this packed hall were people from all ages and walks of life. After a moment of silence at 2:45 (the supposed time of his death), the program began. There were overly dramatic readings of his verse (by saying ‘overly dramatic’ I’m not (and can’t, really) giving you the true picture of this Russian style of reading-I would say that listening to it is not unlike being whacked on the head repeatedly by a tennis racket, and even then you still wouldn’t get it-it must be experienced…), playing of his favorite music, and speeches by greats from a past generation. Wow…it was truly cultish…there were tears, really …the man died 170 years ago, but fresh flowers by the score were by his picture. THIS was a window into understanding Russians. At least they hold a literary figure thusly, and not an athlete in such esteem. Even at one of the major museums, the Tretakov, the portrait of Pushkin is bathed in a special spotlight, and there are flowers there, too.

Speaking of galleries and Russo-Soviet outlooks, we went to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (which has nothing to do with Pushkin…) to see the 19th Century to Contemporary exhibits. There was a room-not just a wall, mind you-but a whole room dedicated to that most brilliant and talented of American artists who truly understood life and idealism in 20th Century Russia and was considered among the greats in American art history: Rockwell Kent!

What’s that? Really? You have never heard of him?…’gasp’! Well, neither had I. Neither have most Americans, or anyone else, for that matter, so we’re not alone. Rockwell Kent painted what is known as Socialist Realism. What this means is that he portrayed ‘happy’ scenes of the simple life and people at work and enjoying the wonderfully fulfilling collective lifestyle that had been forced on them by their totalitarian regime…oh, sorry, went a little too far there. Anyways, his work was bought up by the Soviet government and displayed here, with captions telling about his vanguard leadership of the American arts…propaganda at it’s best. He wasn’t even taken seriously in the US…Hell, he was a rotten artist, downright miserable, but…he towed the party line, and that made him accepted…at least here…

…I just wish that in 1990 that they would’ve dumped this stuff and bought some Pollack…Rockwell Kent? What were they thinking? Geeze…

So, there is my Moscow story. It’s quite a place-great city, really. I could live there; I enjoy it and it has a lot to offer in so many ways that it leaves St. Petes in the dust. But…for now, St. Petes is home.

Until soon, as always, your devoted correspondent,

Demetrius

8 February 2008

2008-02-08T03:59:00.000-08:00

8 February 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

So…I have been in Moscow now almost two weeks, and I believe that it is time to talk about this city, compare it to others, and even comment on the Russian way of life.

I have to preface this with a story about my trip to the post office…dear God…I can only imagine how things actually get done in this system, and even more importantly, the burning question: does anyone, including those behind the desks, actually know how it all works…

We went to the post office down the street from where we are staying to send some CDs to Greece and the US-simple, yes? Oh, no…we get to the post office and they tell us (after waiting in line) that their branch only deals with ‘in country’ mail (whether that means in Russia only or for Russians only is another question…) and that we must go to a special branch which is quite a walk away. Having no choice, we went on a mini-adventure across town. We reach the expected center, waited in line, and found out that they only ship books and that we must go to another building to ship CDs…OK…so we go to the other building, wait in the properly marked line, only to find out that this was a “Russia (or Russians…) only’ line and that we must go to another-the attendant was very rude and berated our ignorance, even though this was not marked (she claimed it was…but it wasn’t) and said that we should know better.

So…to the next line where we fill out two copies of customs forms only to find out that we have to put the forms INSIDE the package…BOTH copies…this makes one fear that every package is actually opened before it goes out for delivery, which wouldn’t actually surprise me.

So…a few hours later, the packages were mailed…see, efficiency at it’s best…well, probably efficient for Russians, but maybe not so for foreigners.

Which leads me to my discussion of the cities. Even though I have been complaining about Moscow, I actually rather like it and prefer it to St. Petersburg. I have had some great concerts here (much better than St. Pete in many, many ways) and the audiences have been far more appreciative. I also feel much more comfortable here as a foreigner than I do in St. Petes. There, everyone stares at you because you look different-St. Petersburg is really a big provincial village in a lot of ways; even though it’s close to Europe and a supposed cultural center, it has a much more closed society feel. Anything different or out of the ordinary is looked upon with suspicion. Let’s face it, I stick out. I have definite Southern European features, have longish hair and a trendy goatee and sport a long black trench coat and black beret. I will not be mistaken for a Russian in almost any setting.

St. Petes reminds me of Boston. It’s a conservative, provincial city. Granted, like Boston, it is really the cultural and intellectual capital of the country…but that doesn’t change the insular attitude. If something sticks out, it will be looked on with suspicion. Moscow, like NYC, is a large, international, and cosmopolitan center for both commerce and fashion. Like NYC, it doesn’t have the intellectual ‘weight’ that Boston or St. Pete have, but being an international city it is more open and accepting and used to foreigners. Like NYC, people here don’t care if you live or die, and I’m perfectly fine with that.

I’ve noticed this most in speaking English. Say anything in English (or anything not Russian) in St. Petes and suddenly you attract attention. Moscow…nope, nothing…almost everyone here that I have met speaks English (Russian business capital, remember) and speaking it in small or large groups is basically ignored.

This doesn’t mean that Moscow is an extremely safe city, it just means that they will go after you for other reasons than being a foreigner…

The other thing that I have to bring up here is the bizarre custom which I kindly refer to as the ‘Russian shoe fetish’…it’s an interesting dichotomy between the belief that anything on the ground, including shoes, are very dirty, yet everything is based on your shoe’s appearance. In homes, you are obliged to remove shoes-every house has pairs of slippers meant for guests-regardless if they fit or not, and for those of us with a US size 15 (50 in Europe), believe me, they don’t…this is the same in many buildings, except that they may also force you to wear little plastic baggies over your shoes (or stocking feet!), once again, regardless if they fit or not.

Now, every business and most buildings have automatic shoe polishers and buffers, so that you may make a great impression…or at least your shoes will while you’re wearing your unfitting slippers. I’ve seen people who are practically dressed in rags who will be concerned if they have a spot on their shoes that isn’t shiny. Also, people here first look at you, then start at your shoes, probably trying to discern your character by your make, model, and degree of shoe cleanliness.

Well, I will be here for the next week before I head back to St. Petes for a brief stay; then, off to Central Asia. I have to say that I feel very lucky to be going to Uzbekistan twice this year-I just received a new visa-many American scholars and political scientists that I have met have been denied access…and I’ve been accepted twice! I have to say that the Uzbek Embassy here in Moscow is just fantastic-on both occasions they have been absolutely gracious and have catered to my every need.

That’s all for now. More soon.

Yours always,

Demetrius

29 January 2008

2008-01-29T04:07:00.000-08:00

29 January 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

I hate traveling…actually, let me rephrase that: I hate traveling with large amounts of baggage. I think that the only thing that causes me any kind of performance related stress is getting there-after that, it’s easy. As you know, I have relocated to Moscow for a couple of weeks and am writing you now from a hotel lobby. Packing for the journey was easy-I’m very efficient with packing-remembering all of my music was also fine. Getting to Moscow was another story…
So…I have my suitcase, my computer, and instruments. I decided, purely for ease, to only take my saxophone and flute. One reason was the weight and encumberance issue on my person. The other is the fact that Russian air carriers have cut the weight limit for carryon baggage in half: from 10K to 5K. Now, I traveled to Moscow by train, but I now have to prepare for this issue for later concerts by slightly adapting both my pieces and performance programs for only one or two instruments; possible, but annoying. Regardless, traveling anywhere with instruments is getting more and more difficult. The next time I tour, I’m taking a flute and a laptop…that’s it!…I’ll create a case for both that is light and small and not worry.

Anyways, I had to carry my suitcase, computer, and instruments from the apartment to the metro; then, had to get all of this on the metro, then out of the metro, then the walk in the cold and snow to the train station looking, and moving, like a pack mule…

The train ride was typical-over night coupe with 4 to a room-nobody smiled, nobody spoke-typical. Even if you try and make conversation or just even try and be friendly, you soon realize that it’s a losing endeavor.

If Saintpetersburgians are grim, Muscovites are downright rude and obnoxious. We, coming again from the train into and out of the metro with our belongings, were either almost run over by human traffic or at the very least snarled at-we were also refused when we asked directions-multiple times!-this is also a typical Muscovite reaction-if you don’t know where you’re going, it’s your own damn fault.

We arrived at the hotel to find out that our names were left off of the reservation list; we are staying here for a couple of nights because Margaret has a Fulbright seminar. Of course, it was OUR fault, even though we were in close contact with the powers that be. So, they begrudgingly got us a room, which was completely covered in beer and filth-at least they didn’t blame us entirely for this-so they reluctantly moved us again into a foam green cubicle which is their ‘standard’ room-mind you, this would make a Motel 6 look like the 4 Seasons, and this is supposedly a 3 star hotel…more like 3 strikes! The only cafes/dining for miles was in the hotel complex, and they (all 6!) were closed for cigarette breaks for 2-½ hours…so we waited to have coffee…it was after noon at this point and I was not as of yet happily caffeinated…

Speaking of which, the food here is absolutely atrocious…breakfast has been instant coffee, white bread with butter and a piece of processed ham, and…a choco-pie, which has been the highlight…lunch was a small improvement, it only took about 3 or 4 bites to know that what I was eating was fish, and that was purely because of the bones…

Well…it got a little better…Margaret has been at enjoying her Fulbright seminars while I have been locked up in the foam green cubicle writing a film score and finishing my email interview with Saxophone Journal-this has been fun-I am sent questions every day or so and answer in essay form. Give me leeway and I’ll pontificate for pages…really about anything, whether I know the answer or not…

A word about the Russian post…wow…it’s amazing what was sent to us and what actually has arrived…I was sent a film from Greece-it was supposed to be here in 10 days and was sent registered mail…it got here in 3-½ weeks…I took the slip that was left to the post office to pick it up, and…they couldn’t find it…REGISTERED MAIL, mind you…’leave the slip, we’ll call when we find it’, they said. Of course, the slip was my only documentation that I received anything, but they didn’t care…I knew that I would never hear from them again…but, in a few days, they found it…I went to the wrong window to ask for it in the first place, so of course they didn‘t have it…again, MY FAULT…

Anyways, thus begins my next couple of weeks in Moscow…it could get better…it could also get a lot worse…

Part of the adventure…

Until next time,

Demetrius

20 January 2008

2008-01-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

20 January 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

Ah, Rome…we just returned from a wonderful week in the Eternal City. No writing, no playing, no business…just lots of eating…

It’s really quite an amazing place for so many reasons; you really can get perspectives on so many things in modern society just by being surrounded by this city. Probably the most immediate is the sense of overall love of life, which I think is a characteristic of all of the Mediterranean countries, at least those in Southern Europe. This is in incredible contrast to the North-people in the North tend to be, well, grim. This is not only true of Russians, where grimness is abound, but also in Northern Europe and even in the Northern US. I think that this more serious perspective comes from the quality of life: in the North, you have a very short growing season and very harsh weather conditions-survival can be difficult. Granted, in many ways, this has made the North more industrious. But, lets be honest here: there is very little need for grimness when in the middle of January you can wake up to warm sunshine and go pick an orange for breakfast.

Rome, in all honesty, was the final stage of evolution, and the pinnacle, of the Greco-Roman ethos begun in Ancient Greece (the ‘Greek Miracle’, as it‘s known) with the flowering of democracy and Western Civilization. Greece itself was not a ruling nation, or at least not a good one. It was, however, a cultural, scientific, and philosophical juggernaut whose influence not only spread through 3 continents in ancient times, but can still be seen as the basis for thought and understanding throughout most of the modern world. It, however, took a young man from Macedonia to bring these squabbling city-states under one ruler and to expand the Hellenistic world all the way to India. Luckily, Alexander, although coming from a related ‘half-Greek, half-Barbarian’ country, was educated personally by Aristotle. Greek thought and culture had a champion with a mission to conquer the known world…at least Eastwards. Alexander’s mistake was that he didn’t look West…just a few hundred kilometers behind…

After the Fall of Alexander’s empire (or, at least it’s partitioning into squabbling mini-empires; these are Greeks, remember), Rome easily swept in and assimilated the Hellenistic culture into their own. It must be remembered that Rome’s original Etruscan rulers and much of Italy were influenced by Greek culture-in fact, much of Italy, including all of Sicily, were at one point Greek colonies. Depending on whom you believe, Rome may have been founded by Aeneas (read Virgil) from the remnants of Troy. What we do know is that Rome took the concepts and philosophies of Ancient Greece which were spread through the known world by Alexander and both incorporated and built upon it. So, we have the pinnacle of philosophy and society in Rome, before it all went to Hell after Constantine, but we’ll get to that…

Speaking of incorporating and building upon, Rome built upon itself constantly. This really amazed me-they constantly recycled old buildings and used the foundations to build new ones. You may have a first century Imperial building, under a 3rd century pagan temple, under a 5th century Christian church that has been built on itself 6 times into the 19th century. It’s amazing to see ancient ruins as part of the foundations for modern apartment buildings-brilliant, really. They did the same with Greek culture-took it and built upon it; it became the foundation for their expanding thought. The same is true with the advent of Christianity (under Constantine). You can really see how not only the early but the current portrayals of Christian scenes and characters came directly from the pagan. Powerful, god-like beings in frescos, statues, and oil paintings that if it weren’t for the scene and setting would be mistaken for the Olympians. To be honest, it made sense…coming from the Eastern Christian Churches, where we don’t do this, most especially no statues, I was always disturbed by this imagery. Now, seeing it in Rome and understanding Ancient Roman culture and it’s ability to incorporate and build upon ideas, of course they did this-it helped the transition from a pagan empire to a Christian one by giving the populace imagery that they understood-again, brilliant.

And…the Popes consecrated every pagan/ancient site. By doing this they preserved the Roman heritage by allowing these structures to survive in the center of Christendom. The Pantheon is a church! For a third time, brilliant!

After Christianity became Emperor Constantine’s religion, he split the Empire and moved his seat of power to Byzantium, later called Constantinople, and now called Istanbul. The Western Empire collapsed quickly as all of the power and wealth went East. Rome was…sacked…both literally and figuratively. The rest of the Western Empire fell into the Dark Ages while the Eastern Empire, still powerful and Christian, lasted another 1,000 years. But…even though the Byzantine Empire (as it was known) was based in Constantinople and they were Greek-speaking, they considered themselves Romans.

Rome reinvented itself and became the true center again of Western Christianity; it became both the main city of pilgrimage and a powerful political force behind the Papal authority. Charlemagne in 800AD was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope to relate himself to the Ancient Glory and to justify his kingship. When Constantinople fell in 1453, the Eastern Churches had a new leader in Christianized Russia, where the Emperors took the name Tsar, Russian for Caesar, and declared Moscow the ‘Third Rome’. In the reemerging West, the Renaissance evolved in Italy and Rome was their inspiration. During the Enlightenment, again Greco-Roman thought and culture became the focus; another product of the Enlightenment, the beginnings of democracy in the US, is directly linked to the Greco-Roman ethos. A newly created unified Italy in 1870 made Rome their capital. It has always been the center for art and culture and the study of such ideas. Out of all it’s contemporaries: Athens, Carthage, Babylon, Persepolis, Memphis…none have survived as Rome. Athens comes the closest purely for the fact that it still exists, but is a shell of it’s former self. I have a feeling that if many years from now New York, Paris, Moscow, London all no longer existed, Rome would still be there in one form or another-it is truly the Eternal City.

I have to mention here my personal favorite places visited-all were surprises. Everything was incredible, but the three for me were the Palantine Hill, the Trevi Fountain, and San Clemente. We stumbled upon the Fountain purely by accident. We knew that it was in the area-we heard it’s ‘roar’. This is something that pictures just don’t do justice to at all-it’s a multi-media experience-the sound, the Baroque architecture of Bernini coming alive, and the fact that the entire façade of the building looks like it’s emerging from the fountain. Palantine Hill is the supposed first Roman settlement-not only is the setting beautiful, but there is this incredible energy there. The Ancients knew where they were building-it wasn’t random. This is a powerful place…as is San Clemente, which is one of those multi-layered structures that I mentioned. A modern church (built on many times) over a 4th century church (one of the first) over a 2nd century Mithraic temple (a ‘legal’ religion) and school, over a home, over an Imperial building. We were able to descend into the archeological site, which was incredible-not only the scope and the many layers underground, but also again the energy-incredible feeling. One of the most powerful energy experiences I have ever felt was when we came upon the tomb of St. Cyril, the Greek missionary who converted the Slavs in the 10th century and adapted the Greek alphabet for them (the Cyrillic)-his relics were kept upstairs at a special alter, but the experience at the tomb itself was something that I can’t even begin to explain, so I won’t even try.

I have to say something here about the Italian language…ah, Italian…what a great language! After a week I think that I’m better in Italian then after studying Russian for 6 months…and Margaret after a week is practically fluent! Italian is easy-real easy-and this is because it is an evolved language. It evolved from Latin which was the dominant language of the West-it became the language of the ‘people’, it ‘streamlined’ itself (as did Spanish, another Latin evolved language which is very similar to Italian) to be more useful to the masses of people across the region speaking it. The more evolved and far-reaching a culture, the easier the language. The Greek spoken in Byzantine times was a much easier version then what was spoken during Ancient Greece-it streamlined for the masses; Latin/Italian is much, much more so. Russian is a very young language, which is why it is so difficult…or, at least, that’s my excuse…English is an evolved Germanic language, also getting easier by the generation.

So, there is my Roman Holiday-a little change from my usual letters, but hopefully, a nice change.

Until next time,

Demetrius

6 January 2008

2008-01-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

6 January 2008
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

Here it is, my first letter of the New Year. And what a year it has already been! It’s been quite an incredible week.

Firstly, I have to talk about the Russians and their New Years’ celebrating…they’re STILL celebrating…fireworks going off very night at all hours. My apartment overlooks a park, so I get the full effect of this-it’s one thing to watch fireworks at a distance, but quite another when they explode at face level only a few meters away…

New Years’ Eve was quite an event. It seemed that the vast majority of Saintpetersburgians, or whatever they wish to be called, packed into Palace Square to see in the new year. The massive amounts of personal fireworks was only dwarfed by the more massive amounts of alcohol…it’s somewhat frightening when 10s of thousands of people are packed into one place, as a drunken mass, and setting off fireworks, sometimes at each other…the alcohol fumes alone would be enough to ignite and engulf the Bay of Finland in flames…

There was a huge screen set up in the Square. At a few moments before midnight, a broadcast started of Mr. Putin addressing the new year as one for the glory for Russia. Then, at midnight, do you think they played Auld Lang Sine? Nope…the Russian National Anthem…it was somewhat surreal…

Well, later on that week I was invited to the home of sculptor Vladimir Tsivin by my friend and colleague Dmitri Mikalevski. Dmitri is the producer and mastermind behind the Greco-Russian Symposium and Festivals at which both my dance work “APXE” and my film (score, that is) “Longing for the Sun” will be presented over the next year in Athens and Thessaloniki, respectively. The meeting was to create a dialogue to interest Mr. Tsivin in the project and to commission him to create the scenery for the dance work. The good news is that he is very keen on the idea and interested in seeing how the project evolves. If you don’t know his work, it’s more than worth it to look him up-he’s created some stunning pieces, and if you know my music, you’d see why we are a perfect match for this project. We’re both interested in both Ancient and Modern forms and concepts. We have come to agree that our work is complementary.

I had a lovely trip to Novgorod to visit the old city and icon museum. Along with me and Margaret was composer Marcus Heathcock, and Marcus’ vicar Terry and his wife Ruth. The old city is quite lovely, dating from around the 10th century. There has been some very good restoration taking place and the city in preparation for it’s 1, 150 year anniversary. It’s funny, there is a modern town surrounding the Medieval one, but the old definitely dominates the new in the landscape. You have to wonder how people who live in such a city feel about their own history and dealing with tourists. I mean, many great cities have historical areas, Athens immediately comes to mind, but it’s also a national capital and a large modern city. Novgorod is more like Olympia: you’ve got a lot of ruins, museums, people selling stuff, and that’s about it…the actual modern town is completely eclipsed.

In other news, I’m going to Kyrgyzstan! I just received an invitation to spend a week performing and lecturing at both the State Conservatory and State College of Music-this was made possible by the US Embassy. I will be traveling there immediately after my second trip to Uzbekistan, which was also made possible through the US Embassy. I have to say that the Embassy system over here is really interested in connecting with their communities, which is great. I’m happy that they see cultural connections as important and I am honored that I have been asked to be both a ‘cultural representative’ and a catalyst for intercultural dialogue. Kyrgyzstan has been in the news as of late because a team of (I believe) Swedish scientists determined that the mountains of Kyrgyzstan would be the optimal location for Santa Claus to start and finish his Christmas Eve journey, due to both the wind currents and curvature of the Earth…I kid you not, people actually get government funding for these things…needless to say, the Kyrgyzstan government has jumped on this boost tourism…

I can say that this great creative stream that I have been in continues. Since the New Year, I have finished both the clarinet and piano piece (“Gymnopaedia”) for myself and Susanne Kessel to premier in Bonn in April, and also the score to Justin Heim’s film “Define Intervention”, a great work, which will be premiered at DOM Art Space in Moscow in February. It was good to get the first film of the year done…now, I still wait for three others to arrive…deadlines, deadlines…

So, that’s the story from the Arctic Circle, or at least near it…it’s getting progressively lighter, as much as 5 good hours of sunlight a day now, but it’s still cold, like -27 degrees cold…the sun is just not warm here, and it actually can be colder during the day then at night-it’s all dependant upon the wind.

But…I’ll be in Rome next week at this time…it’s the coldest month there, but it will be like late Spring here…I’ll actually wake up in Rome on my birthday, which will be great, what a way to celebrate! 39...hmmm…an interesting age…I have always believed that at 40 one gains wisdom, so at least I’m almost there…of course, the fact that I occasionally act like I’m 14 is another story…

I’ll let you know when I get there…

Until next time,

Demetrius

31 December 2007

2007-12-31T09:28:00.000-08:00

31 December 2007
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

“What are you doing New Years’ Eve?” Nice tune. New Years’ here is the big celebration; it’s their version of Western Christmas: there are New Years’ trees, presents, and even Father Frost. It also seems to be a family Holiday more than a party (although there’s plenty of that!), which is nice; it’s also nice that it’s a Holiday that everyone can celebrate.

It’s been quite a year, most especially the last 4 months here in Russia and on the road. I’ve had some amazing experiences, and the other not so amazing experiences were at least great learning experiences. I have been able to experience all of these cultures first hand, been living in a country which I never thought I’d even want to visit, returned to the ‘homeland’ for the first time in almost 25 years, and traveled to Central Asia-I have made new friends all over, which has been amazing! The New Year will bring more experiences-return trips to Greece (possibly twice), Bulgaria, and Uzbekistan; new trips (and new friends!) to Germany, Ukraine, and possibly Kyrgyzstan; other cities in Russia and who knows where else?!?!

I’ve been lucky to premier a number of great works (and new versions!) by my American friends-Molly, Chris, Bill, Natasha, Carol-thank you for writing such great pieces and for the opportunity to present them! To my friends Alex, Denise, Pablo, Beth, Andrew, Sean-thank you for the honor to continuously play your pieces. And to my ‘international’ friends-Nickos, Manolis, Peter, Costas, Akis, the whole Greek contingency, Lily, Marcus-thank you for writing me beautiful music that I will have the honor to play again and again, and to always think of our friendship when I do.

This has been a great year for premiers of my own music! I have had so many in so many varied places and presented by some great musicians and ensembles. And more to come in the New Year! It’s been amazing how many premiers I have had in one country/continent while I was performing in another-2 times in the Fall and again at least 2 more times this Spring! I actually never get to hear my own music premiered…

Speaking of which, the last month has been incredibly creative. I wrote “Episodes” for cello and piano for Susanne Friedrich in Boston (premier at NEC, March), which I’m happy with. My “Angels Praise Thee“ for 5 female vocal parts, finished in November, was premiered on the 16th. The technological inefficiencies of the Russian Internet has crippled my possibilities of getting two films that I need to score (and have to wait for them via post), which inadvertently has given me time to write “APXE” (pronounced ‘ar-khe‘, it‘s Greek)-this is the largest ‘live’ performance project I have ever done-an hour long stage work for dancers, musicians, and lasers, to be premiered at a Greco-Russian festival in Athens in the Fall, hopefully at the Acropolis (negotiations for this are underway). This is a work that deals with human’s evolution of culture, psychology, and perception. This is a huge undertaking, needless to say.

It’s funny…I like really specific parameters when I write-if someone says “give me a piece for zither and slide trumpet that is 7’42” long and uses the “Three Company’s” theme as a cantus firmus“, I’m so your guy. I dislike when people say “just write something”-I like parameters. In the initial stages of “APXE”, the producer only wanted two musicians: a wind player and a didgeridoo…I was like “cool…but for an hour?…”. Luckily, I was able to argue for a larger ensemble, adding a cello and a percussionist-I usually don’t do this, but there is just so much (and for so long) one can do with a flute and didgeridoo…

Immediately after finishing “APXE”, I wrote a saxophone and electronics piece that was a tribute to both insomnia and the earlier bedbugs episode, entitled “Just Another Night on Plastic”. I really like this piece…I am overwhelmed by what I put into “APXE”, especially since I wrote it in a week! But, “Just Another…” is plain fun. I’m deciding where to premier it, maybe here in St. Petersburg in March, but I’ll also definitely play it in my concert at “Beethoven’s Haus” in Bonn, Germany with Susanne Kessel and Leon Milo as a guest of the Pianowaves ensemble. Susanne and I will also premier another new work of mine, now called “Gymnopaedia” (also Greek), for clarinet and piano-this is a suite of different dances-I seem to rather like dance forms. If I had to be remembered for any contribution to the canon of music, I think that I would want to be remembered for a dance piece, either modern or ballet. As much fun as writing for other forms and media are, this is where I hear my music best.

Well, as I sit here drinking red wine (is there any other kind?), looking out over St. Petersburg, I am thankful for the last few months. I am also excited about the upcoming ones-the concerts, the lectures, the premieres, the traveling, the food…I even get to enjoy a week off in lovely Rome…now, you have to realize that this is the first vacation I have had since 1994-vacations are something that just tend to get in the way or get lost in the planning or shuffle. I need to try and be better about this and take time off-granted, I’ve taken a day or two here and there, but never a week-who knows, I may get used to it…now there’s a New Years’ resolution: learn to take a break! I’ll probably live longer…

I hope that your New Year is filled with Wonder and Beauty!

Yours always,

Demetrius

24 December 2007

2007-12-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

24 December 2007
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…well, I’m stirring, it seems…it must be all of the mulled wine I consumed this evening…

I’ve been thinking about culture and cultural influences. It’s really quite amazing the number of people that I have interacted with this year, and the various number of backgrounds involved-its really mind boggling! It’s also amazing to see how one’s culture and upbringing really influence one’s art-of course, culture and upbringing are two vastly different things.

I just arrived home from a Christmas Eve party with a group of British ex-pats, all of whom are in the arts one way or another, in particular my friend Marcus T. Heathcock, who is a composer here in St. Petersburg. I’ve noticed that wherever I have traveled and whomever I have been with, I have always been amazed by the similarities of concept and culture of the various people that I meet. I think that if you are in a new situation, surrounded by people of a different culture and society, that it is automatic to instantly look for common ground…not so with the Brits…it’s actually quite amazing, I never feel more foreign and more like an American then when I’m with the Brits! You would think that we would share similar backgrounds and culture-we have a similar (if not exact…and BOY are there differences…) language, and heck, I grew up in New England…lived in Boston, the most Anglophilic city in the US; had afternoon tea, even…but, I think that this assumption of similarities tends to throw one a curve ball (that’s an American baseball reference…Brits don’t have baseball, and I don’t know if cricket has curve balls…). The more you assume likeness, the more your shocked by the differences in culture. It was the same when I attended a British Christmas concert last weekend (where my “Angels Praise Thee” was premiered); the songs, the traditions…all a little foreign where similarity was expected…I, more there then anytime else, felt blatantly American…and a foreigner.

These cultural backgrounds effect how you perceive and create art, as well. Marcus and I have been talking at length about what influenced us growing up and in school, and our backgrounds, even though we’re the same age, are very dissimilar. What was going on in Britain in the 1980s was very different then in the US. For me, the Minimalists were at their peak, and Steve Reich’s “Desert Music” was THE album (LP, that is…) to have. The Academics had lost their sway (mostly) and neo-tonality was in full steam, as was the push towards Totalism and the incorporation of folk idioms, including rock, into classical music. It seems that things were different in Britain, where Academic (serial) was still quite powerful, and it was difficult to rebel against that there.

Of course, my background is considerably different than most: having a jazz/rock background intertwined with my classical gives me a different perspective, as does my Greek heritage. Greece is interesting: it’s Western Europe and the Orient at the same time. Musically, we are pulled between these traditions-Greek classical music, most especially film music and the avant-garde, is equivalent (and in some instances, like Xenakis, superior) to it’s Western counterparts. At the same time, the music is distinctively Oriental in modality and concept, most especially in the folk music, which also creeps it’s way into classical idioms (how can it not?). Greek music in this way is more similar to Persian and Arabic music than to say Italian or German. This gives me a unique perspective on both culture and the arts, being both decisively Western (American) and Oriental (Greek). I see this strongly in my compositions: I have the craft and concept of the West but the soul and philosophy of the Orient. It, for me has been a challenge to come to grips with this dichotomy as both an artist and a person-it’s hard to know sometimes which group you belong to: am I Western or Eastern? An American of Greek descent, or a displaced Western Oriental with American training? I believe that my sense-and comfort-in structured improvisation comes from my Oriental background and the music that I grew up listening to-but my sense of classical structure and form is decidedly Western.

It was funny-when I was Uzbekistan, which, by the way, is in the same musical ‘group’ (Oriental) as Greece-they are the opposite sides, the bookends, West and East-I had an interesting interaction with a student that I was teaching in a composition masterclass. (By the way, by Orient, I mean the area comprising Greece and the Balkans, Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, and Central Asia to Uzbekistan, but not counting other cultures like Kazakhstan, which are more Far East Asian and linked to that culture). This composition student, who was Tadjik, after I criticized his piece said that my ‘Western ears’ we’re not accustomed to hearing such concepts and that I just didn‘t understand his music…what was that?…my Western ears?…other than almost backhanding the arrogant little turd, which was my first inclination, (but not wanting an international incident, I decided against it), I told him that 1) it was an incredibly ethnocentric comment, especially to a composition teacher in 2007, 2) that I had studied both Arabic and Persian music and that his music (Tadjik, which comes from the Persian tradition) is completely in my knowledge base, 3) that I am of Greek descent and that I know the system of modes and writing because I grew up with very similar music, and 4) that he as a child, (early 20s…a child…) learn to accept criticism and to learn from it!

Here you have a young student who believes instantly that someone of a different background-even though this person has 20 years more experience in the field that the student is studying-obviously can’t comprehend the subtleties of his music. Granted, there are certain things that one’s background that training can’t overcome-this I’ve noticed in Eastern composers handling of classical forms and counterpoint, which is not their tradition, as is Westerns composers dealing with non-western musical sources without understanding their full cultural implication and concepts of musical presentation-but to automatically assume ignorance of a culture and style because of ethnicity is a huge mistake, most especially with modern communication and modes of study. This case, however, the student should know that Greece is the same cultural region as Uzbekistan (and Persia) and understand that there are many similarities-if you’re going to use such material, you have to know all of the sources of it.

Remember, that when you ASSUME, you make an ASS of U and ME…

We have lots to learn from each other, and we may gain a greater understanding of our own culture by doing so. Even better: teach it to someone-you’ll find out how much you actually know, and gain a greater respect from where you came, and where you are going.

Until next time,

Demetrius

18 December 2007

2007-12-18T12:36:00.000-08:00

18 December 2007
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

The days have been very busy as of late, as you may have guessed. I have had a schedule not unlike what I’m used to in the United States: concerts, rehearsals, lectures, recording sessions, meetings; it’s been quite invigorating, most especially since this is occurring 8 times zones from home.

Russians are an interesting breed; I believe that they are, either through nature or nurture (not quite sure which…), ones that need to examine everything in it’s relation to fate and the grand scheme of the cosmos. They seem to have a desire to understand things on a philosophical level, but are also ready to accept what they learn as fate and not to question it’s authority or their given place, be it miniscule, in this universe. This is a very interesting combination for a Westerner like myself, who believes in the exaltation of the individual as the center of one’s universe and creative impetus, to fathom.

Let’s take for instance my recent lectures for the US Consulate. I was asked to present lectures to both Russian students and adults (on different occasions) to discuss with them about American culture. I was to tell them about my career as a composer and performer, and then answer whatever questions they may have about art and music and what not. The questions began almost immediately on very philosophical (if not ‘pop’ philosophical) topics and got deeper and deeper. Questions about my inspirations and psychology as a creative individual (which were scary enough by themselves…) quickly moved to my thoughts on whether good and evil are absolutes and also on antimatter’s influence on disharmony…

…what was that again?…

They also approached it from the point of view that they were lonely humans and that creative people were closer to the divine and must have vastly different lives from themselves that they could never begin to understand. I kept saying “no, really, I’m just like you…” with replies of “no, tell us, do you dream your creations? Or, do you speak to God directly? What is your philosophy on life; tell us so that we may learn?”. Again, I answer “no, really, I’m just a guy. This is my job…it’s what I’m trained to do-it’s hard work, practice, and craftsmanship; I’m just like you-this is just how I not only express myself but also how I earn a living”. And again “but the great masters have been different from us, as you must be…where do you find your greatest inspiration?”. My answer, “the ‘great masters’, as you call them, regardless of the ‘artistic genius’ press, are just people and need to be understood that way, not as gods separated from humanity. Some of the best things I have written came in front of the television watching (American) football and drinking beer-had Beethoven had television, he probably would’ve written the 5th Symphony this way, though maybe not admitted to it-Mozart would not only have admitted to it, he’d be damn proud of the fact!”

This last statement didn’t go over well…I thought I was going to be burned as a heretic…but, they just looked at me, trying to decide if I was hiding something…

Granted, I like talking philosophy, especially if I have a captive audience in a full auditorium listening to everything I’m saying, but please, this was too much…and, after the concert I gave the next week (in the same venue) the crowd pelted me with the same types of questions…some were the same folks, but many were new…they didn’t let me leave until the venue had to be closed for the evening…

“I’m happy that my opinion is so important to you, but you have lives of your own-you’re all individuals, as perfect AND flawed as everyone else on this planet-no one is greater than another-potential is in all.” This, if I may be so bold to say, seems to be the biggest issue of this society: the need to be led and told where they belong. The ‘free thinkers’ tend to be pushed out of society (and run to the West)…these, of course, are the circle of friends which I have found here…the ones who do think as individuals and wish that the vast majority of Russians would follow suit. The potential is marvelous here if they would…as a society, they are most certainly extremely well educated. They just need 10,000cc of Humanism…

Well, speaking of my circles, I have to tell you that I recorded my second CD of the Fall today. The first, as you may remember, was in Athens in October. I recorded a number of new works by Greek composers, led by my friends Nickos Harizanos and Manolis Manousakis. I received the master copy yesterday, and I must say that it sounds good…of course, the music is good, and that helps considerably. I’m looking forward to the finished product!

Today, I recorded with my friend Galina Parfionova. Galina and I have presented some performances together here. She is an Ancient/ Medieval vocalist who specializes in overtone singing, which is really hip! If you want to know what it sounds like when a Russian Medievalist and a Greek-American Experimentalist are locked in a studio together to improvise for an afternoon, you’ll have to listen to the new disc, because words can not begin to explain this…and I tried…we basically took cues from each other, interacted within our individual styles (which are complimentary…more on this later), and just went for it. I did compose two electronic ‘drones’ (based on ‘elemental’ concepts) to use as, well, drones to improvise over, which worked well. It’s interesting: if you take really old music and compare it with really new music, the similarities and parallels are very interesting. These are closer to each other then to anything ‘in between’, like the Common Practice Period, which is really a striking departure and mostly unrelated.

So we edit in two days-should be very hip!

Anyways, that is the story for now. I have to say once again that I am meeting some incredibly interesting people here and am thankful for the opportunity to do so. Everyone whom I have met on a one-on-one basis has been considerably kind and considerate and well-meaning.

To be honest, it does make me thankful for the life that I have in the US (and in the West, in general). I wrote quite a lot on Thanksgiving a couple of weeks back; I don’t know how much we realize just how thankful we should be for our lives and our society. Being here really makes me think about this…constantly…as I walk down the streets of St. Petersburg or read their newspapers…I can only appreciate what I have been blessed with, and be forever thankful.

Until next time,

Demetrius

10 December 2007

2007-12-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

10 December 2007
Mark Twain
United States of America

Dear Mark,

Well, I had a crazy weekend of lectures and concerts. I was thinking about going into great detail about it, but instead, I think I need to talk about the passing of Stockhausen first, then maybe relate it all back to this weekend (or not…) and maybe, to my creative career as a whole.

Karlheinz Stockhausen…both one of the most important and controversial figures in the arts of the 20th century. Like John Cage, he could, both through his compositions and his speech, bring laudations of genius as well as charges of charlatanism. Considered the most influential German composer since Richard Wagner, his later years were filled with massive self-indulgence and ego-worship that achieved large scale cult status; a harem of women and week long performances (continuously…of only one piece!!!) were considered par for the course. Probably the biggest criticism that can be laid against him was that he began to believe that he was everything everyone said about him: that he was the pinnacle of human creative genius.

Well, I don’t know about that…a genius, perhaps, but when someone is elevated to such stature, and then professes and nurtures that belief about himself, well, there’s a problem there…but regardless, you can’t deny his incredible impact on the artistic world, and I can’t deny his strong influence on me…

My development as a creative artist was an odd one. In high school, I played rock music (on bass guitar…badly), started to get interested in some jazz as a saxophonist, and didn’t really start studying classical music until my senior year; strangely, I was accepted to the New England Conservatory as a classical major-gotta admit, I had a Hell of an audition…anyways, my classmates had a stronger classical background then I, so they were able to wax poetically about Beethoven and Brahms, where I could talk about the Police and Talking Heads. Well, my first semester presented me with an overview music history class-this was where I started to learn my classical music history (which strangely became one of my strong suits, and still is). A lot of what I heard, I liked…a lot bored me to tears, but it was in this class where I first heard Charles Ives’ “Three Places in New England”…blew my MIND…that was it, I was hooked…I didn’t realize then that this was my initiation into the life of an Experimentalist…maybe I fought it then somewhat, but as a performer and composer I had little understanding what this would mean until later-I didn’t realize the total impact and how my life would develop, and who would be the biggest influence.

So, there’s Ives…my spiritual grandfather. The more I understood Ives, the more I understood myself, and I understood what I needed to say. I didn’t just understand Ives musically, but I believe that I started to understand him spiritually. The concepts of New England Transcendentalism, which Ives’ philosophy is steeped in, had completely engulfed me, as well. I understood what he was trying to say, but more so, I understood the implications as a performing improviser, as well as a creative composer…

…which was good, because this prepared me for John Cage…

John Cage was one of the most influential people in the 20th century, hands down. A man both praised for liberating art, and also accused of destroying it. A composer and philosopher whose ideas were based in Eastern Philosophy (not unlike the Transcendentalists) and whose methods of creativity destroyed all boundary’s. Learning about Cage opened my mind…working with him, talking to him, opened more, much more. I understood freedom…Aleatory was interesting: I tried creating randomly, but for me it didn’t work-more philosophical then creative, but I believed that what I was after laid more in Indeterminate music. I loved when the performer, within the piece, helped create the outcome. It wasn’t as random as Aleatory, but every performance differed…I liked that, a lot. But how far could one really take it-I mean it was fun-playing Cage is always fun, an event, but he did it already…where was there to go…?

Enter Mr. Stockhausen…it wasn’t until the end of my Conservatory experience where I started getting into Stockhausen…and he got into me…

Here is where the true concepts of Indeterminate music come to fruition-freedom for the artist, in a strict set of parameters given by the composer-THIS was what I was looking for: the ability to be free within a strong framework. I not only looked at his methods, but I performed his works-I especially loved “Spiral” where I got to interact with a short wave receiver-strict parameters, up to the performer how to interpret them, all based on whatever appeared on the receiver…YES! I have found it! I can combine my need to improvise with my strong love of structure-my classical, jazz, and rock backgrounds have all combined!

I never met Stockhausen…like Ives, I know him only through recordings (not personally like Cage), but I also know him through the many people he has influenced and the many people who have worked with him…the span of comments is amazing, needless to say.

I would have liked to…even during the megalomaniacal last years…after all, it’s Stockhausen, not Cage or Ives, that I owe my Experimentalist writing style to-and my style of playing. In my career, finally, I’ve learned to combine all of my needs by focusing on structured music that gives leeway for improvisation-this is what I like, this what I do-my solo concerts are based in this music-I crave parameters and structure, but I need freedom, which is why I only try and play certain kinds of music now. It’s Stockhausen’s influence that has shown me the way-it is also how I write for myself; be it an electronic landscape, improvisation over drone, or an unaccompanied work, I write in this Indeterminate style, because that is how I can express myself fully…for that, Mr. Stockhausen, I thank you.

Strangely, I do have this dichotomy: I write (and perform!) as an Experimentalist when it’s for me, and I also play experimental music with others…but, when I write for others (orchestra or some such), my music is very conservative…usually, people say “YOU wrote that? It’s so pretty…it’s nothing like the stuff I know you by”…true, maybe it’s the role of a composer to be what he or she needs to be, letting the needs of an ensemble or group determine how and what we write…I can be free with me because I know what I can do…maybe that’s something I need to learn, to trust others and allow them freedom…although many of us seem to be in the same boat, writing what we need to and not what we “need” to, if you catch my drift…

Maybe a little megalomania would help all of us composers a bit more…

Until next time,

Demetrius