By Matt McDermott
Bruce Adolphe discusses how painting has influenced his music and his composition, "The Tiger's Ear." The work was performed by Bruce Adolphe and the Chicago Chamber Musicians on Monday, April 30, 2007 as part of Artropolis.
Interview with Bruce Adolphe (04/25/07)
How did you discover the Tiger's Eye journal and was its impact immediate or gradual?
I came across the journal after I had decided to compose a work about abstract expressionist painters by Googling "Abstract Expressionism" and I read many articles and found quite a few references to the journal. Then, I noticed that a new book about the journal with reprints from it was available from Yale University Press. I ordered the book immediately. When it arrived, it really sparked my imagination - it is full of fabulous art and provocative articles. The title, with the small change of EYE to EAR seemed just right to me, even if it needs explanation.
How did the journal influence the development of abstract expressionism?
The journal provided an outlet for the exposure of new paintings, ideas about art, and also relevant poetry.
What is the composing process like when the influence is another non-verbal art form?
The paintings suggested many aspects of the music to me. The Rothko, for example, suggested a kind of formal, classical balance as well as smooth texture, and also a sense of sorrow. This led me to use an ancient musical procedure known as the passacaglia. Passacaglias provide a frame, a structure, much as the Rothko panels suggest a neutral container. The repetition of the pattern in the passacaglia seemed to allow a flow of musical ideas that could parallel the Rothko. Once I made the decision to use the passacaglia structure, I concentrated on the texture and mood. Then composing takes it own course, and the piece must work completely on its own without reference to the painting. Otherwise, it would not be of much value, no matter what its initial inspiration.
How did you interact with the art work while creating this piece? Was it meditative? Involved with art historical scholarship?
My interaction with the art was indeed somewhat meditative. I would spend quite a lot of time contemplating the paintings and thinking about what gives them their essential qualities. I did read the Yale University Press book about The Tiger's Eye and also some articles and art books, but actually it was only the paintings themselves that led to all the musical decisions.
Painters such as Pollock, Newman and Rothko produced radically different work. Is this reflected in your composition? What challenges did it present?
Yes, the challenge here was to reflect the radically different energies and ideas of these painters while keeping it all within a unified musical style, using the language that is mine and that felt true to my own composing at this moment. So while the Jackson Pollock is highly contrapuntal and full of raw energy and the Newman is more serene, for example, they share a harmonic language that keeps them within the same musical world and allows me to compose in my own way while reacting to such varied expression.
You have been quoted as saying that your composition "react[s] to the energy, rhythm, color and forms of the paintings." Did the translation of these visual concepts into aural expression come easily? Were there surprises? Unexpected discoveries?
Great question. My composing came easily with some and was quite difficult with other painters. For example, the Rothko seemed to flow very naturally for me, after much contemplation as described above. My intuition about the Rothko was affirmed by Mark Rothko's son, Christopher Rothko. Christopher manages the Rothko estate and sets up exhibits, yet he is also an avid music fan, a choral singer, and a serious amateur pianist. He also has written professionally about music and is a psychologist. I met him because I needed to get permission to show his father's paintings with this piece. He told me that he already knew and liked my music, so we met for a coffee and now have become friends.
Christopher feels strongly that I captured some significant and fundamental aspects of his father's work in the movement, and that has been a great source of joy to me. Christopher Rothko came to speak when the piece was performed at Cornell University in the Light In Winter Festival this past January, and he also spoke in Denver when the work was performed under the auspices of the Clyfford Still Museum.
Getting back to your question, I found the Pollock very difficult to compose because his style and energy are very different from mine. My approach here was to imagine music without worrying about my own style at first, then after writing that down, I used my own harmonic language to reshape the piece. The Newman seemed a natural for me. I used his zip line to create a solo piano line that divided the sonic canvass, with the other instruments floating above and below it. The Clyfford Still painting seemed to be on fire, and so finally I decided to react with alarm-like sounds and a sense of panic; so that one took me more time to figure out. The de Kooning suggested immediately a way of dividing up space with stark and strong lines, and that is a very rhythmic concept, so the rhythmic fragments started to come to me rather quickly.
As far as surprises, every piece is something of a surprise. And as far as unexpected discoveries, I would say that my friendship with Christopher Rothko can certainly count as one of those! Another unexpected discovery would be my relationship to the painters after having written this work. I know the work so much better and more intimately now than I ever thought I would be able to. This has been a great discovery and pleasure.
"The Tiger's Ear" is not yet avalailable on a recording, but an earlier composition, "Red Dogs and Pink Skies: A Musical Celebration of Paul Gauguin," is available at Amazon.com.