The Fidelio Podcast

Recording engineer and producer, Dirk Fischer, chats about his career with Marie over coffee in St. Truiden, Belgium, where they have just finished recording Brahms Clarinet Sonatas and Trio with historical instruments. Dirk talks about his role in the recording process, and how it is much more artistically crucial than most people think. The sound engineer (or 'Tonmeister', which is the revered German title - literally 'Sound Master') sits apart in an enclosed booth, but is really directing the artists, listening with highly-trained ears, and making many decisions of how the final recording is put together. Some think that the recording process is magic - that a recording can make any musician sound good. And others think that a recording is just like a live concert, played once in real-time. The reality is more of a grey area, although as Dirk says, "if you can't play it, I can't produce it." Dirk has a passion for recording sound - and for collaborating with artists creatively - to produce award-winning recordings. This passion has led him to work with the most prestigious labels early in his career, and eventually to found his own label, Solaire Records. "In many respects, [Solaire Records] is going back to the early days of recording, where labels had a much stronger and all-encompassing identity. We need to have every aspect of a release work together: the artist's intentions, a long- and short-term concept, a stimulating choice of repertoire and a deep understanding of how the recording translates all of this." Read more about Dirk Fischer: fischerdirk.com And about Solaire Records: solairerecords.com

Marie sat down with historical cellist, Claire-Lise Démettre, to talk about Romantic-period string playing and techniques. They discuss Claire-Lise's cello and set-up, what it feels like to play gut strings, portamento, different kinds of vibrato – and those special moments that don't require anything from the player, when the music is just beautiful enough on it's own. You'll hear excerpts from the Trio recording that begin the episode and are interspersed through the musical conversation. The Brahms Mini-Series corresponds to the recent release of a new CD of the Brahms Works for Clarinet and Piano with Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano), and Claire-Lise Démettre (cello). It is available on the Centaur Records label (CRC 3760).

This episode is very personal. Marie plays some short examples of various tracks from the new historically informed Brahms recording and talks about the inspirations, stories, experiences, and influences behind each example. Brahms' inspirations for works often included nature, occasions, and the players for whom he dedicated his music. In this episode, Marie talks about her own personal inspirations for the interpretation and ideas heard on the recording.

The Brahms Mini-Series corresponds to the recent release of a new CD of the Brahms Works for Clarinet and Piano with Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano), and Claire-Lise Démettre (cello). It was released on the Centaur Records label (CRC 3760) on Nov. 15. In the first episode of her Brahms Mini-Series, Marie introduces some concepts of the historical performance practice of the Romantic era, in particular relating to Brahms' chamber music. She introduces the concept of the mini-series: to reveal of the stories, ideas, and background that you can't include in the liner notes! The new recording is available on Amazon worldwide. It is also in store and online at the New Zealand independent record stores, Marbecks and Flying Out.

Marie shares her experiences doing something she never thought she'd do: organize a composition contest. As an early music specialist, she was venturing into the foreign world of contemporary music while still new to the foreign country of New Zealand. As the University of Auckland prepares to host its third annual "Clarinet Weekend", Marie discusses the composition contest from last year: how it got started and the impact it has had on the New Zealand clarinet community. She talks about the 48 (!!) submissions to the contest last year, and about changes she's made to how the contest will be run this time around. We hear the new compositions for unaccompanied clarinet by first and second prize winners, Joshua Pearson, and Callum Mallett. Marie chats to Joshua about his work, Teine Sa, and how it is influenced by his Samoan heritage and the stories his mother used to tell him.

David Crowell is a member of the Philip Glass Ensemble, playing woodwinds, and is a genre-crossing composer in his own right, leading his own band, Empyrean Atlas. David plays guitars and saxophones in Empyrean Atlas, as well as writing the music, managing the band, and producing their 3 albums. His music has been said to be a mix of classical, jazz, pop, post-punk, African, ambient, and minimalism. David has played all over the world with the Philip Glass Ensemble, and chats to Marie about what it is like to play huge works such as Einstein on the Beach. We talk about how minimalism has influenced his own work, and a wide variety of other influences he has had during his studies at the Eastman School of Music and professional career. We hear four of David's compositions, including: Redwood, by Empyrean Atlas from the album, Empyrean Atlas Waiting in the Rain for Snow, performed by the Now Ensemble Hashimoto for Flute Trio, performed by Andrew Sterman Eye to Eye, by Empyrean Atlas from the album, Empyrean Atlas Hear more at: davidcrowellmusic.com

Posy Knight is a dancer, choreographer, actor, scenic designer, director, and arts educator. She studied dance at Juilliard, and later went on to study scenic design at the University of Connecticut before moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she lives now. Marie chats with her about all the threads of her artistic life, how they fit together, and how she uses her creativity to better her local community in Milwaukee. They discuss thinking and the philosophy behind a physical art form such as dance, how an artist can discover unexpected interests, making money in the arts, and Posy describes a few of the productions she has designed the scenery for. Posy Knight is the director of community programming and engagement at Danceworks, which brings the arts to people from all backgrounds in Milwaukee. She talks about her passion for arts education.

This is the second part of Marie's interview with clarinetist, Franklin Cohen. If you haven't heard Part 1 yet, you can start there! This episode is all about intimacy in relationships – between musicians, between a musician and the audience, and even between a musician and the music itself. It's about growing up, knowing when and how to come into your own and to find your own voice as an artist. Marie chats with Frank about the Munich Competition, Leopold Stokowski, and Frank even gives some practice tips - which he manages to relate back to everything else about life. In this episode you'll hear Frank's recent live performances of the Beethoven Septet, the 2nd movement of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, and the 2nd movement of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet (all performed at Frank's chamber music festival, ChamberFest Cleveland).

Marie talks with Franklin Cohen, Grammy award winning clarinetist and Principal Clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra for 39 seasons. They chat about his experience auditioning (twice!) for the Cleveland Orchestra and Lorin Maazel, expressivity on an instrument, how to find your voice as an instrumentalist (or artist), performance anxiety and accepting yourself. We hear some samples of Frank's playing including the second movement of Peter Schickele's Quartet for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, Messiaen's solo clarinet movement from The Quartet for the End of Time, "The Abyss of the Birds", and the third movement from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto KV 622. These are all live recordings made within the last few years. They can be found in their complete versions on YouTube or on Frank's website at: www.franklincohen.com

Marie talks about her journey moving across the world to New Zealand and from being a full-time performer to also including a teaching position at The University of Auckland. She chats about some of her own teachers and influences, and how it can be possible to teach creativity through music. As well as being the Lecturer of Clarinet at The University of Auckland, Marie also teaches historical clarinet as a secondary instrument to her students. She discusses what modern classical musicians with no ambitions of becoming historical performers can learn from these instruments.