Thursday, January 20, 2005
How do you do?

The following is a typical exchange that occurs when a stranger gets curious about what I'm carrying around in the case strapped to my back:

Curious Stranger: Is that a violin (or trumpet, or trombone)?
Brian Sacawa: No, it's a saxophone.
CS: Oh, you must play jazz.
BS: No, I play classical music.
CS: Oh, you mean like Mozart and Beethoven?
BS: Well, not exactly. I play new music.
CS: What's new music?

Hmmm, what is new music anyway? Jason Eckardt and Milton Babbitt write new music. So do John Adams and Michael Daugherty. Edgard Varese and Charles Ives are still programmed on "new music" concerts and they're dead. So how new is new?

And what does it sound like? Well, new music is really dissonant, right? Sometimes it repeats itself over and over and over and over again. It's amplified and uses computers. New music is only for "serious" and learned listeners. Is it?

I think you can see where I'm going. It's really difficult to explain the kind of music I play to someone not familiar with the world of contemporary classical music, or new music. Maybe it might be easier for a composer, who could claim, "Well, I'm a modernist composer," or serialist, or post-minimalist, and so on. Maybe it's not that simple. Certainly as a new music performer you can't label yourself like that. Nobody just plays New Complexity, or spectral music, for example. Perhaps you could earn a reputation for being a specialist at a certain style, but surely that's not all you would play. At any rate, I'm not sure I'll ever have a solid answer for that curious stranger.
posted by Brian Sacawa 5:46 PM

Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Sellout

Jerry's post about the violinist Nicola Benedetti, who might sell more albums based on sex appeal rather than her talent as a musician, raises an important question: What is our goal as musicians? To sell albums or to make art?

The answer to this question would probably vary depending on who was asked. Posed to the artist, I'm pretty sure the answer would be the latter. But directed at the president of a big-name record company, I bet the answer might be different. And probably at odds with his or her artists' aims.

To her credit, Ms. Benedetti seems to understand the possible ramifications of her recent deal--her spokesman Ian Roberts issued the following statement: "Nicola wants to keep to her core of classical music, but modernise without losing standards." And just what would happen if she began to lose her standards? Well, she'd run the risk of being branded a "sellout" by both peers and critics, if they haven't already made that judgement.

The music business has it's fair share of these artists, and each instrument can most likely claim at least one. Among saxophonists, Kenny G as long been the bearer of this burden (all the way to the bank, I might add!). The truth is that many of these so-called "sellouts" are fine musicians, Mr. Gorlick included. They've simply chosen a path in music that might be a bit more lucrative than the path that you or I have chosen.

But the issue then becomes the hype or overhype surrounding the artists. This is precisely why Anthony Tommasini wrote such a scathing review of Lang Lang's Carnegie Hall recital in The New York Times. Because Deutsche Grammophon had built up such expectations about the event, who can fault Mr. Tommasini for his reaction when, to his ears, the performance didn't live up to the hype?

Performers and composers want to make music and share their art with the public. Record companies want to sell albums. In a way, these two goals are quite similar--at their core they both are about allowing people to enjoy music. Yet they couldn't be more different. Is there a way to bridge the gap between these competing aims or perhaps just create more common ground?
posted by Brian Sacawa 1:38 PM

Monday, January 17, 2005
Up in the air

I flew from Detroit to Miami today for a week of rehearsals and a Saturday concert with the New World Symphony. H.K. Gruber is conducting a program that includes his own work Aerial, which is the piece I play on. I'll be sure to post my impressions as the week goes on.

The time before my flight is always a whirlwind. As usual there were too many loose ends to tie up, too many things to do, and too many items to remember to pack. And true to form, I waited until the last minute to do everything. I managed to finish it all though, including boxing my bike up for flight in the parking lot of a drug store just two hours prior to takeoff. (By the way, I'm an avid cyclist and the thought of taking a week off was too much to bear, especially with the prospect of warm weather--the bike had to come.)

Once the mad dash to the gate was complete and I boarded the plane, I was calm. I'm always like that on flights--relaxed, my head clear, and very productive. Sometimes I read, sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I make lists and prioritize what I need to accomplish and what's coming up next--emails, give so-and-so a call, remember the deadline for this or that grant, brainstorm to try and assemble some interesting recital programs for next season. On this occasion I used the time to study the score to Charles Wuorinen's Divertimento (1982) for alto saxophone and piano, a work I'm playing next month on my New York Debut Recital at Columbia University's Miller Theater. It's an exciting work full of intricate counterpoint and plenty of visceral energy.

I often wonder why thoughts and ideas seem to flow so freely when I'm on a plane. Maybe because there's nothing else to do but sit and think to myself. Back on the ground it's very easy to get pulled in so many directions at once while when you're flying, you're moving gracefully toward one single point. Since I know that I have a tendency to be brimming with ideas in flight, I always make sure to bring a pad of paper and something to write with. Otherwise all of those great ideas might get lost somewhere up in the air. If I hadn't brought my pen this time, you probably wouldn't have read this post.
posted by Brian Sacawa 9:20 PM

Number One

Greetings and welcome to my blog at Sequenza21. I'm excited to have this opportunity to open a discussion with you and share my thoughts about new music, making music, and surviving and thriving as a new music performer in today's cultural marketplace.

I'm a concert saxophonist and have been fortunate to work with many outstanding artists, ensembles, and composers throughout my career. I aim to bring my perspective as working musician to our discussion--making connections, collaborating with composers, finding work, traveling, establishing one's own voice, and so on. In addition to commenting on everyday issues that I face as a performer, I also hope to use this as a forum to feature composers whose music I feel strongly about in the form of a monthly "Composer Profile" and to advance issues that I find relevant to today's musical climate. And of course there may be times when the saxophone comes to the forefront of our discussion! At any rate, I have many things say and look forward to your comments, which I'm sure will enhance and inform the exchange and give me plenty to think about.

Part journal, part op-ed page, part showcase, and perhaps sometimes part soapbox, I sincerely hope that this blog will facilitate many lively discussions. So for now, be well. I'll see you soon.
posted by Brian Sacawa 1:37 AM


Praised by The New York Times as "an inventive musician . . . fresh and surprising," saxophonist Brian Sacawa has firmly established himself as an important contemporary voice for his instrument. He is active as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the United States and is the co-founder of the new music duo Non-Zero with percussionist Timothy Feeney.

He has given premieres of over thirty works by both established and emerging composers, including Michael Gordon, Bright Sheng, Andrew Mead, Oliver Schneller, Ken Ueno, Beata Moon, Hillary Zipper, and Scott McAllister, among many others. Named the Baltimore CITYPAPER’s Critic’s Choice for Classical Music in 2002, he is the recipient of awards for solo performance from both national and international competitions.

Sacawa's versatile career has led to appearances with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, Harvard Group for New Music, New Music Brandeis, Bargemusic, and at meetings of the ISU Contemporary Music Festival, World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance, and New England Saxophone Symposium.

Brian holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the Peabody Conservatory, and the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, where he studied with Donald Sinta, Gary Louie, and Lynn Klock. He has recorded for the Equililbrium, Naxos, and BiBimBop recording labels.

See Brian's other blog
Sounds Like Now