Photo by Shervin Lainez
If you hear the name THE NATIONAL would you think of classical music? Probably not. So it might be surprising to you that the arena filling rock band and contemporary classical ensembles such as BANG ON A CAN and the famous string quartet KRONOS have something in common. They all have profited from the ingenuity of one man: BRYCE DESSNER. He is not just one of the skilful guitarists of THE NATIONAL but also has a passion for classical music. He even studied classical guitar, flute and composition at Yale University and graduated with a master’s degree. He has managed to become successful both in composing modern classical music and in rocking the stage with his main band.
On 7th march the legendary German classical label Deutsche Grammophon releases a double album with DESSNER compositions St. Carolyn by the Sea, Lachrimae and Raphel and pieces of RADIOHEAD’s guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood, composed for the soundtrack of There Will Be Blood. All pieces are played by the Copenhagen Phil Orchestra and are conducted by the German conductor André de Ridder (read our short interview with him right here). NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION met DESSNER in Berlin to talk about his work and the qualities of German people.
You seem to be a very busy man. You are working as a composer, you got a record label, you are playing in two bands (THE NATIONAL and CLOGS) and so on. How do you reconcile all that?
I don’t have much free time. I’ve been doing all of this stuff since my early twenties. I am 37 now and I didn’t expect everything to keep going. I never expected THE NATIONAL to become so successful. And I didn’t think I’d have so many opportunities as a composer. I don’t have a family and in a way I’ve sacrificed certain things for my work. But it was important for me to grow as an artist.
What was first in your live experience – classic or rock?
The classical music was first. But my twin brother Aaron, who is my main collaborator, is not interested in classical music so we started playing in rock bands when we were like thirteen. Rock music is more like physical for me. I am a guitar player and it is all about adrenaline and energy and improvisation. It’s a kind of more raw energy about it where the classical music is more considered, more personal, more intimate. I’m drawn to classical music because of the adventurousness of it. It’s a long standing tradition of really adventurous art.
I think André de Ridder and the Kronos Quartet are examples for adventurous people in the field of classical music. What is it like working with them?
It’s amazing. I can only describe it like going to the nicest spa in the world. You just show up and they are there to make your life great. They are super open-minded and courageous. KRONOS is probably one of the most famous, best known string quartets in the world. They are from California and there is a tradition of the Californians being like that. A lot of great American art traditions come from California. I think Germany has it too. You find qualities in German people that you don’t find elsewhere, for instance a certain openness. André de Ridder is definitely one of those people. He is just excited about what music can be. It is very liberating and powering for young composers to have someone like that on your side. He is able to walk into a room, really communicate to everyone and to make stuff happen. That’s really great.
Bryce Dessner and conductor André De Ridder
Photo by Anne Mie Dreves / DG
André is also conducting your piece “Aheym” at the Stargaze Festival, which he founded and which will take place from February 14-16th 2014 in Berlin at Volksbühne. The festival tries to connect the interests of classic listeners and rock fans. Is there a difference between rock fans and classic fans in the way they approach music?
I think that people find their way into music in a personal, emotional way. Often it is like falling in love. The classical music tradition is really deep and rich. Once you start digging, it is kind of infinite. I think that rock fans are very adventurous by nature. They are searching out creative music. There is no reason why they wouldn’t also search out creative new classical music, solo piano music or interesting electronic music. I don’t listen to bands that sound like THE NATIONAL. I listen to crazy classical music or bands that are far more adventurous than THE NATIONAL or I listen to old music. What André is doing with ‘Stargaze’ is part of a living culture. And I think that the historical work is only important and relevant if young musicians, composers and audiences are relating to it somehow. And the way they would do that is through new work.
Let’s talk about your latest work, the double album with RADIOHEAD‘s Jonny Greenwood. How did this come about?
André was presenting concerts with the Copenhagen Philharmonic which is the orchestra that recorded it. So it was all done in Copenhagen a year and a half ago. André had worked with Jonny a lot and worked with me before. So he is the connection. We are two composers with a similar background. We play in rock bands but also have classical education. We write different music but I think it sits nicely together because it’s both adventurous new music.
The piece Raphael was written for a film of the visual artist Matthew Ritchie who also did the cover for the recent album. It is heavily influenced by some New York music and by inventive composers like Morton Feldman and La Monte Young. Lachrimae is based on a specific piece of renaissance music that I really love which is by John Dowland who is an English Elizabethan composer. St. Carolyn by the Sea is inspired by Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur.
The connection between the compostion and Kerouac’s autobiographical book ‘Big Sur’ (1962) is very interesting. When did you read ‘Big Sur’ and what did you think when you read it?
I read it maybe three or four years ago. I had read On the Road – it’s the more famous. Big Sur was written five years after and he was sort of a celebrity back then. He was an alcoholic and died some years after Big Sur from alcoholism. I often take inspiration from literary or visual art. I liked the dramatic arc of the novel. He weaves in and out of reality without announcing. You can’t really follow what is real and what is just alcoholic delusion.
His fictional alter-ego Jack Duluoz seeks salvation from fame and from his problems in the nature of the Californian coastal strip Big Sur. Where do you hide when you need a break from business and fame?
I have a cabin in the wilderness.
Really?
Yeah. In the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. It is like a little cottage, super beautiful. There is no phone and no internet and I really enjoy going there. I also write music there.
I wonder why music is able to evoke such strong feelings in us. Why does it make our heart beat or bring us to tears sometimes? Do you know the secret?
I think that music is more primal than language. As a child the voice is the primary instrument. Singing is a human thing, like touching someone or being hungry – it’s a fundamental element. So music is a non verbal form of communication. It allows us to express emotions that we maybe can’t verbalize.
If you would have to choose between THE NATIONAL and composing classical contemporary music, what would you choose?
I am lucky that I have gotten to do THE NATIONAL for a long time. The band is family so family wins. On the other hand I see myself composing when I am 65 but I don’t think I will be touring in a rock band when I am 65. It is a tough lifestyle. It’s very tiring. I don’t have a family but the other guys do so I think you shift when you have children and a wife. That’s the reason why a rock band is more a young man’s game. But regardless I’m happy doing both.
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