Every few years I make a, for me at least, musical discovery and share it here under the title "Discovering Musicians." There aren't very many of them, but in each case I think it is someone you ought to get to know if you don't already. Today it is Samuel Andreyev who I stumbled across in rather an odd way. Doing research for a post on Bartók's String Quartet No. 4, I ran across a clip by Mr. Andreyev analyzing the work--and a darn good one. Then I discovered a number of other clips talking about other pieces. Always interesting clips about interesting pieces, by the way. Here is a discussion of an early Bach cantata, for example:
Dr. Peterson, by the way, uses Mr. Andreyev to walk us through the whole history of Western music, explaining as he goes. Turning it around, here is Mr. Andreyev interviewing composer Brian Ferneyhough.
And now, let's listen to a composition by Samuel Andreyev. This is his Piano Piece No. 4 which I think is quite recent as he posted it on YouTube in April of this year.
I can't resist trying to give a very brief description of the music: it sounds to me a bit like Stockhausen if he were Japanese! That means, I quite like it. Here is a concerto for violin and chamber orchestra that was posted in 2019 titled "Trois pierres à ne pas jeter," which means "Three stones not to be thrown."
And that reminds me, just a bit, of Henri Dutilleux. Samuel Andreyev is a very interesting composer and one who is able to talk about music very articulately.
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I definitely remember watching some of his videos a couple of years back. I particularly recall his analysis of Ruggles' Evocation IV, a favourite piece of mine. But I've obviously missed a lot since then. I can see myself binge-watching those interviews later this week. Just started listening to his interview with Julian Anderson and it's really good and uncommonly meaty.
There were things about the piano piece I liked too. Upon hearing it I immediately thought of the Japanese concept of 'ma', and then Takemitsu and Webern. Then I read your description and laughed. I liked the way it ended in particular. But a few moments of hyper-complexity in the middle (though it's far from the worst, or even much of an offender in this regard) are of a sort that can at times grate on me. I usually start thinking of ways the same effect might have been achieved with less, to my ears. Then there is Ferneyhough, where the same effect could not possibly be achieved with less, but I am at a loss why anyone would want to create that effect, and then sustain it for an entire work... Maybe the interview will enlighten me. Andreyev's piece is much more economical and contrasting. It definitely has something.
I will have to have a listen to the Ruggles piece you mention.
Have you heard the music of Jō Kondo?
No I hadn't. Just picked at random an album of his chamber music by Ensemble L'Art Pour L'Art. On first listen it is interesting. Vaguely similar to Takemitsu, Feldman and a few others but sped up. The last piece especially, 'An Insular Style', is very much my sort of music.
I see he's written a piece for solo guitar too, Calamintha, but after a couple of listens I can't find much to like. A shame, but at least I won't be tempted to buy another guitar score...
Kondo wrote an interesting piece for two guitars, tuned in quarter tones, and cowbells. I used to have the score, but sadly it was lost along with many others.
But how does one play a guitar piece in quarter tones on an instrument fretted in semitones? Or is that a custom guitar? Actually, maybe just an unfretted guitar...of course!
I've played a couple of pieces using quarter-tones on guitar. What you do is tune certain strings a quarter-tone away from their normal pitch. Then, every note on that string is a quarter-tone.
So it is still a diatonic (or maybe chromatic) scale, not 24 notes to an octave?
Let's say you tune the first string, E, to E a quarter-tone flat, then you can play a quarter tone scale by alternating notes on the first string with notes on the second string. G on second string, G quarter-tone flat on first string and so on.
Aha! I see! Bryan I don't know what came over me a few months ago but I bought 2 bass guitars that I already know are not on my learning agenda right now because I have so much challenge already with my bass viol and my violins. The inspiration was more from a compositional perspective, to better study the role of bass in multi-voiced music. In harmony, as we say now, but also in earlier contrapuntal music where harmony and triads were not yet explicit ideas. ANYWAY....one of those guitars is a fretless acoustic 5-string bass, which I actually do expect to someday do something with. It will sort of combine my bass experience on the gamba with my fretless experience on violin. Now your discussion of quarter tone guitar music makes me wonder if there are fretless guitars in the higher registers and whether you've ever played them and whether you found them useful or advantageous or enjoyable?
Wow, Will, you are exploring a lot of interesting areas! I have certainly seen and heard a number of fretless electric basses. Jack Bruce was playing one for parts of the Cream reunion concerts. And I have also seen and heard five-string basses as well. I started out as a bass player, but back then there were no exotic alternatives to the Fender four-string precision bass.
There are more and more exotic guitars out there--a friend of mine has been experimenting with a nine-string guitar--but I haven't played them myself. I guess I am a traditionalist!
The 9-string guitar you mention seems possibly a throwback to the Orpharion and, in bass version, the Bandora:
https://earlymusicmuse.com/bandora-orpharion/
Speaking of throwbacks to these instruments, another exotic guitar type I considered is the "fanned fret" model. I didn't get one because it seemed too hard to learn when I needed an entry-level instrument. Theory is the lower notes deserve a longer vibrating length and the higher deserve shorter. See if they remind you of the bandora and orpharion:
For example, here is a 5-string electric bass guitar with fanned frets:
https://www.schecterguitars.com/bass/stiletto-studio/stiletto-studio-5-fanned-fret-detail
And here is an 8-string "regular" guitar with fanned frets:
https://www.schecterguitars.com/bass/stiletto-studio/stiletto-studio-5-fanned-fret-detail
After all that, here is the less exotic, prettier and more my style guitar that I did buy, an acoustic 5-string fretless bass guitar:
https://www.michaelkellyguitars.com/en/products/view/dragonfly-fretless-5
And the other, "learner" bass I bought:
https://www.michaelkellyguitars.com/en/products/view/vintage-element-4
Both are even more gorgeous in real life than in pictures. I know there will be a day when I take on the bass guitar as a new project. I had the money this spring so I did it on impulse, though immediately thereafter engaged teachers and upcoming (Fall semester) ensembles for my gamba and violin, effectively putting my new bass guitars in the closet. Humans (or at least me) are not rational animals. No regrets, I feel like I have new friends waiting for me when I need a switch.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time!! I haven't had a new guitar in a very long time. If I needed one, which I don't, I would probably fly to Australia as that's where the good guitar builders seem to be these days.
My friend's 9-string has fanned frets.
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