Pulitzer Prize and three-time Grammy-winner Jennifer Higdon joins us on Classical Post this month for an insightful convo with pianist Natalia Kazaryan. As one of the most frequently performed composers, Dr. Higdon transcends today’s classical scene with radiance. Here’s her take on leading at this level.

Natalia Kazaryan: You have a very unique musical background, and you have described the Beatles as your biggest influence. What was it about their music that spoke to you so deeply, and how did it affect your compositional language? What’s your favorite album, and why?

Jennifer Higdon: I was so young when I started listening to the Beatles, that I was not really able to comprehend what it was that spoke to me about the music. Even now, I won’t analyze it, because my reaction was just a visceral gut reaction, and that seems important in itself and worth leaving as the magical experience that it is. I love “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, and I think it is likely because I listened to it every day for a year. It feels like fantastical “story-telling”.

NK: Your music is both effortlessly lyrical and rhythmically exciting — qualities that musicians and music lovers have been drawn to for centuries. How did the musical memories of your childhood and the inescapable presence of music history converge to shape your musical voice?

JH: Oh, you’d have to ask a musicologist this question. I prefer to focus on writing the best music I can, and not think about why I do what I do, or how I get to any given place in a piece. Tracing that journey is a job for a skilled musicologist.

NK: As a successful composer and educator, what do you do to continue to learn? What are your projects when you are not working on a commission? 

JH: I try to learn something new every day! I study tons of scores when I’m working with an instrument that I’m not familiar with (that’s the mandolin right now), think about how people (musicians, conductors, audience members) perceive music, and study what musicians go through when they’re learning and performing new works. Then there’s all the important “life” stuff, which we all spend a life-time learning. One of the big truths is that there will always be endless ways to grow as a musician and as a human being.  When I’m not writing, I like to watch movies and take drawing classes to give me a different perspective on “making art”.

NK: Other than the Beatles, what music do you like to listen to?

JH: TONS of music, everything from the latest classical compositions by my colleagues and friends, to hip-hop (Beyonce), to country (Dixie Chicks), to bluegrass (Allison Krauss), to rock, and just about anything else you could imagine. And often, at the end of a day of composing (which is just about every day), silence, and a breeze, and laughter.

NK: What was the biggest breakthrough moment in your career, and how did that empower you to forge a path in the field of composition?

JH: I’ve been fortunate to have a number of these moments, but the biggest was the premiere of my “Concerto for Orchestra”, performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, at the League of American Orchestra’s National Conference, in June of 2002…it changed my life overnight. It opened lots of new doors.  I tend to think that a career in music doesn’t really have moments that empower one to forge a path. I think we do the best we can in those things which we love. The empowerment really comes from the joy (and pain) of the experience. That premiere was huge, but it was also one step in a journey of many steps. I think that a career in composition is more of a marathon than a sprint.

NK: How do you cultivate individuality in your composition students, and what advice do you have for a young composer searching for their voice?

JH: I listen to what they have to say, ask them a lot of questions about what they are hoping their music will achieve, and answer every question they have with a thoughtful response. They are only required to do their best, think about all possibilities, and put in the work to grow as artists. The key to finding one’s own voice is to write as much music as possible, and to listen critically and thoughtfully (and honestly) when it’s performed.

NK: What are your upcoming projects?

JH: I’m hoping to finish a mandolin concerto (for Avi Avital) that I’ve been wrestling with for months. Early next year, I have several chamber works to write before beginning a flute concerto for the National Flute Association. AND an orchestral suite from my opera, “Cold Mountain”. I have lots of good projects cooking!

JENNIFER HIGDON

Pulitzer Prize and three-time Grammy-winner Jennifer Higdon (b. Brooklyn, NY, December 31, 1962) taught herself to play flute at the age of 15 and began formal musical studies at 18, with an even later start in composition at the age of 21. Despite these obstacles, Jennifer has become a major figure in contemporary Classical music. Her works represent a wide range of genres, from orchestral to chamber, to wind ensemble, as well as vocal, choral and opera. Her music has been hailed by Fanfare Magazine as having "the distinction of being at once complex, sophisticated but readily accessible emotionally", with the Times of London citing it as "...traditionally rooted, yet imbued with integrity and freshness." The League of American Orchestras reports that she is one of America's most frequently performed composers. Read more at jenniferhigdon.com.

NATALIA KAZARYAN

From Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, pianist Natalia Kazaryan has been hailed by The New York Sun for her “prodigious ability,” remarking that she “immediately established an atmosphere of strength and confidence.” Passionate about programming works by female composers, she recently curated and performed a recital of all women composers at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., a performance The Washington Post named “one of the best classical concerts of the summer 2019.” She reprises the program for “All Classical Portland” (OR), and continues to expand her series of lecture-recitals showcasing works of female composers, including a recent performance with the National Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the centennial of the 19th amendment (women’s suffrage). She also was recently appointed as a board member of the International Alliance for Women in Music.

Read More in Our Leading Composer Series