Elliott Schwartz – ‘Water Music (Posted 20th September 2012)

The Kreutzers (Peter Sheppard Skærved, Neil Heyde, Mihailo Trandafilovski & Morgan Goff) with friends: Rachel Meerloo, Val Wellbanks, Diana Mathews, Aisha Orazbayeva, Midori Komachi, , Alice Barron, Steven Crichlow, Annabelle Berthomé Reynolds/ Engineer-Jonathan Haskell (Astounding Sounds)

The secret of collaging….Elliott Schwartz at Work

Elliott once told me that one of his images for the musical imagination was ‘driving down the freeway, fiddling with the car radio, skipping from channel to channel, music to music, voice to voice’.

Here is what happens when Elliott imagines a watery meeting between Saint-Saëns and Smetana. This will appear, bubbling around the string orchestra, in the final mix of the whole piece, which is for string orchestra and recorded material.

(Peter Sheppard Skaerved, Mihailo Trandafilovski, Neil Heyde, Morgan Goff)

At work with Elliott Schwartz. New York City June 2012. Photo-Richard Bram

14th February  2012 Cambridge.

I spent part of a wonderful afternoon at Robinson College, working with Elliott Schwartz on his new version of his ‘Water Music’, which I commissioned in 2002. Here are some of his working sketches and preparatory materials-complete with lemon cake!

PSS and Elliott Schwartz at work on the original version of ‘Water Music’ with the Solaris Quartet and young players at the London College of Music. 2002

Elliot Schwartz working on the architecture of ‘Water Music’

Elliott Schwartz sketch for ‘Water Music’

Recording session for Elliott Schwartz’s ‘Water Music’-St Michael’s Highgate. The Kreutzers, Peter Sheppard Skærved, Neil Heyde, Mihailo Trandafilovski & Morgan Goff, with friends: Rachel Meerloo, Val Wellbanks, Diana Mathews, Aisha Orazbayeva, Midori Komachi, , Alice Barron, Steven Crichlow, Annabelle Berthomé Reynolds

With composer Elliott Schwartz, his wife, artist Deedee Schwartz, and writer Malene Skaerved. Portland, Maine-August 2011. Breakfast, and plotting more developments for our Jefferson/Cosway project