The Argentine pianist Rod Schetchman (37) has been composing for cinema and advertising for more than twenty-five years, but his passion is classical music. That is why he decided to participate in the international WorldVision Composer Contest. Schetjman, who was shortlisted along with eighty-eight musicians worldwide, today is one of the finalists (the only Argentine) with his symphony “Luce Nell ‘Oscurità”. The winning work will be performed by the symphony Nova Orchester Wien (NOW) during the closing concert of WorldVision Music Contest at the Vienna Konzerthaus. The musician chatted with NEWS about how he lives the final stretch.
News: How does it feel to have become a finalist in the WorldVision Composer Contest?
Rod Schechtman: It is a great emotion to compete with very important people who have a long history. The contest is very difficult, it is not simply to compose classical music, but it must also be symphonic, with different slogans. In the second slogan, for example, chamber music had to be written, which is music from the 1800s. For that challenge I made a string quintet called “Un Raggio di Sole”. This is the semifinal and three winners are defined, for whom they record the piece. And it is not a small thing, we are not talking about a piece in which five people participate, but eighty. That eighty people, ultra-professionals, from one of the most important orchestras in Europe, play the symphony that you created is something incredible. It is incredible to be representing Argentina in this contest.
News: What are the prizes for the contest winners?
Schechtman: The jury chooses three winners and then defines the order in which they win. The first prize is to have your symphony played at the Grand Concert Hall in Vienna and they invite you to see it, plus you win €10,000 and the production of an entire album, that is, it is the beginning of a career. The second prize is 5,000 euros and the third, 3,000. But the music is recorded for the three of them, which is extremely expensive: almost a hundred musicians on stage.
News: What did they ask you to enter the contest?
Schechtman: A realistic-sounding computer simulation of the orchestra and a full score that can be performed by live musicians. It is very demanding. One thing is someone who suddenly mixes sounds from the computer and has an ear, and another thing is someone who writes the score and has to write thirty-five different parts; that is, thirty-five different instructions for thirty-five different groups of musicians, as in a symphony, where each instruction changes second by second. And they also ask you to know how to produce, to be able to make what is written on the computer sound good. So you have to modify several parameters, change the pressure of the violin bow, or the vibration of a string, and you can modify that by computer so that the simulation sounds as realistic as possible.
News: When did the contest start?
Schechtman: The first audition was on September 20.
News: Did people from all over the world compete?
Schechtman: Yes. The first stage of the contest was regional. The second national, and there it was defined which composer remained from each country in the world. And this stage involves audition in front of the jury, which I already passed, and three public votes that define the winners. There are two votes that I already won. Now there is one last vote.
News: Can everyone vote?
Schechtman: Yes, it is open to the general public and you can vote online. Ends March 15.
News: Do you have faith?
Schechtman: Yes, because it’s not something I’ve been doing just for this contest. Composing my first symphony is something I have dreamed of for more than ten years. I started playing the piano and then it wasn’t enough for me. I began to compose, to play my pieces, to understand why other people’s pieces worked. Then I said “let’s get off the piano”. And I was adding strings and other instruments. It was years of travel composing for a symphony orchestra. That’s why when I saw this contest I said: “This is the opportunity”.
News: What can you tell about what you composed for the final of this contest?
Schechtman: It is a very special piece for me. I made the main melodies almost three years ago. I wrote them down, recorded them and decided that I was not ready and that I had to continue studying. I kept them, I continued studying and now I said: “It is time”. It’s the most complex and elaborate thing I’ve ever done.
News: How do you perceive the place that classical music has today?
Schechtman: Classical music has been in decline for more than a hundred years. Centuries ago it was composed for a very select audience: Nobles who had a lot of musical knowledge. And it was one of the few forms of entertainment. Besides, it wasn’t that common to listen to a piece, maybe you listened to it once or twice in your life. When the recordings and the radio start, the public changes. And it goes from being a select audience to a massive one. And the problem with classical music is that without sufficient knowledge you cannot enjoy it. It has a very high barrier to entry. It is like wanting to learn to read Spanish starting with Borges. Today classical music is only for a specific group. In addition to the fact that it is difficult for new works to be heard. As there are few functions, those who create the events play to execute already recognized works.
News: How is the moment when you compose?
Schechtman: In my studio at home, or sometimes somewhere outside, quiet, if possible in the middle of nature. Detach myself from everything and write the melodies that I imagine. It is the most beautiful part of the process.
