Interview

The Red Door: Clarinet Works of David Maslanka – A conversation with Jeremy Reynolds and Matthew Maslanka

This conversation is about the album The Red Door: Clarinet Works of David Maslanka (2021)

Works discussed:

Three Pieces (1975)
Fourth Piece (1979)
Little Symphony (1989)
Eternal Garden (2009)
Trio No. 1 (1971/2012)
Trio No. 2 (1981)
A Litany for Courage and the Seasons (1988)

Matthew Maslanka: My name is Matthew Maslanka. I’m David Maslanka’s son. I’m being joined by Jeremy Reynolds who is professor of clarinet at University of Denver Lamont School of Music. And he has just released a two-CD set of basically everything dad ever wrote for chamber clarinet. And it is just a stunning piece of work. And I am grateful to be able to talk with you about it today.

Jeremy Reynolds: So thank you. Matthew, thank you so much. This has been a long time coming. And thank you for speaking with me. And anytime I can talk about your dad’s work and working with him and stuff. It’s always my pleasure. So it’s great. Fantastic.

MM: Why don’t you tell me a little bit about how this thing came to be?

JR: Yeah. So a very good friend of mine, Peggy Dees, who your dad also knew quite well. She was integral in getting Eternal Garden off the ground. She was I think the leader of the commission project. And she contacted – No, we met actually doing a recording session down in Florida for I think it was Carl Fischer. And we became really good friends and she roped me into the commissioning project for […]

By |2021-06-24T20:10:16+00:0024 June 2021|A Litany for Courage and the Seasons, Eternal Garden: Four Songs for Clarinet and Piano, Featured, Fourth Piece, Images from "The Old Gringo", Interview, Little Symphony on the name BArnEy CHilDS, Red Door, Three Pieces|
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Interview with Tiffany Woods (2003)

In May 2003, Tiffany Woods emailed David a series of questions in the course of writing a paper. She was a student at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and taking a Band Literature course with Dr. John Locke. David wrote a thorough response. The interview has been excerpted from their correspondence and interleaved here. It has been lightly edited for spelling and style.

Tiffany Woods: I’ve read your interview with saxophonist Russell Peterson and first I want to talk a little about your compositional process and you referred to what you termed “active imagining.” While to some degree this makes sense in terms of a ‘programmatic’ piece, such as A Child’s Garden of Dreams and maybe even the Mass, when you sit down to “compose a symphony” does the same concept still apply?

David Maslanka: “Active Imagining” is a term used by the psychologist Carl Jung. It is a way of moving the conscious mind into the space of the unconscious. They closest thing to it that most people do is daydreaming. The difference is in being aware that it is happening, and in finding ways to deepen the experience. The result is that it is possible to approach the unconscious directly and to ask for the direction or energy that wants to become music. The process applies equally to all kinds of music. It isn’t about whether the music has a story, but about opening the channel […]

By |2020-09-05T22:56:43+00:005 September 2020|A Child's Garden of Dreams, Composing, Interview, Mass, Philosophy, Sonata for Horn and Piano, Symphony No. 4, Symphony No. 5|
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From the Maslanka Archive – No. 35, Damon Talley’s Interview of David

From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature one of David's very last interviews. In April of 2017, Damon Talley - Director of Bands at LSU - had the opportunity to sit down with David and discuss Symphony No. 4 during a residency with the LSU Wind Ensemble.

By |2020-08-27T22:47:20+00:0027 August 2020|Composing, Featured, From the Maslanka Archive, Interview, Philosophy, Symphony No. 4|
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From the Maslanka Archive – No. 34, Julian Velasco’s Interview of Gary Green

From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature Julian Velasco's interview of Gary Green from the Wharton Center in East Lansing, MI from October 24, 2017.

By |2020-08-20T21:54:14+00:0020 August 2020|A Child's Garden of Dreams, Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble, Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Wind Ensemble, Featured, From the Maslanka Archive, Interview, O Earth O Stars, Philosophy, Song Book for Flute and Wind Ensemble, Songs for the Coming Day, Symphony No. 2, Symphony No. 3, Symphony No. 8, The Seeker|
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From the Maslanka Archive – No. 33, John Floridis’s Interview of David

From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature an episode from Montana Public Radio's Musician's Spotlight featuring John Floridis interviewing David about his music and background as a composer.

By |2020-08-14T01:07:41+00:0014 August 2020|A Child's Garden of Dreams, Composing, Featured, From the Maslanka Archive, Interview, Philosophy, Symphony No. 4, Unending Stream of Life|
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From the Maslanka Archive – No. 32, Julian Velasco’s Interview of David – Part 2

From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature Part 2 of Julian Velasco's interview of David from his home in Missoula, MT in 2016.

By |2020-08-11T01:30:57+00:007 August 2020|A Child's Garden of Dreams, Composing, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, Duo for Flute and Piano, Featured, From the Maslanka Archive, Give Us This Day, Heaven To Clear When Day Did Close, Hell's Gate, Interview, Mountain Roads, Philosophy, Recitation Book, Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Song Book for Flute and Wind Ensemble, Symphony No. 3, Symphony No. 4, Traveler|
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From the Maslanka Archive – No. 31, Julian Velasco’s Interview of David – Part 1

From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature Part 1 of Julian Velasco's interview of David from his home in Missoula, MT in 2016.

By |2020-07-30T22:14:27+00:0030 July 2020|A Child's Garden of Dreams, Composing, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, Featured, From the Maslanka Archive, Give Us This Day, Interview, Philosophy, Songs for the Coming Day, Symphony No. 3, Symphony No. 4, Symphony No. 5|
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From the Maslanka Archive – No. 30, Jim Tevenan’s Interview of David

From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David's life and work. This week, we are excited to feature an episode from Spokane Public Radio's From The Studio featuring Jim Tevenan interviewing David about his music. The Whitworth Wind Symphony had just performed David's Symphony No. 4.

By |2020-07-23T21:14:50+00:0023 July 2020|Composing, Featured, From the Maslanka Archive, Interview, Philosophy, Symphony No. 4|
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Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 89, University of Texas Wind Ensemble & Symphony No. 10

Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature Jerry Junkin and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble in a new performance of Symphony No. 10 as well as an interview of Matthew Maslanka by Jerry Junkin about the genesis and completion of the symphony.

By |2020-03-02T22:00:40+00:002 March 2020|Featured, Interview, Maslanka Weekly, Symphony No. 10|
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8 Questions for David Maslanka

The following is from an email exchange with Natasha Rotondaro, a grade 12 student from Emily Carr Secondary School in Vaughn, Ontario

Natasha Rotondaro: What is your musical background?

David Maslanka: I began clarinet studies at age nine. As a high school student I took lessons at the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, and played in the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. I have a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where I also began my studies in composition. My Masters and Doctorate are from Michigan State University in music theory and composition. I taught for twenty years in universities in New York State and New York City, and for the past 25-plus years I have been a freelance composer, living in Missoula, MT.

NR: What do you find to be the greatest challenge of your occupation?

DM: There are many high challenges in the composing life. Probably the greatest is having to start the composition of each new piece without any clear idea of what it is. I know , of course, that a piece might be for band, or for flute and piano, but there is no way to know why a piece has to be what it is until it begins to speak its own voice. So the challenge is the ability to listen for this unknown voice, and the patience to work until that voice is exactly right.

NR: What are the common character traits of those successful in your field?

DM: I would say […]

By |2016-12-09T23:08:45+00:002 January 2016|Composing, Interview, Mass|
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