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Open Up Your Ears (1997)
| composer |
Bryan Johanson (b. 1951) |
| performers |
David Starobin, guitar |
| affiliation |
ASCAP |
| label |
Bridge Records 9084http://www.bridgerecords.com
|
| duration |
02:10 |
Open Up Your Ears was commissioned by David and Becky Starobin for a project entitled "New Dance," in which numerous composers were asked to write two-minute guitar pieces inspired by dance forms. Bryan Johanson:
"What I wanted to write was something based not on a European model (chaconne, waltz, polka, etc.) but more contemporary to my own American experience of the form. I then simply decided on what I would call a 'groove dance' -- something that has a good beat. This of course brought me back to Jimi Hendrix. I had the thought, 'What if Jimi had lived, gotten really bored with electric guitar and switched to classical guitar? What would he write?' What I have composed is by no means meant to be watered-down Hendrix... it was a way to stimulate myself into hearing music in this 'new dance' form. The title comes from a line in the Jimi Hendrix song 'Can You See Me?'"
Bryan Johanson (b. 1951) cites the music of J. S. Bach and Jimi Hendrix as significant influences in his compositional work. Many of his recent works feature acoustic or electric guitar, reflecting the latter influence as well as Johanson's own training as a guitarist. His pieces are inspired by many sources including poets Sappho and Samuel Beckett, medieval physiology, ancient Roman history, and the natural environment of his native Oregon.
Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Johanson studied composition privately with Charles Jones and William Bolcom, and guitar with Alirio Diaz, Christopher Parkening, and Michael Lorimer. His compositions have been performed by the Oregon Symphony, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, David Tanenbaum, David Starobin, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and many others. Awards he has received include those from the Aspen Music Festival, ASCAP, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and guitar festivals in Hungary and Venezuela. As a guitarist, Johanson has performed at festivals in Aspen, Spoleto (USA), Sandpoint, as well as numerous solo recitals and lectures throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
Johanson is currently a Professor of Music at Portland State University, where he founded its Guitar Studies program and the Guitar Recital Series in 1978. In 1991 he established the Portland Guitar Festival, which he organizes annually. Recent commissions include a viola concerto, In the Deep Wood Reflected, jointly commissioned by the Oregon Symphony and Third Angle New Music Ensemble, and Secret Songs, a clarinet concerto for David Schifrin. Johanson's music is recorded on the Gagliano label.
related websites
http://www.gaglianorecordings.com/johanson.html
David Starobin is one of today's leading performers of contemporary music for guitar. He initially studied with Manuel Gayol, then later with Albert Valdes Blain and Aaron Shearer at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. More than 300 solo, chamber, and concerto works have been dedicated to Starobin by such composers as Poul Ruders, George Crumb, Jonathan Harvey, Lukas Foss, Gunther Schuller, Milton Babbitt, and Per Nørgård. Also a performer on early guitars, Starobin's concerts have often featured music by 19th century guitar virtuoso Giulio Regondi. He has received an award from the Fromm Foundation and is the only guitarist to be awarded the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Career Prize. Currently the chairman of the Guitar Department at the Manhattan School of Music, Starobin is also the co-founder of the Bridge Records label, where many of his performances can be found.
related websites
http://www.bridgerecords.com/ds_artist.htm
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