Classical Guitar Magazine 11

AT THE AGE OF 12 Brad Richter started playingguitar by teaching himself to compose for theinstrument. At 18, having had no formal training,he was awarded the Presidential Scholarship tothe American Conservatory of Music in Chicagowhere he began performing, composing, andeventually teaching professionally. After complet-ing his undergraduate degrees in performanceand composition, Brad accepted a scholarship tothe Royal College of Music in London where hestudied with Carlos Bonell. He became the firstguitarist in the college’s history to win the covetedThomas Morherr Prize, and went on to win theRCM’s guitar competition before completing hisMaster’s and returning to the US to continue hisconcert career.

Throughout North America and Europe Brad hasperformed as a soloist; with renowned chamberensembles; and in duos with artists such asGrammy award winning cellist David Finckel of theEmerson String Quartet. His performances and com-positions are frequently heard on national and inter-national radio broadcasts, and he makes regularappearances on National Public Radio’s PerformanceToday. As part of his compositional output Brad hasalso written and performed the score for the Emmyaward winning PBS television series, The DesertSpeaks. GSP, Mel Bay and Acoustic Music Recordspublish Brad’s Scores, Books and recordings, andhis new CD with cellist Viktor Uzur, String Theory, isavailable from Blue Griffin Recording. While at homein Tucson, Arizona, Brad is Artistic Director of LeadGuitar!, a non-profit organisation he co-founded in2006 which establishes guitar programmes inschools around the United States with large popula-tions of at-risk youths.

In the wake of a relatively recent emphasis on compo-sition with an academic component at its core, whatdo you think is the significance of the composer-per-former in our time? This is one of the things that makes guitar very sig-nificant within the classical music world, more sonow than ever before. There are more composer-per-formers associated with guitar than any otherinstrument. I’m not entirely sure why this is, butperhaps it has something to do with the guitar’simprovisatory nature or with its relatively smalllibrary of recognisable classics as compared to otherstring instruments or the piano - especially prior tothe 20th century. Some of the most exciting music inthe history of our instrument is being written now byLeo Brouwer, Sergio Assad, Roland Dyens, AndrewYork, Gary Ryan, Ben Verdery and many others. It’sa very inspiring time to be a guitarist/composer.

Are we looking at a different thing from composer-per-formers of the 19th century?

I think there is a difference. We have certainly learntfrom composer-performers of past generations, butwe have also gained from the significant ranks ofnon-guitarist-composers such as Rodrigo, Britten,Walton, Henze and Ponce. We can borrow from boththe developmental depth and scope of these com-posers as well as the more idiomatic writing that gui-tarists can offer.

What are your thoughts on the potential pitfalls asso-ciated with composer-performers? It’s easy for guitarist-composers to fall into the trapof writing music that fits well under the fingers butlacks development or depth. We’re all susceptible tothis, but it’s a two-way street. It is as much a dangerto compose with a limited understanding of theinstrument for which you are writing. Some musiccan be interesting on paper or in one’s head, but itwill not necessarily sound the way it was imaginedsimply because it doesn’t fit the instrument forwhich it was intended. I try to approach composition

Brad Richter.

BRAD RICHTERInterviewed by GUY TRAVISS

Classical Guitar Magazine12

from both directions. Some of my music is very gui-taristic because I have written at the instrument;other pieces I primarily compose away from the gui-tar. This does produce two very different types ofpiece.

How are they different?I feel my best compositions are those conceived pri-marily on the page, but I don’t think audienceswould agree. The music I write with the guitar inhand seems to be appreciated that little bit more.When I work at the instrument I try not to be com-pletely idiomatic, trying not to letthe guitar control everything I do.Still, even these pieces have astarting point in my head, which Ithen try to express on the guitar.

Why do listeners appreciate idiomdo you think? It spawns virtuosity that may beeasier for non-players to appreci-ate. Also, because composer-per-former music tends to fit theinstrument well, it’s often easier tocreate a bigger, fuller sound orsonority working in this way.

At which stage does your musiccrystallise into a score? I have gone about this fromalmost every angle – composingpieces from beginning to endwithout ever having once playedthem (some movements from AWhisper in the Desert for exam-ple), to performing pieces without having made anattempt to score them out in any shape or form(Elation for instance). Ideally I like to develop a longphrase or perhaps an initial idea with the instru-ment, and then work with a score. At least thisway I can make changes according to voice leadingand other principles that might be less intuitive tome. Often I identify something that could be moreinteresting, but it appears the way it does becausea shortcut has been taken to make it moreplayable. There can be quite a bit of back and forthbut eventually this process gets me to where Iwant to go.

So the act of committing music to the page produceschanges in itself?Definitely; not necessarily in a way that’s obvious tothe listener but to some extent changes are alwaysmade. When I write music down I begin to questionwhat I am playing, and sometimes things that orig-inally sounded fine are revealed differently. Thenthere are times when you don’t realise what you areplaying until you attempt to score it out. I canbecome so caught up composing at the guitar thatI neglect certain aspects, relationships or balancesin the music. Writing music down helps to analysethese elements and bring them into line.

How do you arrive at the decisions you make? Painstakingly. I am a relatively slow composerbecause I spend so much time exploring alterna-tives. I will continually work variations until I decideon something concrete. I do this more than is help-ful probably; I can be very obsessive about thingslike that.

Do you aim for a definitive score?I try to listen from many different perspectives; lis-tening to the whole, the section, phrase and so on. Ifeel I get it right in the end. There aren’t many pieces

for which I have a sense of havingmade an ‘incorrect’ decision or leftsomething out. Once they arescored they rarely change. Thereare some musical and expressiveindications I would change if Iwere to revisit old scores but notmany notes.

Your identity as a musician res-onates strongly with the composer-performer since your performanceoutput is almost exclusive to yourown music...This is where I feel most comfort-able. I spend most of my timeeither composing or learningpieces I have written. It feels a bitlike a calling really, it’s whatcomes naturally and it brings methe greatest joy musically. Also,having spent so much time com-posing, I just feel there are otherplayers who can perform the gui-

tar’s repertoire better than I can. I would rathershare with my audiences the thing I do best.

Learning guitar through your own compositions evi-dently brought you to where you are today. Do yousee any other advantage to that situation? Perhaps there were some advantages. I tend to begood at exploring the instrument and finding newsounds. Relying on an aural approach to aninstrument changes the way you play and write.For me the downside was not learning to readmusic or play much of the repertoire until I wasnineteen years old. Although I could play my ownpieces well, in order to establish a real technique Ihad to start over with the Carcassi Etudes and thelike at a late age – when I started at theConservatory. I grew up in small town inOklahoma, a relatively isolated place at the time.There was no teacher to study classical guitar withthat I knew of, but I had an independent streakand was very keen to be my own teacher. There’s asaying in the US about representing one’s self incourt that applies: ‘He who serves as his own attor-ney has a fool for a client’!

Do you feel you have links to popular culture becauseyou fit that model of an individual who is responsible

Brad Richter and Viktor Uzur.

Classical Guitar Magazine14

for their entire musical output rather than just a partof it?I do, and I like to be one of those performers who candraw people into classical music - a sort of bridgeperformer if you like. One of my strong points is get-ting an audience who may not be interested in clas-sical guitar to enjoy a classical guitar concert. Muchof the music I play crosses boundaries between var-ious stylistic genres. Maybe then, because of that,people who watch my concerts might go on to enjoya more traditional guitar recital, since they will havean understanding of the instrument and the concertformat. It’s a way for them to access it I suppose.

Do you think this makes you more adaptable to achanging audience?Let’s take clapping between movements as an exam-ple of how audiences are changing. We see more andmore of that now. If someone wants to clap I have noproblem with that! However, if I’m going to perform apiece that for some reason works better with silencesin between the movements - a piece where thesesilences are part of the music andinterrupting them breaks the spell- then I will say something explain-ing that. But most of the time it’sfine. I see a lot of performers inother instrumental genres gettinga little critical of their listeners forresponding in this way, whichreally only serves to reinforce anegative stereotype. It shouldn’t beabout making audiences lovemusic the way we do; performanceis a two-way communication.Audiences for the fine arts areshrinking, along with their atten-tion spans. Meeting them half wayis good for the longevity of classical music. Right nowI think guitarists are better at that than any otherinstrumentalist.

You tend to maintain a dialogue with your audienceduring concerts. Do you consider this a feature of youperformances?Often people comment on the stories I tell aboutthe pieces I play; in a sense they have becomepart of the performance, along with a bit of ban-ter in reaction to a particular audience or setting.I have been talking to audiences in this way sincemy first concert. I think it was frowned upon inthe very beginning, but now it is almost a require-ment and people have come to expect it. It’s greatto see players are becoming very good at talkingwith their listeners; If you can do that then itallows people to have a break from their focuswhich they will appreciate. It also allows audi-ences to feel like they are getting to know a per-former on a personal level.

How do you use these opportunities?I feel it’s another way for an audience to connect withthe music. For example, I have a suite called The

Harvest. If I were to call it a sonata, which it essen-tially is, and take away the description that accom-panies the piece in concert, it becomes a lot lessaccessible for the average listener. I don’t want toimply that this is for ‘uneducated audiences’, butthere are always people who need something to helpbring them into the music. That’s how I was firstattracted to the guitar as a child – at a MichaelHedges concert; he was a great story teller.Sometimes having programmatic titles can drawpeople into the music more effectively, even thoughthe music itself clearly isn’t any better for having adifferent label.

Do you feel your compositions have very strong extra-musical characteristics?My best pieces tend to be those that began with aconcept before the first note. For example, I wantedto write a suite of five movements about the ColoradoRiver - a picture of five different spots along its path.I picked the areas I wanted to describe musically andspent a lot of time thinking about sounds and set-

tings before writing anything atall. This implied a structure overthe entire piece and assisted in thetransition from one movement tothe next. Four Native Tales is asimilar example - four songs eachbased on a Native-American originstory. For a good month before Iwrote any music I would visit thelibrary and research Native-American stories. After readinghundreds I decided on four I feltwere both interesting and con-trasting, and composed musicusing those stories as a founda-tion. Again this offered a cohesive

structure ruling the entire work. Using material likethis as a framework can offer new ways of imposingstructure on music, and it helps with variety. I alsoenjoy developing new sounds and idiomatic tech-niques that will help me express the story I’m tryingto tell – such as the sound of dripping icicles inSnowmelt or the sound of a rattle snake in HowDeath Came.

Your role as a composer-performer has also extendedinto your ensemble work...I have always enjoyed writing chamber music. Rightnow that energy is focused on The Richter Uzur Duo.Viktor Uzur and I started playing together in 2005after I was commissioned to write a chamber piecefor Weber State University in Utah where he isProfessor of Cello. We have been composing andarranging together since, which seems a fairlyunusual practice within the classical music world.Because we live 1,000 miles apart we do a lot of col-laborating by phone and internet. We sculpt the gen-eral shape of the piece to begin with, and then writeour individual parts separately; leaving space for theother in due course. He may write some of my partand I may write some of his, but we are surprisingly

“One of my strongpoints is gettingan audience who

may not be interested in

classical guitarto enjoy a

classical guitarconcert.”

Classical Guitar Magazine 15

good at working without stepping on each other’stoes. When we come together, usually on tour, wehave a pretty good idea of the direction a piece isgoing to take, and there may already be a structurein place for us to fix things onto. A lot of time is spentsitting and writing together, and we challenge our-selves to write and premiere new work each time wetravel. It can be great fun. It’s a very healthy chal-lenge for me as well. Viktor is a very good improviserand has several other strengths, so it’s good exercisekeeping up with him.

You have also worked with cellist David Finckel...David represents something quite different. He isan amazing cellist in a different way, an absolutemaster of the repertoire. He has won six Grammieswith the Emerson String Quartet and is the artisticdirector at The Chamber Music Society of LincolnCentre, so he is very well established. In 2003 hecommissioned me to write a piece for us to playtogether. I was impressed with him as a musician,person and music entrepreneur, and he was sosuccessful that it made me want to move up to hislevel. I worked extremely hard on that compositionfor the better part of a year, even hiring a cellist toplay parts so I could hear it more accurately andmake changes before presenting the piece to David.I think that experience propelled me forward in sev-eral ways.

As a separate branch of your teaching you arefounder and artistic director of Lead Guitar! Can youtell me more about how this was established?Lead Guitar! is a charity whose mission is to set upguitar programmes in schools where students maybe at risk of failing or becoming involved in sub-stance abuse or crime. Currently we have thirteenprogrammes running in schools throughout thesouthwest US. I do a lot of the teaching but I alsohave some very good co-teachers that are helpingthe programme grow. This all began around tenyears ago after I gave a concert in Page, Arizona – asmall town on the Navajo Indian reservation. Afterthe concert I was asked if I would be interested invisiting the high school there, because they sup-posedly had some talented guitarists. I honestlywasn’t sure at the time; this place was really in themiddle of nowhere. As it turned out, guitar was acultural staple on the reservation, and they reallydid have some amazing young musicians. Oneplayer had learnt part of a Bach lute suite and sev-

eral other things byear - with horrible fin-gerings and bad tech-nique, but he couldplay them (a lot likemyself at that age). Iarranged to returnthe following year fortwo weeks so I couldspend a decentamount of time withthese students. The

visits became longer and longer each year. Aroundyear five we decided to take six to twelve studentson a week-long backpacking trip into some veryremote locations, with their guitars. The schoolcouncillor came too and it allowed these kids achance to heal a couple of things and do somethingdifferent. PBS heard about it and decided to makea documentary based on what we were doing. Aphilanthropist and guitarist named Marc Sandroffsaw the film and contacted me with the aim ofdeveloping the guitar programme in Page into anational programme, now called Lead Guitar! Thatwas maybe four years ago; it’s taking off beautiful-ly now.

Complete Works and Discography

Compositions solo guitar

title published or commissioned by year Song of the Wild (32 mvmts)

Acoustic Music Book 2008Angular Tango (2 mvmts) Mel Bay 2003Hard Times Mel Bay 2002Three Little Nightmares (3 mvmts) Mel Bay 2001A Whisper in the Desert (4 mvmts) Mel Bay 2000Four Native Tales (4 mvmts)

Guitar Solo Publications 1998Fractal Reflections Guitar Solo Publications 1995Eight Preludes (8 mvmts)

Guitar Solo Publications 1994The Harvest (3 mvmts) Guitar Solo Publications 1992

Chamber musicLa Folia Blue Griffin Recording 2009Go Ask the Little Horned Toad,

Chamber Music Plus/Tucson Museum of Art 2008Navigating Lake Bonneville

Weber State University 2006Fragments Transcending David Finckel

(Emerson Strg. Qrt./Lincoln Center) 2003Frost Songs Lathkill Music Publishers 1996When the Caged Bird Sings

Lathkill Music Publishers 1995

Recordings (of original compositions)String Theory (guitar, cello)

Blue Griffin Recording 2009Navigating Lake Bonneville

(soprano, choir, perc., cello, guitar, narrator) 2007A Whisper in the Desert (guitar)

Acoustic Music Records 2004Fractal Reflections 1997

Awaiting Publication (solo guitar)Child’s Play 2009Frying Pan 2008Celebration Day 2008Straelener Wald (2 mvmts) 2007River Songs (5mvmts) 2004

Brad Richter.