Thomas Adès (London, 1971) represents the impossible paradigm of the contemporary composer, a musical phenomenon appreciated internationally by the public and at the same time an honest creator respected by critics. Something rare to see in the field of cultured music. His notorious shyness, which at 52 he is already getting over, contrasts with a vast catalog of almost ninety works. Among them, operas such as The tempest, based on Shakespeare’s text, or El ángel exterminador , based on the film by Luís Buñuel and which Calixto Bieito is going to stage.
Today at the Euskalduna auditorium in Bilbao, Adès receives the BBVA Fronteras del Conocimiento de la Música y la Opera award –15th edition–, whose ceremony was preceded yesterday by an extraordinary concert for the twenty winners. The Euskadiko Orkestra, directed by Pedro Halffter, performed his In seven days, that piece with the structure of the Genesis of the Bible that addresses the relationship with nature through the origin of the universe and of life, to put an end to contemplation. “I’m aware there will be award-winning scientists in the room, and it’s weird to have this piece based on creation… ha ha.” The composer of Syrian-Jewish origin attended La Vanguardia after the rehearsal.
Listening to In seven days is like riding a sophisticated traveling shot. Does movie music influence you?
I composed this work for a film, that is, based on a few frames and working with the director on the visual aspect. And I must say that I think in a very visual way. But no, I don’t think soundtracks influence me, although I love film music, and there was a very romantic one in the twenties of the last century; a slightly more pictorial music that filled the great musical stages with images. And that’s back. I write a lot of pictorial music myself, so it has that cinematic feel to it.
Do you take this maxim that music should be difficult to write but easy to listen to into account in your creative process?
Yes. When I work I try to make what comes up very clear, at least for me. And that requires many versions, because I am cutting, like a sculptor, I am carving. And in the end, the more precise you are, the clearer the image.
But what moves you in that creative impulse of yours that is so intuitive? Are they images, ideas, sounds…?
First it’s like an impulse that pushes me to say something. It is like a phrase that has its words, but in this case they are not words, it is music. So I have to create that thought, that grammar. And I capture it in music. It has to be something expressed.
Does that creative experience vary in the case of ballet that you know will lead to bodily movement? Like that Dante, choreographed by Wayne McGregor for the Royal Ballet and now seen at Opéra Garnier
If you write something for a ballet it has to be very definite. The grammar of the music must be legible so that the dancers know where their gesture begins and ends. That makes me feel very free. It’s a freer job than when I write with text, because it’s the music that moves me, and I really enjoy being a composer.
But you see on stage a reading of his music that will not be the one you had in mind…
That’s fascinating. Because what sophisticated choreographers like McGregor are going to perceive are the energies that overlap, the other energies, those that come above the normal ones. You can feel the tensions that translate into the movement of the dance.
The jury for the BBVA Foundation awards has valued, among other things, its ability to connect with diverse audiences. Are we at a time when music has the vocation to reconcile with the public?
Before I started composing, communication between people was not the goal for a musician. There are many theories and ideologies, and in some circles you were considered “approachable” if you communicated. I do not pretend to be popular, it is not my objective, I think that has been made clear. But I do what I do I do in the clearest way possible. And I’m very glad that people appreciate it. Being moved by a language that I have created seems magical to me.
Bilbao seems the place to be: you receiving the award and Hèctor Parra and Calixto Bieito about to premiere their opera Orgia, based on the work of Pasolini, at the Teatro Arriga. You are next on the agenda of the desired theater director, with The Exterminating Angel…
Yes, we will stage it at the Paris Opera and then it is possible that it will go to Barcelona. I’m going to direct it from the podium, I’m going to give it that little touch. I want to meet Bieito, I know he is in the city, but very busy.
Dante, Shakespeare, Buñuel… how did these themes arise?
I recently realized that all these great projects come from when I was little: I liked reading Shakespeare’s works, and I loved The Tempest, like The Divine Comedy, which I read when I was 12 or 13; perhaps too young, but he left an indelible mark on me. Just like Buñuel: his films are very good at that age, right? Because of his type of humor and because you begin to be aware of the adult world and realize how absurd it is. Fortunately I had an interesting childhood.
Why is it important to also be a director?
I like to get my hands dirty, get physically involved in the work. It gives me the feeling of still being in the control panel. And I’m lucky to work with people like Simon Rattle and now Gustavo Dudamel.
Isn’t it strange that Dudamel recorded Dante instead of you?
Good question. That has to do with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and who commissioned the music. But the result has been wonderful. I already perform it a lot and in fact I hope the Berlin Philharmonic asks me to!
What role do you foresee for the composer when an intelligent Artificial Intelligence breaks in?
Ugh, it seems to me that he is still a baby, I don’t think he has emotional empathy. Maybe one day AIs will be able to compose music. But they are not part of nature; the mistake is to think of humanity separated from nature.
And as a tool for your work?
Oops, I’m very old fashioned, I like pencils and erasers. I’m a craftsman, I don’t use computers.
Have you reconciled a bit with Brexit?
Not at all. And things are getting worse. Countries make mistakes.
How would you define the work of Francisco Coll, that only student you have…?
That is very generous of Francisco to say that I am his teacher. He fascinated me with his music, but what I gave were not lessons, we have learned from each other. He is very talented and it is exciting how he has grown. His is a very personal work, full of fantasy and imagination. And as a baton he is also a great talent.
