Meet the artist – Michel van der Aa: “I’m an art omnivore!”

Michel van der Aa just finished his latest project Up-close, which will premiere in a few days in Stockholm. I had a little chat with Michel, talking about his inspiration, his music tastes, contemporary arts and, of course, Up-close. 

Didier : The Guardian says that you are one of Europe’s most distinctive young composer. One reason may be, that you not only compose music, but that you create whole sets with music, texts and images. Why did you decide to bring such various elements in addition to the music ?

MvA : It is something that went very gradually. I started just making concert music. Then I took a year off and studied film in New York, made my first chamber opera (« One ») and I learned more about stage directing and so on.  Since then I combine various elements.  But it depends of course on the piece I am composing. For some ideas a string quartet is sufficient, for others I need video or soundtrack too. If there is no artistic necessity, I won’t use these additional elements.

Didier : People are, in general, are frightened by contemporary art, be it music or visual art. Why do you think people are so reluctant when it comes to contemporary art ?

MvA : People are always frightened by what is new, not only in arts but also in politics, in the every day life. Fear in general, is unfortunately a widespread factor nowadays and has replaced the normal reasonable thinking.  And that is also true for the arts. Not everybody is as open-minded as one maybe should be or could be.

Didier : Do you think that artist like you or cultural institutions like us, should spent more time explaining contemporary art to the people ?

MvA : No. Good contemporary art doesn’t need any explanation. It can’t be good if you first need to go to a lecture and read four pages of text about it. It has to speak the language of now and has to me immediately understandable to the audience. My generation grew up with image culture and the contemporary vocabulary, and by using it, we will find a greater connection with the audience. Now in a very organic way, art tries to go back towards the audience.

Didier : Your latest project « Up-close » will premiere on March 11 in Stockholm and be at the Philharmonie the day after. What can/should the people expect ?

MvA : Up-close is much more than a cello concerto. There is I an amazing cello soloist (Sol Gabetta), who not only is a wonderful and virtuoso soloist, but also has a great theatrical power. But it is much more than just what you hear, as there will be film layer, some small staging and some light setting too. People will see all these elements combined. All these various layers contribute to the idea of the piece and extend each other's vocabularies.

Didier : You wrote the piece specially for the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Sol Gabetta, right ?

MvA : Yes absolutely. I was in touch with Sol and sent her music, met her a few times. I wrote the piece for her and for the orchestra. Sol was very much in my thoughts when I was composing Up-close.

Didier : So you were like a film producer who has his screen-play and exactly knows what actors he wants to have in his movie.

MvA : Absolutely !

Didier : Where do you take the inspiration for your compositions ?

MvA : I love a lot of art forms and the inspiration not only comes from music, but also from visual arts, from films and theatre plays. So it really is a combination of all these things. I’m a real « art-omnivore » you know !

Didier : What kind of music are you listening too ? Just classical music ?

MvA : Oh no ! I’m listening to a lot of different things. World music, Pop (from the latest Radiohead to Squarepusher to the Shints), Bluegrass, Jazz… Like I said, I’m an « art-omnivore ». I like a very broad spectrum of music !

Didier : Any album you particularly like now ?

MvA : Every week, there is something new in my I-Tunes play list. But these days I’ve been listening a lot to the latest Radiohead album !

Didier : Thank you for the chat !

You can follow Michel van der Aa on Twitter (@vanderaanet), find him on Facebook and of course, you can also have a look at his website (http://vanderaa.net/)

Also have a look at a previous blogpost: http://blog.philharmonie.lu/2011/02/21/up-close/