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Meet Tania Gabrielle

On December 5, 2002 composer Tania Gabrielle's String Quartet No. 2 "Communications" received its European premier by the Artis Quartet at the prestigious Musikverein in Vienna Austria.

To prepare its readers for this occasion, Musikfreunde, the magazine published by the Musikverein, featured an extensive article about Tania.
The article, which was written in German, is based on the interview below.

Musikfreunde: Ms. Gabrielle, the "Wiener Musikverein" is one of the top places in Europe - for artists as well as for the audience. Your String Quartet "Communications" will have its first public performance in Europe, played by a first-class ensemble. What does this mean to you?

Tania: The prospect of introducing my music to a European audience at one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world by a world-class string quartet is absolutely thrilling to me. It is every composer's dream to be performed in the great halls of the world. The Musikverein in Vienna, of course, has the wonderful history behind it, which makes the opportunity to hear one's music performed there especially rewarding.

Musikfreunde: What hopes do you have regarding this event?

Tania: My hope is that audiences open both their hearts and minds to the music. As a listener I want to be transported to a place where feelings and thoughts emerge from inspiration, where I am swept away by the compelling narrative and beauty of what I am hearing.

Musikfreunde: The Los Angeles Times said you have "technical mastery" and a "Haydnesque variety in a vivid contemporary language". The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote: "Gabrielle is a creator who melds clarity of design with emotional depth. Her writing is as concise as it is compelling." And from The American Record Guide, "Gabrielle occupies a space where balance is everything." According to these reviews, your music is not radical or harsh, rather moderate and uplifting. Is this impression correct?

Tania: Yes, the language of my music is tonal, polyphonic, and modal, with varied rhythms and strong colors. The word most often used to describe it is "evocative". I don't like listening to harsh sounds devoid of melodies. If I don't feel uplifted and inspired by what I create, I won't burden my listeners. In order to make that decision, I need a laser-like focus and scrupulous honesty.

Musikfreunde: Why did you become a composer? Could you please tell me more about your musical career. Who inspired and influenced you?

Tania: When I was six, and already performing Bach, Handel and Mozart on recorder with my parents at church services for the German community in Washington, D.C., I listened to a record recreating Mozart's childhood. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be a composer and have never wavered from the joy of that discovery. So, my first influences were the composers whose music my father played — Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Haydn and Handel.

Later my influences included all the other great composers, especially Shostakovich and early Stravinsky (for the rhythms and visceral strength), Ravel and Debussy (for their harmonies, rhythms and mellifluous sense), Scriabin (for his harmonic ingenuity), Tchaikovsky (for his gorgeous melodies and drama), Prokofiev (for his genius), Strauss (for his rapture) and Schubert, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schumann.

My main influence to this day is Mozart.

My professional career began while I was still in college. For my senior thesis I composed "Oread", a work for chorus, soloists, chamber orchestra and classical guitar which I conducted in October, 1984. The premiere got an unexpected glowing review and received another performance at the request of the president of Amherst College, where I was a senior. The success of "Oread" garnered me five commissions from as far away as Europe and launched my professional career.

Musikfreunde: Where do you get your ideas from? What is your drive? What do you want to express? What do you want the people to think and to feel when listening to your music?

Tania: Where my ideas come from is often a mystery to me. I go to a quiet place within myself, and music pours into my consciousness. Occasionally I receive my inspiration from works of art, nature, or the music of other cultures.

I am just compelled to compose music. I feel that the true voice of God in us is the compulsion to create. The mysteries of life are revealed in those quiet moments. From the age of six I knew I wanted to be a composer just like Mozart. The beauty of music is what drew me to this wonderful art, and it is beauty that I aim to express in my work. If listeners are moved by what they hear, then the music has reached them.

Musikfreunde: How do you compose your music? Do you try out ideas with other musicians, before they get their definite form?

Tania: The beginnings of a piece of music often come to me while I am in a relaxed state of mind - walking in a forest, taking a shower, on the verge of falling asleep, or sitting in stillness. I then find that the music tends to write itself. My role is in allowing the music to unfold by being present and listening acutely to my inner ear.

My husband, violinist Clayton Haslop, acts as my "second set of ears", which are invaluable to me. It is wonderful to have a musician, a world-class violinist, whom I trust to listen to the music I am currently writing and give me his valuable feedback.

Musikfreunde: What kind of music do you like to listen to? Apart from music, what are your other interests?

Tania: Aside from my first love of western classical music, I enjoy the classical music from northern India, ancient Persian music, selected songs by contemporary pop artists such as Alanis Morisette and Sting, traditional Hawaiian music and the old jazz greats.

My interests include communing with nature, reading great and motivational non-fiction works of art, and spending time on the islands of Hawaii and in the Blue Ridge Mountains where I live.

Musikfreunde: Will you come to Vienna on December 5th? Do you already know the city?

Tania: Yes, my husband, daughter Clara and I are planning to visit Europe at that time. I visited Vienna as a 19 year-old in December of 1982 at the invitation of a composer, the son of Johann Nepomuk David. I attended two concerts at the Musikverein and thoroughly enjoyed my few days walking around the center of the city. Returning to this wonderful, historic city 20 years later under these circumstances should be a wonderful experience!

Composer Tania Gabrielle has enjoyed performances and radio broadcasts of her music on at least four continents to date featuring some of today's finest artists. Critical acclaim for her works has been as consistently enthusiastic as audience response. The Los Angeles Times says, "One senses the composer's technical mastery—the music abounds in unlabored counterpoint and imaginative, unforced sonorities—and her ability to say what she means and stop. Her music is at once accessible, engaging and smart."

Among the artists who have featured Ms. Gabrielle's music are the Grammy-Award-winning Angeles String Quartet, the New Hollywood String Quartet, the Artist Quartet Vienna; cellists Bion Tsang, Jeffrey Solow, Ronald Leonard and Alexander Baillie; the Altenberg Trio Vienna; Tchaikovsky prize-winning pianist Stephen Prutsman; oboists Allan Vogel and Helen Jahren; principal players from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; and New York's St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble.

To learn more about Tania's classical music please visit her website at
www.musicdreaming.com

Selected Reviews

"Gabrielle makes abundant use of rhythmic repetition and ostinato figures to convey insistent, even frenetic energy, or to set up hypnotic figures over which mournful melodies can soar. She favors granitic textures and exhilarating rhythms. Yet, for all the familiarity of the style, the themes are refreshing, the effect convincing and the result immediately accessible."

The Los Angeles Times

"Tania Gabrielle's chamber music is urbane and sophisticated. Neo-classical in style, with attractive melodies, forward-moving rhythms, and idiomatic instrumental writing, Gabrielle occupies a space where balance is everything. While her music is always expressive, it is never overwrought; the emotions are not on the sleeve. Each instrument is given its chance to shine in the constantly shifting textures."

American Record Guide

"Tania Gabrielle's work is proudly tonal. And, as the titles to these pieces indicate, Gabrielle is primarily interested in depicting broad musical canvasses of drama and mood. Thus, 'Ancient Echoes' was inspired by "a vision of an American Indian playing the flute on the rim of a beautiful canyon." The taut, engaging 'Silhouettes at Sunrise' is a paean to the Grand Canyon itself.

This is not to imply that the music of Gabrielle is sappy or simplistic. Her voice is evocative, not programmatic. Her quicker-paced music is bouncy and at turns witty, and she is capable of affecting lyricism in some of the slower movements. Gabrielle is, in short, a genuine Romantic, albeit one not afraid of modern musical language."

Fanfare

" 'Four Illuminations' makes its points with ease. One senses the composer's technical mastery—the piece abounds in unlabored counterpoint and imaginative, unforced sonorities—and her ability to say what she means and stop. With descriptive movement titles— 'Fluid Skies,' 'Playful Dance'—'Illuminations' is at once accessible, engaging and smart."

The Los Angeles Times

"Tania Gabrielle is a creator who melds clarity of design with emotional depth. Her writing is as concise as it is compelling. Gabrielle is well-versed in string techniques, which she always uses to superb dramatic effect. There is no fat or ambiguity. She takes the strings through a poetic and suspenseful odyssey that bears a distinctive stamp."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"The Angeles Quartet's superb performance of Gabrielle's "Equinox" brought out all of the piece's wonderful intricacies. ... She believes music should be clear and communicative on first hearing. She feels music can put humans in touch with a notion of beauty and that it can be a path to understanding an inherent balance in the universe. Gabrielle not only pursues these ideas but succeeds at making them tangible and persuasive, which is a goal of any art form."

The Orange County Register