Michael Finnissy on the Samuel Andreyev Podcast

[@robkeeleycomposer]

Bravo, Samuel, for an interesting and probing interview. MF doesn't give interviews easily (one always has the feeling he'd rather be elsewhere!) and I thought you dealt very tactfully and sympathetically with some of his rather gnomic and taciturn responses. In the end, there were many fascinating glimpses into his life and (especially) work. Thank you for taking the trouble. An afterthought - it might have been interesting to ask him about his religious works, of which there are several, and how that might (or might not)relate to his own beliefs. Just an idea.

[@StephenGrew]

For me great integrity shines out

[@thomasmisson]

I've never met Michael Finnissy but nonetheless he's one of my musical heroes and role models. I find him to be so grounded in his approach to life and dedicated in his approach to music. I'm so happy that he's garnered so much acclaim later in life but it's the very lack of need he has for this that ironically makes him so deserving to me. Wonderful to hear him speak about his music.

[@Berliozboy]

Finnissy is a composer that I found very difficult to get into, but there was always something there that kept me coming back. The String Trio and Red Earth were the first works that clicked for me. He's a composer where studying his scores and reading his and others writings on his music provided entry points in how to listen. Thanks for the interview

[@ClaudeWernerMusic]

This interview is gold! I love this man, his analogy to painting and composing spoke directly to my heart! Thank you Samuel for this.

[@FergusJohnston]

This is among one of the most intelligent and illuminating interviews with a composer that I've come across. I got a great deal out of it, so thank you.

[@samuel_andreyev]

That's kind of you to say. Much appreciated.

[@rabbit-munch-carrots]

Particularly insightful especially on Michael Finnissy’s though on how he negotiates the use of past music in his pieces. I really like this quote of his “if I can compose with, without parody, somebody else’s material”. (28:50) I often write music that “quotes” other works as well, but I dislike calling it quotation as it did not do justice to how past material is articulated in fresh ways, how they contribute to the sound world, or even why that particular past music is chosen to begin with. Anyways, fantastic interview! Looking forward to the next!

[@georgeholloway3981]

Wonderful conversation.

[@TheoKoskoff]

Fantastic interview, and thank you for posing my question. I quite like (some of) Finnissy’s work, and it was especially interesting to hear him discuss his approach to pitch.

[@UtsyoChakraborty]

You ask such amazing questions Samuel. Thank you for this!

[@achoikomposition]

Thank you so much for this content, I've been waiting new podcast of Mr.Finnissy's...

[@danyelnicholas]

Thank you, that is wonderful! When I recently reencountered the 1986 String Trio I found my old feeling that Finnissy was the Schubert of our time confirmed. Considering his further work and what he says in this admirable interview hopes are fostered he might actually become our Dong QIchang (董其昌, great Ming scholar-collector-connoisseur-calligrapher who, through a long life's time study, succeeded in an incredibly fruitful fusion of all sorts of artistic traditions). My hopes concerning future music rest on 2-3 people, Finnissy is one of them.

[@Pretzels722]

I have appreciated your videos for years Samuel please keep the spirit of new music going!

[@hb3393]

Sam, mate, you just know EXACTLY who is worth interviewing. Looking forward to getting stuck in. Love Michael, an incredibly eclectic musical mind. The first time I had a lesson with him he sent me away with a list of things to study including Bruce Naumann, John Zorn's Naked City, Hildegard vB and Chris Newman!

[@MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist]

my first composition lesson with Michael (in 1990) he asked me to listen to Sibelius's 7th Symphony, and Japanese Gagaku music. Pre-dating the youtube phenomena, the latter was harder to source :)

[@StephenGrew]

Wel up to the first few minutes of the discussion, I completely concur and like what Michael was describing about the process of making music.😊

[@StephenGrew]

Oh yeah, that is unimaginable for me also. I've not stopped making for practically all my life and I'm 61.

[@barsdaghan4296]

Yet another great interview Samuel!

[@bobnidog9761]

I really like how this man thinks.

[@__stillpoint]

Fantastic interview. It's great to hear him waving away big historical gestures and talking very specifically about what living as a composer involves and what that means in terms of actually hearing a composer's work. I'm not sure why but these interviews attract a huge number of ads for me (in Finland) every two minutes it's interrupted. Have you considered a platform like nebula? You're almost the only KZbinr I regularly watch on here now. I guess there might be good reasons nebula etc. aren't worth it for creators though.

[@samuel_andreyev]

I've noticed this, too. KZbin is experiencing a drop in ad revenue, presumably due to the competition from TikTok. Consequently, they have majorly increased the frequency of ads. I agree it is very distracting. Personally, I recently upgraded to KZbin Premium to get rid of the ads, although I recognize that this is an added expense. Thanks for watching.

[@__stillpoint]

@@samuel_andreyev that makes sense. Re yt premium: I pay for other streaming services but I've always balked at paying for YT. I think for me it's probably 50% dislike of monopoly, 50% irrational and stubborn nonsense that I should revisit. It doesn't stop me enjoying your videos though. Thanks again.

[@polystrophicmusic]

I decided that I would take the time to listen to as much of Finnissy's work as was easily available before commenting. I'd never heard of him but I did find most of his work interesting and convincing. Let me preface my remarks by saying I am not interested in denigrating any composer's work and I did enjoy his work. Let me also make clear that my views on contemporary music are primarily, though not exclusively, informed by Elliott Carter's work and writings. He's not the only game in town, of course. One of the questions about contemporary music that greatly concerns me is the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity. The functional tonal period offered a particular, and very successful, balance between the two. You can do a great variety of things but there are rules regarding root movements, voice leading and resolution of dissonance, etc. At the end of the 19th C. and the early modern period those rules broke down but composers like Schoenberg were very troubled by the possibility of music becoming purely subjective, that the balance between subjectivity and objectivity had been lost. He once described his free atonal period as "swimming in a sea of lava". Hence the serial system. What I would like to understand better about composers like Finnissy or Ferneyhough or John Cage is the question of what might be called logical necessity. Is there an underlying logic to the sequence of events or is it simply "if it feels good, do it"? I do not make all of my judgments based on that criterion alone but it is a matter of keen interest to me. Is music purely subjective or can we make objective assertions about it?

[@MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist]

A very interesting point. You mention Cage and Finnissy : Quite a few of their best known pieces are modal : therefore it would be clear ( even to someone not steeped in their work ) if there were stray/ illogical pitches.

[@Tylervrooman]

His music is heavy! great episode!

[@StephenGrew]

Beyond a shadow of a doubt this mysterious oscillation between existing and bring affected by the time, hardships or otherwise and also the maybe ascetic nature of the artist, it's such a mixture from the nature of Life and all that stuff goes into the music somehow, us other hidden elements....like the subconscious.🎹🙂

[@BrianJosephMorgan]

Excellent.

[@distantworlds9104]

I wonder what Michael thinks of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Both are incredibly eclectic in terms of their body of work and although their music is considerably different due to their different backgrounds/working environments, I feel like they'd have a lot in common together.

[@StephenGrew]

I'm hogging this, two lovely blokes.

[@Lachenmann7]

Everyone is ‘outside’.

[@StephenGrew]

I'm the same, synesthesia I would say. I also get connections with other aspects of being alive, attitudes can trigger music, social situations, visual, smells, taste, and of course sound!

[@danyelnicholas]

Webern of course stayed in Austria (not Germany) before and after 1933, only after 38 was he officially under embargo. And yes, he was a fine conductor (judged by the recordings and testimony) but he tended to cancel all performances because his standards were never met. So he earned a very meagre living by making piano reductions of works which, at the time, were part of the grand narrative...

[@StephenGrew]

King of the Stars is amazing...Stravinsky.

[@wilh3lmmusic]

1:10:50

[@FALCOY]

difficult person to interview.....