• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

~ A blog about new music, travel and food

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Category Archives: Southwest Chamber Music

A Canticle for Oliver Knussen, The Gentle Giant of New Music

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Alexander Goehr, Contemporary Music, Elliott Carter, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Oliver Knussen, Southwest Chamber Music, Toru Takemitsu, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Aleander Goehr, Betty Freeman, Elliott Carter, Ernest Fleischmann, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hans Werner Henze, Oliver Knussen, Southwest Chamber Music, Tanglewood, Toru Takemitsu

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A perfect last photo of Oliver Knussen on July 6, 2018 at the Royal Academy of Music in London, receiving an Honorary Doctorate.

”Aren’t you the fantastic horn player I’ve been hearing?” came an introduction towards my direction, in that one of a one voice. We were in the Music Library at Tanglewood in the summer of 1980. As fate would have it on that humid Berkshire afternoon in July, I was studying the score of Voices by Hans Werner Henze and he was working on Where The Wild Things Are. I didn’t realize that just opening that particular Henze score would be all the personal introduction needed for Oliver Knussen to strike up a conversation with me.

A warm friendship began that would last for the next thirty eight years, until his untimely death a few weeks ago. We always remained in touch, either here in Los Angeles, where he conducted often in the 1980s, during our engaging phone calls, or on our return trips to Tanglewood to visit my wife Jan’s family. “I’ve certainly met you in past life!” would become Olly’s charming Leit-motif for saying hello to Jan.

Grief creates a strange energy, and I know that I am not alone coping with the shock that Olly is no longer with his daughter Sonya, with my wife Jan, with me, with any of his friends, with the entire new music community all over the world. A man of uncommon common sense, don’t let appearances fool you. Of all of Oliver Knussen’s gigantic appetites, the largest was for music.

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Welcome to Sound Travels!

28 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Southwest Chamber Music, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Anthony Bourdain, Bill Clinton, Chasen's Restaurant, Food, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Jeff von der Schmidt, Julia Child, Kaiseki, LA International New Music Festival, Tambuco Ensemble, Tomasso Restaurant, Travel

2017-05-24 10.34.42

A big thank you to all my blog readers around the world!

Thanks to everyone who reads my blog, all 22,347 of you, from every continent on Planet Earth!

Let me start my post with gratitude to my Top Ten Countries, grouping them in a geographical if not statistical order. Those readers start, naturally close to home since I live in California, with the United States and Canada. Southeast Asian friends and travelers to Việt Nam, Singapore and Malaysia are big readers and then, perhaps, journey to the inspiring Old World of England, Germany and France (which is becoming new again in the 21st century), looking for tips and ideas from my posts. People interested in the vibrant life colors of Latin America join in from Brazil and México. All in all, our readership is in over 150 countries from every continent around the globe.

After almost four years and 115 posts, it’s time for a little upkeep. Let’s welcome my new blog name of Sound Travels!

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The Superpower Street Food of Hà Nội and a Home Cooked Meal

17 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Anthony Bourdain, Asia, Autumn Moon, Banh Ca Bun Da, Chuyen Pho Bo, Cong Caphe, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hanoi Street Food, Kim Ngoc Tran, Mon Hue Restaurant, Pham Truong Son, Pho Bo, Pho Suong, Tran Thu Thuy, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

With Tran Thu Thủy, my Vietnamese tutor, upon arriving in Hanoi.

With Trần Thu Thủy, my Vietnamese tutor, the first photo upon arriving in Hà Nội last week.

I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco, even though the City by the Bay is home to some of my oldest dearest friends on Planet Earth.

When I have to find where I left my heart, I need to get on an airplane, fly 24 hours (via Tokyo, Taipei or Hong Kong) and begin another chapter, what is now the eighth, in my ongoing love for a country that will always lurk in the background of being an American.

I left my heart in Hà Nội, Việt Nam.

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Los Angeles International New Music Festival Plans: More from Bogotá

31 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Bogota, Colombia, Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Mexico, Southwest Chamber Music, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Travel, Uncategorized

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Alberto Ginastera, Beatriz Elena Martinez, Bogota, Colombia, El Candelario Restaurant, Ensamble CG, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, La Candelaria, LA International New Music Festival, Latin America, Martin Perlich, Ricardo Rozental, Rodolfo Acosta, Simon Bolivar, Southwest Chamber Music, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Usaquen, Vanessa Villages

The Santa Clara Convent in Bogota's La Candelaria.

The Santa Clara Convent in Bogotá’s La Candelaria District.

My last post contained a vibrant dose of Colombian energy, demonstrated by the opening citywide parade in Bogotá announcing the XV Iberoamerican Festival. As I’m beginning to process the impact visiting Colombia is exerting on my imagination (which kicked into high gear yesterday as we finally saw Ciro Guerra’s extraordinary Academy Award nominated film Embrace the Serpent) I’m reminded of one of the first conversations we had in Bogotá.

“Let me try to explain the situation of identity in Colombia for you,” said our new friend composer Rodolfo Acosta, the protagonist of contemporary music in Bogotá.

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Los Angeles International New Music Festival Plans: Pasadena Meetings

20 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Austria, Composers, Contemporary Music, Coyoacan, Diplomacy, Food, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Mexico, Music, REDCAT, Silverlake, Song Hong Ensemble, Southwest Chamber Music, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Travel, Uncategorized, Vienna, Vietnam, Walt Disney Concert Hall

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Asia, California, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Javier Alvarez, L&E Oyster Bar, Larry d'Atillio, Los Angeles International New Music Festival, Mario Lavista, Martin Haselboeck, Ricardo Gallardo, Southwest Chamber Music, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Ton That Tiet, Tuyet Trinh Dao, USC Pacific Asia Museum, Veracruz

Javier Alvarez Corazon de Metal with Tambuco and Southwest at REDCAT July 2015.

Javier Alvarez’s Metal de Corazones with Tambuco and Southwest at REDCAT July 2015.

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca

My last post brought you up to date on December meetings we had in Tokyo about the Los Angeles International New Music Festival. Jan and I have had a lot of important visits from new and old friends during January and the first part of February here in our Pasadena home. We’re setting the stage to weave elements of Latin America, Asia, Europe and the U.S. together as I plan the next festival’s incarnation.

Let me take you behind the scenes. We’ve had a busy beginning to 2016!

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Los Angeles International New Music Festival Plans: Tokyo Meetings

10 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Japan, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Mexico, Music, REDCAT, Southwest Chamber Music, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Walt Disney Concert Hall

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Asia, Bunraku, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ichiro Nodaira, Japan, Kent Nagano, LA International New Music Festival, Laura Mercado-Wright, Los Angeles, Masako Okamura, Masamichi Kinoshita, Pierre Boulez, Takumi Ikeda, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Tomoko Momiyama, Toru Takemitsu, Toshiya Watanabe, Vietnam

With Ricardo Gallardo in his Coyoacan home August 2015.

Dreams and celebrations for the LA International New Music Festival with Ricardo Gallardo in his Mexico City home.

After my busy autumn in Asia, the next Los Angeles International New Music Festival is in the planning stages. We hope to build on the success we enjoyed at REDCAT Theater in Walt Disney Concert Hall this past July.

I’m casting a wide net for the next festival. Thirty years of experience has taught me to carefully plan, plan, plan. And then plan some more. In baseball terms, I’m not swinging at the first pitch but rather patiently waiting for the pitch that I know I can crush out of the park!

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Manzi Art Space: a 1920s Gem for the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

14 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Manzi Art Space, Music, Song Hong Ensemble, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ambassdor Ted Osius, Asia, Dang Hong Anh, Danh Huu Phuc, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Honna Tetsuji, Kim Ngoc Tran, Manzi Art Space, Nguyen Thien Dao, Old Quarter Cultural Center in Hanoi, Song Hong Ensemble of Hanoi, Southwest Chamber Music, Tram Vu, Vietnam, Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, Vu Nhat Tan

Relaxing before a performance at the Manzi Art Space in Hanoi.

Relaxing before a performance at the Manzi Art Space in Hà Nội.

I was just asked yesterday by a good friend, who has never visited Việt Nam, what remains in the country from the era of French colonialism, what might he experience if he visited. Though answering the question could fill a few volumes, I’ll give you a some general observations.

The most obvious French echoes, along with influences in Vietnamese cuisine, are the numerous buildings that one encounters all over the country, and not just in Hà Nội. This unique blend of France and Việt Nam accounts for Ambassador Ted Osius’ belief that, after 30 years of service in Asia, he believes Hà Nội is the most beautiful city in a beautiful country.

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An Old Quarter Debut for the Hanoi New Music Ensemble

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Cong CaPhe, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Manzi Art Space, Music, Song Hong Ensemble, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ambassador Ted Osius, Asia, Cong Caphe, Dang Hong Anh, Danh Huu Phuc, Do Nhuan, DomDom, Geir Johnson, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, Los Angeles International New Music Festival, Manzi Art Space, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Old Quarter Cultural Center in Hanoi, Pham Truong Son, Song Hong Ensemble, Vietnam, VNSO String Quartet, Vu Nhat Tan

A typical Old Quarter transaction.

A typical Old Quarter transaction.

If I were asked to put my impressions of the Vietnamese on the back of a business card, I’d probably settle on “the most resourceful people on Earth.” My friends there have a way of tunneling under, going around, slicing through, or soaring above any and all situations life throws in their way. Sometimes they do these things simultaneously, which makes working in Vietnam always interesting.

Before I was approached to be an official artistic advisor and conductor to the Hanoi New Music Ensemble, I was made aware of many new developments in the performing arts infrastructure in Hanoi. But one report, of a new cultural center smack in the heart of the intoxicating Old Quarter, helped me go from interested to YES!

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The Dragon Awakes: Introducing the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Cong Caphe, Dang Hong Anh, Dang Huu Phuc, Do Nhuan, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kimngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Song Hong Ensemble of Hanoi, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

The Hanoi New Music Ensemble.

The Hà Nội New Music Ensemble.

The world had better get ready for the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble!

I’ve had a busy autumn schedule in Asia, with meetings in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan, all surrounding activities in Việt Nam and discussing the exciting inaugural concerts of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. There are quite a few blog posts on the way about this important new group I am privileged to conduct, so I’m going to begin with a general introduction to the ensemble’s auspicious launch in October.

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The Buddha on the Mantle and My Path to Việt Nam

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Asia, Buddhism, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Hanoi, Joan Huang, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kent Nagano, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Momo Kodama, Nguyen Thien Dao, Olivier Messiaen, Randy Schoenberg, Song Hong Ensemble of Hanoi, Southwest Chamber Music, Tetsuji Honna, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan, William Kraft

The new Old Quarter Cultural Exchange will host the first concert of the Hanoi New Music Ensemble on October 25.

The new Old Quarter Cultural Exchange will host the first concert of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble on October 25.

Why Việt Nam?

Jan and I are looking forward to going to Hà Nội soon, and I’m excited to announce the inaugural concerts of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble as we begin our roles as artistic advisors to this new group and the Hà Nội Philharmonic Orchestra in October. The concerts are October 25 at the new Old Quarter Cultural Exchange, October 29 at the Manzi Art Space and October 31 in the Grand Hall of the Việt Nam National Academy of Music.

One thing, as they say, leads to another. But why Việt Nam?

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