JPG: You catch that that in the film during your interaction. There was a discussion about going to G.
BF: He did not like it going to G. He suggested that I try to come up with ways to make the piece try to go to G and not succeed so that when it finally did go to G you’re excited. Like teasing. That is what he thought I should do. I actually did do that but when I played it for him he didn’t like the devices I used but the result at the end he thought worked. So, he may not have realized what I did, actually, because for whatever reason now, he thought the ending worked. I did change things to do what he talked about.
JPG: I guess it’s one of those things when listening to something sometimes it’s the day that you listen to it that works for you whereas the previous day it didn’t.
BF: I don’t know. You could say that or you could say that I actually did quite a bit of work since his first comments and then when he heard it he didn’t have a problem anymore. I choose to think that he actually gave me some great advice that I took but he didn’t actually understand how it worked but that it actually did work. That’s my current theory.
JPG: I didn’t mean to discount your work. I meant that when he listened a second time, maybe, he caught what you did or didn’t realize you changed it but it worked for him. Going back to how your surroundings were an influence, you spoke in the film of classical composer Bela Bartok and how you avoided his music in the past but discovering it was, not to get too psychobabble about it, a way of reconciling with your father?
BF: Absolutely. He named me after all these composers. He named me after Bela Bartok. I had reconciled with him anyway. I met him in my 40’s and have known him. We’re not close but we know each other now. So, I thought, “Maybe this is the time to take this on.” But honestly, musically, it was turning me on and I was missing the fact that I didn’t know his music better. I was lamenting the fact that I hadn’t taken the time to get to know his music. This seemed like a great time to do it because I do get inspired. When I hear music that I haven’t heard before that’s great, I want to go write. Getting inside some of his pieces and really listening a lot gave me a lot of excitement and gave me a lot of courage to be free in the composing because it seemed like his writing is so unique and, again, being bold is underrated in music.
JPG: What was one or several most challenging moments doing the concerto versus say what you go through writing with the Flecktones or some other project?
BF: It was actually playing the banjo parts with the symphony and not understanding how to try to be rhythmic when there was very little rhythm to work with. When you have so many people playing together there’s sort of a wash and it’s hard. Let’s just say it’s a lot easier with four or five people or six people — any kind of small group — everyone can really focus in very easily on what each other are doing and so you can find a rhythmic pocket. I couldn’t depend on rhythm the way I was used to just as Edgar predicted early in the film. That was hard. If they’re dragging do I stay in time or do I drag with them or do I push forward and let us come apart and then let them catch up?
Now, after 30-some performances of the piece, I have a much better intuitive feeling of how I should handle it. But back then, the first run through, that was part of what was so uncomfortable about it. First of all, I really didn’t know my parts yet and for another thing I didn’t know how to accommodate the orchestra’s rhythm.
JPG: Are you focused on the conductor as well or are just reading along the music and knowing when your part comes in?
BF: For one thing, I was memorized. I wasn’t reading the music. Yeah, I didn’t actually understand how to follow the conductor. Sometimes, I don’t know how to watch the baton and tell what the beat is but I close my eyes and play along and I can play along to the rhythm that he’s conducting by listening to the musicians he’s conducting. So, that’s the one step removed. And now that I’ve done it a lot more, I got a lot more comfortable with the fact that every conductor conducts differently. When the stick hits the bottom that’s the downbeat. Some of them have more of an overall physical gesture to everything. Some people conduct ahead of the beat to try and get everybody to not drag, and I can’t follow that because I’m not going to drag. I’m going to be on the front end. In which case, I have to use my ears and my eyes and he’s supposed to follow me as well.
I’m supposed to actually be the leader and he’s supposed to follow me. I have learned how to demand that from conductors when it’s not happening and say, “Hey, look. This is what’s going on and if you can’t hear my banjo, here’s my foot. I’m gonna tap it for you. Watch my foot.” That’s really helped because the banjo also turns into a wash of notes. Even five, six feet away from it, over a whole symphony orchestra playing, all you’re hearing is (makes the sound of a chaotic drone of notes) how is he supposed to be in time with me? I finally figured out that tapping my foot was the key. If I’d known that back then, a lot of things would have gone easier. Now, I do. So, it’s all a learning experience.
JPG: Going back to the film, the idea of chronicling the creation of “The Imposter,” was it something that you considered or Sascha brought up to you?
BF: I thought of it because I thought that doing the film in Africa, “Throw Down Your Heart,” was one of the best experiences of my life and also very challenging because of the danger and concern of being in Africa with six people I was responsible for, getting everywhere, not losing the film on the way home, nobody getting sick, all that kind of stuff. Then I thought, “Wow. This is just as big an adventure that I’m having right now in my own hometown and it would be so much easier to film it. I should get a little camera and start filming when I start writing.”
I bought a camera and started carrying it around with me and shooting little interviews with my friends, like in the beginning when I’m talking to Chris Thile and Noam Pikelny and Edgar, and then set up the camera when I started writing to see if I could capture the moment of inspiration, which actually proved to be pretty hard to find. It actually was pretty boring to watch me sitting in front of a computer with my banjo trying to figure stuff out. I thought I would do that, and then if I liked what was going on maybe I could get somebody to film the first rehearsal. So, it started out like that. I talked to Sascha about it and he thought it was a great idea and he was helpful in the beginning when he could be but as time went on he had to take a lesser role, more of an overview role. Then, he would look at cuts and make suggestions but not be involved in the creative ongoing day-to-day, which was actually a great help, too because he was nice and far from it. In other words it was my idea.
As it got time to actually film the first rehearsal, once I had some money in the game, I’d invested in all of this, it seemed like I should complete it. It wouldn’t be that hard to complete it. Then, I was able to pull off this multi-camera shoot of the performance. And when I found out that was going to happen, after working with the symphony and talking with them about it and coming up with a way to do that, well, we got everything, we got the money shot. I just needed to capture everything I can along the way, which amounted to certain shoots I had to bring in a crew for, and the rest of it I could just shoot myself.
JPG: Just a lot of extra planning among the stress of writing a concerto.
BF: Yeah. There’s a lot. I won’t do it like that again. [Laughs]
JPG: That’s why I love that section where you wrote on the screen a number of things that were stressful.
BF: Yeah, the Top 10 list.
JPG: I thought it was pretty funny.
BF: Well, good. I’m glad it was funny because I was hoping it would be.
No Comments comments associated with this post