{"id":3429,"date":"2021-11-14T22:20:07","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T04:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=3429"},"modified":"2021-11-14T22:20:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T04:20:12","slug":"sara-schoenbeck-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/sara-schoenbeck-exploration\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound World Exploration: A Conversation with Sara Schoenbeck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With its double reeds and complicated fingerings, the bassoon is one of the most difficult wind instruments to master. But for an artist dedicated to conquering the tool, great music can result. With its somehow equally mysterious and romantic tone, the bassoon provides tonal color unlike any other instrument. And while the bassoon has found itself in many different styles of music, most composers limit it to its mainstay; classical music. But not all artists are so confined. Sara Schoenbeck is one of a small handful of artists who have created an incomparable sonic environment built off of the instrument’s unique timbre. This is masterfully shown on the series of duets captured on Sara Schoenbeck <\/em>(Pyroclastic, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To refer to her self-titled release as a debut album is accurate but, perhaps, misleading. While she has not previously issued any recordings as a leader, Schoenbeck has established a career performing with some of the top artists in modern creative music. Anthony Braxton, Wayne Horvitz, and Roscoe Mitchell are just three who have called upon her talents. Sara Schoenbeck<\/em> builds upon these relationships – and others – to produce a beautiful work that is distinct from other recordings. From the otherworldly slow streams of sound that comprise her cover of Low’s “Lullaby” with Nels Cline to the more spaced out conversation with silence and Matt Mitchell on “Augur Strokes”, the album shows not only a wide range but a path through Schoenbeck’s expansive sonic world. We sat down with Schoenbeck to discuss the new album, her career thus far, and the influences of those at the front of microtonal music and who have created their own compositional languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PostGenre: You have been involved with various projects over the past few decades but Sara Schoenbeck<\/em> is your first album as a leader. Why wait until now to release your debut as a leader?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara Schoenbeck: That\u2019s a good question.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

To be honest, I\u2019m not someone who enjoys the limelight. I\u2019m much more of a collaborator. The idea of putting things out under my own name hadn\u2019t spoken to me before this project. Generally, I just love supporting other artists. If I\u2019m in an orchestra, I would want to sit second bassoon. If in an ensemble, I want to be supporting other players. I have never really seen myself as someone to put things together and be a bandleader.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: Why did you decide to make the album a series of duos?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SS: In large part that comes from the fact that I tend to like the quieter aspects of the bassoon. There\u2019s a texture that emerges when you play very quietly and it is easier to achieve that sound with a smaller group. I also really love the transparency and intimacy that come out in the music during a duo performance. That\u2019s not to say I don\u2019t enjoy larger ensembles; I do and have been in many of them. But I wanted my own offering to be intimate, transparent, and quiet, and that is why I chose to do the album as duos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Also, as you mentioned, I\u2019ve worked with several different artists before and since this is my first record out on my own, I loved the idea of having the album include a lot of people I\u2019ve played with over the years. I purposely selected artists that I feel share a musical language with me or people that I respect a lot. So, my duo partners are people I either have an intimate playing relationship with or that I revere.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: Yeah, for instance, you have duets with Harris Eisenstadt and Wayne Horvitz and have performed with both for a <\/strong>long time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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