Music to his ears
Showtime talks to eclectic composer and musician Ruben Zahra
How old were you when you decided that music had to be your chosen career/life?
It was during sixth form. I was preparing for my A levels in chemistry, biology and physics. I remember being rather keen on becoming a dentist. In the midst of it all I decided to bounce tracks and develop my studies towards becoming a composer. Once I marked my target I just barged through the obstacles and made it happen. It's been a very intriguing journey so far: Four years studying in Rome, two years in Oakland for my Masters degree, two years in Los Angeles working for the Hollywood film industry and since 2004 back in Malta as a freelance composer.
I believe you were initially drawn to explore Mediterranean folk music. Why and what attracted you to this?
I am a classically trained composer and my emphasis is to create new music within the contemporary idiom. I started to investigate Maltese traditional instruments in 1999. At the turn of the millennium folklorist Ġużi Gatt was researching the Maltese żaqq (bagpipe) and invited me to explore the possibilities of this traditional instrument. Our collaboration snowballed into a revival project of traditional Maltese instruments, which was launched in 2000 as Etnika. In 2004 when I returned to Malta from LA, I created the Nafra folk ensemble which has become a major international exponent of Malta's music heritage. Although research in local folk music interests me, I use it is a springboard towards creating new music. Folk music provides me with valuable fragments of melody and rhythm, which constitute the raw materials for new music. As Hungarian composer Bela Bartok once wrote: "Peasant music is the ideal starting point for a musical renaissance, and a composer in search of new ways cannot be led by a better master".
These days you are inexorably linked to contemporary music. What do you say to people who find this music hard to listen to and understand?
Well, that's only true to those who confuse art with entertainment. Most contemporary art, be it music, visual art, literature, theatre, etc, challenges its audience. I personally find this also very entertaining ... but very different from when I attend a rock concert or watch a blockbuster movie. I think it's very important to approach a performance with the appropriate yardstick. Sometimes you enjoy flipping through a magazine and sometimes you engage in a good novel. Problem is when you pick up a novel and expect to flip through it as if it was a commercial magazine. Same thing with music.
Surely even you have to admit that some contemporary music is - to put it mildly - difficult. Where do you see this form of music fitting into the overall scheme of things?
I admit that contemporary music can be demanding and abstract. The artist or composer is searching for new modalities of expression. It's a journey that he shares with an audience through his medium: sound, words, movement, action, etc. And all this fits in the overall scheme of being human. We are constantly probing and questioning to develop whatever we produce or create. On the other hand it is very difficult to define contemporary music. The music of Philip Glass, for example, is very melodic and appeals to a larger audience, especially his soundtracks for movies like The Hours, Kundun and others. The term contemporary music can mean anything really. It does not conform to one particular style. I am sure that if there was more exposure the audience would be intrigued and entertained by a whole new universe of sound.
Do you see yourself as primarily a composer, or as a musician who also happens to compose? And what inspires you?
The reason I started to take music lessons, when I was 14 years old, was so that I could write down the music I improvised and created. Therefore my approach to music was always from a composer's perspective. The piano to me was more of a tool to facilitate the composition process. While you can learn to play an instrument you cannot learn to become a composer. Music education of course is vital to develop the skill in various subjects that are essential to the composer: Harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and others. But the creative vigour that sets the whole process in motion comes from somewhere else.
What other forms of music do you enjoy playing and listening to?
I was listening to rock music before I started studying classical music. Although I grew up in the 1980s, I was and am hooked on the 1970s rock bands. My favourite band ever is Led Zeppelin. Other favourites include Deep Purple, The Who, The Beatles and many others. I listen to all sorts of music really. At home I'm constantly zapping my TV between VH1 and Mezzo. I'm currently developing a technique that allows me to transpose material from rock music to contemporary music. The process is similar to my use of fragments from folk music as raw materials for new music. For my last work: A 30-minute cycle in six movements, I derived my materials from the songs of Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osborne, Jethro Tull, System of a Down, Led Zeppelin and Metallica. However, none of it is recognisable.
We're often told that Malta is a microscopic speck on the map, overflowing with artistically talented people. Do you agree and if so who do you particularly admire locally.
Yes, I totally agree. If you look at the music scene alone it's rather astounding. The leader of one of the top international orchestras is Maltese: Carmine Lauri, leader of the London Symphony Orchestra. And Joseph Calleja is considered by many as the best tenor on the international opera stage. There are many artists that I admire in Malta. I consider Charles Camilleri to be the best Maltese composer: Past and present. I admire the poetry of Achille Mizzi a lot. I believe that Mr Mizzi stands alone with the best verses ever composed in the Maltese language. I feel the same way about the sculptures of Antonio Sciortino who should be hailed as one of the best sculptures internationally.
On a global scale, who are your greatest musical influences?
Stravinsky would have to be my first pick. Igor Stravinsky to me is the last monolith in the history of music. When you analyse his music, it comes off as some of the most complex pages ever composed - but in performance it takes the stage by storm and engages the audience on a visceral level. I love the primordial textures of his orchestrations and the way he plays with rhythm.
You lead a very full musical life. What's next for Ruben Zahra?
Well, I like the fast lane so I'm always on the run. I just launched the Crossbreed Ensemble dedicated to contemporary music. I shall be busy promoting this ensemble on the international festival network. I will keep developing projects related to Maltese traditional music. The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts has appointed me artistic director of Għanafest. Malta Mediterranean Folk Music Festival. May 2008 was my first edition and it went really well, pulling in a crowd of 1600 people. I intend to develop this festival into a major showcase of Maltese folk music. I also intend to work more with local schools in order to implement projects related to both heritage and contemporary music.
It was during sixth form. I was preparing for my A levels in chemistry, biology and physics. I remember being rather keen on becoming a dentist. In the midst of it all I decided to bounce tracks and develop my studies towards becoming a composer. Once I marked my target I just barged through the obstacles and made it happen. It's been a very intriguing journey so far: Four years studying in Rome, two years in Oakland for my Masters degree, two years in Los Angeles working for the Hollywood film industry and since 2004 back in Malta as a freelance composer.
I believe you were initially drawn to explore Mediterranean folk music. Why and what attracted you to this?
I am a classically trained composer and my emphasis is to create new music within the contemporary idiom. I started to investigate Maltese traditional instruments in 1999. At the turn of the millennium folklorist Ġużi Gatt was researching the Maltese żaqq (bagpipe) and invited me to explore the possibilities of this traditional instrument. Our collaboration snowballed into a revival project of traditional Maltese instruments, which was launched in 2000 as Etnika. In 2004 when I returned to Malta from LA, I created the Nafra folk ensemble which has become a major international exponent of Malta's music heritage. Although research in local folk music interests me, I use it is a springboard towards creating new music. Folk music provides me with valuable fragments of melody and rhythm, which constitute the raw materials for new music. As Hungarian composer Bela Bartok once wrote: "Peasant music is the ideal starting point for a musical renaissance, and a composer in search of new ways cannot be led by a better master".
These days you are inexorably linked to contemporary music. What do you say to people who find this music hard to listen to and understand?
Well, that's only true to those who confuse art with entertainment. Most contemporary art, be it music, visual art, literature, theatre, etc, challenges its audience. I personally find this also very entertaining ... but very different from when I attend a rock concert or watch a blockbuster movie. I think it's very important to approach a performance with the appropriate yardstick. Sometimes you enjoy flipping through a magazine and sometimes you engage in a good novel. Problem is when you pick up a novel and expect to flip through it as if it was a commercial magazine. Same thing with music.
Surely even you have to admit that some contemporary music is - to put it mildly - difficult. Where do you see this form of music fitting into the overall scheme of things?
I admit that contemporary music can be demanding and abstract. The artist or composer is searching for new modalities of expression. It's a journey that he shares with an audience through his medium: sound, words, movement, action, etc. And all this fits in the overall scheme of being human. We are constantly probing and questioning to develop whatever we produce or create. On the other hand it is very difficult to define contemporary music. The music of Philip Glass, for example, is very melodic and appeals to a larger audience, especially his soundtracks for movies like The Hours, Kundun and others. The term contemporary music can mean anything really. It does not conform to one particular style. I am sure that if there was more exposure the audience would be intrigued and entertained by a whole new universe of sound.
Do you see yourself as primarily a composer, or as a musician who also happens to compose? And what inspires you?
The reason I started to take music lessons, when I was 14 years old, was so that I could write down the music I improvised and created. Therefore my approach to music was always from a composer's perspective. The piano to me was more of a tool to facilitate the composition process. While you can learn to play an instrument you cannot learn to become a composer. Music education of course is vital to develop the skill in various subjects that are essential to the composer: Harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and others. But the creative vigour that sets the whole process in motion comes from somewhere else.
What other forms of music do you enjoy playing and listening to?
I was listening to rock music before I started studying classical music. Although I grew up in the 1980s, I was and am hooked on the 1970s rock bands. My favourite band ever is Led Zeppelin. Other favourites include Deep Purple, The Who, The Beatles and many others. I listen to all sorts of music really. At home I'm constantly zapping my TV between VH1 and Mezzo. I'm currently developing a technique that allows me to transpose material from rock music to contemporary music. The process is similar to my use of fragments from folk music as raw materials for new music. For my last work: A 30-minute cycle in six movements, I derived my materials from the songs of Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osborne, Jethro Tull, System of a Down, Led Zeppelin and Metallica. However, none of it is recognisable.
We're often told that Malta is a microscopic speck on the map, overflowing with artistically talented people. Do you agree and if so who do you particularly admire locally.
Yes, I totally agree. If you look at the music scene alone it's rather astounding. The leader of one of the top international orchestras is Maltese: Carmine Lauri, leader of the London Symphony Orchestra. And Joseph Calleja is considered by many as the best tenor on the international opera stage. There are many artists that I admire in Malta. I consider Charles Camilleri to be the best Maltese composer: Past and present. I admire the poetry of Achille Mizzi a lot. I believe that Mr Mizzi stands alone with the best verses ever composed in the Maltese language. I feel the same way about the sculptures of Antonio Sciortino who should be hailed as one of the best sculptures internationally.
On a global scale, who are your greatest musical influences?
Stravinsky would have to be my first pick. Igor Stravinsky to me is the last monolith in the history of music. When you analyse his music, it comes off as some of the most complex pages ever composed - but in performance it takes the stage by storm and engages the audience on a visceral level. I love the primordial textures of his orchestrations and the way he plays with rhythm.
You lead a very full musical life. What's next for Ruben Zahra?
Well, I like the fast lane so I'm always on the run. I just launched the Crossbreed Ensemble dedicated to contemporary music. I shall be busy promoting this ensemble on the international festival network. I will keep developing projects related to Maltese traditional music. The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts has appointed me artistic director of Għanafest. Malta Mediterranean Folk Music Festival. May 2008 was my first edition and it went really well, pulling in a crowd of 1600 people. I intend to develop this festival into a major showcase of Maltese folk music. I also intend to work more with local schools in order to implement projects related to both heritage and contemporary music.