Established in 2014 by the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition. The Azrieli Music Prizes have been offered biennially since 2014.
We have asked the 2022 Azrieli Music Prize Laureates Iman Habibi, Aharon Harlap and Rita Ueda the same set of 5 Questions. Discover their answers below and if you'd like to dive deeper, you can watch the 2022 Gala Concert here or go behind the scenes and listen in to an insightful conversation with the artists here.
Iman Habibi
What are 5 of your favourite records of all time? (any genre allowed)
I am often asked this question, and I am afraid I don’t have a straight-forward answer. In my opinion, the music that leaves the deepest impact on us is one we experience as children. Having been born and raised in a war-stricken Iran, access to music was limited for me due to government censorship. Copyright laws were not honoured, and the limited music (especially classical music) that I was able to access came via cassette tapes which were copied and passed from one person to another. They often did not come as complete albums nor had any album information. As an example, I had a recording of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto (with extremely poor warped audio quality) that I listened to constantly, but I cannot tell you who the performers were. In general, I would say the music I was able to play myself at the piano, reading directly from scores, had a larger impact on me than any recordings I was able to listen to. That changed once I immigrated to Canada and was able to borrow CDs from the university library, but then the wealth of incredible recordings, composers, and performers I was suddenly exposed to in my late teens leaves me unable to choose only five.
You’ve heard the aphorism: “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” What are your thoughts on the relationship of innovation and tradition in classical music?
In Zoroastrianism, the official religion of ancient Persia, the preservation of fire is the preservation of life! It’s only in light of tradition that we recognize innovation. But what really is tradition in classical music today? Although often treated as a genre, classical music has to be the broadest classification within the world of music. Today, it can simultaneously welcome anything from sacred medieval music, to acoustic, electronic or electroacoustic music by living composers from Asia, Africa, South America, or an Iranian-Canadian like myself, for whom the definition of tradition may be rooted in entirely different contexts. This has made classical music significantly richer, preserving its fire, but has also challenged our definition of what classical music really is, and what it means to innovate as a classical musician.
Creating music can be both a solitary and a social activity. Can you tell us about the importance of community and/or collaboration in your work?
My greatest musical experiences have been in writing music for and playing music with my dearest friends, those who are not only remarkable musicians, but also exceptional human beings. I learn from them, and I can trust them with the musical manifestation of my deepest vulnerabilities. In writing for them, I try to highlight not only their musicianship, but also their humanity. I give performers as much freedom as I can. If they are primarily improvisers, instead of dictating notes and rhythms to them, I furnish them with the space and tools they need to do what they do best, in other words, to improvise.
Which artist - dead or alive - would you most like to work with and why?
There are too many for one lifetime, especially if we include living ones (i.e. my friends and colleagues who I admire deeply). I feel by naming any one person, I would inadvertently leave out dozens of others who I equally value working with.
Which work do you wish you had written yourself?
None, really! There are many pieces of music I feel deeply connected to and see as an expression of myself, but I feel those pieces served an important purpose in the time and place they were written. I can only hope to make a meaningful contribution myself and tell the story of my time and experience in this world to the best of my ability.
Rita Ueda
What are 5 of your favourite records of all time? (any genre allowed)
1) What the Night Bird Told the Wanderer, Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra 2) Joël Bons: Nomaden, Atlas Ensemble 3) Ume, Mei Han (zheng) and Paul Plimley (piano) 4) Ichigenkin "From Gakusen (music hermit) to date", Minegishi Issui, Fourth Head of Seikyodo Ichigenkin 5) Ten Freedom Summers by Wadada Leo Smith
You’ve heard the aphorism: “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” What are your thoughts on the relationship of innovation and tradition in classical music?
I try not to think about innovation or tradition when I am composing. I am more concerned about using the right artistic tools for the job at hand. In Birds Calling… from the Canada in You, I wanted to create the Canadian wilderness soundscape where the audience will experience the sounds of Canadian birds flying in the air. These birds may not necessarily have the most melodious voices (Canada Geese, Arctic Cranes, Atlantic Puffins, Bald Eagles, etc.), but we love them nonetheless. I also wanted to inspire debate on the many news events from 2022 that shook my notion of Canadian identity - the trucker’s convoy, the rise in hate crimes, and the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools, etc. The resulting score asked the orchestra to imitate natural bird calls while being seated in the balcony levels above the audience. The brass section sounded the truckers' horns to interrupt the solo sho (Japanese mouth organ) and suona (Chinese shawm). I simply could not bring myself to indulge in 19th century European melody and harmony (the traditional language of the symphony orchestra) to bring home my message of social justice, decolonization, and the 21st century Canadian identity.
Creating music can be both a solitary and a social activity. Can you tell us about the importance of community and/or collaboration in your work?
Every work I compose requires cooperation and collaboration from a wide array of individuals from the music community. In Birds Calling…, I consulted countless instrumentalists, composers, and conductors during the score-making process. Two pentatonic waterphones were custom made by the brilliant instrument makers at Recycledsupersonic of London. Zhongxi Wu, the suona soloist spent days re-tuning his instrument to the Western A=442 hertz in his workshop in Vancouver. Naomi Sato, the sho soloist hand-carried her sho to Tokyo from her home in the Netherlands for re-tuning and service. The entire audio/video/production staff of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal mobilized to help realize the 3D sound effects of the piece. The ensemble became a close-knit intercultural community with a common mission of creating the best possible world premiere.
Which artist - dead or alive - would you most like to work with and why?
I love working with symphony orchestras. Every orchestral ensemble has a unique sound, and I love composing works that are tailor-made for them. Every orchestra I have worked with has had wonderful musicians and management that have gone out of their way to perform my works with incredible commitment, love and musicianship. I am always happy to compose tailor-made works that brings out the unique features of every individual orchestra.
In terms of artists that are no longer with us, I would love to work with my former teachers/mentors/guides who opened the path for me: Lucky Mosko, Earle Brown, Lou Harrison, John Bergamo, Martin Bartlett, Krysztof Penderecki, Ennio Morricone… the list is endless. If only I can see them for one more session…
Which work do you wish you had written yourself?
A color song III by Tomoko Fukui, 13 Preludes for 13 Early Instruments by Rudolf Komorous, Night Bird Singing by Mark Armanini and Chinatown, opera by Alice Ping Yee Ho
Aharon Harlap
What are 5 of your favourite records of all time? (any genre allowed)
There are so many recordings I have heard during my lifetime that I adore, and therefore cannot relate to the question of "favorite records."
You’ve heard the aphorism: “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” What are your thoughts on the relationship of innovation and tradition in classical music?
Since I am what may be called a "classical composer," I have found that the "Traditional" elements in classical music such as Sonata form, Rondo form, ternary form etc. have given me an excellent basis to compose for instrumental music (symphonic or otherwise).
The" innovative" side is taking these traditional elements and extending or "playing" with them in some way or another to give rise to a new form. However, the traditional architectural basis is still prevalent and structurally logical, allowing the audience to relate to the work significantly. This method of course does not apply to music that is composed for texts (libretto for an Opera, poems, etc.) wherein the composer gets their inspiration from the various texts without relating to "classically traditional form."
Creating music can be both a solitary and a social activity. Can you tell us about the importance of community and/or collaboration in your work?
Although the creation of music originally stems from the "solitary confinement" of the composer's "workroom," the actual performance of these works demands collaboration with the performing artists (conductors, orchestras, instrumentalists, etc.). Of course, if the composer is not available or not alive, all of the markings (dynamics, tempi, etc.) that are found in the scores should be a guideline to all those who perform the composer's music, and in essence a "collaboration" as well. There is also the "collaboration" between the text (for instance the libretto of an opera) and the composer, which he/she is dependent upon.
Which artist - dead or alive - would you most like to work with and why?
As far as a composer (dead or alive) which I would like most to work with: The options are numerous and I really have no decisive answer. It will suffice to say, that I have learnt a great deal from conducting and studying wonderful composer's works (who are no longer with us), that have influenced me greatly, without having the opportunity to meet with or work with them. To name a few: Stravinsky, Mahler, Poulenc, Britten, Bernstein, Gershwin, Bach, Brahms, etc., etc.
Which work do you wish you had written yourself?
To say that I wish I had written the music of the above great composers (for example), is superfluous. I thank heaven that they have written this music which has inspired me a great deal and has become part of my subconscious. I am therefore deeply grateful that God has given me the possibility to compose my own music and has enriched my life to the fullest.