Let's Get Philosophical

Some years ago Carnegie Hall asked me to draft a composer profile/program note for Idiot Divine, a solo show of Rinde Eckert's they were putting up in Zankel Hall. I didn't know much about Eckert's work before preparing for our quick interview, but I remembered that phone call for a long while afterward both because of what he had to say and the fact that he could be so philosophical with a phone in one hand and a spatula in the other (he was simultaneously chatting about theatrical devices and cooking dinner for his wife).

As it turns out, that conversation merely hinted at what this artistic polymath and self-confessed philosopher has to offer his audiences. I've been having a grand time digging much more deeply into his work as I put together the materials for this month's NewMusicBox cover story on him, which we posted today. His interview is brimming with great quotes, but here's a crash course that includes as much performance footage as I could pack in:

As per usual, editing choices had to be made and I didn't get to include one of my favorite Rinde Eckert tracks in the final production. Thanks to blogging, I'll be able to correct that in this space. This is "Carlo Dreams" from Eckert's song cycle Four Songs Lost In A Wall, which appeared on his 1997 release Story In, Story Out.