Interview with James Gaffigan, conductor

1. No
Small
GestureBy Samantha Edington
Maestro James Gaffigan faces
the orchestra, translating the
movements of the music into
his own motions. The musicians
respond to each gesture,
adjusting their positions and
instruments. Directing the group,
Gaffigan stresses that trust and
vulnerability are key to making
music flow naturally. He believes
that as a conductor, “if you don’t
trust and are controlling, very
bad music is made.”
Gaffigan, chief conductor
of the Lucerne Symphony
Orchestra, has a particular
fondness for conducting
operas and frequently guest
conducts around the world.
Coming from a non-musical
family meant a steep learning
curve early in his professional
journey: “I didn’t know any of
the music. I approached music
backwards, from what I like[d].”
But Gaffigan’s “backwards”
learning also led to one of his
greatest assets as a conductor:
flexibility in his interpretation
of music. His natural ease as a
leader and ability to build rapport
with many different orchestras
have gained Gaffigan recognition
as one of the leading American
conductors of our time.
InSymphony: What influenced
you to become a conductor?
James Gaffigan: Well, music has
always played an important role in
my life. My parents are not musi-
cians, but there was always music
in the house, mainly popular music.
Although I grew up in New York
James Gaffigan approaches the podium
to make music with passion, trust and
vulnerability.
James Gaffigan
conducts the
Oregon Symphony
December 6–8,
2014.
PhotobyMatHennek

2. 11 | oregon symphony
City, I never really went to concerts early on, so my experience with
“classical” music was not much. There was a piano in the house, so I
gravitated toward that, and I loved it and I loved figuring out what
music was on my own without reading notes. Then I got into rock and
jazz music as a guitarist, and I knew I loved music and it was what I
wanted to do. As I got to play certain instruments in band or orchestra
in the public school system, I fell in love with classical music by the
age of something like 15,16. Then,right away,I knew there was some-
thing bigger than playing a role in the orchestra; I wanted something
more. Basically,scores of music had all the answers in them.Why does
this movement make me feel sad?Why does this movement make me
feel so happy? [They] had all the answers.
So, I became fascinated with the scores and the idea of being a
conductor, not because it is a power trip, but because you have more
control over the overall product. I love the idea of watching people
make music, so it was the best world for me to be in to watch my col-
leagues make music, to breathe with them and inspire them and give
them ideas as a leader. Eventually I tried it and I fell in love with it,and
I just went with it.
InSymphony: Do you remember challenges you faced as the
first to study music in your family?
JG: I didn’t know any of the music. I approached music backwards,
from what I like[d]. So,at that point in my life,when you’re,you know,
14, 15, 16 years old, you like the loud, fast stuff. You like Stravinsky’s
Rite of Spring, you like Mahler’s Symphony No. 1…all these big, mas-
sive, overwhelming visceral works.
I think that to discover all these pieces, it was frustrating that all
of my friends who went to conservatory knew all of [them]. They all
knew about Mozart and Haydn and Bach, and for me, it was a long
process and a long discovery period. It was exciting, but also frustrat-
ing. It’s just like what I said before: learning music without music.
That was so essential to the way I think about harmony because when
you have so many rules and you’re so constrained, you’re stuck. I just
love that I hear harmony without thinking; that’s an e-minor, second
chord inversion. I love that I hear it and know exactly what it is, but it
doesn’t hit me like black and white. It hits me like a feeling or a taste
or a color.
InSymphony: You’ve worked with Oregon Symphony before.
What are you looking forward to this time around?
JG: The [Oregon] Symphony, they are amazing and on such a high
level! So, for me, it is exciting, number one. Number two is the rep-
ertoire. I love the [music director], Carlos Kalmar. To make a program
with him is always exciting. I’m so happy it’s not just meat and pota-
toes when I go there. I think he thinks out of the box and so do the
Portland people. This program, while having a very, extremely popu-
lar American piece in it, has one of the most deeply depressing and
beautiful pieces of music by Sibelius. This is a piece that grows on
you. That is the highlight for me. Appalachian Spring is a very sad and
beautiful piece. Why is it sad? We’re not sure, but it is. It’s kind of like
smiling through tears and looking back at something that was beauti-
ful. I think the Sibelius is extremely depressing and beautiful,whereas
the Appalachian Spring is positively depressing [laughs]. I think the
program is beautiful, and it’s quite a statement for them to program
something like this; I’m very happy that we did.
InSymphony: How do you choose repertoire to bring in?
JG: It usually starts off with a conversation with the [music direc-
tor]. We go through a wish list. The first thing is settling on the
soloist. We knew André Watts would be a possibility. Once we
confirmed what pieces he want[s] to do…he gives a list, and we
confirm one. Then we build the program around the piece.
I’ve done both the Copland and the Sibelius many times, but
the piano concerto I’ve never done. I never like to do all new stuff
on one program. I at least like to have one or two pieces familiar
to me. I think that even if you can learn it, I’m conducting a differ-
ent program almost every week of the year. I have to be realistic.
It’s very easy to get by, but what’s the use of getting by and doing
an okay job? I come as a guest to an orchestra, whether it is the
[Oregon Symphony] or the Cleveland Orchestra, I want to give my
best and offer them something. There’s nothing worse than kind
of conducting through it and getting through it. That’s so boring,
and artistically it’s not nice.
InSymphony: What kind of challenges do you face when you
work with new and different orchestras?
JG: The older I get, the more I like to return to the places I love. But at
the same time, meeting a new orchestra, you have to step back and
realize who they are as a personality before you start working with
them, whether that means reading through the whole symphony
and then watching them and seeing how they react to you and
then getting to work. There’s nothing worse than you have your
way of doing things as a conductor, and that’s the way it’s going to
be. Other people would disagree, but I think the best conductors
living today are the ones that are open to new possibilities.
I love to give these orchestras the opportunity to speak and
to hear their sound and to hear what they can do on their own,
without me. Then, you get in there and you try to help certain
situations; you try to not get in the way of other situations. The
art of conducting is staying out of the way when you need to stay
out of the way.
InSymphony: How did you get into conducting operas?
JG: I love voice, and I’ve always loved voice. Opera, for me, is the
most gratifying experience in music because you are a small part
of the big picture, and I love accompanying people. That again has
to do with watching people—how they play, how they breathe. I
guess I am a severe voyeur; I love watching people do what they
do, and I love helping them do what they do. For me, it’s the high-
est form of art because it involves visual aspects, it involves the
voice, the orchestra, it involves words. It has everything. It’s sen-
sory overload. How did I get into it? I just loved it.
InSymphony: What are two of the most important qualities it
takes to be an effective conductor?
JG: Number one is trust: trust of the orchestra in front of you,
that they are going to deliver, and trust with your eyes and your
body—and vulnerability. The best music is made, and the best re-
lationships are made, with vulnerability and trust. A lot of people
say in leadership there is no vulnerability, but I think the best
leaders show their vulnerability in specific, small moments. And
those are the ones that matter; when the people realize you’re also
like them. I think it’s very crucial to the process of making music
with an individual.
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