Russell Greenberg of Yarn/Wire speaks with Tim Munro about composer Lisa Streich

Russell Greenberg is a founder of the percussion and piano quartet Yarn/Wire, which will perform on the Composer Portrait of Lisa Streich on February 6. Greenberg spoke with writer Tim Munro about working with the composer and her new composition for Yarn/Wire, Orchestra of Black Butterflies.

Tim: What are some of the elements that makes Lisa’s work unique?

Russell: Lisa uses motors on the piano strings, which add a really unique mechanized aspect to the sound. It is both aurally and visually interesting. In addition, the pieces we have on this program really allow the listener to suspend time, and become engrossed in the specific drama of each work.

Tim: What stood out to you when you first paged through the score for the new work?

Russell: What immediately stood out was that the percussionists would also be playing piano next to the pianists. And that everyone would hum/sing during the piece. It became clear that it would be very intimate and have a strong performative aspect, not just sonic. Also, it was interesting to see that the percussion parts in particular were written for “standard” instrumentation, and that there were no extended techniques in the piano playing—just on the keys. Granted, one of the pianos is tuned 1/4-tone off from the other! This tuning changes what is otherwise relatively consonant writing in a really interesting way. It feels like things are constantly distorting….

Tim: What was it like to work with Lisa for the premiere?

Russell: Lisa was a joy to work with in Venice for the premiere. She’s very generous while also being super clear and specific in her comments. She was very open to changing things as we rehearsed. Mostly, things that she heard, but also feedback that we had. For instance, she thinned out some of the humming parts, essentially orchestrating it a bit more in terms of density and register, and changed some durations of rests, dynamics, etc. And if it was challenging to immediately transition to a new section, we found solutions together to keep the music flowing. This process still isn’t finished—we are going to try a few instrument changes during our rehearsals at Miller Theatre to see if we can dial in the right sounds even more.

Tim: What are the challenging elements in this piece?

Russell: It is challenging to get the right “vibe” and create contrasts between the sections so they make sense. This is sometimes related to tempo changes. Some of the writing is challenging to play, but they don’t last long. Overall, a challenge is trying to play as one “organism” when that’s important.

Tim: Lisa’s music is very slow. How do you work as an ensemble to keep the pulse steady at these tempos?

Russell: This is where long-term performance practice as an ensemble comes into play! Things are slow, but we are able to follow each other based on breathing, internal visual cues and more. The piece is very natural, and we just spend a lot of time sitting in the tempi until it feels right. Rehearsals tended to fly by because of the length of the piece, but also the need to not rush the music forward.

Tim: As a group, you often champion composers who aren't necessarily well-known in the U.S. Is that a specific interest for you as an ensemble?

Russell: Our overarching driving force is to find music and composers that resonate with us (at a given moment) and who we feel have a lot of depth (this is hard to define, I know). The easiest path as an ensemble would be to work only with friends and people we know or who are known quantities in a so-called U.S. scene. We do this, of course. But it isn’t the only way. The world is big, and there are so many amazing composers and artists making music. It is important for us to keep our ears open to see what’s possible. And so, we’re eternally curious to hear new voices and new approaches, regardless of where someone comes from.