Bryce Dessner: From The National to the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich – Culture

The American musician Bryce Dessner is both the guitarist of the band The National and a composer of orchestral works – and he has a song idea for Joe Biden’s election campaign.

Bryce Dessner lives in two worlds: One evening he stands on a stage in front of a sea of ​​thousands of people – with his electric guitar and the globally successful indie rock band The National, which he co-founded.

Another evening he sits quietly in the magnificent concert hall of the Zurich Tonhalle and listens attentively as the orchestra plays his piece “Mari”.

“The roots of everything I do lie in classical music,” says the 48-year-old composer and rock star in an interview.

First he played the flute, music by Johann Sebastian Bach or Debussy, for example.

Legend:

In the current season, Bryce Dessner is working as “Creative Chair” at the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.

KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY

Then he switched to classical guitar. There were also works by Bach on his music stand, as well as Spanish and Renaissance music.

Composing jack-of-all-trades

Dessner’s career in and with The National continued alongside, even as he eventually studied classical guitar and composition at Yale. He is now successful worldwide with both – at this level it is a unique combination.

My orchestral music is like a pure version of me.

He writes hits for his own band, sometimes orchestrates a song for Taylor Swift or, as a classical composer, writes for renowned ensembles and orchestras. This season, for example, he is Creative Chair at the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.

He has already been able to present several of his works for or with an orchestra here. “My orchestral music is like a pure version of me,” he states. In a score, everything has to be composed and thought through down to the smallest detail.

A rock song, on the other hand, is almost better if it is still a little unfinished, if there is room for improvisation. A song is also written much faster than an orchestral piece – the latter takes about a year.

Legend:

The members of the band The National are – in addition to Bryce Dessner (far right) – Matt Berninger (center), his twin brother Aaron Dessner (far left), Bryan Devendorf and Scott Devendorf (green hat).

Getty Images / The Washington Post / Contributor

At the beginning of his career he worked in New York with the minimalists Philip Glass and Steve Reich. He went on tour with both of them. “They are great composers and lovely people who supported me a lot,” says Dessner.

A musical marauder

Repetitive patterns also appear again and again in Dessner’s works – it is not uncommon for a flow effect to arise when listening.

But actually Witold Lutosławski, Henri Dutilleux, Igor Stravinsky or Béla Bartók would have influenced him more. These and other composers of the 20th century left behind “incredible blueprints for sound effects” with their orchestration skills. “I’m a musical marauder in a way,” he continues.

Dessner’s music shines with shimmering timbres, sometimes in such striking combinations as orchestra with electric guitar duo in “St. Carolyn by the Sea” (2011). Dessner has also been close and long-standing friends with the queens of piano duo playing, Katia and Marielle Labèque.

With them and guitarist David Chalmin he plays in the equally exceptional Dream House Quartet.

Campaign song for Biden?

One of Bryce Dessner’s most famous songs is “Fake Empire.” Barack Obama used it for his 2008 election campaign. Is Dessner perhaps also writing a song for the current US election campaign? And if so, for whom?

“Definitely not Trump. Trump is the worst thing that has ever happened to America,” he says. But if President Joe Biden chose one of their songs, they would be very happy. Dessner suggests “Mr. November” “so that Biden wins in November”.