Blank Forms' Lawrence Kumpf is joined by composer Tashi Wada for a show surveying Wada's work and methodology of the past decade. They discuss Wada's time and studies with James Tenney at CalArts, his early forays into just intonation, and his close collaborations with cellist Charles Curtis and his father Yoshi Wada.

Tashi Wada is a Los Angeles-based composer and performer whose works explore harmonic overtones, resonance, and dissonance through precise tuning and a gradual change in pitch. Grounded in a belief that “music should be as direct as possible,” his compositions use apparently simple structures to generate rich and unanticipated perceptual effects. Working in relation to American experimental music, microtonal music, and so-called drone music, Wada’s practice is also informed by interdisciplinary performance and Fluxus-affiliated artists. He studied composition at CalArts with James Tenney and for many years has performed alongside his father, composer Yoshi Wada.

Blank Forms Radio

Blank Forms #22: Tashi Wada

mostly modern/contemporary piano and chamber music, also some of my compositional projects

richard valitutto is a Grammy-nominated piano soloist, chamber musician, and vocal accompanist. Described as “a keyboard superstar” (The New Yorker) and as a “vigorously virtuosic,” “all around go-to new music specialist” (LA Times), their soloistic charisma, flexible collaborative artistry, and inquisitive scholarship distinguish them as a performer with a dynamic spirit and openness to experimentation, interdisciplinarity, and creative reflection. They have collaborated and performed with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Tiny Desk Concerts, PBS Great Performances, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, and the American Academy in Rome, among many others.

Their debut solo album of contemporary work premieres, nocturnes & lullabies (New Focus Recordings) was released in March 2020 to critical acclaim. richard is a founding member of the Los Angeles ensemble Wild Up, most notably as “pianist, and resident [Julius] Eastman scholar” (Vogue), contributing their piano artistry, incisive writing, and tenacious research efforts to the ensemble’s ongoing Julius Eastman Anthology, dedicated to the late composer’s music.

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