JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us what you want the public to know about your recent project or one you are actively working on. For instance, what is it, why is it, and how is it done? Also, please tell us about your collaborators.
FRANK HORVAT: The album, Project Dovetail, marks the final release in a trilogy of releases in 2021. I started with the healing electronic sounds of Happiness in a Troubled World, followed by solos for our time, Music for Self-Isolation, and now Project Dovetail. Project Dovetail features some of my chamber compositions that are inspired by other forms of art…visual art, literature, film, etc. Project Dovetail features some of Canada’s top chamber musicians, including Edwin Huizinga (violin), TorQ Percussion Quartet, Kathryn Ladano (bass clarinet), Elixir Baroque Ensemble, Elizabeth Reid (viola)
JS: Please give us a brief autobiography, some stuff about yourself, that is relevant to this project.
FH: Born and raised in Ottawa (only child to loving parents who are immigrants to Canada). Lived my entire life in Toronto (stayed after attending U of T). Other than composing, I have also led my life as a performing pianist and music educator. I am very passionate about using my artistic output as a platform to bring attention to mental health issues, climate change and human rights.
JS: In what ways was this project easy to do and in what ways was it difficult to realize? How long did or will it take and why that long?
FH: It was quite easy to work on this project since I had musicians and engineers go through the recording process with me that are not only talented, but so easy-going and friendly. The challenge was the disruptions to our recording schedule due to the pandemic (the album was supposed to come out 1 year ago), but it was not a serious issue in the end and I’m so happy how it all turned out.
JS: Please us how you fund such a project, or how others help.
FH: I feel grateful to have received support from the Canada Council for the Arts and FACTOR to fund the production of this album.
JS: How did doing this project change you as a person and as a creator?
FH: Many of the recording sessions for this album were conducted during the pandemic. Despite precautions in the studio, it made me realize how resilient musicians are…we can create music under the most unprecedented circumstances.
JS: What kind of audience will this project interest? What new audience are you also seeking? Why to both questions?
FH: I hope that the album will be appreciated by both connoisseurs of modern classical music and those who are interested in the arts in general as they might find it interesting how all these other artistic disciplines inspired me to compose these works. I hope they will see a connection through the sound of the music.
JS: What might others not understand or appreciate about the work you produce or do?
FH: That’s a great question. I don’t really think about this as I never want my compositional process to be influenced by what an audience might think. I want the creative process to be as organic as possible.
JS: How are you planning to promote, market, and sell this project to the public?
FH: Spotify and YouTube are going to be the main platforms I hope people will experience the work. My wife, Lisa, is a talented video artist and she has plans to produce new videos featuring the works from the album.
JS: What are the most important parts of yourself that you put into your work?
FH: This might sound a bit “corny” to say, but it’s literally my heart and soul. I am a passionate individual about life so my music must also stand that litmus test.
JS: What are our biggest challenges as a creative person?
FH: It’s interesting that the biggest challenge happens to also be what I am most grateful about my life as a composer. Commissions and funding for projects can come my way in such an erratic way. I don’t have a steady paycheque so to speak. Even though that can feel precarious, it’s also exciting as I never know where the next opportunity might come from…. life always feels fresh.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life that brought you to the creation of this work.
FH: Many of the compositions on this album were composed within the last 10 years. That time period was a time of creative revelation for me as I felt that I was becoming secure with my compositional voice. So, the release of this album is very much a celebration of that for me personally.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about your life as a person in the arts?
FH: That I am not an entrepreneur. There are many similarities between artists and entrepreneurs, but the key difference is that an entrepreneur looks at society and seeks to provide a product or service which is underserved or does not exist. On the other hand, a true artist creates what’s from their heart oblivious to the taste of the public and then markets the hell out of it afterwards. I’ve had many well-intentioned people ask me, “why don’t you compose music people want to hear?” I then have to explain how I’m different than a business person.
JS: Please tell us what you haven’t attempted as yet that you would like to do in the arts? Why the delay so far?
FH: As a composer, I would like to compose more choral music. I have composed very little thus far and I know I could create some wonderful works. I love the genre so much and get inspired by it. It just happened yet because most of the opportunities has just not gone in that direction yet…but I hope it does.
JS: If you could re-live your life in the arts, how would you change it and why?
FH: I honestly would not change anything. I am extremely blessed to do what I love and to do it with people I appreciate. I hear a lot of people saying they wish things might happened earlier in life but I’m not like that. Everything happens for a reason.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
FH: Because of technology, we leave in an artistic world that has democratized the distribution of the work. So, if you create something that resonates with people, they will find it some way or another. What concerns me is how the world will consume live performances moving forward as a ramification from the pandemic.
JS: What exactly do you like about the work you create and/or do?
FH: That my work is an extension of what makes me tick as a human being…my hopes, fears and dreams. So, if someone never meets me personally, my work will still give them some insight into me.
JS: What exactly has the impact of the COVID pandemic been on your creative work and your life in the arts?
FH: The pandemic has been an incredibly productive time for me creatively. Being stuck at home has eliminated life distractions and given me focus on my craft. It’s reminded me that as artists, we can face many roadblocks, but still do what we do. And that’s so important.
JS: How has the pandemic changed you as a person?
FH: It has strengthened my life belief that I must traverse focussing as much as possible on what I have the ability to control and not worry about what’s out of my control.
JS: What’s next in the coming few years of your creative life?
FH: I’m so excited about many interesting commissions that I will start working on, including projects where I not only collaborate with other musicians but artists of other disciplines as well.