Q&A: Dobrinka Tabakova

MP: Could you tell us about your musical background and when you started composing?

DT: When I was growing up, there was music in my home almost constantly. We went to concerts and the opera as a family, and so I inherited a love of music from my parents and grandparents, despite them being doctors and academics. When I was about six, I asked to start piano lessons; soon after, I began improvising. My first ‘formal’ composition lessons were at the Junior Royal Academy, around age 12, and that’s where I heard my music performed by others for the first time. I then went on to study composition at the Guildhall School and obtained a PhD from King’s College London.

MP: Congratulations on winning the Ivor Award for Best Community and Participation Composition. How did the piece come about and what was the inspiration behind it?

DT: I was invited to be the Hallé’s artist-in-residence for the 2022/23 season, and one project was to write a new work for their youth orchestra. I wanted to write a piece that felt personal to the young musicians and made them listen to and be aware of each other. The piece is called Swarm Fanfares, which takes the bee (a symbol of Manchester) as the main inspiration and weaves in a musical quote from a local 18th-century composer, William Felton. At the beginning, there is an aleatoric element: there is no clear pulse given by the conductor and the young musicians have to improvise around cells of material. I hoped this would make the musicians listen more to each other, and feel a different kind of individual responsibility. I was particularly happy with this, and think the musicians enjoyed it too!

MP: Does your approach differ when writing for younger players versus adults?

DT: Having grown up in a non-musical family that loves music and only occasionally plays instruments, I have a deep respect for those who actively make space in their lives for music. So, especially when writing for larger groups, one of my main considerations is what can be achieved in the time available. My aim is to write something that is ultimately enjoyable and rewarding, whether that’s for young musicians, amateur/semi-pro adults or full-time professionals.

MP: What advice would you give to classroom teachers teaching composition?

DT: Play as much different music in class as possible, and talk about what to listen out for. Make as many connections as possible, whether that’s to other music, wider artistic ideas or world issues. I can trace my own devotion to music back to when I was listening to the record collection we had at home. The wider your pool of reference, context and inspiration, the more diverse your potential creative palette will be. I think it’s vital to learn to listen thoughtfully – once you learn to listen, your own music will flourish. If your pool of reference is only 1970s disco or 15th-century polyphony, that’s limiting; but imagine the possibilities if you were aware of both eras equally and much more in between.

MP: What are you listening to on repeat at the moment?

DT: I still listen to CDs, and two albums often in my player are Alison Krauss and Union Station’s early album Paper Airplane, and Ralph Towner’s Travel Guide. One of my favourite recent albums is Liya Petrova and the RPO’s recording of the Walton Violin Concerto, which is cleverly paired with the Respighi Violin Sonata.

• dobrinka.com
• Swarm Fanfares is published in the UK by Valonius Press-Schott Limited