Musicians invited to improvise at UNC

To the untrained musician, original compositions and improvisation may seem worlds apart. But today, as part of the UNC Department of Music’s Talking Music series, two musicians will prove the two forms are closer than they appear.

“An Evening of Improvisation and Original Compositions with Howard Levy & Michael Riessler” brings together two renowned artists to showcase their skills tonight.

UNC music professor Stefan Litwin organized the series and invites the community to listen as the show intermingles the artists’ original compositions with the spontaneous liberty for either performer to throw in their own flair of improvisation.

“Improvisation makes this event unique,” Litwin said. “Not even the musicians know exactly what they’ll be doing.”

Levy is a Grammy award-winning harmonica player, pianist, composer and teacher, among other credits. A pioneer of the tenor harmonica, Levy was the first to play all the notes available to the instrument’s range and said improvising is part of his art.

“Improv is part and parcel of original composition,” Levy said. “Everyone who is a composer has to improvise to some extent.”

Riessler, a professor of jazz at the Hochschule for Music and Theater in Munich, is one of Germany’s most renowned composers and bass clarinetist.

“He’s an incredible composer and a really great teacher. He’s innovated a lot of techniques, multiphonics and all kinds of sound effects,” Levy said.

While improvisation is often strictly associated with jazz, Levy said even the most classical pieces put emphasis on improvisation.

“In a piece of music, a repeat does not mean literally repeat. A pause in the music gives liberty to improvise,” Levy said.

Riessler is the reason Levy is also performing for the series, Litwin said.

“I asked Michael who he would like to play with if he came to the states,” Litwin said. “He immediately said Howard Levy.”

Both artists will be selling their CDs at the event in hopes the audience will take their music home. Riessler joked that in addition to some insight about improvisation in music, he hopes the audience takes away something else from the event.

“A lot of CDs,” he said. “And surprises.”

Litwin said he hopes the free performance in Person Hall will draw a diverse crowd that will appreciate the unique event.

“If it’s successful, there’s a huge aura to an event like this,” Litwin said. “This is something unpredictable, and it can’t be replicated.”

arts@dailytarheel.com