We've interviewed author David Hill here on Wandering Educators - he's incredibly talented. Now he's got a new project in the works - Gulliver in Faremid0, premiering on January 22nd, 2010 in Oregon. We were lucky enough to snag part of an interview by Oregon Music News writer James Bash, with David and his artistic partners, composer Gregory Vadja and actor David Loftus. Here it is...

David Hill, Gregory Vajda, and David Loftus

Gregory Vajda, resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony, is also a composer whose works have been performed in his native Hungary and in festivals throughout Europe. Now, Vajda is making his US debut with a brand new work “Gulliver in Faremido,” which will be premiered by the Third Angle New Music Ensemble at its “Hearing Voices” concert on January 22nd at Kaul Auditorium. Vajda’s “Gulliver in Faremido” is based on a fanciful novella called “Voyage to Faremido” by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy (1887-1938). In Karinthy’s tale, Gulliver (much like Jonathan Swift’s fictional character) visits a land called Faremido that is inhabited by inorganic beings – sort of like robots – and Gulliver relates his perceptions on the language and thoughts of these unusual inhabitants.

To find out more about “Gulliver in Faremido,” I met with Vajda, and David Hill, who wrote the text, plus actor David Loftus, who will take on the role of the narrator.

How did this piece of music come about? What got you started?

Vajda: Almost two years ago, I received a commission from the Third Angle New Music Ensemble. They wanted a piece for a narrator and chamber orchestra. So I thought of this story by Karinthy. I probably read it the first time when I was a teenager, and I liked it because music plays a big role in the story.

The robots who live in Faremido speak in a language consisting purely of musical sounds. They use solfège: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti to communicate.

But it’s always problematic to write a piece for spoken words and music. There aren’t that many great pieces like the “Lincoln Portrait” out there. The original story by Karinthy is too long for a 20 minute piece; so I needed to find someone who could condense it and made the story more succinct. That’s why I asked David [Hill] to write the text.

To read the rest of the interview by James Bash, please see:
http://oregonmusicnews.com/blog/2009/12/21/gregory-vajda-takes-gulliver-on-a-magical-music-tour/