Norman Leyden of the Oregon Symphony and Pink Martini’s Thomas Lauderdale mix it up – musically

By Holly Johnson
special to The Oregonian

Creativity nudges creativity. What you can learn from others surpasses all the book-learnng in the world, sometimes. And when your knowledge comes from someone out of another generation, another time zone, if you like, it can enrich your Iife like nobody’s business.

Norman Leyden, associate conductor of the Oregon Symphony and Thomas Lauderdale, leader of the acclaimed eclectic music group Pink Martini (known for Cuban rumba, carnival disco and Parsian cafe tunes, among other genres) feed off one another’s energy and expertise. Leyden, a household name in the conducting arena, is eightysomething. Lauderdale, a cum laude graduate from Harvard is 31. Yet, chemistry percolates between them.

In the symphony’s performance this weekend, different musical styles brush shoulders, which is just the way Leyden and Lauderdale like it. They’ve worked together on several occasions, first meeting when pianist Lauderdale played with the symphony at 13.

The evening offers Ernest Bloch’s "Prayer" from "From Jewish Life" and the definitely classical Ravel’s "Bolero," featuring Pink Martini cellist David Eby, then moves on to Moondog’s rhythmic "New Amsterdam," Hiroshi Wada’s "Kikuchiyo to Mohshimasu" with the David York Ensemble, a vehicle for new music, and koto player Masumi Timson. And that’s not the half of it.

In Lauderdale’s downtown walkup studio, a warehouse room filled with 16mm films, movie posters, vintage magazines, a vast drum set and more, he and Leyden talk about music.

Lauderdale: I think that Mr. Leyden has single-handedly made the orchestra accessible and popular to people who would otherwise never go to the Oregon Symphony. It’s his work, ultimately, that makes this the No. 1 subscribed-to orchestra in the country.

Leyden: Thank you, Thomas. Your check is in the mail.

Lauderdale: Particularly in this country I think the concept of a symphony orchestra is daunting and...

Leyden: ...elitist. But we’re trying to break down that distinction. Actually, a lot of people like music that they don’t think they like.

The Oregonian: What do you think Thomas has brought to the music scene?

Leyden: He’s brought a freshness to popular music that was sadly lacking. It’s been so conventional, the way cultures with their peer pressure follow the mob, with rock, grunge or whatever. No one questions it, but Thomas says, "Hey, this isn’t very good music. We’ll do something else." Of course, I represent tradition, and he represents innovation. One can’t exist without the other, really.

Lauderdale: We’re very similar, I think, in terms of our mentalites. I would cast both of us as conventional, in a way.

Leyden: We both play music we like to play: That’s important.

Lauderdale: Which is highly melodic and beautiful.

The Oregonian: So you really pick a piece by how you respond personally.

Leyden: Absolutely. I have no other way to judge it. I can only tolerate a certain level of dissonance. We’ve got enough of it in our whole world. What the world needs now is harmony.

Lauderdale: I think there’s a lot that’s really great right now. I think there’s stuff in rock and pop that’s very relevant. I’m discovering for the first time in my life the Carpenters, who I think are really incredible. Abba was an amazing group. The Beatles of course are unparalleled. There are even current groups performing in other countries, like Cesaria Evora from the Cape Verde Islands. There’s a great composer, Lowell Liebermann, who just wrote an opera, "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

The Oregonian: Talk about mixing music styles in the same evemng.

Leyden: Thomas is cultivating a public that looks for changes, programs like this. You never know what he’s going to do next. He keeps us wondering and interested.

The Oregonian: It’s kind of like the radio stations in Paris: They play the Rolling Stones one minute, and Beethoven next to it.

Lauderdale: And we have nothing like that, except for maybe KCRW in Los Angeles.... I think each of us wants a diverse full plate. We don’t want just the same thing day after day. We don’t want to go to a dinner party where everybody’s the same. That’s no fun!