Juan Carlos Jimenez Salcedo

What does music mean to you personally?

For me, music means a way of life, a daily necessity, my life would be sadly disappointing.

Do you agree that music is all about fantasy?

I believe that music has to do in part with fantasy, but also with reality, that which starts from within, often as a result of the events that we perceive around us.

If you were not a professional musician, what would you have been?

I can't imagine it! But maybe I would have studied history, or sociology

The classical music audience is getting old, are you worried about the future?

Not really. Through my work I am always in contact with the new generations, and I always see young people and teens delighted with the language of classical music, eager to be able to access this or that piece for piano or any instrument, to learn it correctly. Perhaps what has changed has been the inclusion of technology and audiovisual arts in music. By including this in a certain way, it has favored keeping the audience, and renewing it. I believe that music is an intergenerational language, and timeless. There will always be someone who admires Bach's polyphony, Schubert's lyricism, or Cage's total freedom. So let's keep alive the flame, the flame of classical music

What do you envision the role of music to be in the 21st century? Do you see that there is a transformation of this role?

The role of music will continue to be fundamental in social development. I think it will continue to transform, as it always has, it will continue to evolve, I don't know if at the same speed as the previous century, or perhaps it will serve to better understand and summarize all past aesthetics. But we do know something, now music is present much more than before, since we see an advertisement very early in the morning or when we go to a supermarket, everything is permeated with music.

Do you think that the musician today needs to be more creative? What is the role of creativity in the musical process for you?

I think each era had a different requirement. I don't know how it would have been in the past, however, currently I perceive that the musician/composer must be able to master other aspects not necessarily directly related to music, such as mastering the use of a DAW, knowing advertising strategies, ( that is to say, managing oneself), being skilled in managing social networks, being a good concert manager and everything that entails, knowing and managing audiovisual concepts very well. In short, it is expected that today's composer must perform very well in all these fields, and it is up to us to have to study all of that. Regarding the role of creativity in my compositional process, I must say that I couldn't even write a single note if I took creativity into account. Therefore, creativity continues to be the "portal" towards this internal dimension, towards that exploration exercise that we call "composing".

Do you think we as musicians can do something to attract the younger generation to music concerts? How would you do this?

Yes, it is our responsibility. Therefore, as I mentioned before, the inclusion of technology should be taken advantage of both for the performance and for its respective diffusion. On the other hand, I think that the minimalist or pseudo-minimalist language fits very well with today's tastes, so including some pieces of this aesthetic would help a lot in recital programs.

Tell us about your creative process. What is your favorite piece (written by you) and how did you start working on it?

The creative process varies from composition to composition. This depends, if a commission, I try to do what they ask me, but without neglecting originality and quality, this is a bit difficult, but it is necessary to seek that balance. On the other hand, when I compose by my own will (which is what I enjoy the most), I try not to be very "intuitive" anymore as I used to be before, I find it more interesting to plan most of the parameters before writing, parameters like sonorities, structure , aesthetics, duration, internal organization etc. which will give me an idea of what technique to use, which could be minimalism, integral serialism, acousmatics, etc. I don't have a favorite piece, but perhaps one of the ones that has given me the most satisfaction recently is H2 5263, recently recorded by the Madrid Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of maestro Rafael Albiñana. The planning process lasted approximately two weeks, where I was able to record some sounds outside and inside an Airbus A320Neo, to later submit them to spectral principles, resulting in vertical structures and modes, from which the respective materials for the work emerged. Likewise, for the melodic passages I applied integral serialism. As for the structure, I decided to use the golden ratio. And so I started this adventure.

Can you give some advice for young people who want to discover classical music for themselves?

First, go to the world of classical music without prejudice, this will make it enjoyable and, above all, understood in all its dimensions. It is also important to read a little about what one is listening to. Going to concerts helps a lot. Second tip: follow this website, and subscribe to their respective Moving Classics YouTube channel