Kim André Arnesen

What does music mean to you personally?

Music is a friend with unconditional love and support no matter how life turns out. It’s not merely a way to express myself, but more like a way to create the soundtrack to life, or to be in touch with your own soul as an escape from the everyday things. It’s there to celebrate with you in good times and to show understanding during hard times.

Do you agree that music is all about fantasy?

It depends on the methods used in composing it, but to me, it’s all about intuition and imagination when I’m writing music. I’m not concerned about following any kind of theoretical system, and I don’t follow or create any rules for myself. It’s all about what comes in the moment based on my emotions at that time, and what sounds organic. There are no rights or wrongs.

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

I have so many interests and feel that life is too short. Working for Lego would be a dream come true, but perhaps more realistic would be to work as a chef at my own restaurant. I also love writing manuscripts and video production but have only done so on an amateur level.

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

Yes and no. I’m worried that music education is disappearing in schools, at least in Norway. That can be one of the first places to experience classical music at an early age. The classical music industry has to develop further in order to reach today’s audience, and the methods have changed drastically in this new age of streaming and social media. I think we are getting good at it already though. And it’s not about changing everything we have done but find new ways to utilize the unique experience classical music can offer, like challenging the typical concert format. What makes me optimistic is that there are certain new forms of classical music that seems to be really attractive to the younger generation.

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?

I think the pandemic has shown how important music is for human connectedness and a sense of belonging and unity. Digital performances take away so much of that. We need to experience music together and have these spiritual and emotional experiences together to also function as a society. This will be an important role for music in the coming years and will be part of the rescue. Being creative with how to reach people with physical performances is crucial, as well as compensation and support from the governments.

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 try not to have any opinions on what others should do, but to me, creativity is what turns all the ideas into something that in the end can end up on a piece of paper, with a structure and solutions for the performers so that others can have a good listening experience. Without creativity, it would be impossible to come further from the initial state of imagination and ideas. So to me, creativity is about the work to find solutions for the material you have got and how to develop that.

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

I think a combination of being good at social media and developing the classical concert format is a way to do that, and that we have a lot to learn from artists from other genres. And also the programming is of course important. Many young people are already listening to a lot of classical music without knowing it. It’s around us every day in TV shows and series, or in new classical music with inspiration from pop and film music. So programming music that they already have a connection to is a good idea and can be a way to open the door to other repertoire. And why only have classical concerts in concert halls with seats? Why not at a nightclub or pop stage with uptempo danceable classical music? That’s not the only solution, but examples of how to open a door into this world of classical music. I took some music of Michael Nyman with me at parties in my late teens and it was perfect and engaging.

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

It’s difficult to pick a favorite. I think I rather have a few favorite passages from many different pieces. But I work very intuitively and without a plan. My first focus is finding a good theme for the piece and once I have that, the structure is being developed and I might start to plan based on that first material. To me it’s very much about what feels organic. The themes might come through improvisations on the piano or whilst on a walk outside. The theme for the 4th movement of my Magnificat, which you can find on all streaming platforms, came to me at a parking lot!

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

Listen to the main works by the greatest composers of each epoch in classical music (don’t forget the modern or living composers, and film composers!). Then you might discover that you enjoy one epoch or style more than others. You can then discover more composers from that same period. I have always been very curious about the lesser-known ones! Give yourself the time to listen properly, as some of these works are very long, which is not very common in any other genre. You don’t have to enjoy every work, and sometimes you need to listen several times until you do. You might eventually discover that some classical pieces can work just as well at parties as pop music, while others works best with all the lights off at home by yourself. One hour on the sofa after school listening to 'Music for 18 Musicians' by Steve Reich did wonders for me when I was young. Perhaps you can get a friend interested too and share some listening experiences together. The quality of the recordings and performances is important too for your listening experience. On streaming services, you find all kinds of levels of quality. So try to find recommendations on specific recordings of works by the composers you are listening to. As a next step, you might enjoy comparing the performances and discover new things in the same work.

Do you think about the audience when composing?

I always hope that my music is being appreciated and well-received and that it can give something to others in their lives. But I think the best I can do, is to write as well and sincere as I possibly can, and not be too focused on what people think of it. I can only hope that it will reach others.

What projects are coming up? Do you experiment in your projects?

I’m currently working on many different projects. One of them is writing new choral arrangements of my previous works for a new album. I’ve got so many movements from large-scale works that I would like to make available in new versions. I’m also working on new piano music and various commissions from choirs and orchestras. I don’t view myself as very experimental, but I am always on a journey in my musical direction and don’t like to do just one style every time. I’m particularly interested in combining elements from many different genres and traditions. So in that way, I guess you can say that I’m experimenting in finding solutions to combine everything that I love in music, and not just sticking with one genre.