Through The Flint Glass: The Apollon Musagete Quartett, post-tour

Tori Amos surprised everyone by announced that she would record and tour Night of Hunters with the Apollon Musagète Quartett, a foursome of young Polish musicians who have iconoclastic reputations within the classical-music scene. But hearing Tori perform live with the quartet, whom she came to call the “Fab Four,” it suddenly made complete sense, from the more obvious string-backed pieces from Tori’s ouvre, such as “Girl Disappearing” or “Cloud on My Tongue” to the thrilling re-framing of songs such as “Suede” and “Precious Things.”

We know many of you are going through severe Night of Hunters tour withdrawals (and may be thumbing through the yellow pages for treatment as we speak!). Apollon Musagète Quartett’s first violinist, Pawel Zalejski, generously agreed to talk with us again at the end of the tour to share his thoughts on traveling the world with everyone’s favorite red-haired pianist — and meeting her notorious fans. (For our pre-tour interview, go here.) Here’s what he had to say.

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Your Chance To Catch The "Fab Four"

In case you didn’t get enough of the Apollon Musagète Quartett — Tori’s “Fab Four” — on the Night of Hunters tour, you’re in luck: They’re touring parts of Europe this spring, and will even hit some spots in the UK and Ireland. New Yorkers are in luck: they’ll be at Carnegie Hall in November. For more information, click the link above to their Web site, or follow them on Facebook. Click through the jump to see their upcoming tour dates!

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John Philip Shenale: The Glide Magazine Interview

As a producer, I understand that things are changing every album. And my relationship with Tori, from my historical point of view, is that she represents, for me, a complex, multi-faceted musical talent that always surprises me. And as a result, I love that situation because it’s always challenging and a new approach. It’s a constant question of how to handle the emotional fabric of the songs but still move forward. It’s always something new. And watching her create and invent really inspires me to do the same, so that’s where a lot of the impetus comes from. It’s always a psychological and metaphysical experience with her. She’s one of the deepest artists I’ve ever worked with.

We don’t get many chances to hear from John Philip Shenale, the composer and arranger behind so many of Tori’s orchestra-infused songs — and a major force involved in the creation of Night of Hunters. Glide magazine recently sat down with him for an extensive interview, which they published in two parts just as Sin Palabras was released last month. Click through the jump to check out the whole thing!

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Q&A: Did Tori write the music for the other instruments on Night Of Hunters?

Question: Other than loving it, I have no knowledge of music. I’ve been listening to a lot of the Night of Hunters original inspiration pieces, and I’ve noticed how much feeling the non-piano instrumentals — particularly the strings, as on “Shattering Sea” — have imbued into the Tori Amos versions. Did she write the music for the other instruments, or “just” the piano and vocals (which alone is a tremendous accomplishment)? I know Shenale arranged the compositions, but I don’t know if that means he wrote the parts for the other instruments or set the tempo or…? I’m very curious! — dmc

Answer: We’ll let John Philip Shenale answer this one for you:

As an arranger and orchestrator, that is what I must do: write what the octet+ plays. The emotion, the dynamics, style — these things and more are my responsibility. And they must be notated, then played by this fantastic group of musicians. The scores that are offered through iTunes are my production scores. My map. As I have from the very beginning of my working with T, we listen, we talk. I send her a mock-up of what I think it would be, make any changes, and I finish the score and parts for the instruments. Piano and vocals were brilliantly composed and performed by T. She provides the tempo, the unity, the center, harmonic base, raison d’être. I hope that’s clear.

Very. Thanks, John!

Through The Flint Glass: The Apollon Musagete Quartett

The Apollon Musagète Quartett, the award-winning collective of young musicians from Poland, trained in Vienna and wowed the world with its ability to make well-known classical works fresh and new, for its support of lesser-known Polish composers, for playing pieces for string quartet with orchestra, and for composing its own modern classical works — something a quartet has never done before. In the five short years since its birth, the Apollon Musagète Quartett has not only shaken the classical world, but earned the attention of Tori Amos, who recorded Night of Hunters with the group and is bringing them with her on a world tour in support of the new album, due out September 20 in the United States and September 26 in the UK.

This is the first time Tori has brought string musicians on tour with her, and it’s the first time the Apollon Musagète Quartett has toured with a pop musician. Together they will perform works from Night of Hunters as well as songs from Tori’s catalogue, freshly re-arranged by John Philip Shenale. The quartet is also developing a brand-new piece, inspired by Tori, that it will perform.

We recently traded emails with Apollon Musagète Quartett violinist Pawel Zalejski, who shared stories about recording with Tori, walking the Cornish seaside, and the prospect of meetings Tori’s world-famous fans. (Since English isn’t Pawel’s first language, he kindly gave us permission to “smooth out” some of his responses.) Click through to see our Q&A with Pawel.

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Happy Birthday Tash!

11 years ago today, Natashya Lórien Hawley was welcomed into the world by parents Tori Amos and Mark Hawley, so with out further ado, we’d like to wish her a very happy birthday!

The Modular Project

Wondering what Dan Phelps, some-time American Doll Posse tour guitarist, and Matt Chamberlain, Tori’s long-time drummer for both touring and recording, have been up to lately?

As it turns out, they, along with bassist Viktor Krauss, have a new release out as The Modular Project. This dreamy and organic instrumental collaboration is, to my ears anyway, quite tasty. If that sounds intriguing, give it a spin at Bandcamp and consider picking up either a digital copy or, for the fellow object fetishists out there, the double LP!

Had Some Eastern Lads, Well, Not Exactly Had ...

If you haven’t heard heard of the Apollon Musagète Quartett, you will. According to the Polish quartet’s Web site, the group spent June 20-23 in Cornwall, recording with Tori — likely for Night of Hunters. Founded in 2006, the quartet (which includes Pawel Zalejski and Bartosz Zachlod on violin, Piotr Szumiel on viola, and Piotr Skweres on cello) scored a number of wins at the ARD Music Competition in Munich, and by 2008 became international stars. They now have three albums under their belts.

If you listen to their music, you can imagine why Tori latched onto these lads: they’re hip, highly talented, and deeply into mythology. Their name comes from the composition by Igor Stravinsky, in which Apollo, the god of music, dances with the muses, leading them to Mount Parnassus.

According to the Oehms classics Web site, “We want to fulfill the Apollonian,” say the four Polish musicians in a conversation with the chamber music journal Ensemble (1/2010). Their goal: “To bring all the arts together. We want to think multidimensionally and shape all aspects of the music: its sound as well as its theatrical possibilities.”

If that doesn’t sound like it’s up Tori’s alley, we don’t know what does. The quartet is playing a number of concerts in Europe over the next year that fans across the pond may want to check out; details are on their site. Many thanks to Luke for this tip.

A Little Toriness On Carson Daly Tonight

Just peeping a quick heads-up that our favorite pro-wrestling Toriphile, Mick Foley, will be on Carson Daly tonight (technically in the wee hours of Saturday morning), and the segment is largely focussed on Tori. Yay!

Shenale on Abnormally Attracted to Sin

Devin noticed that John Philip Shenale has started to post about his contributions to Abnormally Attracted to Sin on his blog. So far, he’s addressed three songs — That Guy, Maybe California, Strong Black Vine — and two instruments: the Chamberlin (no, not Matt) and the Optigan.

The pieces are also being posted on his MySpace.