Published: Thursday, 2nd July, 2009 10:20am
Appetite for destruction
HE"S been a session drummer with Big Country, toured the US with Caledonia writer Dougie MacLean and this month released his second album of lush piano sonatas.
In every manner Dunfermline-born classical composer Chris Smith is a respectable, creative and hard-working musician.
So why was he labelled a 'destructive aberration' by a top Scottish orchestra leader?
It is perhaps more telling of the reputedly exclusive world of classical music rather than any mishap by the likeable self-taught musician, who learned his trade on the family piano while growing up in Kelty.
'Elitism is still rife. If you are not in the clique or not a London concert musician you"re just not taken seriously at all,' said Chris, sipping a coffee at the Press office.
'I"m not gonna name names but it was the head of a very prominent orchestra in Scotland who I contacted to do some recording. He told me he thought I was a "destructive aberration".
'He said, "You are a terrible example for young people and shouldn"t be able to do what you can do without (formal) training".
'I said, "I can understand I am peculiar and that"s fair enough, but why destructive?" I found that astonishing. It"s funny how people can get so upset about music.'
Fortunately for Chris, Europe and America have been far more welcoming. He receives a 'moderate' income from tracks played in Europe and worldwide and recorded his debut album, Fantasy, in Knoxville, Tennessee after no orchestra in the UK was willing to back his compositions.
He said, 'The chap who ended up taking it on was Rusty Holloway, who played bass with Frank Sinatra and (legendary jazz trumpeter) Dizzy Gillespie – he"s a monster musician.
'I sent him a track, he listened to it, liked it and said "lets do it". That"s the Americans of course.'
Having toured America with Dougie MacLean in the US over five years (meeting his Florida-born wife Lisa on the way), and working as a session drummer on the Big Country"s Rarities II (aged just 19) how does he reconcile the tub-thumping excesses of rock "n" roll – now with Dunfermline"s Stevie Agnew Band – with the more refined practice of tinkling the ivories?
'Yeah, it"s completely incongruous,' he jokes. 'Playing drums is just a bit of fun and good exercise too. All the guys in the Stevie Agnew Band are such lovely musicians and none of them have any ego which is absolutely brilliant and we get on great. It"s a fun night out and Stevie"s the salt of the earth.
'Big Country were really funny. I remember all the antics around the studio. It was difficult at the time, the way they recorded, because there was no guide vocal and I was playing pieces of music I hadn"t heard before. So you hadn"t a clue what was going on but it turned out well.'
Chris is now concentrating on promoting his album, Piano, Passion and Middle Age Angst, recorded in Newcastle and featuring three piano sonatas over 10 movements.
These feature jaunty, livewire tracks such as Émotions Colorées to the Bach-inspired Fugue.
'All the album is written in my own style apart from Fugue, which I wrote in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach, who is my favourite composer,' he said.
'I wrote it quite easily, sometimes it comes quickly sometimes it doesn"t. There"s something about Bach and the style he wrote that I seem to connect with on some kind of level and I"m really happy with that one (Fugue).'
The CD also includes music video Consolation, an outstanding time-lapse video by Edinburgh filmakers Al and Ewen Meldrum shot amid stunning beauty in the north of Scotland.
Clearly, Chris Smith is far too busy doing his music his way to be anything other than solidly creative.
Piano, Passion and Middle Aged Angst is available from iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. www.chrissmith.tv
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