Emlyn Stam: Ali Smith’s novels are really about our times, with themes such as migration, ecology and Brexit

Violist and Artistic Director of the New European Ensemble, Emlyn Stam, talks about their project with Ali Smith, for which four composers have written new music inspired by the novels in Smith’s ‘Seasonal Quartet’.

How did the idea for a project with author Ali Smith come about?
“The initial idea came from director Eric de Vroedt of Het Nationale Theater. He wanted to create a theatrical production based on the four seasonal novels Ali Smith wrote in recent years, and he approached us to provide the musical component. We were immediately intrigued, but as time went on, our visions began to diverge, so we decided to split the project. Eric is making a narrative, text-driven performance, while we asked composers to respond to those incredibly rich books.”

Ali Smith is a literary world star. How did you get in touch with her?
“I simply sent her an email. She responded very enthusiastically and said she’d be honored if composers would transform her work into music. The contact has been really lovely — she enjoys thinking along with the composers about their approach and which passages she will read aloud.”

How did you choose the composers?
“The novels are very much about this time, with themes such as migration, ecology, Brexit, but also family, intergenerational relationships, and the question of how you find and leave the world. In addition, Smith spotlights a forgotten female artist in each of the four novels. We extended that idea by asking four female creators to respond to the books. We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Kate Moore and Seung-Won Oh as an ensemble, and I really wanted to include them. Alice Yeung was in our conservatory master’s program a few years ago, and we were very impressed by the piece she wrote back then; this was the perfect opportunity to invite her to create new work. Sara Zamboni has been on our wish list for years. We previously played a string quartet of hers and had often discussed collaborating — I’m very happy that it finally worked out.”