JAVS Spring 2013

for what really amounts to not very large sums of money. you know, the margins are pretty low, and if you’re not uncomfortable asking people for money then you’re in a reasonable place. There is a general discomfort asking people for money that you just have to get over. People need to give away money, they just need to.

NM : It is a strange path. And you know, Period Instrument (ex. 3) is kind of the first of my Drones pieces. NS : And it’s so great. It also took me probably like, three months to develop a version of that piece that I understood. AO : A lot of your collaborations have been in the studio. How has recording technology influenced your attitude toward composing or performing? NS : It started with “free money,” which comes from these projects Nico was doing in college—maybe doing instrumental music for a play or something like that where he would just call me to Looking Glass [Studio] and be like, “So check it out,” and write on a piece of manuscript paper the note C and

AO : When you write for Nadia, how much of what you’re writing is informed by your relationship with her?

NM : Almost all of it. But, you know, at this point there are new directions to be explored that I can start on my own. The third étude is a whole new idea, rhythmically for me . . .

NS : And it’s weird—I like embarking on these strange paths.

Example 3. Nico Muhly, Period Instrument , mm. 24–47.

J OuRNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETy 22