Step into a musical world where tradition meets innovation in GALANTERIES, a groundbreaking collection of solo piano works from composer William C. White, brought to life by the brilliant young virtuoso Joseph Vaz. This album turns the traditional mentor-protégé dynamic on its head, as Vaz’s fervor for White’s music inspired the composer to craft these demanding and imaginative pieces specifically for his protégé’s remarkable talents.
Today, William is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about his reverence for Beethoven, and his passion for film, reading, and crosswords…
What have been your biggest inspirations on your musical journey?
From the time I was a teenager, my greatest inspiration has been the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. I’ve discovered plenty of great music in my life, but none has possessed my body and spirit like his has.
My mother introduced me to West Side Story when I was about 15, and that opened the door to the magical world of Leonard Bernstein. I think he’s the greatest conductor who ever waved a stick and I adore his music. His gifts as a writer, speaker, and all-around communicator were staggering.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
I’d like to try my hand at monarchy.
What advice would you give to your younger self if given the chance?
I would tell my 5-year-old self to beg for piano lessons. There wasn’t a ton of spare money around when I was a child, but if I had asked enough and foregone some Lego sets, I’m sure something could have been worked out.
My mother did buy me a piano when I was a teenager, and it was a huge deal. I spent hours at the keyboard making up for lost time, but there’s only so much you can do when you haven’t had the foundational training at an age when the brain is at its most pliable.
Look, I’ve done fine for myself in my musical career and I’ve found myself in a particularly happy professional situation recently, but the range of opportunities open to a musician — a conductor especially — who can really play the piano like a natural is much broader than it is for one who can’t.
Take us on a walk through your musical library. What record gets the most plays? Are there any “deep cuts” that you particularly enjoy?
In my 2024 “Spotify Wrapped,” my most played artist was Alberto Iglesias, a film composer who has collaborated primarily with the director Pedro Almodóvar. Of his soundtrack albums, I’ve probably listened to La mala educación the most.
I’m a musical theater maven and I worship Stephen Sondheim. I go through phases, but for the past several years Sunday in the Park with George has been my favorite.
Another composer who toed the line between classical and show tunes was Kurt Weill, and my favorite of his works is The Seven Deadly Sins. For me, there’s only one recording that does this piece justice, capturing its Brechtian grit, Marianne Faithfull’s performance with the Vienna Radio Symphony under Dennis Russell Davies.
Every year on the winter solstice, I listen to Alfred Schnittke’s 8th Symphony performed by the Russian State Symphony under Valery Polyansky.
A new (to me) favorite is Il Maestro Farinelli, an album of orchestral and operatic music by Porpora, Hasse, and CPE Bach by Pablo Heras-Cassado and Concerto Köln.
Finally, two favorite YouTube selections: Timo Andres playing Georgs Pelēcis’ “New Year’s Music” and Philippe Hersant’s Cantique des trois enfants dans las fournaise, conducted by Sofi Jeannin.
How have your influences changed as you’ve grown as a musician?
In my youth, I listened broadly across genres and artists, including a lot of popular and contemporary music. As I grow older, I find myself going deeper into the classical tradition, including lesser known composers like CPE Bach and Lili Boulanger. The more I try to understand what this “classical” music really is, the more it evades my grasp.
In recent years, I’ve found myself gravitating towards Haydn as an influence. This is hard, because Haydn’s talent was to maximize contrast within a very narrow musical language. As a contemporary composer, I have access to such a broad musical language — musical languages, in fact — that contrast is no problem. The challenge now is to find a voice that has consistency.
What are your passions beyond music?
Film, especially European directors like Pedro Almodóvar, François Ozon, and Krzysztof Kieślowski, but I’m a sucker for anything with Harrison Ford. My favorite movie-going experience of late was seeing Hippo at the Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle.
I’m a big reader. I love nothing more than a good novel, but for whatever reason, I’m constantly being pulled towards dense academic non-fiction that’s hard to get through. It’s a problem.
I’m a podcast junkie, especially shows like Comedy Bang Bang and Threedom. I watch my fair share of YouTube videos, and here I’ll recommend Baumgartner Restoration and Peaceful Cuisine. I also really love commenting on 40-year-old episodes of the BBC Antiques Roadshow.
I love word games and I solve the NYT crossword puzzle every day (syndicated in the Seattle Times) plus Wordle and Minute Cryptic.
Speaking of the Seattle Times, I spend an inordinate amount of time reading about Seattle city government and politics and getting angry about it. (For this purpose, I actually prefer The Urbanist to the ST.
William White is a conductor, composer, teacher, writer, and performer based in Seattle WA. Equally known for his original music as for his bold interpretations, White is an innovative programmer and conscientious leader in the musical community. His music has been performed throughout North America as well as in Asia and Europe. His music has been recorded on the MSR Classics, Cedille, and Navona Records labels, and he maintains a significant career as a composer of music for the concert stage, theater, cinema, church, radio, and film.
