Composer, improviser, and trombonist Alex Paxton has had a busy few months. Between winning both this year’s Ernst von Siemens Composer’s Prize and Paul Hindemith Prize, preparing for the release of his upcoming album “Happy Music for Orchestra” on Delphian Records, and commissions for Riot Ensemble, Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain, and Ensemble Modern, it felt like a privilege for both of us to spend a gloomy London afternoon drinking tea in a board game café.
“I’m very grateful that these institutions and festivals felt they’re able to commission me, I feel really lucky,” Paxton tells me. Over the course of numerous commissions and three studio albums, Paxton’s music—from the free jazz-tinged “Music for Bosch People” to the uncompromising intensity of “ilolli-pop,” from his talents as a “monster improviser” (Bandcamp) to his large-scale childrens’ operas—has stood in defiance of traditional stylistic boundaries. For me, central to Paxton’s joyously maximalist aesthetic is an almost childlike innocence and playfulness present in so much of his work, a topic we discussed alongside his recent projects, his approach to performance, and achieving musical euphoria.
Unlimited access to our
