Now available on the OAMusic Podcast!

My conversation with American composer, writer, and thinker Daniel Asia is finally out.

We spent nearly two hours exploring some of the questions that have occupied him throughout his remarkable career: the future of classical music, the role of beauty in art, the influence of ideology on music and academia, the relationship between art and politics, and ultimately, the spiritual dimension of music.

From Stravinsky and John Cage to Roger Scruton, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and the great questions of faith and civilization, our conversation took us in directions I hadn't anticipated.

Daniel is a wonderfully engaging and provocative thinker, unafraid to challenge prevailing orthodoxies. I came away with much to reflect upon, and I hope you will too. I hope you'll watch, share, and join the conversation.

A wonderful conversation with my dear friend Hyung-ki Joo for the OAMusic Podcast.

We talked about comedy, Bach, Glenn Gould, Billy Joel, music competitions, deaf children experiencing music through vibration, the absurd seriousness of the classical world, and why communication ultimately matters more than perfection.

One of the most fascinating musicians I’ve ever met — irreverent, brilliant, deeply thoughtful, and always searching for new ways to bring people closer to music.

I’ve known Hyung-ki for almost 30 years, since our days at Manhattan School of Music, and this conversation felt less like an interview and more like reconnecting with an old friend after decades of artistic adventures.

Writer, curator, and Wordless Music founder Ronen Givony joins the OAMusic Podcast to discuss his new book, Us v. Them, a history of the Brooklyn music scene in the early 2000s.

We talk about DIY venues, Williamsburg, Glasslands, Death By Audio, Grizzly Bear, TV on the Radio, Death by Audio, Nonesuch Records, the post-Napster music world, and how indie music became both a scene and a marketing term.

Ronen also reflects on founding Wordless Music, his time at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the strange cultural moment when classical music, indie rock, and New York nightlife began to overlap.

Buy Us V. Them here:
https://www.amazon.com/Us-v-Them-Deca...

Wordless Music
https://www.wordlessmusic.org/aboutco...

Ronen Givony is the founder of Wordless Music, an orchestra and concert series that has worked with artists across genres, from Sigur Rós and Mica Levi to Terrence Malick and Paul Thomas Anderson. A curator for music festivals and venues in the United States and abroad, he is the author of two other books: "24 Hour Revenge Therapy (or, The Strange Death of Selling Out)" and "Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense." Born and raised in South Florida, he now lives in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.