Daniel Gostelow

Daniel Gostelow's music is defined by expressive opposites. On one side lies ferocity, brutality, density, and excess. He feels compelled to create music of considerable dopaminergic charge, and often exploits the upper limits of physical exertion, dynamics, speed, and phraseological force. Here his music is hyperactive and percussive, propulsive and weighty, with occasional infusions of modality. On the other side lies sparsity, stasis, and quietness. He is drawn to different forms of interiority and the expressive possibilities of silence. His music frequently employs silence in a dichotomous interplay with sound, a dialogue of equals regulating the musical flow. In some of Daniel's work, this polarity of outwards and inwards establishes a space in which intermediate states and characters emerge.

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In recent years, elements of disparate musical styles like classic pop, Tin Pan Alley, and death metal have infused my work. The harmonies of American Songbook styles emerge in a distorted form through chordal structures. The “brutality” of musical delivery in death metal with its driving rhythms and weighty textures at times predominates. These elements manifest not as collage or imitation, but as an organic, hybridized whole and a parallelism of spirit.

 

Daniel’s music has been performed by the Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Court Circuit, Ensemble Linea, and Hanatsu Miroir. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at University at Buffalo, where he received his PhD studying under David Felder. He received his BM from Oberlin Conservatory, studying with Lewis Nielson and Daniel Tacke. His other teachers have included Robert Grosse, Jeffrey Stadelman, and Matthew Brown.

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Daniel is also an accomplished pianist, and has performed solo classical repertoire, accompanied vocal ensembles, and studied jazz. As a hobby, Daniel writes original songs in American Songbook styles. To date, he has written five such songs and composed many piano arrangements of standard tunes.