INTERVIEW WITH JUAN MOREDA
- litorequartet
- Mar 4
- 7 min read
Today we bring to the blog a very special interview for us. Juan is not only an important professional reference for Lítore Quartet, but also a great friend with whom we have shared many experiences. Lítore Quartet was born inspired by the brief yet incredible career of the saxophone quartet Psaiko Quartet, in which Juan played the tenor saxophone. Currently, Juan is part of the collective Argo Kollektiv, a contemporary music ensemble based in Vienna, of which he is also a co-founder. The group was recently awarded First Prize at the Re_cre@ competition, an event where we reunited with Juan and after which we decided to conduct this interview.
What was your first contact with music? When did you decide you wanted to pursue music and the saxophone professionally?
One Christmas—I’m not sure whether it was Santa Claus or the Three Wise Men—I was given a toy accordion. I must have been 9 or 10 years old. I liked the gift, and my parents asked me if I wanted to take lessons to learn how to play it. I said yes. Since I was too small for a real accordion, I first took a year of piano lessons. Then I started playing the accordion, and my teacher recommended that I attend solfège classes with the local town band (Valladares). I went, and they offered me the chance to start playing an instrument in the symphonic band. For some reason, I chose the saxophone. Later, I enrolled at the Professional Conservatory of Vigo, and in my third year of secondary school—when you begin choosing elective subjects to specialize—I decided to take music more seriously.
You met Hugo and Jaime at the Professional Conservatory of Vigo, and later Sira and Miquel at the Conservatori Superior de les Illes Balears. Why did you decide to pursue a master’s degree in contemporary music performance in Vienna after your studies in Mallorca?
I first completed a master’s degree in performance in Vienna. During my final year in Mallorca, my main idea was to pursue a chamber music master’s together with my colleagues from Psaiko Quartet. In fact, if I remember correctly, Martín and Borja were willing to wait a year for me so we could do the master’s together. But then Franco decided to return to Argentina, and when Martin Gorospe joined Psaiko, we would have had to wait another year. At that point, the idea began to fall apart. Shortly before COVID, the idea of continuing seriously with the quartet had already taken a back seat.
Since I was living with Martín, we decided to look for a joint destination for our master’s studies and chose Vienna. We had great memories from when we visited the MDW (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna) after being invited to perform there with Psaiko a few years earlier. We saw that it was one of the best universities in the world and that Vienna is a city that invests significant resources in music and offers many opportunities for musicians.
While completing my master’s in performance in Vienna, I decided to also begin the master’s in Neue Musik – Ensemble, because I realized that collaborating with composers and bringing new sound worlds to life was what I truly wanted to do. As an artist, I no longer felt comfortable interpreting pieces written hundreds of years ago. Additionally, as saxophonists we have far fewer opportunities within classical music. In general, I feel more fulfilled knowing that I dedicate my time and energy to being part of creation and innovation rather than to perfecting the old repertoire.
We have all lived abroad and are aware of the personal and professional challenges that can bring. What was your arrival in Vienna and at the university like? How did you experience the new life you began building there?
Like anyone who moves far away from their family, you do it to give your very best. After a few years of working hard, integration comes naturally. You meet people who share your ideas and feel comfortable in that place. At first, the language barrier is tough. Although the university is very international, tradition still carries a lot of weight. One of the university’s goals is for students to remain in Austria after their studies, which is why all classes are taught in German.
I enjoy being in an international environment; it wouldn’t be the same as trying to integrate into a small village in Tyrol. I think that makes the process easier and more gradual.
Vienna can be a very attractive destination for studying music. In your experience, what are the pros and cons of studying there?
Pros: Top infrastructure. Top professors. Top funding. Top colleagues. Top location. Many opportunities. Cons: Strong attachment to musical tradition. Harsh winters. Not-so-top gastronomy. No sea.
This interview was inspired by Argo Kollektiv’s participation in the Re_cre@ competition, where you won first prize. How was Argo Kollektiv born? How did the group’s name come about?
When I started my master’s in contemporary music, I attended an improvisation class and arrived late. Because I was late, they paired me with another pianist who had also arrived late, and we had to improvise together without knowing each other. During that improvisation, I felt a strong musical connection. After class, we decided to continue playing together outside the academic setting. That pianist was Panos Nikitaris, and together we created Argo Duo, which later became Argo Kollektiv.
At first, we performed contemporary works for saxophone and piano by composers such as Denisov, Albright, and Mantovani. These pieces led us to win international competitions, but we soon felt limited by the repertoire and needed to work with other musicians and instruments. We joined forces with Youngseo Kim, a violinist, and Taikan Yamasaki, a percussionist—both also students in the contemporary master’s program. Soon we opened up to collaborating with more musicians and evolved into a collective with flexible instrumentation, adapting to each project’s needs. Still, the most characteristic instruments of Argo are those of the original quartet: saxophone, piano, violin, and percussion.
Our current vision for Argo Kollektiv is to make each concert a unique experience, working closely with artists from various disciplines, similar to Wagner’s concept of the “total work of art,” but applied to chamber music and combined with today’s technology. Panos Nikitaris and Kostas Zisimopoulos introduced me to the idea of revisiting the origins of theatre and Greek tragedy. I immediately fell in love with the concept and wanted to jump on board. The name is not only inspired by metaphors related to Jason and the Argonauts, but also because ancient Greece is a powerful source of inspiration and part of our identity.
Both Lítore Quartet and Argo Kollektiv share an interest in newly created music. What are Argo Kollektiv’s artistic goals and vision?
We do not want to limit our artistic creativity, so we constantly seek new concert formats that fuse different artistic disciplines. Nowadays, it is very difficult to develop your own large-scale production involving many people who resonate with your idea. Therefore, we often work in the short term, building experiences toward our long-term vision.
We aim to create new sounds and premiere new works, while distancing ourselves from the traditional concert format of piece-applause-another unrelated piece awkwardly tied together in the same program.
As a collective, not all members participate in every project. How is the group organized artistically and administratively?
If we are hired to perform a fixed repertoire, there isn’t much to decide—we simply gather the required musicians.
If we are contacted for a concert with a set composer but an open program, we usually propose the musicians we work with most frequently and select repertoire that best aligns with the composer’s aesthetic. We try to remain consistent with the musicians involved. Budget considerations also help determine decisions.
For concerts we organize ourselves, Panos and I usually discuss the initial concept and then include musicians who fit the project. However, complete artistic freedom is difficult since we almost always depend on external funding. Sometimes a member of the collective proposes a project, and we explore how to make it happen—for example, Mario suggested applying to Re_cre@.
What is the financial situation like for chamber music groups in Vienna or Austria?
In Austria, especially in Vienna, we have felt supported by public funding since establishing our association (Verein). It allowed us to remain active from the beginning, and we continue to receive support, for which we are very grateful. However, relying on funding means adapting your ideas to institutional criteria. The challenge is to remain active while staying true to your ideals. That is not easy anywhere in the world—especially in contemporary music.
What did Psaiko Quartet mean to you personally and professionally?
Psaiko taught me to change my selfish way of thinking. In Eastern cultures, you are taught to think of the group before the individual, whereas in Western culture we prioritize ourselves. In the quartet, we operated with the mindset of sacrificing individual projects to strengthen the group and grow faster together. I believe virtue lies in balance, and today I try to live by that philosophy. Thanks to Psaiko, I learned to work much better as part of a team.
What differences do you notice between a saxophone quartet and a mixed ensemble with electronics?
As a saxophonist, you must be more flexible technically in a mixed ensemble. It’s different blending your sound with three similar instruments than adapting it to the subtlety of strings or the power of percussion. There are far more sonic possibilities than in a sax quartet. That’s enriching because you learn more. A possible downside is that only you know your technical limits; in a sax quartet, everyone can demand higher standards from each other. In a mixed ensemble, the demands are different, so you must be highly self-critical.
A sax quartet’s sound world is inherently limited—it’s compact, but it’s always four saxophones. A collective, on the other hand, can sound almost however it wants. The disadvantage is that we are not always the same four musicians working together at the highest level.
Do you see yourself returning to Spain in the future?
For now, I’m happy in Vienna and want to stay. There is always a sense of longing to return to Galicia and create my own project there. Sometimes I feel disconnected from my homeland and indebted to it. I would like to live in Galicia and contribute to its cultural development. But in the near future, I still see myself here in Austria. I also feel indebted to Austria because I have always been treated very well and feel valued here. I wouldn’t rule out moving somewhere else if the opportunity arose.
How do you see yourself in five years?
I would like to be more of an artist and less of a teacher. To have more time to create and develop my own projects. I already love my life, but I want to continue investing time in refining my knowledge, experiences, and techniques in order to contribute meaningful artistic creations that entertain, inspire reflection, and help us improve as a society.
Thank you, Juan. Hugs :)
Thanks, guys :)
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