BY PAT SUMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Cross a gifted pianist and perfectionist with an independent music producer and you’ll have Rosanne Vita Nahass, pianist in residence at Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers, the State University. (You’ll also have Bartok and Ives, her first CD.)

Some time last August, Nahass remembers, she and her husband noticed they’d missed doing many of the summer things they customarily love to do. But that may have been the price she paid for doing something else: producing a classical music CD on her own – a project that actually took her more like a year, off and on.

In the music industry, more and more people are producing CDs themselves, rather than with a label, Nahass says, citing “more control” as their main reason. In her own case, she had “a lot of convictions” to begin with, and she wanted to make “this CD,” combining the music of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok (Dance Suite, Sz.77) and American Charles Ives. (Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass., 1840-1860”).

Pairing these two musicians, who on the surface have little to do with each other, stemmed from intensive research that disclosed their numerous similarities. Given their decidedly dissimilar music, this was surprising.

Both modernist composers with connections to their pasts, Bartok and Ives conveyed their roots in a modern setting. Both were influenced by nature and both had spiritual/philosophical approaches influenced by writers. Finally, both were passionate in capturing the sounds they heard around them, which they melded with high culture – that is, classical music.

So convinced, Nahass had already taken he first step toward her CD: she decided what music it would include. Knowing what she would perform, she then needed to find a sound engineer and a recording studio. (She thinks she lucked out, choosing a setup that included the finest Steinway in Manhattan.)

In two sessions over a few months, she recorded the Bartok first, then the Ives. Editing came next – meaning she listened to her performances with an eye on the scores she had used. “Correcting outright mistakes is easy,” she says, but choosing which overall version to use is tougher.

So far, Nahass was already deep in phone calls, internet searches and emails. Since every step toward the CD was new to her, she was regularly gathering information, weighing it, deciding, taking action. And working on many of the steps concurrently from her Montgomery home.

Obtaining a license giving permission to record the music was a challenge. It entailed identifying the right publisher and license owner and dealing with the question of public domain.

At the point when she actually had the recording, Nahass had to decide who would make the disc; she needed a “maker,” and that took more digging. But there was also much more to do than simply turn over the recording to the company chosen. She needed to provide the whole package for the finished CD.

Other elements included art work, starting with the intended cover design, then moving through numerous templates for every part of the CD. As for the cover, the artist Nahass chose produced both abstract art – both it and the music are layered, she says -- and images of the two composers. Permission to use their portraits had to be obtained.

Only after extended, meticulous checking and re-checking could Nahass send everything to the disc maker. Just one example: she prepared a “meta data sheet” that included exact information and times for each section of the music. Bar code and spine label were among other components. Overall, if she could help it, there would be no incorrect Opus number on her CD, as happened to another independent producer.

Writing the liner notes was “a huge endeavor” for Nahass. However, “I wanted this to be a resource for people who are learning the pieces or are interested in learning more about these composers.”

So, she opted for a longer booklet – and even at that, she had to condense all she knew, all she could write. She sent her text to friends who looked at it for her, and she tangled with quotes and italics and semi colons, she remembers.

Then came deciding how to market the CD herself. Nahass knew she didn’t want to sign over rights to a company for that. She did a price analysis to decide what to charge ($14.98) and decided on November 1 as the release date. Her outlets include Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby.com (her distributor) and her own website (http://rosannevitanahass.wordpress.com). She may also sell the CDs at her concerts.

Still not finished, she copyrighted the CD (“a form and a fee”), and obtained a code to track downloads and plays for royalty payments. This, she says, was something “you must know enough to ask for.” Now that her CD is out in the world, Nahass must report to the licensing agency each time it’s downloaded or played. Depending on numbers, she may have to re-license at some point.

Despite successfully pulling off her “indie” CD production, she says she won’t be guiding others along this route. “This CD documents where I was at this point of my life. I can pass it on and I hope it’s helpful. I know that I enjoyed learning so much about these composers.”

Without noticing it, Nahass begins talking about her next CD. Knowing her, there’s no doubt she could easily do it again – and next time probably enjoy summer too. It’s easy to foresee a CD series of virtuosic Rosanne Vita Nahass piano performances.

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