Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: You guys are sooo wonderful! When do you come to Germany/Netherlands/USA/Italy?

A1: Probably never. I'd be really happy to be on road with this group all the time, but traveling with an eight-piece group with harpsichords, chamber organ and percussions is pretty tough and expensive. However, we recently performed in Edinburgh for BBC, so apparently it is possible to have us perform abroard. Otherwise, you'd need to be a wealthy, generous, art-loving patron.Would this eccentric human species still exist?

A2: No. Even if we transcribed and arranged all the music ourselves, the rights to our scores belong to The Zappa Family Trust. Without their permission we can't sell or copy them.

Q3: Are you going to record some more Zappa in the future?

A3: Possibly, yes. We have a couple of recording projects before any new Zappa-project, but we have already made some new arrangements of Zappa, so they might end in the record some day.

Q4: Whose idea it was to put a rabbit in the cover of The Zappa Album?

A4: Ours. Graphic designer who worked on the album picked the animal from some wildlife stock photo CD and the "Arf!" speeking bubble was suggested by Gail Zappa. A rabbit is a particulary suitable character for a Zappa-cd - with its vigorous sexual energy in reproducing itself it symbolizes appropriately the man who wrote lyrics such as Dinah-Moe Hum, Penguin in Bondage and I Have been in You. The rabbit also has unusually large ears, which remind of the often forgotten fact that somewhere far beyond the MTV world there do exist music that is primarily meat for listening.

Do you have any questions concerning Ensemble Ambrosius, Olli Virtaperko or the EA albums? Please send your questions to ovirtape@siba.fi