Normally, I start walking and hold the same position currently.
I had asked for the same picture many a times.
Welcome back to another episode of the Piano Pod where tradition meets innovation, we
bridge the timeless beauty of the piano with the dynamic pulse of today's world. I am your friend
and host of the show, Yukimi-san. So what did you think about the opening episodes of the season?
Episode 1 brought us the incredible Dr. Michael Kakoff, a concert pianist who's not just a
scrubbing expert but also a recording artist known for his interpretation of list pieces.
And then in episode 2, I had the pleasure of chatting with the brilliant minds behind
A Seat at the Piano, aka ASAP, Annie Zheng, Brendan Jaclyn, Evan Hines, and Susan Yang.
ASAP is a platform to raise the voices of composers who have been less heard or historically
excluded or underrepresented. I'm curious about your take on our recent conversations with Michael
and the team of A Seat at the Piano and would love to hear from you. Connect with us on social
media or leave your thoughts on our website at thepianopod.com. Remember, your insights play a
crucial role in guiding the future of our show. For this episode, I am thrilled to introduce Mr.
Ludovic Zamora, a Canadian-American concert pianist and recording artist known for his unique talent
and unrivaled performances. Let me quickly highlight his career by citing his bio.
Mr. Zamora's musical journey began under the guidance of his father, diving deep into the
intricacies of the piano at a young age. His teenage years marked significant achievements
as an emerging pianist, including his solo debut at the prestigious Wild Recital Hall in Carnegie
Hall at 18. Earlier this year, he released his debut romantic era classical piano solo album
titled Amor. This achievement propelled him to the forefront of the 2023 classical music scene.
His journey is a testament to his unwavering dedication to music. He believes in the power
of devotion, emphasizing that true magic happens when one is fully observed in their passion.
Before continuing with this episode, I'd like to welcome you who is listening or watching the
Pianopod for the first time. I'm a classical pianist and educator from New York City. Whether
you're diving deep into a piano career, working professionally in the classical music scene,
or simply have a passion for piano tunes, this podcast is your backstage pass. In each episode,
I interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground in the classical music
industry. Before getting started, I want to thank amazing TPP fans and listeners for tuning in.
Please rate and review the show on your favorite podcasting platform because every rating review
will help people find the show. Oh, before I forget, I want to apologize to you, my friends.
During the interview session with Ludovic, I forgot to turn on my microphone, this mic
that I usually use and turn on during the taping of the show. If you are watching this episode on
YouTube, you will see it in front of my face, but it was not on. So the sound quality of my voice is
not that great. So what happens is that when this external microphone is not turned on,
the recording platform that I use automatically selects the built-in microphone on my computer
as an input device, which captures the sound and noise in the room, not focused on my voice.
So my vocal quality during the interview is not so great and muffled. So, oh well, after three years
of podcasting, I still forget to turn on my microphone or something had happened. I am
not really sure. So I apologize to you everyone. And but I promise to you that content of this
show is amazing. Thanks to my wonderful guest Ludovic, we discussed his exciting journey as a
concert pianist and recording artist, focusing on his passion for music in the romantic era
and delving into a timely topic such as life as an artist in the post pandemic era and more.
So these discussions will lead us to a more introspective conversation on a topic such as
the importance of exploring our sense of purpose as classical musicians in society.
We even talked about artificial intelligence, how the tech of AI is changing our lifestyle.
So let's begin this fun episode with a guest concert pianist, recording artist, Mr. Ludovic
Zamor. Please enjoy the show. You are listening to the Piano Pod, where we talk to the brightest
minds in the industry about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century.
So welcome to the Piano Pod, Ludovic. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much. And it's
really nice to finally meet you. We've been communicating for a few months on social media, and finally
the day has arrived. By the way, what a lovely name. Yeah, my school attendance was awful when I
was growing up with it, but now it actually as an artist, it has a little bit of flair to it.
Of course, and I understand that your father is a pianist. Yes, he's not professional. He's actually
a doctor, but he grew up playing the piano and then as he had children, he tried to force on us.
Did your parents intentionally name you after Ludovic Bambeitogon?
Ludovic? As in Ludovic? Maybe, I'm not sure. I'm actually a junior myself. I don't know where it
came from, but I guess it fits and you're kind of destined with the name. Yeah, no pressure.
What is it called? Like, now, determination, something like that? Yes, or like a strong will
or something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have been listening to your solo album, Amor, which
truly showcases and captures the essence of romantic era and displays your passion for the
music of the time period. This album was released earlier this year, right? Yes, it was. It was
released earlier in July. It was a long time coming. I wanted to release it in 2020, but my
original plan was a tour with it on concert and then after the tour and concerts, then release the
album. So, what was the main inspiration behind this album? I wanted to create an album that felt
like a journey to listen to, like you can listen to it and connect emotionally and feel as if you're
on a trip, just enjoying it. And to have both the balance of the virtuosic side and then also the
conservative side, like the same way how, you know, the war of the romantics being Brahms and Liszt
and everything like that, but just to have a good dichotomy between both. And why the title Amor?
I mean, maybe it's not completely a rhyme with your last name, but you know, without the Z,
it's Amor. Is that what it is? Well, Amor is a direct translation for love, and I guess it fits
because you can't write in Zamora without love. But part of it was, I thought, as literal as it is
to have a romantic album with love within it. And I thought it was a little bit poetic. Yeah, it is
indeed. And so, let's talk about the choice of your repertoire. You started with October from
Tchaikovsky's seasons, and it's such an, you know, iconic piece in such a way that really captures
the essence of romanticism, right? And then followed by Volkaliz, and I love the panel
transcription by Zoltan Koshas, yes. I opened with the Tchaikovsky piece. This set is exactly
what I would play in concert for at least this season. And in the past, I've always opened with,
like, you know, big showy pieces like, you know, the Fantasy Stook or anything like that. And
I found it as a bad habit to start off, you know, really hot. So I wanted to start off really slow
and, you know, warm into it. And it was a good, somber beginning to it. The seasons, out of all
of those pieces, I felt like the October, the autumn song was very emotional, especially emotional.
And opening with it set a really great mood for the concert I was trying to set. And as for the
Volkaliz, it was, at least the Volkaliz itself is one of my favorite tunes. And the Zoltan Koshas
transcription with the more arpeggios at the end, it just was a joy to play. And especially for a
person who loves, like, you know, the Lycian type of the world and everything like that,
I just gravitated to it naturally. Yeah, that arrangement is very special. I think
there are a lot of variations in terms of the, you know, transcriptions. There's a variation with,
you know, string instrument and the piano and so forth. But this arrangement, especially as you
mentioned before the end of the section where I arpeggiated, it just creates a lot of emotional
stuff. And, you know, you've also, one of my favorites from the album is the Nocturne in C
minor. I played it myself too. And your interpretation is, you know, very sensitive,
yet passionate in capturing the nuances of, you know, Chopin. And, but I really appreciate that
fact that you don't start so fast. A lot of people do. Yeah, well, there's actually a story behind it
too, and we'll eventually get into that. But I felt as if the way I wanted to interpretate that
piece, it was, I looked at it through the lens of almost like a Liszt etude, kind of, where they were
presenting a theme and I wanted that theme to be so apparent and so digestible. And then towards the
end to not just throw it in your face, but just to show the capabilities of the piano on the same
white list with it. And, you know, honestly, the tempo you took, you know, from the right, on the
right hand from the first note G to the next note A flat, that gap to feel, because, you know, piano
once you play that note, it's gone, right? But to be able to connect the G to A flat with that tempo
is, wow, I was very impressed. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Is it Andante su suenando at the beginning,
the tempo marking? I don't remember. At least from my edition, it had no tempo marking whatsoever.
So it was kind of like, it's open to interpretation. I also got a bunch of flack from some educators
because they were like, you're playing like Hungarian rap city, you know, kind of, but especially
when you're on the stage, you have a little bit more liberties and stuff like that. And it's not
that I don't care about critics, but I want to make a performance at least. And when I think about
that, I have a little bit more liberties, I think. There's something so simple yet gentle about your
playing and thought and emotional, emotion-provoking too. So I really enjoyed. And I mean, you played
Brahms and then lastly, oh, MoMA musical, number three and number four. Yeah, the direct translation
to English is musical moment. The number three is in number four by Rachmaninoff. Those were
my favorite. And it's actually in the future, I want to play all six of them in concert, but that's
in the future after I learned them. Amongst the six, I felt like the three and the four, they were
exactly the fitting within the concert type where you have the dichotomy between the emotional side,
the almost slow and reserved, and then you have the more bombastic, virtuosic side. And to play
them in a set between three and four directly after each other fits exactly what I wanted to do.
Tell us, the challenges and triumph from the day you conceived the idea of this project
to the day of release, like, you know, for example, choices of repertoire to marketing. So
tell us the moment of you felt like, well, I did something to, you know, there are moments where
we always struggle with certain things. So when I originally wanted to play all these pieces in
a concert, I had Paganini etudes, I had Chopin Balots in there and everything like that.
And as I was studying for all of this, it was during the pandemic, so I had all the time in
the world. And it was almost as if, you know, you buy more than you can chew, kind of. So I had to
be a little bit more reasonable and everything like that. I had to cut some pieces out and then I
eventually settled on what I still have now. And even then some people say like, as I'm like,
if I would go to a piano store, just so you know, tickle the keys or so, people like you play all
of that in concert. But it is a daunting repertoire to play. But it is fun at the end of it. But as
for the biggest challenges of it was actually recording day when I recorded the album. And the
day before I actually got bit by a spider. And yeah, it was very disappointing because I did not
become Spider-Man. But yeah, I got bit by this venomous spider and my throat closed up to a
point where I felt like I was breathing through a straw. And when it came time to record the
studio, record in the studio, you know, I did not want to defer even longer. So I just went through
with it. And it felt like my ears were underwater. I was running a fever the whole entire day. And
even till today, I still have a little bit of like a frog in my throat. Oh my goodness. Yeah, it was
very challenging to record the whole entire thing. And if you actually listen closely to some of the
pieces, you can actually hear me wheezing in the background. But it was, I didn't feel as if I was
100% when recording everything. But I tried my best. Well, but I think maybe that's one of the
reasons. I mean, I don't want to give credit to this evil spider. Oh, I hope there are no spider
enthusiasts, but I murdered that spider and their whole entire family afterwards.
But what did it happen when you were at home practicing or something?
It might be a personality quirk, but I believe like a clean room is a clean mind kind of thing.
So especially before a big performance or a big recording day or something like that,
I would just go find something to clean. And I happened to go into my garage and that was my
mission for the day, clean garage. And there happened to be a spider in the way for me.
Oh, wow. Okay. Wow. But you know, it's, I think in the long run, when you become a certain agent,
look back, this spider, the whole situation will be sort of, you're part of the legacy
of your as a recording artist, right? Yeah, it's a good story to have under your belt,
at least. Yeah, sure. But I'm glad you made it through the recording. So can you walk us through
your recording process? My recording process, it's mostly, I want to say before every piece I play,
I just try to remember in my head or just repeat the mantra of just trying to remain intentional.
And what is the purpose I'm trying to convey? And that's why I keep running through my mind,
whether it's a piece where I'm trying to personify love or deep emotion, or if it's not so much in
this repertoire, but some other pieces, for example, if I was playing an etude or something
like that, what technique am I trying to show? But it's all about remaining intentional.
So then I'm also curious about brand as well, let's talk about this album, for example. So
to select certain pieces, you think about your listeners as well, right? Not just you that,
of course, you want to play certain pieces, but I'm sure you think about your audience too.
So what did you have in your mind in terms of your listeners? I would say I wanted to
not just have easy listening, but let's go with saying this. I remember in 2018, I had a good
season where I was very, very productive. I'd wake up at four o'clock every morning, meditate,
and then go to the beach, as we're in Long Island, you know, the beach is always 20 minutes away.
And as I would go to the beach, I would always put on either a Katipinatichuli album or a
Rubenside album. And when I would listen to those, I would just walk and I guess get in the zone.
And I wanted to recreate the same type of feeling of, I guess, just pure emotion and for them,
for the listener rather, to zone out and just completely appreciate the music, not to throw
anything so much in their face as if it was like, you know, the Hungarian raps, like number six or
something like that, but just to have them just flow with it. And that's what I wanted to choose
when I chose my pieces. So nothing is too in your face, nothing is too bombastic, but it's still
showcase virtuosity. So you mentioned two artists now. So are these artists, are they heavily
heavily influenced the sound or direction of this album? Most definitely. It was interesting
because I grew up listening to, I guess, like part of the reason why I have, I guess, somewhat of a
good ear is because my father, he would always, every piece I would listen to, I would either
have a Horowitz recording or a Rubenside recording to listen to as comparison, or this is where the
ceiling is, or this is where you're trying to strive for it. And as I would listen to these pieces
and especially the tone quality, especially from Arthur Rubenside, it felt as if the piano was
completely different instrument. And when I was searching for studios to record my album, I wanted
a piano that would, to have a more reminiscent tone. So that was what I was looking for. And as for
Cuddebune, essentially one album that I listened to many, many times was her Motherland album.
Are you familiar with that one? It's fantastic. But as I would listen to it, it recreated that same
feeling that I always wanted, like a journey. A journey. Beautiful. Well, speaking of journey,
so let's turn the clock backwards. So, so you know, you've gone through this phase of your life right
now, but I'm sure there is a story of beginning. And as I mentioned briefly, in, you know, as I was
reading your bio, your father was the first person to introduce you to this world of classical music.
Sounds like, is it true? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. So can you tell us how did you discover the love of
music? By the way, by the way, before we start, I love the background. What a beautiful house you
live in. And then, and I see that I can see the Steinway piano. Tell us a little bit about the
piano. What is this? Is it B or A or what? This is a Steinway model D. And it was... D? Is it concert D?
Yeah, it's a concert grand. Yeah, I'm very lucky. We didn't always have it. But actually growing up,
I started learning on a Baldwin SF-10. And our house back then had no type of air conditioning,
no type of humidity control or anything like that. So the piano naturally became really,
really heavy. So I think that is probably some of the reason why I actually gained a good technique
because you're forced to really work at it. But my dad was my first teacher. He's actually a doctor.
He's not a professional musician, but he grew up learning the piano. And when he had children,
he wanted to teach them. And I was only one of his kids actually stuck with it. And I guess
he had a good trial because I was the last kid. So he learned his mistakes until me. We learned.
And it was until I was seven or eight when he realized like, Oh God, we have to give him a
better teacher because there's almost as much as he can teach me. So I hopped around from teachers
to teachers for a couple of years until I found Karen Amato. She's actually based in Long Island
and she stuck with me for, I want to say 20 years. Wow. Wonderful. That's, that's beautiful. So you're
right now currently based in Long Island, right? Yes, I am. Okay. So you had a wonderful teacher
for 20 years, but who are the other influences and training mentors maybe? I still see Karen every
now and then. It was only like, I think right after college, she was telling me like, you know,
we have to get you another teacher because we're neck and neck and there's only how much we can
teach you. So, you know, she's trying to push me off to other people, whether it was pro music judges
or something like that. But I eventually found myself with the late Abraham Sternclar. He was
a renowned concert pianist and chamber musician. And he actually was professor at one point.
And I actually met him when I was, I think seven years old and I performed and I forgot which one,
but it was a random competition. And then it was just, I guess, Kismet that we eventually met each
other later in life. And he took me as his pupil and learning from him was a dream because as I
later became more professional, I focused more on intention. And as I was with this old master,
it was like every word that he spoke, every lesson that he taught was gold. So I tried to cling to
every single, you know, lesson that he taught. And it was just, it was amazing to be around him. And
if you want to hear a funny story, at one point I was going to one of our lessons and these lessons
were gone for two hours and such. And from day one, he always said, never be late. And as you know,
New York City potholes are atrocious. And at one point I hit one of the potholes and not only did
I burst a tire, but I bent a rim. That's how bad the pothole was. And I drove an extra 15 miles on
a bent rim just to get to my lesson on time. And as I got there, I was like, listen, listen, I am
the number one because I got here, even though I had a bent tire and everything. And he was like,
oh, you got here on a bent wheel, world's smallest violin, boohoo. When I was younger, I was dodging
bullets in Israel and Palestine because that's where he was from. And it was just, it was funny
because he was telling me when he was in his conservatory, he had to cross a street that was,
I guess, in dispute between Palestine and Israel. And every time a student or a child would walk by,
they wouldn't aim at them, but they would just aim in the vicinity just to scare the people.
And essentially every time I had to go to school, he had to dodge bullets. But it was just,
that's the type of professionalism that I grew up with.
Talking about tough. Wow. That's tough stuff. Ben, you mentioned that you'd like to talk about
Abraham Sterncler's scholarship program and the Wilburton Scholarship Program. So were you the
recipient of these scholarship programs? No, actually, as I have my concert career,
and I guess we're hearing it first from here, every time I perform and I want to
allocate an amount of the proceeds or the profits towards these funds that I'm making.
And they're going to go to, whether they are undergraduate students or high school students,
I want to donate it as charity. And that's the story behind Abraham Sterncler. He was one of my,
I want to say, professional inspirations. And as for William Burden, he was my first ever manager.
And they actually both passed away from COVID in 2021. But- Oh my goodness. Why though? I'm sorry
to hear that. It was rough because they passed one month away from each other. And they were
each other and I lost both of them at the same time, essentially. Oh my goodness. Yeah. William
Burden, he was a very, very kind man. And it was, I want to say he was my first ever, I guess,
contact on the business side of show business. And he was, I would say, the kindest awakening to it.
And he was just a very sweet man that was essentially asked for nothing. And he was more
than fair. And I found that when we would do projects, sometimes he would just do them for
gratis. He would not want anything out of it. And not only did that, he did that with me, but he
would also do that with other young professionals or other people fresh out of college. And he gave
people chances. He opened doors for people. And I want to do the same thing for other young
professionals as I succeed. Wow. There are so many wonderful people like that in our industry,
right? And really sacrifice their time and their life to dedicate to mentor and educate
someone with the potential, someone with the dedication. That's amazing. You mentioned that
your performance, the concert proceeds partially goes to these two foundations, two programs to
help other young musicians, correct? I am going to start going to high schools after I start
performing. And I'm going to try to find a couple, a couple of kids who are, I guess, hungry for it.
And whether it's a small amount, whether it's a large amount, just to get the ball rolling,
to make them feel as if they're supported the same way I have. That's beautiful. Okay. Then I also
want to talk about your concert career. So you had just one big, memorable concert at the Historical
Theater, The Space on May 21st in Westbury, New York, which is your home. Yeah. Tell us about the
concert. So we had the choice of having, I guess, a premiere concert for my set. And I chose to do
in my hometown. There are two major theaters. There is the NYCB. I don't know if you're familiar,
but it has like a circular stage and it's just a large amphitheater. And then they also had The
Space, which is, I guess, more of a more traditional setting where it's just, it's open that way.
And I chose that one because it was a lot more aesthetically pleasing. And this was in, as you
said, May, right after 2022. And this was right after the pandemic. So a lot of people were
actually worried about coming out, especially right after the pandemic. So it was not anywhere near
filled to capacity. And it was actually really sad because earlier in my career, I made a good habit
because I heard some advice to get email listings to everyone that goes. So that is part of the
reason why I would ever have good attempts for concerts. So when I threw this concert, I had
hundreds of emails saying, sorry, I'm not coming because we're elderly and we don't want to risk it.
But I'm still very thankful for all of the people that still came despite the risk.
What did you play? Did you play some of the pieces from your album?
I played the whole album. And then on top of that, I played a Scriabin A-Tube at the end of it.
Wow. Which Scriabin A-Tube?
I believe the number 12. There's always escapes me. It was not the, it's not the Opus 42. I think it
was the of the 12 A-Tubes, the 12th one. Okay. Wonderful. That's a great piece. You mentioned,
you know, while we were communicating, you said you want to talk about journey back to feeling
ready to perform. So are you referring to your mindset towards performing in front of the audience
after the pandemic? Yes. One thing that I found so interesting, and I never thought about that before
in my whole entire life, I stayed in reasonably good shape. And during the pandemic, I actually
gained 70 pounds because I couldn't go outside. All I did was this weight lift, no cardio. And
one thing that they never tell you in a conservatory or in college is you need to
be physically shaped to play, to be in shape to play Liszt because your heart literally becomes
a factor into it. Yeah. When you take so much time off physically, it really becomes taxing,
especially when you're trying to play some of these pieces. So now I'm on the journey back to
getting ready for it. I see. I see. Well, but you know, I didn't think that way about playing,
let's say Franz Liszt. You know, I know playing Franz Liszt pieces, like especially Transcendental
Etude, for example, or, you know, Hungarian Rhapsody or whatever. They're really physical, right?
The whole entire upper body. And so you have to be fit in many ways, but I didn't think of
that will translate to your cardio endurance. Exactly. I never thought about it either,
especially like some of my earlier teachers, as I mentioned, Karen Amado before, she was telling
me that when she was in college, she stayed away from it. She was like, you know, the amount of
effort to stay away from that. And I never thought anything of it when I was playing Paganet Etudes
myself, because it was just, it was just work. But when you're trying to do that, when you're
a little bit more hefty and it becomes a lot more taxing, especially in concert, you don't want to
look like you're sweating. One thing is when you're performing, you're supposed to look as if this is
effortless. This is supposed to be second nature and to be big and sweating and it's not a, it's
not a charming look, but yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's part of our job, I guess. It's a job description.
So let's talk about your love for composers or compositions in the Romantic era. So tell me.
My favorite, it's like choosing a favorite child. I don't have any children, but it's almost as if
trying to, yeah, but you know, you're, you're a love for Romantic composers or compositions. What,
what do you love so much about these eras, genres? Romantic era, it feels as if this is the upper
limits of tonal harmony and at the same time, virtuosity. I don't want to say that like Mozart
was boring or anything like that, or Bach was boring, not at all, but if anything Bach is
becoming even more, as I'm getting older, as I'm getting more maturity, I'm looking at those pieces
and realizing the complexity and the inner depth behind them. But Romantic era in itself,
I felt as if this was the upper limit. This is as far as the ceiling goes and to play those pieces
are more entertaining than the rest. How are you engaging with the 21st century audience? So
what are you doing differently or creatively to reach out to your fan base? That is very
interesting because I want to say in the past three or four years, I don't know if I'm, I want
to say that I'm having a paradigm shift or a change on thought process, but as I was younger,
my initial look was Romantic era classical music. This is so spectacular. That's the whole truth.
That's the whole truth. This is such an in-depth genre. And when you're listening to the radio,
all of it is kind of boring after a certain point, right? You know, like when I was 18,
I remember that some of my teachers and I, we would sit down for 20, 30 minutes, just trying to
break down a Chopin ballade and just trying to understand the structure behind it and say,
what is that chord? What is that chord? And compared to listening to pop music right now,
you could just, you could break it down in 20 seconds. So it felt as if the music was so much
more entertaining back then. And my mission years ago was to almost not convert, but to show people
like, look over here, this music is so much more rich than what you're listening to now.
And that was my mission for some time. And then now it's almost as if it's not that I'm giving
up on trying to show people, but it's, it's almost as if people are just not interested in it. So
why should I almost try to convert people that are not willing? So that's where I'm almost at.
Just go after your fan base. Stop trying to convert new people because, you know,
they're just going to listen to what they want to listen to.
Sure, sure, sure, sure. But if there is an introductory to classical music in a certain way that
people may tune in, right? Not everybody, but certain people, there's a potential, right?
Of course. Yeah. So I'm not closing the door completely on it. If someone asks me to play,
I'm going to play for them. Even if not everyone in the audience is a classical music fan, but
actively going out and trying to bring in people. That's, I don't know how I feel about that anymore.
It's, it's maybe I'm jaded, but. No, no, but yeah, you have a point. Yeah, it's true.
Yeah. You don't have to do that, but there are a lot of people who would be interested, but
never had opportunity or being exposed to it. Right? Yeah. Those are the people that we need
to reach out to. That concludes the first half of this fun episode of the Piano Pod with a Canadian
American pianist recording artist, Ludovic Zemmour. If you enjoyed this episode, please
rate and review it on your favorite podcasting platform. You can also watch this episode on the
Piano Pod's YouTube channel. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and
LinkedIn. The links are listed in the description. Tune in next Tuesday, October 10th at 8 PM to hear
the rest of the interview with Ludovic Zemmour.