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["Pomp and Circumstance"]

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["Pomp and Circumstance"]

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Welcome back to another episode of the PianoPod,

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here, tradition meets innovation.

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We bridge the timeless beauty of the piano

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with a dynamic pulse of today's world.

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I am your host, Yukimi-san.

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Today, let me take you on a quick trip

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to the enchanting land of Bolivia,

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a country nestled in the heart of South America,

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boasting diverse landscapes

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that range from the majestic Andes Mountains

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to the lush Amazon rainforest,

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where you will find rich cultural heritage.

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For this episode, I invited pianist and educator

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and my colleague and friend, Walter Aprecio,

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who is also the founder and president

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of the Foundation for Bolivian Artists.

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So let me just quickly read Walter's bio.

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Known for the warmth and conviction of his performances,

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Walter explores cultural background and identity,

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weaving a rich tapestry of music,

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referencing dance, language, and folk traditions.

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Walter's impressive career includes appearances

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at renowned venues from Lincoln Center to Carnegie Hall.

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He has graced international stages

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in St. Petersburg, Beijing, and Barcelona.

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Walter is a dedicated advocate for Latin American composers,

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as showcased in his debut album,

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Iris Indios' Piano Music of Bolivia.

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Recently, Walter added,

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the founder and president of the Foundation

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for Bolivian Artists to his resume.

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This nonprofit organization is dedicated to discovering

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and promoting Bolivian musicians

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through the Cantuta Concert Series

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and aims to create a vibrant community,

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providing musicians with exposure on prestigious stages

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and propelling their careers.

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Committed to artistic growth, collaboration,

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and connecting with professionals,

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the foundation emphasizes empowerment and cultural exchange

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to uplift these musicians globally.

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So here we are today to explore

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Walter's multifaceted contribution

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to the world of classical music,

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including his role in empowering

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and promoting Bolivian artists

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through his Impact Folk Foundation.

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Before we dive in, a warm welcome to new listeners

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and big thank you to our faithful TPP fans.

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Please don't forget to rate and review the show

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on your favorite podcasting platform.

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I am thrilled to welcome my dear friend,

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Mr. Walter Aparicio, to start our conversation.

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Please stick with us till the end

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for a reflective discussion on keeping classical music

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relevant in today's changing world.

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Please enjoy the show.

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["Piano Music of Bolivia"]

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You are listening to the Piano Pod,

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where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry

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about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century.

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["Piano Music of Bolivia"]

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Here we are today with special guest

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whom I get to call my colleague and friend,

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Mr. Walter Aparicio, pianist, educator, founder,

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and president of Foundation for Bolivian Artists.

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Welcome, Walter, yay.

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Thank you, Yukimi.

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Thanks for having me.

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So excited to be here.

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Thank you for being here today.

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So we go all the way back.

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You are actually one of the very first group of people

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that I met when I first moved to New York to attend NYU.

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Yes, yes.

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And I don't exactly remember where and how,

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but probably through one of the studio classes

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by Dr. Dejah Donahue, right?

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That's right.

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I do remember that, yeah.

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Yeah, and we both had a privilege

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of studying with her while we were there.

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Yeah, she is incredible.

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She is filled with knowledge.

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And every time you need a question

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about any questions about piano literature,

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she's a go-to person, right?

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That's right.

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That's right.

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She's like a fountain.

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I know.

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I know.

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Amazing.

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And of course, after graduation, you

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invited me to be part of this nonprofit organization out

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of New York City, Piano Teachers Congress of New York.

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At the time, you were the president.

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And I had the privilege of serving

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as a VP for several years.

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Yeah, so since then, I've been really following your career.

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And I've attended a few concerts you performed.

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And by the way, congratulations to the recent milestone

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that you achieved.

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You performed at Lincoln Center, Futuras,

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New Ideas in Composition curated by New Latin Wave.

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Tell us what's all about this.

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It was such a really extraordinary and fun event

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for me to be able to participate in because this organization,

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New Latin Wave, really is on the forefront of curating

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and programming different kinds of not just music,

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but art by Latin A and Latin X artists and musicians

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and composers.

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And this particular series, Futuras, New Ideas

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in Composition, Futuras means futures.

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And that's really exactly what it is.

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It's new ideas.

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And how are these composers who are either mid-career

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or just starting out or really well-established,

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how are they pushing the composition forward

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and also looking into their Latin A identity, right?

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So it was three nights at the David Rubenstein

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Atrium at Lincoln Center, which is already actually

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a really fun space because during the day,

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it's a community space.

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So you can go in.

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You can have your coffee.

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There's a coffee shop there.

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You can have a gathering.

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I saw even in our soundcheck, there

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were these older women playing chess.

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Or no, maybe they were playing cards.

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Anyway, we did our soundcheck, and they were just listening.

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And it was so fun.

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So already that community aspect,

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which is actually one of the ideas

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that the New Latin Wave wants to promote,

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is the community aspect of musicians, Latin X composers,

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and people in general.

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That idea is already in the atrium.

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And so it was three nights, and each night

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with just incredible artists.

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And I was so fortunate to be a part of the third night.

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And I performed a set of about 30 minutes of music

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by all Latin X living composers.

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And a couple of them were actually from Bolivia,

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which I was in a way, I was really adamant about including

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music from Bolivia.

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But yeah, it was really incredible, and I think

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it was just a nice evening.

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Yeah, yeah.

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And then it's just a perfect performance or recital for you.

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You've been really such an out of get and an influencer.

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Recently, you have to say influencer.

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That's a correct terminology.

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Yeah, but you are in many ways of contemporary music,

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especially Latin American music.

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And then your career as a performing artist and educator

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is really dedicated to the genre, of course,

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as well as traditional genres and eras as well.

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And you're one of them, also the organizers

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of the 20th, 21st century Piano Festival at the Piano

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Teachers Congress too.

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So well before the recent surge in promoting diversity

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within our industry that sparked in 2020,

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you were already a fervent promoter and supporter

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of diversity in music, and particularly focusing

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on Latin American music and composers.

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I don't know if Latin American piano literature itself

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is considered diversity these days still.

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In many ways, I hope it's a really big genre, right?

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Sure.

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I think that Latin American music in general,

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let's just talk about popular genres.

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I think it's less in that realm of being othered, right?

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Because we have a lot of artists in popular genres

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becoming much more popular in the mainstream.

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But in terms of classical music or art music,

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whatever you want to call it, I think

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people still don't know about it.

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When I was in school, when I went to do my masters,

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we had a piano literature course.

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Of course, we studied the Western,

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Ken, Western European composers, which are, of course,

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really important.

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And in a way, that's where most of this music started.

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But I remember very specifically,

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we spent one day, we spent one class

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on Spanish-speaking countries.

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And most of it was from Spain.

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Yeah.

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So that gives you, I mean, of course,

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this was quite a number of years ago.

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But it gives you an idea of not even

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that there's a lack of knowledge or a lack of music.

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It's a lack of interest.

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And so that's partly why I started playing music

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from all these different countries,

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and specifically Bolivia.

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So of course, I mean, there are outliers.

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There are composers like Ginastera,

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that we know via Lobos, Piazzolla.

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But even then, they're almost considered

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this little novelty.

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And people play them for something else,

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or they want to fulfill a jury requirement.

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And so that's a little sad to me.

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But I think little by little, it's starting to change.

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And even like Piazzolla, the music is great, wonderful.

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But so much music from Argentina in general.

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There are tons of composers.

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It's such a huge classical music hub in South America.

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And people only know this one tiny aspect that, oh,

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Argentina is tango.

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But there's actually even such a huge part of the country

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that is actually more in line with Bolivian culture,

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because it's in that geographical area

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that it's in the mountains.

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So there's a whole world out there.

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And there's almost too much music to cover in general.

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Yeah, I'm sure.

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I'm sure.

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So that's why within our really limited time,

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it's hard to talk about all these things

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that we're about to cover.

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But just in the sense that you are

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going to introduce our listeners about what it is

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this Latin American music is about,

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and also specifically Bolivian music,

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I'm very, very interested.

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So let's start and continue our conversation

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with the topic of piano literature of Latin America.

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And later, we will be focusing on piano literature

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of Bolivia.

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So what's the current global reception?

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Well, we kind of talked about it,

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but Latin American piano music, have there

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been notable shift in initiatives

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to bring this music to wider international audiences?

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What hurdles or triumph have emerged?

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Now that I'm a little bit more connected with musicians

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and educators from Latin America,

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I actually do see that there are a huge push

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to make this music known to the world.

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And we're so lucky at this time in our lives,

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actually, that we're able to, even

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if you're in a small country like Nicaragua,

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you can go on YouTube.

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You can go on Instagram.

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You can make something so that the world can see.

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And so I think that's amazing.

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And so this is actually how I'm finding so many of my sources,

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because very little of this music is published,

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and there are very few kind of professional recordings,

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if you can call it that.

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But no.

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So I see that there are strides.

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There are strides being made for this music

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to be pushed out into the world.

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Last March, I attended actually a conference.

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It was called La Frontera International Piano Conference.

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And La Frontera means the border.

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And it actually is, it takes place

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in Brownsville, Texas, which is a border town in the US.

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And it's on the campus of University of Texas, Rio Grande

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Valley.

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And this was the original, well, it was the inaugural year,

269
00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:17,680
and they focused on music of Latin America.

270
00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:21,000
And it was amazing, because there were so many kind

271
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:25,200
of like-minded people in this conference.

272
00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,640
And I was lucky to present and perform

273
00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:29,800
the music of Bolivia, which I think

274
00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:34,280
was pretty well received, because it's not too well known.

275
00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,960
You know, bigger countries and kind of more economic powers,

276
00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,200
if you could say that, get the highlights like Mexico,

277
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,480
Argentina, all these bigger countries.

278
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:49,000
And even like Venezuela, because of all the sistema

279
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:50,040
and all this stuff.

280
00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,120
So anyway, the conference was amazing.

281
00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,520
But in a way, we were all like preaching to the choir.

282
00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:57,040
You know, it's like all these people

283
00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,360
who are researching and are wonderful

284
00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:04,120
and promoting their music, we're promoting it to each other.

285
00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:08,080
So I think our responsibility is to go out and bring it

286
00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:09,440
to the world.

287
00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:13,160
So I learned so much about music from Costa Rica,

288
00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,800
from Nicaragua, from all these places, even Mexican composers

289
00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,000
I had never heard, who are actually,

290
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,720
all these composers are popular in the countries,

291
00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:23,880
but they don't make it out.

292
00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,560
So I think this year their topic is women,

293
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,800
but every other year it's going to be Latin America.

294
00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,960
And that's kind of like its main focus, this conference.

295
00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,720
So I think and I hope that there will be more kind of endeavors

296
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:36,680
like this.

297
00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,000
I've seen people make recordings.

298
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,440
There's a very particular recording by a Spanish composer,

299
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,800
sorry, a Spanish pianist from Spain.

300
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,760
His name is Antonio Ollar Sabel.

301
00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,560
We can maybe put that in the program notes

302
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,440
because it's a very, very good recording.

303
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,920
It's called El Fin del Silencio, The End of Silence.

304
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:04,680
And it's all recordings by women composers from Latin America.

305
00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,320
So it's even more niche.

306
00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,360
It's even more smaller, right?

307
00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,840
So that is like what a gem of a recording.

308
00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,800
And he's touring it everywhere.

309
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:16,000
It's a really good listening.

310
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,360
I really do appreciate he does include one Bolivian woman

311
00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,760
composer, the only one that is of note right now.

312
00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:24,800
So there are things.

313
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:26,600
There are incredible resources out there.

314
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,840
So you just have to be willing to find them.

315
00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:29,680
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

316
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:34,600
So in many ways positive things are really slowly happening.

317
00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:36,240
Absolutely, absolutely.

318
00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,040
But as I said before, there has to be an interest

319
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,520
because you have to look for it.

320
00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:44,600
It's not in front of your face.

321
00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,160
Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.

322
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:50,680
And then I think we still have to make the constant effort

323
00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,080
to choose the repertoire wisely.

324
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,680
As classical musicians, we have to present in such a way

325
00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:02,880
that you bring awareness and interest from the public.

326
00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,200
Yeah, so next couple of questions

327
00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,040
are for those who are yet to learn and discover

328
00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,000
the world of Latin American music, piano literature,

329
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:11,840
and composers.

330
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,880
So considering the diverse cultural and historical

331
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,600
backgrounds across Latin America,

332
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:20,920
amidst the push for diversity, is there

333
00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,720
growing interest in specific cultural styles

334
00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,080
rather than the broader label of Latin American music?

335
00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,240
I don't know if we're actually there yet.

336
00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,480
I think very much it's still on the fringe.

337
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,720
And but I'm hoping that little by little, people

338
00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:42,920
will start to take an interest in being a little more aware

339
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:47,520
that they don't lump Latin America as one thing.

340
00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,680
That's like saying Asian composers.

341
00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,040
It's like, what is that?

342
00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:55,480
There's so many countries in Asia.

343
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,800
There's so many countries in Latin America.

344
00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,320
And look, yes, there are obviously similarities.

345
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,960
There are obviously cross-fertilizations,

346
00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:06,520
cross-influences.

347
00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:10,560
But in a way, mostly every country, more I would say,

348
00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,480
every little smaller region has their own identity.

349
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:20,160
And I think it takes people who are more connected to it

350
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:25,000
to highlight those differences because those people would

351
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,000
know more.

352
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,080
So yeah, I think it's about taking an interest.

353
00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:32,360
The difference between Mexico and Argentina

354
00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,040
is so vast that they have nothing

355
00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,080
to do with each other, really.

356
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,400
So besides the language, that's some of the only things

357
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,920
that they have in common, if you think about it.

358
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,160
And Latin American music often blends

359
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:50,920
indigenous and African and European influences.

360
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,320
And tell us how these diverse cultural elements manifest

361
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,400
in piano compositions across the region.

362
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:02,680
Well, for example, much of the Bolivian music that I play

363
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:04,840
is inspired by the Andes.

364
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,960
Much of the piano music that I play

365
00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:12,400
is inspired by the Andes, indigenous life in general,

366
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,080
indigenous music.

367
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,680
In fact, Bolivia is one of the countries in South America

368
00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:22,120
that has the most percentage and population of indigenous people

369
00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:26,200
still thriving and active today.

370
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,600
So there's an obvious, even in everyday life,

371
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,040
but there's an obvious inspiration from the music

372
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:36,760
because it's kind of surrounding you.

373
00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,880
Yeah, and for example, I don't know, in Brazil,

374
00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:41,640
you have the choro.

375
00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,520
Sometimes they call it a Brazilian tango.

376
00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:46,840
But it originated in Rio de Janeiro.

377
00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:52,640
And it's a very fast, lively, happy rhythm piece.

378
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,640
And there's a really famous one by Ernesto Nazareth

379
00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:58,680
called Odeon.

380
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:03,680
So that's an example of a very specific genre that's

381
00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:05,200
only specific to Brazil.

382
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,200
Yeah, so there's influence from all over the place.

383
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,280
There's, depending on what region you're in,

384
00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,200
also it changes little by little, right?

385
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:13,680
Right, yeah.

386
00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:16,680
Are there overarching themes, rhythms, melodies

387
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,760
that are commonly found in Latin American piano music,

388
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,760
transcending national borders, what elements

389
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:27,240
unite the music across this continent of Latin American,

390
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:28,560
or the genre?

391
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,360
Well, if you think about it, it's South America, right?

392
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:35,400
Plus the Caribbean, and then Central America, and then

393
00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:36,400
Mexico.

394
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:37,440
It's huge.

395
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,480
But I think one of the things, so it's hard to say,

396
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,640
because it's not a one kind of answer thing.

397
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,840
But obviously, the most blanket answer

398
00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,240
can be that there's a European influence from colonization,

399
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:50,760
right?

400
00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,320
So first, the colonization aspect.

401
00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:55,760
So they brought in their music.

402
00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:00,520
And also, so many musicians and composers

403
00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,240
would go to Europe to study, because that was the place

404
00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,080
to be, specifically Paris.

405
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:09,320
So it's hard to say if there's an influence that

406
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:10,400
encompasses them all.

407
00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,960
But I guess there's some European influence that

408
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:16,040
can cross genres.

409
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,480
But that's like the canvas, you know?

410
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,960
Because when we're thinking about piano music,

411
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,160
it's already an European instrument, right?

412
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,040
So already, we're thinking in the 12 half steps.

413
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,720
And so we can't have microtones, or things

414
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,800
like this, or different kinds of scales

415
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:41,120
perhaps that are more present in indigenous music.

416
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,840
So that European influence is obvious.

417
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,280
But it's hard to say, I think that I

418
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,600
don't want to talk about countries particular.

419
00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,160
But it's more like regions.

420
00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:57,600
And in regions, you can say that Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador,

421
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:01,640
and some parts of Colombia, they have very similar styles

422
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,560
because of where they are.

423
00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,640
And even that part of Argentina, like Jujuy,

424
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:08,200
where I was talking about.

425
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,600
And so yeah, if you have different pockets of regions

426
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:12,600
that have similar, a lot of the Caribbean music

427
00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,880
is very similar.

428
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:16,680
I mean, those are tiny countries.

429
00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,800
So depending on where you are, there's

430
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:24,480
a rhythm, or a dance, or ways to construct

431
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:30,120
the melody that can be unifying to a region, a smaller region.

432
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:31,120
Right.

433
00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:34,760
But it just has such a complexity.

434
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:36,200
It's hard to talk about.

435
00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:37,520
Oh, yeah.

436
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,400
No, it's incredibly complex because even

437
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:45,960
within the countries, there are elements that are different.

438
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:48,680
I mean, what comes specifically to mind, of course,

439
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,440
is the idea of dance.

440
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:57,280
And dance is obviously a unifying force for everybody.

441
00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:01,520
So in Latin America, or in South America, or in the Caribbean,

442
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,280
dance music is very popular.

443
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:08,840
And a lot of the piano music that's written is dance music.

444
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,080
Of course, it's not dance music to be danced to.

445
00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:15,640
It's piano music, much like stylized Chopin, Waltz,

446
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:16,640
et cetera.

447
00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,480
Sure, mazurka, too.

448
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:20,440
Yeah, absolutely.

449
00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,040
All these kinds of dances.

450
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:27,560
But one thing I can say is if you have a 6'8 rhythm, something

451
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,480
that's pretty common within all the,

452
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,120
and it may actually be the same influence, maybe

453
00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,840
the Spanish influence, or maybe some African influence.

454
00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:42,000
But it's the idea of 6'8, and there being a dichotomy there,

455
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,840
almost like a duality between feeling it in three

456
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:47,160
and feeling it in two.

457
00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,440
And within the same piece, it's constantly

458
00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:54,800
changing that is actually what gives some of Latin American

459
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:56,880
music some kind of personality, right?

460
00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:01,600
So that's something, I mean, also changing from major

461
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:05,760
to minor, back and forth without any kind of warning.

462
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:07,920
That could have even been influenced by Arabic.

463
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:14,800
So there's so much history that is hard to actually know.

464
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,880
But there are potential in many ways,

465
00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:22,040
like in the near future, each artist

466
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:24,960
can really dig into one particular region

467
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:31,360
or one particular culture within the Latin American genre

468
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,840
and focus on that topic, just like you

469
00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:35,960
do with the Bolivian music, right?

470
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:36,720
Absolutely, yeah.

471
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:41,760
There's a wealth of very specific genres of music

472
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,360
out there, and some of which I'm not even aware yet.

473
00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:46,240
And I'm still learning.

474
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,880
I mean, I'm teaching a course at Manhattan School of Music

475
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,560
at the pre-college, and one of the levels of the class

476
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,000
is undiscovered piano music.

477
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,920
And I'm pushing these students to find

478
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:00,320
music from different places.

479
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,400
And right now, actually, we're in Latin America.

480
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,960
So what I do is I give each student a country,

481
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,280
and I make them do the research.

482
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:12,640
I make them find piano music that's interesting.

483
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,120
Of course, you don't want to just play anything,

484
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:16,800
but interesting music.

485
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:18,040
And why is it interesting?

486
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:19,760
And what does it say to the country?

487
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,440
Does it, or is it just European sounding?

488
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:27,000
And I'm actually finding their finding composers, rather,

489
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,200
that I've never heard of.

490
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:29,920
So that's even better for me.

491
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,280
Sure, sure.

492
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,120
Then I have this roster of amazing music.

493
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:39,680
So yeah, it's overwhelmingly, and it's incredible, actually,

494
00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:40,480
how much there is.

495
00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:41,760
Yeah, sure.

496
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,520
Well, you're teaching at MSM pre-college,

497
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:49,520
so you're part of this big educational institution now.

498
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:52,400
Are there initiatives to preserve and promote

499
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,400
Latin American piano music?

500
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,520
And obviously, I consider you are the front runner

501
00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:58,640
of the initiatives.

502
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,520
And later, we'll be discussing about this.

503
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,800
But you recently started the foundation,

504
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:06,640
Foundation for Bolivian Artists.

505
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:10,520
So besides you and other artists individually,

506
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:14,480
how are educational institutions, like MSM,

507
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,240
for example, contributing to this effort?

508
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,760
I think it really does come down to the faculty

509
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:24,040
to push students to learn this music.

510
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:25,800
Although, Manhattan School of Music

511
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,360
has done some really good things about Latin American music.

512
00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:31,920
I'm not really so sure yet maybe there

513
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,480
should be a course on Latin American piano music.

514
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:36,040
Because right now, there is a course

515
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,200
by a wonderful Dr. Lisa Yue, which I know

516
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,120
you know from New York and Piano World,

517
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,720
and you've also interviewed her here on this program.

518
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:48,120
She created a course on music by composers from Asia,

519
00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:51,280
a whole semester course, which is, I mean,

520
00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,640
that's just so enriching for the students,

521
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,040
not for something to be glossed over.

522
00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:58,600
For there to be this course, I think

523
00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,560
that's really, really having a step in the right direction.

524
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,840
There should be one about African composers.

525
00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,560
There should be one about Latin American,

526
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:08,160
and all the regions.

527
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:09,840
And I don't think it should replace

528
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,160
the regular piano literature.

529
00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,760
Obviously, all these more mainstream composers

530
00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:16,400
are important.

531
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,160
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been around for 200 years

532
00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:19,920
or more.

533
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,400
But I do think that students need

534
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,840
to have a choice to be given.

535
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,840
Because if there was no choice, I wasn't given a choice,

536
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:31,800
so I had to find it myself.

537
00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:32,520
Right.

538
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:37,960
And actually, I just saw a posting from a university.

539
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,920
I think it was one of the University of Texas.

540
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,640
But there was actually a call for a piano faculty,

541
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:46,560
and that's not piano faculty, a music faculty

542
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:48,600
for the Latin American music department.

543
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:50,880
So they have a Latin American music department.

544
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:55,080
And there are very few, I think Indiana University has one too.

545
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,640
And they were looking for someone who was

546
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,000
an expert in mariachi music.

547
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,280
So that's not like classical music,

548
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,280
but it's a very important aspect of Mexican music.

549
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,920
So of course, that can tie into any Mexican composer, Manuel

550
00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,320
Ponce, who really based much of his compositions

551
00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,040
on popular song.

552
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,760
If you don't know mariachi music or popular song,

553
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,160
you don't understand Manuel Ponce's music.

554
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,280
So little by little, I see little things here.

555
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:31,160
So hopefully, there will be more and more courses and ways

556
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,960
that students can be able to discover this music.

557
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,320
What trends or developments do you

558
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,480
anticipate for the future of Latin American piano music?

559
00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:46,880
I think the more people can find that they can play music that

560
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:48,880
connects to them, then there will

561
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,200
be a resurgence of people playing music

562
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,040
from their own cultures, music from their own backgrounds.

563
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:58,160
If you very, very dearly and intimately connect with Chopin,

564
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,400
by all means, play all the Chopin in the world,

565
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:01,960
in which I love Chopin.

566
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,000
But I feel like an outsider looking in

567
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,040
through a little window on Chopin's world.

568
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,480
That doesn't make it any less amazing to me.

569
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,480
But it's just like a separate, like removed way

570
00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,120
of experiencing the music, right?

571
00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:22,680
So I think the more people can find the music that specifically

572
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:24,680
connects to them, music that they relate to,

573
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:29,200
music that is about them, then I think in Latin America,

574
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,440
that music will be pushed forward.

575
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:34,240
And when people find music that connects them,

576
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,280
the audiences also connect with it.

577
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:37,200
Totally.

578
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:38,600
You can really tell.

579
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:42,160
Yeah, even like students performance, you hear,

580
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:46,400
oh, this is someone that the teacher told this person how

581
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,520
to play this piece versus the student play really

582
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:54,640
from the heart and how she or he is connected to the music.

583
00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:55,600
You really can tell.

584
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,760
Yeah, no, it's incredible when you're sitting at a lesson

585
00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:00,720
and a student plays something, you

586
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,920
know instantly that they like the piece.

587
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:04,880
Yes.

588
00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:05,720
You know?

589
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,000
Yes, I know.

590
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,280
It's immediate.

591
00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:10,400
And then sometimes when I'm teaching,

592
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,520
I make it a specific point to be like,

593
00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,160
this is how everything should feel, just so they don't think

594
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,280
that this is like this grand anomaly or this thing that

595
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,040
happened that is so beyond them.

596
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,200
No, no, no, this is how everything that you play

597
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:22,840
should feel.

598
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,080
So I always try to give them choices.

599
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:31,360
But even for us, there is Bolivian music

600
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,240
that I don't connect to, so I don't play it.

601
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:34,560
Because it's a Bolivian composer,

602
00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:36,880
it doesn't mean I'm connecting to it.

603
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:38,360
Right, right, right, right.

604
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:43,480
So speaking of Bolivia, you were born and spent your really

605
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,840
a few couple of years in your early childhood years

606
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:50,520
in Bolivia until your entire immediate family moved

607
00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:52,440
to the United States, correct?

608
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:52,960
Yes, yes.

609
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,800
So I was born in La Paz, Bolivia, which is the capital.

610
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,000
It is an incredible place.

611
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:04,560
It is one of the most unique cities, I think, in the world.

612
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:11,280
And in the way that one, it sits about 13,000 feet

613
00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:12,240
above sea level.

614
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,160
So it's very, very high.

615
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,280
It's the highest capital in the world.

616
00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:20,000
Already, that makes it interesting,

617
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,520
because we don't even have a fire department,

618
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:26,000
because there's not enough oxygen.

619
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,800
Anyway, so it's really, really high.

620
00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:30,800
It's really, really high.

621
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,240
And yeah, so I was born there.

622
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,440
I spent about five years there.

623
00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:40,640
And then we moved to kind of the New York metropolitan area

624
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:41,640
in North Jersey.

625
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,840
At first, I thought maybe you moved to the United States

626
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,840
when you were in your teenage year, but it was much earlier.

627
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:49,760
It was much earlier.

628
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,680
Yeah, I'm so American in my upbringing.

629
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,800
And as a child, as someone growing up here,

630
00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,840
and we also didn't move to a community

631
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:02,600
where there were a lot of Bolivians.

632
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:04,320
And there are very few.

633
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:09,440
There's one in Alexandria, Virginia area, that area.

634
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:10,480
There are a lot of Bolivians.

635
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,320
And we didn't move to Queens.

636
00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,400
And even in Queens, there are much fewer

637
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,440
than there is in the DC area one.

638
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:20,560
So we didn't move to a Bolivian community.

639
00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:23,440
And the community that I grew up was mostly,

640
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:28,120
it was very Spanish-speaking, Latin American, or mostly,

641
00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,440
I'm going to say, 99% Cuban.

642
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:31,520
And those were my friends.

643
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:33,080
Those were the people growing up.

644
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,880
So I didn't relate to them at all.

645
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,200
By the way, I was an outsider in the outsider world,

646
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:45,040
which is why I think most of my childhood and up to my teen

647
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:48,120
years, I rejected the whole, I'm not from here.

648
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:49,480
I'm American.

649
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,360
It was very inculcated by my parents

650
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:54,440
that, no, you're from Bolivia.

651
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:55,080
You're this.

652
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,040
And it's amazing.

653
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,360
And living in the tiny bubble of our apartment,

654
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:00,600
it may as well be Bolivia.

655
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,200
It may as well be in La Paz.

656
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:02,840
Oh, yeah?

657
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:03,520
Yeah.

658
00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,920
But with some groceries from the US.

659
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:12,640
But no, but the music, the cooking, the dancing,

660
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,000
all the decor, everything, it was like we were there.

661
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,160
But I left the house, and I was like, no, I'm American.

662
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,400
That was kind of my mindset for a really long time.

663
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:24,160
Wow.

664
00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:25,240
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

665
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:27,600
I mean, it's a coping mechanism, I guess.

666
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:28,080
Of course.

667
00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:32,720
And I kind of sort of can relate to that.

668
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:34,800
I'm Korean, but born and raised in Japan.

669
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,160
So plus coming here, I was like a young adult

670
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:39,560
coming to the United States.

671
00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:42,040
But I had to totally immerse myself

672
00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:46,320
to this culture in order for me to blend and being accepted.

673
00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:48,200
Also succeed, right?

674
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,160
Because I mean, keeping all your traditions and everything

675
00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,360
is great, but you have to adapt to what's happening.

676
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:59,600
And so I feel like there has to be a fine balance between making

677
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:01,880
sure that you keep your traditions and your culture

678
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,440
and your integrity as a person from somewhere else,

679
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:08,000
but also make sure that you're able to succeed.

680
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,320
And I think in a way, my family was like, yes, you

681
00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,320
should do all the American things so then you

682
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,240
can succeed.

683
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:16,280
Of course, yes.

684
00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,160
So your early years of piano lessons,

685
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,800
so that started in the United States then.

686
00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:22,920
Oh, yeah, yeah.

687
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:26,600
And I don't know anything about the education there,

688
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,160
like pedagogy and things like this.

689
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:31,440
I'm not super aware of.

690
00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,840
But tell me what's like to be a piano student,

691
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:36,440
early years of piano lessons.

692
00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:40,840
And you just briefly told me about your upbringing at home.

693
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:45,000
So piano lessons and maybe a little bit later on training

694
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,320
at MSM and NYU.

695
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:51,520
So my first piano teacher is, I mean,

696
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:55,560
it was like a craziness to me now that I think about it

697
00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,040
as a piano teacher.

698
00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:00,440
It was this wonderful, very nice Cuban old lady.

699
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:01,600
And she was very sweet.

700
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:04,040
She must have been 80.

701
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:09,040
And so we went to her by the recommendation of a neighbor

702
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:10,240
or something like this.

703
00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:14,760
And so she taught group lessons, but they weren't really

704
00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:15,680
group lessons.

705
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:18,000
They were private lessons, but at the same time.

706
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,960
So there was like three uprights in one room.

707
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:24,000
And she would go to me, and then she

708
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:25,480
would go to the next person.

709
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,520
And then she would be like, OK, now you practice.

710
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:29,760
And she would rotate around the room.

711
00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:31,800
But we were all playing totally different things.

712
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:32,720
And they were uprights.

713
00:34:32,720 --> 00:34:35,680
So it's not like you can be in your own little personal world.

714
00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:38,160
It was kind of chaos.

715
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:42,280
And in the other room, she was teaching ballet.

716
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,120
Anyway, so it was like a whole little art center,

717
00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:46,440
whatever you want to call it.

718
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,360
But I kind of outgrew that quite quickly.

719
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:55,240
Then I went through various teachers until high school

720
00:34:55,240 --> 00:34:59,680
or so where I kind of settled on a teacher nearby.

721
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:01,720
And he was great for me.

722
00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:06,440
He gave me a lot of inspiration and kind of set me up

723
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,200
to prepare me for college auditions, et cetera.

724
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:14,560
And then you entered MSM as an undergrad?

725
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:16,840
No, undergrad, I went to NYU.

726
00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:21,760
NYU was actually a really interesting and wonderful place

727
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:22,720
back then.

728
00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:25,400
I mean, I don't know it too much now.

729
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:28,160
I know the department has grown huge.

730
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,840
And they're doing innovative things and wonderful things.

731
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,280
But when I was there, it was very small.

732
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,400
And everybody knew each other.

733
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,960
I was only one out of three piano majors.

734
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:43,920
I was the only one to graduate because maybe the other people

735
00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:45,000
went to different things.

736
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:48,240
Or anyway, so it was a very small program.

737
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:50,840
And it was very kind of everybody knew you.

738
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:52,280
And that was very special.

739
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:54,640
And I really liked that you could take classes here

740
00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:59,600
and over there and kind of get a well-rounded.

741
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:04,240
But you could be curious about other things.

742
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:06,320
And I think that was a really good.

743
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:09,080
I'm sure it's still that way in a certain sense.

744
00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:10,960
But it's grown so much that I think

745
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:14,040
it may be very piano music-centric now.

746
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:14,960
So no, it was great.

747
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:15,640
So I did that.

748
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:20,160
And that's when I met Dierdre O'Donoghue.

749
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:21,440
And she was wonderful.

750
00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:25,440
And she encouraged me to audition for Manhattan School.

751
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:28,280
So actually, it was the only audition I did.

752
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:29,680
And then you got in.

753
00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:30,200
Well, yeah.

754
00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:34,480
But I wasn't going to audition for my master's.

755
00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:38,920
I thought maybe I need a year to practice or something.

756
00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:40,080
Anyway, I took the audition.

757
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:41,600
And they accepted me.

758
00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:43,960
So that's where I met Philip K. Wynn.

759
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,880
And I worked with him for two years at the school

760
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:48,880
and also a number of years afterwards.

761
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:52,200
And that was a very different kind of experience.

762
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,000
But also, I think I was ready for it and kind of

763
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,120
gained to work really hard.

764
00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:01,480
But when I met you, was it when you were at NYU

765
00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:02,520
so you were undergrad?

766
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:03,880
I must have been undergrad, yeah.

767
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:05,920
I must have been like a junior or a senior.

768
00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:06,800
OK, OK.

769
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:08,240
Yeah, that's school.

770
00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:12,600
And then you later realized that school isn't real life.

771
00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:16,080
Yes, the real life is.

772
00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:19,720
So what was it like after you graduated

773
00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:22,720
from this all glorious NYU and MSM?

774
00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:26,440
And then was it all red carpet ready for you?

775
00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:27,080
Oh, yeah.

776
00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:28,120
Oh, yeah, yeah.

777
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:29,760
Next day, I had my Carnegie Hall.

778
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:31,360
No.

779
00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:35,040
But I was a person who, like, I'm an immigrant.

780
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,800
And we didn't have any money really growing up.

781
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:43,000
And so to put my way through school, I worked.

782
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,960
And at NYU, I worked at the music office.

783
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:51,480
And by the time I was at MSM, I was teaching piano lessons

784
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:53,000
at certain little studios.

785
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:54,760
But also, I had some private students.

786
00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:58,040
So it was very different from maybe a lot of my colleagues

787
00:37:58,040 --> 00:38:02,640
who just could practice all day.

788
00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:04,600
So in a way, I graduated.

789
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:08,640
And I already had jobs because I had been working for a number

790
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:10,240
of years already.

791
00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:15,280
So I find that kind of lucky, but also, the hustle mentality

792
00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:16,080
was real.

793
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:19,280
You had to say yes to every job.

794
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,360
I'm glad that I did it because I felt like I got so

795
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,520
many random experiences.

796
00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:28,080
And you're just always better for it.

797
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,640
And afterwards, not only obviously,

798
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:36,160
you already had the sort of like a street smart kind of skills

799
00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:39,880
you already had, but also you had amazing concert

800
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:44,720
experiences, Carnegie Hall solo concert, and many others.

801
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:51,680
But what led you to be in touch with your heritage?

802
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:55,880
I had never played Bolivian music.

803
00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:58,880
And in a way, as I said, it's about access.

804
00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:00,160
It's about information.

805
00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:02,200
It's about curiosity.

806
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:04,200
No one told me to be curious.

807
00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,160
No one told me you should.

808
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,200
I mean, not even my parents because my parents

809
00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:09,960
didn't know about piano.

810
00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,480
I taught them about classical music in a way.

811
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:14,800
It was kind of that.

812
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:18,040
They learned as I, when I played a Beethoven sonata,

813
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:19,640
they're like, oh, now that's Beethoven.

814
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:22,880
And it was actually incredible to see their growth.

815
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:26,800
By the time I was like, I don't know, let's say 24, 25,

816
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:28,000
we would be in the car.

817
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:29,360
And they're like, oh, the Vivaldi.

818
00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:30,360
I love this Vivaldi.

819
00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:32,040
And to me, that's incredible.

820
00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:37,600
Anyway, so no, I think it was at MSM, actually, Mr.

821
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:39,800
Kewin said, is there any Bolivian music

822
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:40,880
that you could play?

823
00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:44,640
And I thought, well, I don't know.

824
00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:48,560
So the next time I did go to play a concert there,

825
00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:52,720
I found, well, I went to the conservatory, La Paz,

826
00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:53,880
and I went to the library.

827
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:56,280
And I was like, give me all your music.

828
00:39:56,280 --> 00:40:00,320
So I found specific composers.

829
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:01,560
I found specific.

830
00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:02,920
Wait a minute, I got a lot of music.

831
00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:04,920
And I didn't touch it for a long time.

832
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:06,480
And I was like, oh, maybe this is good.

833
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:09,720
But I did play a couple of pieces that are actually

834
00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:12,120
on my recording by Eduardo Cava, which

835
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:15,520
is one of the foremost nationalist composers.

836
00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:17,760
To me, they sounded like the most Bolivian.

837
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:19,120
They were a nationalist.

838
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:20,760
And so I did play that.

839
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:27,200
And that was 2007 when I did this kind of Carnegie Hall

840
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:28,880
concert, a solo recital there.

841
00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:31,800
So I did include, actually, from then,

842
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:34,480
music by Bolivian composers, which I'm actually

843
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:35,800
very grateful that I did that.

844
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:40,440
Because there's a timeline, a stamp of when I started that.

845
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:43,600
And then, to be honest, for the next couple of years,

846
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:46,280
I wasn't really playing all that much music from there.

847
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:48,360
But little by little, I started thinking,

848
00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:50,520
maybe I should do something different.

849
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:54,400
And in a way, I just started connecting more to the music.

850
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:59,360
When I was in NYU and when I was in even high school,

851
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:03,200
I really connected with music that

852
00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:06,160
had rhythm, very specific rhythms.

853
00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,600
My piano teacher from high school,

854
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:10,120
his name was Philip Deco.

855
00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:11,960
He was actually amazing in the way

856
00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:16,640
that he tried to find pieces that were of interest to me.

857
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,560
So he gave me pieces from Latin America.

858
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,240
So he gave me Le Cuona from Cuba.

859
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:25,920
He gave me Ginastera pieces.

860
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:29,920
And I actually did really, really connect with them.

861
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:31,200
But I'm like, oh, this is nice.

862
00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:33,600
I must like rhythmic music.

863
00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:35,720
So then I started playing some Bartok.

864
00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:37,080
And I was like, oh, this is great.

865
00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:39,560
Oh, I love Bartok.

866
00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:40,360
Oh, it's Bartok.

867
00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:42,200
I must love folk music.

868
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,160
And then finally, when I started playing more Bolivian music

869
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:48,760
and when I heard it, I'm like, oh, the reason

870
00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,000
I connect with the other composers

871
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:55,000
is because they're closer to what I know.

872
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:56,880
There's a folk music aspect.

873
00:41:56,880 --> 00:42:00,040
There's the rhythmic aspect of some kinds of pieces.

874
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:02,680
There's like pentatonic scales.

875
00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:05,840
It's like an imitation of different kinds of folk

876
00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,400
instruments in Bartok and Ginastera, all this stuff,

877
00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:09,240
the guitar.

878
00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:11,440
And so there was a moment where I was like, oh,

879
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:15,320
it's because this is the music that I know from growing up.

880
00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:20,440
So then, yeah, I mean, I've just been more and more delving

881
00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:21,320
into it.

882
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:22,240
Sure.

883
00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:24,960
And just going back a little bit,

884
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:28,960
when you mentioned about the capital of Bolivia, La Paz,

885
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:32,320
and how the altitude was so high in many ways,

886
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:36,880
so that's kind of like isolating from many other towns

887
00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:37,800
and cities, right?

888
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,040
Because it's hard to get to and hard to get out of the town

889
00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:42,440
because it's right.

890
00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,800
And then plus, that element itself, like,

891
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:48,320
preserve the culture?

892
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:49,480
Oh, absolutely.

893
00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:52,960
I mean, yeah, that's a very interesting point.

894
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:58,560
I mean, because the city is like it's a Bol-like kind of place.

895
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:01,920
It's like in the part of like an Amazon basin.

896
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:06,480
Then it's surrounded by all these huge, tall mountains

897
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:08,240
in the high plains.

898
00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:11,920
Yeah, and there's always one particular mountain

899
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,520
that we call, it's like a three peak mountain.

900
00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:15,840
It's called the Ilimani.

901
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:20,680
And it's like a national symbol of, well, particularly La Paz,

902
00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:22,400
but Bolivia in general.

903
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:25,760
And actually, the logo to my foundation

904
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:28,560
that we'll talk about later is based on that mountain.

905
00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:29,720
That's what I thought.

906
00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:31,600
I just, yeah, it came to my mind.

907
00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:32,880
Wow, that's clever.

908
00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:34,200
That's really good.

909
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:37,600
I had a very good graphic designer work on it.

910
00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:39,120
We're going to talk more about that.

911
00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,800
But yeah, so I'd love for you to take us

912
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:43,440
on a trip to Bolivia right now.

913
00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:46,520
What are some distinctive cultural traditions

914
00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:49,880
and celebrations in Bolivia that particularly resonate with you

915
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,840
and that find fascinating?

916
00:43:52,840 --> 00:43:56,760
In general, so much of the culture, as I said before,

917
00:43:56,760 --> 00:43:58,480
has to do with indigenous life.

918
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:01,320
So a lot of the indigenous traditions,

919
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:03,120
I think, are really interesting.

920
00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:07,280
Even there's a kind of reverence for nature.

921
00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,240
That nature and the earth and the sky

922
00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:11,160
are really important.

923
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:14,600
Of course, that comes from indigenous gods,

924
00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,120
that they have the inti and the gods.

925
00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:20,240
And they call the earth, they call it Pachamama,

926
00:44:20,240 --> 00:44:21,560
which is like mother earth.

927
00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:25,200
And you give to mother earth so that it gives back to you.

928
00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:28,680
So those kinds of things to me are really beautiful.

929
00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:34,760
In terms of cultural things, I think Bolivia is special in the way

930
00:44:34,760 --> 00:44:38,680
that we have so many of these dance troops that

931
00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:40,080
dance in parades.

932
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:42,920
Actually, here in New York City, there's a ton of that going on

933
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:43,760
right now.

934
00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:47,760
So all these dances have beautifully elaborate costumes.

935
00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:49,480
The music, of course, for each dance

936
00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:52,720
group is a very specific dance, you have all these,

937
00:44:52,720 --> 00:44:54,000
there's a morenada.

938
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:57,440
I mean, I can go into so many of these kinds of dances.

939
00:44:57,440 --> 00:45:01,400
And actually, the piano music does reflect some of that.

940
00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:03,280
Yeah, so those kinds of traditions.

941
00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:07,120
And of course, every culture is centered around food.

942
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:12,280
So of course, the food always brings me back.

943
00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:13,360
Besides that.

944
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:15,720
Tell me more about food, sorry.

945
00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:19,400
OK, well, actually, you can try some Bolivian food

946
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:21,320
at Bolivian Lama Party in Queens.

947
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:22,520
Shout out to them.

948
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:24,280
Let's make a date to go to Queens.

949
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:25,280
We can have some.

950
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:30,440
Yeah, so the main staple there is a salteña.

951
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:34,280
If you think about a mix between an empanada and a soup

952
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:35,160
dumpling.

953
00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:39,680
So it's like an empanada shape with a very delicious kind

954
00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:40,880
of thick dough.

955
00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:44,760
And inside is like a stew.

956
00:45:44,760 --> 00:45:50,240
So it's perfect for the kind of climate of the high,

957
00:45:50,240 --> 00:45:51,840
all the mountain region.

958
00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:55,400
And typically, you have it at like 10 AM.

959
00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:58,840
It's like your before lunch snack.

960
00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:01,360
And so that's really amazing.

961
00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:03,080
And they have actually a very good menu

962
00:46:03,080 --> 00:46:04,360
at Bolivian Lama Party.

963
00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:07,360
So the salteña is really wonderful.

964
00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:10,080
And also, one of my favorites, which

965
00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:12,560
I'm going to make, I think, very soon because of this cold

966
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,760
weather, is the peanut soup, which is quite unique.

967
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:19,240
So it's not a, if you think about peanuts

968
00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:22,600
in other cuisines, maybe you think about like Thai

969
00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:24,240
or like peanut sauce, things like that.

970
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:25,000
And that's sweet.

971
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:28,080
But this is a very savory, like creamy soup

972
00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:30,520
that you can put meat in or not.

973
00:46:30,520 --> 00:46:32,360
And that's one of my favorites.

974
00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:33,560
So those kinds of two things.

975
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:35,800
But you know, it's a mountain country.

976
00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:39,320
And we actually have like 300 different kinds

977
00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:41,800
of potatoes, all these different kinds of potatoes.

978
00:46:41,800 --> 00:46:46,200
So it's a potato country, of course, very like mountain,

979
00:46:46,200 --> 00:46:48,400
rice and meat and potatoes.

980
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:53,400
And so very hearty for climbing the altitude.

981
00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:54,480
Sure, sure.

982
00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:56,640
Wow.

983
00:46:56,640 --> 00:46:58,240
Makes me really hungry right now.

984
00:46:58,240 --> 00:47:01,200
I'm hungry too, yeah.

985
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:05,360
Now, so that's one way of being expression.

986
00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:09,680
So other culture expression would be like, for example,

987
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:13,520
visual arts, dances, yeah.

988
00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:15,240
Are you familiar with?

989
00:47:15,240 --> 00:47:18,160
I know you have another Instagram account

990
00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:23,160
besides your main account about this Andean culture.

991
00:47:24,720 --> 00:47:26,240
Right, well, mostly there,

992
00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:28,280
I like to promote music from Bolivia

993
00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:30,040
because like all the sounds are from the Andes.

994
00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:33,440
So it's mostly there.

995
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:36,280
If you wanna check it out, it's called Andean sounds.

996
00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:39,240
And it's really just me promoting the music

997
00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:41,000
of Bolivian composers.

998
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:42,960
Of course, visual art, I mean, there's like,

999
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:47,920
all these visual artists are always inspired by the land,

1000
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:49,080
really the culture.

1001
00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:51,920
There's a specific one, he's in Aymara.

1002
00:47:51,920 --> 00:47:56,240
There are like two main indigenous groups,

1003
00:47:56,240 --> 00:47:59,680
which are the Quechua people and there's Aymara.

1004
00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:03,320
Of course, there are like actually like 34 other

1005
00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:05,520
indigenous languages that are official languages

1006
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:08,920
in the country, but those are the two most popular ones.

1007
00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:10,960
Yeah, some of them are just like very small.

1008
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:15,960
So, but to kind of preserve the indigeneity of it,

1009
00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:18,560
that they make them official languages,

1010
00:48:18,560 --> 00:48:20,880
which I think is actually really beautiful too

1011
00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:22,240
for preservation.

1012
00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:27,240
But anyway, this Aymara artist, his name is Mamani Mamani.

1013
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:31,480
And his work is very significant and he uses a lot of like

1014
00:48:31,480 --> 00:48:35,040
Aymara indigenous traditions and symbols.

1015
00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:38,640
And his work has really been kind of exhibited

1016
00:48:38,640 --> 00:48:40,800
all over the place at this point, all over the world.

1017
00:48:40,800 --> 00:48:44,480
So he's basically, I would say that the most important

1018
00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:46,400
visual artist.

1019
00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:48,280
Of course, there's a lot of like textiles

1020
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:51,240
and all these kinds of like very kind of trade

1021
00:48:51,240 --> 00:48:53,960
artisanal traditions too.

1022
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:58,600
My impression is that Bolivian art or even fashion

1023
00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:01,760
so colorful, just like the flag of Bolivia, right?

1024
00:49:02,720 --> 00:49:05,680
There is likely original flag.

1025
00:49:05,680 --> 00:49:07,440
I can't say original.

1026
00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:09,760
It's the like the flag, if you look on Wikipedia,

1027
00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:10,720
that's the flag.

1028
00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:13,880
It's red, yellow and green, which is like,

1029
00:49:13,880 --> 00:49:16,680
in a way the colonial kind of flag, very bright colors.

1030
00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:18,320
But there's also the Wipala.

1031
00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:21,480
And the Wipala is the indigenous flag.

1032
00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:23,880
And that's actually more colorful.

1033
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:27,120
And it's like little boxes, it's hard maybe,

1034
00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:28,560
I don't know, it's hard for me to explain it,

1035
00:49:28,560 --> 00:49:31,400
but it's a lot of little boxes, all different colors,

1036
00:49:31,400 --> 00:49:34,120
and they represent different like forms.

1037
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:36,320
I'm not really actually too knowledgeable

1038
00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:38,480
about what each color and things represent,

1039
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:40,920
but it's a square flag and it represents

1040
00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:42,360
the indigenous people.

1041
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:45,120
So, you know, we talked about food and art.

1042
00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:47,680
Let's talk about piano music of Bolivia, finally.

1043
00:49:47,680 --> 00:49:51,720
So what distinguishable characteristics or themes

1044
00:49:51,720 --> 00:49:53,800
can be found in Bolivian piano music

1045
00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:57,280
compared to other Latin American countries?

1046
00:49:57,280 --> 00:50:00,600
You know, when I was talking about my recital debut

1047
00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:03,520
a long time ago, where I wanted to play music

1048
00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:05,880
that was like Bolivian sounding,

1049
00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:08,880
I chose these pieces by Eduardo Cava,

1050
00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:12,520
the nationalist composer, which was Aires Indios.

1051
00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:17,000
And so those particular pieces have a number of elements.

1052
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:18,720
You have different kinds of scales,

1053
00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:20,160
different kinds of harmony.

1054
00:50:20,160 --> 00:50:23,600
You have like pentatonic scales.

1055
00:50:23,600 --> 00:50:26,280
You have some modal scales.

1056
00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:30,800
There's definitely a sense of imitation of instruments.

1057
00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:35,800
So the piano, as we know, is the greatest orchestra.

1058
00:50:36,240 --> 00:50:38,440
And so it's a almost every instrument.

1059
00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:42,520
So it imitates the pan flutes, which you may know of.

1060
00:50:42,520 --> 00:50:45,240
It imitates like the small guitars.

1061
00:50:45,240 --> 00:50:48,680
We call this like a 12 string guitar called the charango.

1062
00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:50,720
Yeah, there's in terms of like melody,

1063
00:50:50,720 --> 00:50:53,000
there's like ideas of like rhetoric.

1064
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:57,160
So there's a lot of like speech, like melodic aspects.

1065
00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:01,560
And then even the way composers play with register

1066
00:51:01,560 --> 00:51:05,680
can be important because that could represent

1067
00:51:05,680 --> 00:51:08,200
perhaps the earth and then the high register

1068
00:51:08,200 --> 00:51:09,640
can represent the sky.

1069
00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:12,920
So there's a lot more kind of in a way references

1070
00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:15,600
besides just the actual notes, right?

1071
00:51:15,600 --> 00:51:17,520
So yeah, those are the kind of ideas.

1072
00:51:17,520 --> 00:51:20,880
There's ostinato, you know, many of the aspects

1073
00:51:20,880 --> 00:51:23,080
that are present in folk music in general

1074
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:25,200
are present in this kind of music.

1075
00:51:25,200 --> 00:51:27,960
Yeah, even like, you know, when composers use

1076
00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:31,920
like grace notes in rhythms, in melodies,

1077
00:51:31,920 --> 00:51:34,960
that sometimes signifies like a micro tone

1078
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:37,840
because, you know, we can't play between the notes

1079
00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:39,280
so we do a grace note.

1080
00:51:39,280 --> 00:51:41,400
Almost like blues does that too, right?

1081
00:51:41,400 --> 00:51:42,680
Makes sense, yes.

1082
00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:45,160
So, and of course, like all the dances,

1083
00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,480
all the specific dances that are referenced

1084
00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:49,880
are more specific to Bolivian music

1085
00:51:49,880 --> 00:51:53,600
than let's say it's something else from Latin America, right?

1086
00:51:53,600 --> 00:51:55,160
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

1087
00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:58,520
I mean, if you want, I can demonstrate a couple of things.

1088
00:51:58,520 --> 00:52:00,360
I would love to hear it.

1089
00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:03,600
These pieces, Aires Indios,

1090
00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:07,320
the translation is actually Indian airs, right?

1091
00:52:07,320 --> 00:52:08,480
Aires Indios.

1092
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:11,720
So already knowing what we know about the landscape

1093
00:52:11,720 --> 00:52:14,920
of the particular region of the Altiplano,

1094
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:17,320
which is the high plains, the mountain region,

1095
00:52:17,320 --> 00:52:20,040
you already know that there's no air.

1096
00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:21,960
So it's about air, right?

1097
00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:25,200
So we think about the natural quality of air

1098
00:52:25,200 --> 00:52:27,400
and Indios meaning like Indian,

1099
00:52:27,400 --> 00:52:30,360
but also that just means indigenous really,

1100
00:52:30,360 --> 00:52:32,840
like the, you know, indigenous person,

1101
00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:33,680
like the natural air.

1102
00:52:33,680 --> 00:52:37,920
But also, of course, we know that the reference to an aria,

1103
00:52:37,920 --> 00:52:40,000
which is like a vocal piece.

1104
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,360
So in a way, to me,

1105
00:52:42,360 --> 00:52:44,560
I don't know if it's what the composer necessarily intended,

1106
00:52:44,560 --> 00:52:49,080
but to me, they have the aspect of the natural element of air

1107
00:52:49,080 --> 00:52:52,680
plus the vocal quality.

1108
00:52:52,680 --> 00:52:56,760
So this first excerpt is from one of those Aires Indios,

1109
00:52:56,760 --> 00:52:59,240
and you'll hear a lot of like quintal harmony,

1110
00:52:59,240 --> 00:53:03,160
lots of open fifths, lots of beautiful melodies.

1111
00:53:03,160 --> 00:53:05,560
Also, there's changing meters

1112
00:53:05,560 --> 00:53:07,600
because that's irregular meters

1113
00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:09,720
are a part of folk music, right?

1114
00:53:09,720 --> 00:53:19,720
["Aires Indios"]

1115
00:53:39,720 --> 00:53:49,720
["Aires Indios"]

1116
00:53:49,720 --> 00:53:59,720
["Aires Indios"]

1117
00:53:59,720 --> 00:54:02,920
["Aires Indios"]

1118
00:54:02,920 --> 00:54:03,760
So that's-

1119
00:54:03,760 --> 00:54:04,600
Nice.

1120
00:54:04,600 --> 00:54:05,600
I think.

1121
00:54:05,600 --> 00:54:06,680
It's so beautiful.

1122
00:54:06,680 --> 00:54:10,840
And you hear like kind of a, there's a serenity,

1123
00:54:10,840 --> 00:54:13,600
there's like a wandering aspect perhaps.

1124
00:54:13,600 --> 00:54:16,600
There's a sense of repose.

1125
00:54:16,600 --> 00:54:18,200
This one's a little different.

1126
00:54:18,200 --> 00:54:22,240
I think this in the next excerpt is like the ground,

1127
00:54:22,240 --> 00:54:25,520
the earth, the pachamama, and the sky.

1128
00:54:25,520 --> 00:54:37,520
["Aires Indios"]

1129
00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:47,520
["Aires Indios"]

1130
00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:57,520
["Aires Indios"]

1131
00:54:57,520 --> 00:55:07,520
["Aires Indios"]

1132
00:55:07,520 --> 00:55:10,800
["Aires Indios"]

1133
00:55:10,800 --> 00:55:14,800
So you get kind of the hollowness in the unison.

1134
00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:16,960
["Aires Indios"]

1135
00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:20,240
It's kind of hollow, empty, austere,

1136
00:55:20,240 --> 00:55:22,800
and then you get a complete opposite.

1137
00:55:22,800 --> 00:55:25,760
So much harmony and beautiful color

1138
00:55:25,760 --> 00:55:28,040
["Aires Indios"]

1139
00:55:28,040 --> 00:55:30,120
when we have the contrast there.

1140
00:55:30,120 --> 00:55:31,480
One last one.

1141
00:55:31,480 --> 00:55:34,260
Here we're imitating instruments.

1142
00:55:34,260 --> 00:55:36,600
To me, this is imitating a sampoña,

1143
00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:38,400
which is like a pan flute,

1144
00:55:38,400 --> 00:55:40,520
like those pan flutes that you see.

1145
00:55:40,520 --> 00:55:50,520
["Aires Indios"]

1146
00:55:50,520 --> 00:56:00,520
["Aires Indios"]

1147
00:56:00,520 --> 00:56:10,520
["Aires Indios"]

1148
00:56:10,520 --> 00:56:19,520
["Aires Indios"]

1149
00:56:19,520 --> 00:56:24,200
So those open fourths like a sampoña.

1150
00:56:24,200 --> 00:56:26,520
And actually, it's more true today

1151
00:56:26,520 --> 00:56:28,000
because my piano's out of tune,

1152
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:34,520
so these instruments are very rarely exactly in tune, right?

1153
00:56:34,520 --> 00:56:36,760
It's more, actually a lot of composers,

1154
00:56:36,760 --> 00:56:38,920
actually more modern composers

1155
00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:40,720
would probably give it a dissonance.

1156
00:56:40,720 --> 00:56:43,480
["Dissonance"]

1157
00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:44,680
Or something like this,

1158
00:56:44,680 --> 00:56:47,480
just to actually highlight the fact

1159
00:56:47,480 --> 00:56:50,920
that these instruments are very rarely in tune.

1160
00:56:50,920 --> 00:56:53,080
I mean, they also use different scales.

1161
00:56:53,080 --> 00:56:57,320
So that's just like a little bit of a sample

1162
00:56:57,320 --> 00:56:59,880
of what kind of sounds I'm talking about

1163
00:56:59,880 --> 00:57:02,320
when we talk about Bolivian music, you know?

1164
00:57:02,320 --> 00:57:04,160
Wow, gorgeous.

1165
00:57:04,160 --> 00:57:05,400
What a gem.

1166
00:57:05,400 --> 00:57:08,080
Oh, just to even get to know.

1167
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:09,280
Oh, so beautiful.

1168
00:57:09,280 --> 00:57:13,000
Now, and then that's the Iris Indios you mentioned.

1169
00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:16,400
And did you play that in your album, right?

1170
00:57:16,400 --> 00:57:20,600
I did record these almost like eight years ago.

1171
00:57:20,600 --> 00:57:23,240
I put out this recording actually.

1172
00:57:23,240 --> 00:57:25,840
So there are, it's a set of pieces,

1173
00:57:25,840 --> 00:57:29,840
10 Iris Indios, but I only recorded six,

1174
00:57:29,840 --> 00:57:33,800
because at the time, the other four hadn't been found.

1175
00:57:33,800 --> 00:57:36,640
So the recording has the six Iris Indios,

1176
00:57:36,640 --> 00:57:38,840
like the original Iris Indios,

1177
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:42,240
but I think 2019 or 2018,

1178
00:57:42,240 --> 00:57:45,880
one of the kind of the foremost pianists in Bolivia

1179
00:57:45,880 --> 00:57:48,640
and researcher and expert on Eduardo Cava

1180
00:57:48,640 --> 00:57:52,560
found the other four and has since published them.

1181
00:57:52,560 --> 00:57:55,200
So I do play some of the other ones,

1182
00:57:55,200 --> 00:57:56,800
but they're just not in my album.

1183
00:57:56,800 --> 00:58:00,200
["Iris Indios, Bolivia"]

1184
00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:15,480
And on the CD is also eight motives of folklore

1185
00:58:15,760 --> 00:58:17,440
from Bolivia, right, right?

1186
00:58:17,440 --> 00:58:20,360
Also by Eduardo Cava, and those pieces are very interesting

1187
00:58:20,360 --> 00:58:23,680
because they are actually inspired

1188
00:58:23,680 --> 00:58:25,320
by the valleys of Bolivia,

1189
00:58:25,320 --> 00:58:27,480
totally different from the plains

1190
00:58:27,480 --> 00:58:29,720
or from the altiplano, from the highlands, right?

1191
00:58:29,720 --> 00:58:32,640
So they're like more easygoing,

1192
00:58:32,640 --> 00:58:35,240
there's like a sunniness to them.

1193
00:58:35,240 --> 00:58:38,720
So it's interesting how the topography,

1194
00:58:38,720 --> 00:58:42,920
how that climate even will elicit something different

1195
00:58:42,920 --> 00:58:44,000
from a composer.

1196
00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:48,200
Really, I enjoyed listening to your pieces,

1197
00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:50,720
the pieces that you played in the album,

1198
00:58:50,720 --> 00:58:52,480
and I loved all of them.

1199
00:58:52,480 --> 00:58:56,600
It was just took me to a quick trip to Bolivia.

1200
00:58:56,600 --> 00:58:58,200
Exactly, yeah, and in a way,

1201
00:58:58,200 --> 00:59:01,000
that was my intention with the album originally

1202
00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:04,000
because people don't know this music

1203
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:07,200
and I wanted exactly, that's a nice way to put it,

1204
00:59:07,200 --> 00:59:10,360
I wanted to send them on a quick trip to Bolivia.

1205
00:59:10,360 --> 00:59:11,720
What kinds of sounds are there,

1206
00:59:11,720 --> 00:59:13,840
from where are they inspired?

1207
00:59:13,840 --> 00:59:16,040
What will you experience?

1208
00:59:16,040 --> 00:59:18,560
What kinds of sounds can you experience from there?

1209
00:59:18,560 --> 00:59:19,800
That was the intention,

1210
00:59:19,800 --> 00:59:21,680
so I'm glad that kind of came through.

1211
00:59:21,680 --> 00:59:24,720
But also, since then, I've started,

1212
00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:26,560
I play a lot more of like kind of current

1213
00:59:26,560 --> 00:59:28,120
and modern music from Bolivia,

1214
00:59:28,120 --> 00:59:32,920
which is in a way always inspired by the culture,

1215
00:59:32,920 --> 00:59:35,360
but maybe not in an overt way.

1216
00:59:35,360 --> 00:59:39,920
If I want to play this piece, where can I find the score?

1217
00:59:39,920 --> 00:59:42,480
Yeah, okay, that's the trouble, right?

1218
00:59:42,480 --> 00:59:43,320
Yes.

1219
00:59:43,320 --> 00:59:44,160
So you contact me.

1220
00:59:44,160 --> 00:59:45,000
Okay, okay.

1221
00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:49,320
No, no, no, there are a number of ways to find this music,

1222
00:59:49,320 --> 00:59:54,320
but it really is like a community of the people who are like,

1223
00:59:55,560 --> 00:59:59,000
I know the woman who sells the Aides Indios

1224
00:59:59,000 --> 01:00:00,760
and the volumes of these,

1225
01:00:00,760 --> 01:00:04,240
so anytime somebody wants to play those,

1226
01:00:04,240 --> 01:00:07,840
any piece by Eduardo Cava in general, I send it to her.

1227
01:00:07,840 --> 01:00:11,920
She has a WhatsApp and she'll send you a digital copy

1228
01:00:11,920 --> 01:00:12,960
with a small fee.

1229
01:00:14,280 --> 01:00:16,400
And so that we're maintaining copyright

1230
01:00:16,400 --> 01:00:18,200
and I do find that that's important

1231
01:00:18,200 --> 01:00:20,160
because that is her research.

1232
01:00:20,160 --> 01:00:22,040
Other than that, if it's in public domain,

1233
01:00:22,040 --> 01:00:24,880
I'm happy to share the music,

1234
01:00:24,880 --> 01:00:27,560
or maybe a lot of, obviously,

1235
01:00:27,560 --> 01:00:29,440
a lot of living composers are very generous,

1236
01:00:29,440 --> 01:00:30,800
they'll just send you the music.

1237
01:00:30,800 --> 01:00:34,360
So tell me just a little bit about Eduardo Cava

1238
01:00:34,360 --> 01:00:39,360
and then also you performed pieces by Thymian Ronca

1239
01:00:39,560 --> 01:00:41,920
and then Marvin Sandi.

1240
01:00:41,920 --> 01:00:43,040
Yeah, that's right.

1241
01:00:43,040 --> 01:00:46,240
So Eduardo Cava is the first or in a way

1242
01:00:46,240 --> 01:00:48,840
the most important nationalist composer.

1243
01:00:48,840 --> 01:00:53,840
He's an early 20th century, late 19th century composer.

1244
01:00:55,920 --> 01:00:58,360
He studied in a number of places in Argentina,

1245
01:00:58,360 --> 01:01:00,440
but also Spain, he went to Spain.

1246
01:01:00,440 --> 01:01:01,440
I mean, that's what I'm saying,

1247
01:01:01,440 --> 01:01:04,480
is like all these people went abroad to study

1248
01:01:04,480 --> 01:01:07,520
and they brought back with them salon music.

1249
01:01:07,520 --> 01:01:09,120
So that's why, you know, a lot of,

1250
01:01:09,120 --> 01:01:13,640
actually this woman who does the Eduardo Cava editions

1251
01:01:13,640 --> 01:01:17,600
also has a whole volume of salon music by Bolivian composers.

1252
01:01:17,600 --> 01:01:20,360
So all of those pieces will be waltzes,

1253
01:01:20,360 --> 01:01:23,240
mazurkas, polkas.

1254
01:01:23,240 --> 01:01:25,040
I mean, nothing to do with Bolivia.

1255
01:01:26,440 --> 01:01:30,560
They went to the places, mostly Paris, came back,

1256
01:01:30,560 --> 01:01:32,400
started writing in that style.

1257
01:01:32,400 --> 01:01:34,880
But Eduardo Cava did study in Spain.

1258
01:01:34,880 --> 01:01:37,960
He studied actually, he was a student of Joaquin Turina,

1259
01:01:37,960 --> 01:01:40,640
who is pretty well known Spanish composer.

1260
01:01:40,640 --> 01:01:45,640
He in a way was the first nationalist composer.

1261
01:01:45,680 --> 01:01:48,520
So he, in kind of an intuitive way,

1262
01:01:48,520 --> 01:01:53,520
he wasn't intending to mimic sounds, you know,

1263
01:01:53,520 --> 01:01:56,920
or be like, this is this dance, this is this dance.

1264
01:01:56,920 --> 01:02:00,000
But he would, as you heard, those were all pieces by him.

1265
01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:03,320
They are inspired by so much of the culture,

1266
01:02:03,320 --> 01:02:06,800
the instruments, the folk music, the landscape,

1267
01:02:06,800 --> 01:02:11,640
the indigeneity of the Pachamama perhaps.

1268
01:02:11,640 --> 01:02:14,360
That, and he does have a lot of other pieces.

1269
01:02:14,360 --> 01:02:16,520
And he does have some salon music as well.

1270
01:02:16,520 --> 01:02:20,320
And then the other composer, Simeon Roncar,

1271
01:02:20,320 --> 01:02:21,680
around the same era.

1272
01:02:22,560 --> 01:02:25,560
You know, I love that piece, Rosa.

1273
01:02:25,560 --> 01:02:27,000
Oh yeah.

1274
01:02:27,000 --> 01:02:29,840
Adorable, so beautiful.

1275
01:02:29,840 --> 01:02:33,200
Those pieces are cuecas,

1276
01:02:33,200 --> 01:02:36,680
and a cueca is a very specific dance.

1277
01:02:36,680 --> 01:02:39,000
That is from Bolivia, but I mean,

1278
01:02:39,000 --> 01:02:41,960
also they danced in Peru, they danced in Chile.

1279
01:02:41,960 --> 01:02:46,960
It actually is kind of a blend of a Spanish dance

1280
01:02:47,840 --> 01:02:51,120
that kind of came from the, called the Sama Cueca.

1281
01:02:51,120 --> 01:02:53,600
Well, originated like mostly in Peru,

1282
01:02:53,600 --> 01:02:58,600
but it is a kind of an evolution of the Fandango.

1283
01:02:58,840 --> 01:03:01,880
And so, but because of the indigenous people,

1284
01:03:01,880 --> 01:03:04,120
there was like some elements that got mixed in.

1285
01:03:04,120 --> 01:03:06,320
So eventually it became a cueca.

1286
01:03:06,320 --> 01:03:08,080
And so this is a very good example

1287
01:03:08,080 --> 01:03:10,160
of when you have a six, eight piece

1288
01:03:10,160 --> 01:03:13,280
that goes between three and two all of the time.

1289
01:03:13,280 --> 01:03:15,840
And it's actually a courting dance.

1290
01:03:15,840 --> 01:03:18,280
And the courting dance between, in this case,

1291
01:03:18,280 --> 01:03:21,960
a man and a woman with like handkerchiefs in their hand,

1292
01:03:21,960 --> 01:03:23,200
they're courting each other.

1293
01:03:23,200 --> 01:03:25,360
And the man is trying to like overtake,

1294
01:03:25,360 --> 01:03:29,280
or like woo the woman rather, not overtake, woo the woman.

1295
01:03:29,280 --> 01:03:31,480
And so there are three sections.

1296
01:03:31,480 --> 01:03:35,440
And in a way, some, what's interesting is a lot of the,

1297
01:03:35,440 --> 01:03:40,240
a lot of the dance motions resemble like a rooster

1298
01:03:40,240 --> 01:03:41,240
and a hen.

1299
01:03:41,240 --> 01:03:42,200
Really?

1300
01:03:42,200 --> 01:03:43,040
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1301
01:03:43,040 --> 01:03:45,400
So you get some of that, like a kind of like

1302
01:03:45,400 --> 01:03:49,160
the proud rooster and like this kind of more

1303
01:03:49,160 --> 01:03:51,360
a coquettish perhaps.

1304
01:03:51,360 --> 01:03:52,880
Anyway, so that, those are the cuecas.

1305
01:03:52,880 --> 01:03:56,840
And the last composer on the album is Marvin Sande,

1306
01:03:56,840 --> 01:03:58,280
who we don't know too much about,

1307
01:03:58,280 --> 01:04:00,720
but he was like a real big proponent

1308
01:04:00,720 --> 01:04:03,760
in the early 20th century of modern music.

1309
01:04:03,760 --> 01:04:06,080
And he was also like a philosopher

1310
01:04:06,080 --> 01:04:07,840
and was into all these other things.

1311
01:04:07,840 --> 01:04:11,680
But these pieces reminded me so much of the music

1312
01:04:11,680 --> 01:04:13,720
that I loved growing up with Bartok.

1313
01:04:13,720 --> 01:04:17,120
So there's like a Bartok barbarism aspect,

1314
01:04:17,120 --> 01:04:18,680
which very cool.

1315
01:04:18,680 --> 01:04:22,960
Honestly, I heard that Bartok-like elements.

1316
01:04:22,960 --> 01:04:26,000
Yeah, so even if, even that word like pantheistic rhythm.

1317
01:04:26,000 --> 01:04:31,000
So it's not the idea of like a, of a colonizer religion,

1318
01:04:31,000 --> 01:04:36,000
but the pantheism of like indigenous people, you know?

1319
01:04:36,000 --> 01:04:37,920
Hey there, TPP family.

1320
01:04:37,920 --> 01:04:41,120
The Piano Pod is now into our fourth season

1321
01:04:41,120 --> 01:04:43,400
and it's all thanks to you.

1322
01:04:43,400 --> 01:04:47,120
Since 2020, you've been with my journey with the TPP,

1323
01:04:47,120 --> 01:04:49,440
exploring this burning question.

1324
01:04:49,440 --> 01:04:51,840
How do we make classical music resonate

1325
01:04:51,840 --> 01:04:55,560
with today's audience in fresh and captivating ways?

1326
01:04:55,560 --> 01:04:58,560
Four years in and the journey has been nothing short

1327
01:04:58,560 --> 01:04:59,520
of magical.

1328
01:04:59,520 --> 01:05:02,920
The Piano Pod isn't just a podcast, it's a movement.

1329
01:05:02,920 --> 01:05:05,560
A space where pianists, composers,

1330
01:05:05,560 --> 01:05:08,160
and educators brainstorm, debate,

1331
01:05:08,160 --> 01:05:10,600
and reimagine classical music's place

1332
01:05:10,600 --> 01:05:12,520
in our fast-paced world.

1333
01:05:12,520 --> 01:05:16,120
We're together on a mission to ensure classical music

1334
01:05:16,120 --> 01:05:19,600
doesn't just survive, but thrives in our modern age.

1335
01:05:19,600 --> 01:05:20,880
But here's the thing,

1336
01:05:20,880 --> 01:05:24,840
to keep bringing you these insightful bi-weekly episodes,

1337
01:05:24,840 --> 01:05:26,000
I need your help.

1338
01:05:26,000 --> 01:05:29,560
Every bit of support goes into the podcast Essentials,

1339
01:05:29,560 --> 01:05:32,800
from hosting to high quality recording tech

1340
01:05:32,800 --> 01:05:35,640
and the countless hours behind the scenes.

1341
01:05:35,640 --> 01:05:37,920
So do you want to be part of this journey?

1342
01:05:37,920 --> 01:05:40,160
Click the PayPal link in the show notes

1343
01:05:40,160 --> 01:05:43,040
or head to thepianopod.com to donate.

1344
01:05:43,040 --> 01:05:45,600
And as a token of appreciation,

1345
01:05:45,600 --> 01:05:48,760
I will personally mail you the Piano Pod's

1346
01:05:48,760 --> 01:05:51,120
snazzy logo sticker.

1347
01:05:51,120 --> 01:05:54,480
So hit the subscribe button, spread the word,

1348
01:05:54,480 --> 01:05:56,720
and let's continue our mission and journey

1349
01:05:56,720 --> 01:05:58,800
as classical musicians.

1350
01:05:58,800 --> 01:06:00,520
Now let's continue with the show.

1351
01:06:01,400 --> 01:06:04,560
Now I would like to know the foundation you built,

1352
01:06:04,560 --> 01:06:07,760
Foundation for Bolivian Artists.

1353
01:06:07,760 --> 01:06:12,200
So before asking you specific questions,

1354
01:06:12,200 --> 01:06:14,200
what is this all about?

1355
01:06:14,200 --> 01:06:18,440
Just give us the brief overview of the foundation, please.

1356
01:06:18,440 --> 01:06:22,400
Foundation for Bolivian Artists is a nonprofit organization

1357
01:06:22,400 --> 01:06:24,440
that we just started.

1358
01:06:24,440 --> 01:06:27,600
This is our first year, really.

1359
01:06:27,600 --> 01:06:31,720
And so this is all very new to us, the nonprofit world,

1360
01:06:31,720 --> 01:06:32,760
but it's exciting.

1361
01:06:32,760 --> 01:06:36,160
And the organization is dedicated really

1362
01:06:36,160 --> 01:06:38,600
to supporting classical musicians

1363
01:06:38,600 --> 01:06:41,080
of Bolivian backgrounds specifically.

1364
01:06:41,080 --> 01:06:45,840
And the reason it's not a Latin American foundation

1365
01:06:45,840 --> 01:06:48,800
for artists or Spanish speaking

1366
01:06:48,800 --> 01:06:51,640
or Andean foundation for artists

1367
01:06:51,640 --> 01:06:56,560
is because I truly believe that Bolivia, the country,

1368
01:06:56,560 --> 01:07:01,560
the people, its music is completely overlooked

1369
01:07:02,560 --> 01:07:03,720
all the time.

1370
01:07:03,720 --> 01:07:05,920
You see that in every aspect.

1371
01:07:05,920 --> 01:07:09,000
And so people don't even know where it is on the map,

1372
01:07:09,000 --> 01:07:12,200
for example, forget about what it stands for,

1373
01:07:12,200 --> 01:07:14,960
what kind of people come from there,

1374
01:07:14,960 --> 01:07:16,280
what language do they speak?

1375
01:07:16,280 --> 01:07:17,440
I've gotten so many things.

1376
01:07:17,440 --> 01:07:19,240
People think I'm from Africa.

1377
01:07:19,240 --> 01:07:22,160
People think I'm from Europe.

1378
01:07:22,160 --> 01:07:23,760
I mean, I've gotten it all.

1379
01:07:23,760 --> 01:07:26,960
And I mean, it's not their fault necessarily,

1380
01:07:26,960 --> 01:07:29,760
but it's just not in the pop culture.

1381
01:07:29,760 --> 01:07:30,600
You know?

1382
01:07:30,600 --> 01:07:33,680
I mean, people know, I mean, obviously it's far away.

1383
01:07:33,680 --> 01:07:36,400
So like, obviously people know like more

1384
01:07:36,400 --> 01:07:38,920
about Mexican culture because here we have a lot

1385
01:07:38,920 --> 01:07:43,200
of Mexican immigrants, which is much closer, obviously.

1386
01:07:43,200 --> 01:07:44,320
So we understand.

1387
01:07:44,320 --> 01:07:46,840
And there's like a whole Tex-Mex and the food, dah, dah, dah.

1388
01:07:46,840 --> 01:07:51,160
So I understand, but also in other kinds of things,

1389
01:07:51,160 --> 01:07:53,960
it tends to be just a little bit ignored.

1390
01:07:53,960 --> 01:07:57,680
So there are a lot of, even in classical music,

1391
01:07:57,680 --> 01:08:00,200
there are people play Argentine composers all the time,

1392
01:08:00,200 --> 01:08:03,240
people play Cuban composers, all these things,

1393
01:08:03,240 --> 01:08:07,360
but it just tends to be always overshadowed by perhaps

1394
01:08:07,360 --> 01:08:09,800
like bigger economic powers.

1395
01:08:09,800 --> 01:08:13,720
People tend to leave Bolivia to go study classical music.

1396
01:08:13,720 --> 01:08:15,800
I mean, we just had three examples

1397
01:08:15,800 --> 01:08:17,880
of composers that we were talking about,

1398
01:08:17,880 --> 01:08:19,200
the ones from the recording.

1399
01:08:19,200 --> 01:08:21,200
They all studied somewhere else.

1400
01:08:21,200 --> 01:08:25,120
So the infrastructure for classical music is perhaps

1401
01:08:25,120 --> 01:08:28,920
not ideal, but there are talented people coming

1402
01:08:28,920 --> 01:08:30,320
out of the country.

1403
01:08:30,320 --> 01:08:34,040
Our mission is to provide all these wonderful musicians

1404
01:08:34,040 --> 01:08:38,280
with kind of like career changing opportunities for them

1405
01:08:38,280 --> 01:08:41,200
to present themselves, especially in New York,

1406
01:08:41,200 --> 01:08:44,360
because I see all these musicians, thanks

1407
01:08:44,360 --> 01:08:48,880
to social media, thanks to all these recordings and internet,

1408
01:08:48,880 --> 01:08:50,840
I'm finding musicians left and right.

1409
01:08:50,840 --> 01:08:54,240
And this is why I didn't want to call it something else.

1410
01:08:54,240 --> 01:08:57,120
It had to be something for Bolivians,

1411
01:08:57,120 --> 01:08:59,040
and I wanted them to know that.

1412
01:08:59,040 --> 01:09:04,440
So the eligibility would be only Bolivian pianists?

1413
01:09:04,440 --> 01:09:05,200
Well, yes.

1414
01:09:05,200 --> 01:09:07,000
So the eligibility is really, you

1415
01:09:07,000 --> 01:09:09,120
have to be of Bolivian background.

1416
01:09:09,120 --> 01:09:12,920
So for example, there was a participant

1417
01:09:12,920 --> 01:09:16,480
or an applicant this year who was very, very talented,

1418
01:09:16,480 --> 01:09:18,280
who had a Bolivian parent.

1419
01:09:18,280 --> 01:09:24,320
I don't remember which one, but she lives in Berlin, I believe.

1420
01:09:24,320 --> 01:09:27,000
Born in Berlin, speaks perfect German,

1421
01:09:27,000 --> 01:09:28,840
but actually speaks Spanish, too.

1422
01:09:28,840 --> 01:09:33,080
And she does Bolivian dances in Berlin.

1423
01:09:33,080 --> 01:09:34,960
It's like amazing.

1424
01:09:34,960 --> 01:09:38,000
And she was one of our finalists.

1425
01:09:38,000 --> 01:09:43,080
And so, yeah, completely eligible to participate

1426
01:09:43,080 --> 01:09:44,880
in our programs or apply to our programs.

1427
01:09:44,880 --> 01:09:48,560
And so we want to give these participants an opportunity

1428
01:09:48,560 --> 01:09:51,040
to come to New York City, and we're

1429
01:09:51,040 --> 01:09:54,240
going to give them an all expenses paid trip

1430
01:09:54,240 --> 01:09:59,480
to come and play a recital debut in New York City this year.

1431
01:09:59,480 --> 01:10:01,080
It's in Merkin Hall.

1432
01:10:01,080 --> 01:10:06,040
And this all started because I received, for me,

1433
01:10:06,040 --> 01:10:08,640
what was kind of like a life changing opportunity

1434
01:10:08,640 --> 01:10:10,400
in that Carnegie recital.

1435
01:10:10,400 --> 01:10:14,240
And there are very few opportunities

1436
01:10:14,240 --> 01:10:18,560
for specifically Bolivian musicians out there.

1437
01:10:18,560 --> 01:10:21,120
And they never come to me.

1438
01:10:21,120 --> 01:10:23,880
Maybe they're playing all over the world or maybe not,

1439
01:10:23,880 --> 01:10:26,160
but they're not playing here.

1440
01:10:26,160 --> 01:10:28,880
So it's going to be that source.

1441
01:10:28,880 --> 01:10:33,200
And our foundation is really dedicated to that.

1442
01:10:33,200 --> 01:10:35,160
Right now, just piano, but we'll see.

1443
01:10:35,160 --> 01:10:37,120
We're just starting out.

1444
01:10:37,120 --> 01:10:39,840
So we really want to eventually expand.

1445
01:10:39,840 --> 01:10:43,320
Just knowing you and learning more about you today,

1446
01:10:43,320 --> 01:10:49,200
this is just very touching, the whole motivation behind it

1447
01:10:49,200 --> 01:10:50,520
and the cause.

1448
01:10:50,520 --> 01:10:53,840
And you basically want to fill the gap, right?

1449
01:10:53,840 --> 01:10:54,560
Yeah, exactly.

1450
01:10:54,560 --> 01:10:58,000
No, it's filling the gap because every musician,

1451
01:10:58,000 --> 01:11:00,440
no matter where they're from, deserves a chance

1452
01:11:00,440 --> 01:11:03,640
to come here to, especially from, as I said,

1453
01:11:03,640 --> 01:11:05,720
an often overshadowed place.

1454
01:11:05,720 --> 01:11:09,240
And actually, more than that is the musical heritage

1455
01:11:09,240 --> 01:11:12,760
of Bolivia needs to be preserved, needs to be highlighted.

1456
01:11:12,760 --> 01:11:16,560
There needs to be a spotlight on it because there isn't one.

1457
01:11:16,560 --> 01:11:20,320
If you ask somebody what musicians from Latin America

1458
01:11:20,320 --> 01:11:22,800
you know, they'll never name a Bolivian musician.

1459
01:11:22,800 --> 01:11:24,240
So I want that to change.

1460
01:11:24,240 --> 01:11:27,000
I want them to name five Bolivian musicians

1461
01:11:27,000 --> 01:11:28,440
off the top of their head.

1462
01:11:28,440 --> 01:11:30,800
Do you have a specific repertoire requirement,

1463
01:11:30,800 --> 01:11:33,880
a mental requirement, for example, in order for them

1464
01:11:33,880 --> 01:11:36,320
to compete, do they have to play one or two maybe

1465
01:11:36,320 --> 01:11:38,120
Bolivian composers or composers?

1466
01:11:38,120 --> 01:11:38,880
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1467
01:11:38,880 --> 01:11:43,880
So that's part of, I mean, in a way, this whole idea

1468
01:11:43,880 --> 01:11:45,320
has so many layers to it.

1469
01:11:45,320 --> 01:11:49,080
And it's hard to wrap my head around it sometimes.

1470
01:11:49,080 --> 01:11:51,720
But besides promoting the musician,

1471
01:11:51,720 --> 01:11:53,720
giving the musician an opportunity

1472
01:11:53,720 --> 01:11:59,120
to play in a kind of a recital here on their own,

1473
01:11:59,120 --> 01:12:00,920
that's also something really important

1474
01:12:00,920 --> 01:12:04,640
that I wanted to mention is that this is a solo recital,

1475
01:12:04,640 --> 01:12:05,880
full solo recital.

1476
01:12:05,880 --> 01:12:08,400
So these musicians have to be kind of top notch.

1477
01:12:08,400 --> 01:12:11,000
We have to know that they're going to be reliable to play

1478
01:12:11,000 --> 01:12:13,160
this full amazing program.

1479
01:12:13,160 --> 01:12:17,120
But the requirements are vast in a way.

1480
01:12:17,120 --> 01:12:20,760
What I mean is that they can submit almost any video

1481
01:12:20,760 --> 01:12:22,560
regardless of video quality.

1482
01:12:22,560 --> 01:12:23,760
They can submit a concerto.

1483
01:12:23,760 --> 01:12:26,560
We've had so many concerti submissions,

1484
01:12:26,560 --> 01:12:27,840
which was very interesting.

1485
01:12:27,840 --> 01:12:32,280
But it showed us kind of the commitment to who they are.

1486
01:12:32,280 --> 01:12:37,440
But one of them, there has to be at least one Bolivian composer

1487
01:12:37,440 --> 01:12:38,520
in the requirements.

1488
01:12:38,520 --> 01:12:43,400
So that will already promote Bolivian composers

1489
01:12:43,400 --> 01:12:46,520
that we may not know to be performed in New York.

1490
01:12:46,520 --> 01:12:47,600
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1491
01:12:47,600 --> 01:12:48,520
Perfect.

1492
01:12:48,520 --> 01:12:49,100
Exactly.

1493
01:12:49,100 --> 01:12:52,280
And so what we want to do is besides that,

1494
01:12:52,280 --> 01:12:53,520
they have to submit.

1495
01:12:53,520 --> 01:12:56,160
And actually, in a way, this is like the heart

1496
01:12:56,160 --> 01:12:57,960
of the application.

1497
01:12:57,960 --> 01:13:00,640
They have to submit a proposed program.

1498
01:13:00,640 --> 01:13:02,840
And so they will propose a program, of course,

1499
01:13:02,840 --> 01:13:05,440
including one Bolivian piece or, sorry,

1500
01:13:05,440 --> 01:13:07,400
minimum one Bolivian piece.

1501
01:13:07,400 --> 01:13:11,880
And they will elaborate on the reasoning for their program.

1502
01:13:11,880 --> 01:13:13,720
To me, that is the most important part

1503
01:13:13,720 --> 01:13:18,920
because we're giving them tools to succeed in the real world,

1504
01:13:18,920 --> 01:13:22,160
which is when you're asked to play a concert,

1505
01:13:22,160 --> 01:13:23,960
you have to give a program.

1506
01:13:23,960 --> 01:13:26,400
And it has to show who you are.

1507
01:13:26,400 --> 01:13:30,680
It can't just be, I'm going to play three Bach inventions.

1508
01:13:30,680 --> 01:13:32,720
And then I'm going to play the Liszt sonata.

1509
01:13:32,720 --> 01:13:34,840
And then I'm going to play a rag.

1510
01:13:34,840 --> 01:13:37,520
And then maybe I'll play Schumann.

1511
01:13:37,520 --> 01:13:41,080
What does that say about, to me, an artist?

1512
01:13:41,080 --> 01:13:44,160
What does that say about what you like, what you play,

1513
01:13:44,160 --> 01:13:45,840
what you play well?

1514
01:13:45,840 --> 01:13:48,520
So I think the important part is submitting something

1515
01:13:48,520 --> 01:13:51,880
and explaining it in a way that it is thoughtful.

1516
01:13:51,880 --> 01:13:55,520
We had many applicants who were very, very good,

1517
01:13:55,520 --> 01:14:00,440
but in a way that the program wasn't right for us.

1518
01:14:00,440 --> 01:14:02,520
And we want it to be about the person.

1519
01:14:02,520 --> 01:14:03,480
We don't want it.

1520
01:14:03,480 --> 01:14:06,160
We don't want, of course, we want you to play well.

1521
01:14:06,160 --> 01:14:07,200
But they do.

1522
01:14:07,200 --> 01:14:11,400
And the people who play excellent.

1523
01:14:11,400 --> 01:14:14,880
But I think that is the main thing with our requirements.

1524
01:14:14,880 --> 01:14:16,880
That is really part of the vision.

1525
01:14:16,880 --> 01:14:21,200
Now, so then this was the inaugural year.

1526
01:14:21,200 --> 01:14:24,440
And the first concert is coming up in March 1.

1527
01:14:24,440 --> 01:14:26,400
Tell us a little bit about the winner.

1528
01:14:26,400 --> 01:14:34,160
We've had 23 applicants for our first iteration of our program.

1529
01:14:34,160 --> 01:14:36,760
And right now, we're just focusing on piano.

1530
01:14:36,760 --> 01:14:39,480
We had really excellent applicants, really,

1531
01:14:39,480 --> 01:14:41,720
from all over the world, of course, from Bolivia.

1532
01:14:41,720 --> 01:14:43,720
But there are applicants from Argentina,

1533
01:14:43,720 --> 01:14:46,240
applicants who are studying and living here

1534
01:14:46,240 --> 01:14:49,120
in the United States, from Portugal, from Germany,

1535
01:14:49,120 --> 01:14:52,520
from the United Kingdom, really from all over the place.

1536
01:14:52,520 --> 01:14:55,560
And I was very impressed and delighted, actually,

1537
01:14:55,560 --> 01:14:59,120
that so many people were interested in our program.

1538
01:14:59,120 --> 01:15:03,160
So we had three really excellent adjudicators

1539
01:15:03,160 --> 01:15:07,760
who kind of painstakingly whittled down to three finalists.

1540
01:15:07,760 --> 01:15:10,560
And we went back and forth on who it could be,

1541
01:15:10,560 --> 01:15:13,280
because the three were really, really top notch

1542
01:15:13,280 --> 01:15:15,160
and all really, really deserved.

1543
01:15:15,160 --> 01:15:19,080
But our winner is Sergio Escalera-Soria.

1544
01:15:19,080 --> 01:15:23,480
And he's a really, really wonderful musician, very talented.

1545
01:15:23,480 --> 01:15:29,560
And to us, he really represents a 21st century artist.

1546
01:15:29,560 --> 01:15:33,160
He's had an amazing trajectory all over, really all

1547
01:15:33,160 --> 01:15:37,360
over the world, where he's worked in countless places,

1548
01:15:37,360 --> 01:15:39,440
playing piano, of course, with orchestras,

1549
01:15:39,440 --> 01:15:42,280
but also solo recitals and chamber music.

1550
01:15:42,280 --> 01:15:44,080
He's an educator.

1551
01:15:44,080 --> 01:15:49,240
And he's so interested in how to learn so much about the world

1552
01:15:49,240 --> 01:15:52,560
so that it can be nurtured in his art.

1553
01:15:52,560 --> 01:15:54,920
And I think that's really important

1554
01:15:54,920 --> 01:15:58,640
for a 21st century artist to not just, I don't know,

1555
01:15:58,640 --> 01:16:01,040
play all the Chopin etudes perfectly well,

1556
01:16:01,040 --> 01:16:06,280
but to have some kind of thirst for knowledge

1557
01:16:06,280 --> 01:16:07,760
for different cultures.

1558
01:16:07,760 --> 01:16:09,200
He spent some time in Armenia.

1559
01:16:09,200 --> 01:16:10,520
He spent some time in Palestine.

1560
01:16:10,520 --> 01:16:13,480
He spent some time in all over the place learning,

1561
01:16:13,480 --> 01:16:14,520
teaching.

1562
01:16:14,520 --> 01:16:17,080
And so we're really excited for him to come.

1563
01:16:17,080 --> 01:16:19,280
And his program is wonderful.

1564
01:16:19,280 --> 01:16:22,360
It is kind of like a journey through his life,

1565
01:16:22,360 --> 01:16:27,120
from Western European classics in the beginning,

1566
01:16:27,120 --> 01:16:31,440
because that's his foundation, to sounds of Bolivia

1567
01:16:31,440 --> 01:16:33,640
and other Latin American countries.

1568
01:16:33,640 --> 01:16:35,400
So he can tell you more about that.

1569
01:16:35,400 --> 01:16:59,000
So here we have Sergio Escalera-Soria, concert pianist

1570
01:16:59,000 --> 01:17:01,800
and the foundation for Bolivian artists

1571
01:17:01,800 --> 01:17:04,520
Earth Scholarship Recital Recipient.

1572
01:17:04,520 --> 01:17:06,600
Thanks for being here, Sergio.

1573
01:17:06,600 --> 01:17:07,400
Hello, Ukemi.

1574
01:17:07,400 --> 01:17:08,640
It's a pleasure to be here.

1575
01:17:08,640 --> 01:17:10,880
Congratulations on winning the scholarship

1576
01:17:10,880 --> 01:17:13,840
to perform at Merking Hall, one of New York City's

1577
01:17:13,840 --> 01:17:18,240
prestigious and finest concert venues in a few months, right?

1578
01:17:18,240 --> 01:17:19,160
Yes, exactly.

1579
01:17:19,160 --> 01:17:21,520
In a month and a half, exactly, from today.

1580
01:17:21,520 --> 01:17:23,360
I'm super excited and very honored.

1581
01:17:23,360 --> 01:17:26,680
So before we talk about the concert,

1582
01:17:26,680 --> 01:17:29,120
why don't you introduce yourself to the Piano Pods

1583
01:17:29,120 --> 01:17:32,160
audience, your current residence and then maybe

1584
01:17:32,160 --> 01:17:35,280
your current status or standing as a pianist,

1585
01:17:35,280 --> 01:17:38,480
like your performances, educational background.

1586
01:17:38,480 --> 01:17:39,120
Of course.

1587
01:17:39,120 --> 01:17:40,280
I'm Sergio.

1588
01:17:40,280 --> 01:17:44,840
I was born in Cochabamba, which is the third or fourth largest

1589
01:17:44,840 --> 01:17:45,960
city of Bolivia.

1590
01:17:45,960 --> 01:17:48,000
Although for the past 15 years, I've

1591
01:17:48,000 --> 01:17:50,240
lived abroad in many different countries.

1592
01:17:50,240 --> 01:17:53,720
Right now, I'm based in Portugal, in the city of Lisbon.

1593
01:17:53,720 --> 01:17:57,360
I think it's the seventh country where I've lived.

1594
01:17:57,360 --> 01:17:58,080
I'm not fully sure.

1595
01:17:58,080 --> 01:17:58,600
Oh, wow.

1596
01:17:58,600 --> 01:18:01,920
So I've been moving around a lot and like chasing

1597
01:18:01,920 --> 01:18:05,120
or being chased by musical opportunities.

1598
01:18:05,120 --> 01:18:09,400
And super fortunate, of course, for having done that.

1599
01:18:09,400 --> 01:18:16,280
And yes, at this moment, I'm very privileged to combine

1600
01:18:16,280 --> 01:18:19,400
solo playing, chamber music making, and teaching

1601
01:18:19,400 --> 01:18:23,000
like in different formats here in Portugal, in Europe,

1602
01:18:23,000 --> 01:18:25,480
in Latin America, and in the Middle East as well.

1603
01:18:25,480 --> 01:18:28,440
I'm not currently enrolled in school.

1604
01:18:28,440 --> 01:18:29,880
I've taught recently.

1605
01:18:29,880 --> 01:18:32,720
I'm not teaching like formally at school,

1606
01:18:32,720 --> 01:18:37,480
but I don't exclude that option for the next season.

1607
01:18:37,480 --> 01:18:42,360
Now, so what motivated you to enter this competition?

1608
01:18:42,360 --> 01:18:46,160
What specific aspects that really appeal to you?

1609
01:18:46,160 --> 01:18:51,000
Perhaps you're obviously you're of Bolivian heritage.

1610
01:18:51,000 --> 01:18:55,800
And so maybe the potential opportunities as a winner

1611
01:18:55,800 --> 01:18:57,920
that attracted to you?

1612
01:18:57,920 --> 01:19:01,440
Yes, of course, those things, anything

1613
01:19:01,440 --> 01:19:04,560
that has to do with Bolivians and with Bolivian music

1614
01:19:04,560 --> 01:19:06,040
is super appealing to me.

1615
01:19:06,040 --> 01:19:08,920
I am always eager to share my music

1616
01:19:08,920 --> 01:19:13,280
and to participate in the larger Bolivian musical scene.

1617
01:19:13,280 --> 01:19:15,800
Although it's not actually that large, it's not that big.

1618
01:19:15,800 --> 01:19:19,520
I'm afraid to say that Bolivian opportunities for Bolivians

1619
01:19:19,520 --> 01:19:21,720
are actually scarce.

1620
01:19:21,720 --> 01:19:25,040
And this is why the work of the foundation

1621
01:19:25,040 --> 01:19:27,360
is incredibly valuable.

1622
01:19:27,360 --> 01:19:30,760
And yes, having this opportunity is not an opportunity

1623
01:19:30,760 --> 01:19:33,600
for myself alone, but I feel for other people who

1624
01:19:33,600 --> 01:19:38,680
support my work and who work with me sometimes,

1625
01:19:38,680 --> 01:19:41,440
or students that I have seen in Bolivia that

1626
01:19:41,440 --> 01:19:44,360
can see what somebody can do with music

1627
01:19:44,360 --> 01:19:49,160
and what stages we can play at, this is very inspiring.

1628
01:19:49,160 --> 01:19:53,880
And I hope other people also can feel or receive

1629
01:19:53,880 --> 01:19:56,280
that message transmitted through me.

1630
01:19:56,280 --> 01:19:59,120
This foundation gives classical musicians

1631
01:19:59,120 --> 01:20:03,720
of Bolivian background access to the world's most prestigious

1632
01:20:03,720 --> 01:20:05,160
career opportunities.

1633
01:20:05,160 --> 01:20:07,280
But just tell us about your heritage,

1634
01:20:07,280 --> 01:20:08,800
but also tell us about the country,

1635
01:20:08,800 --> 01:20:10,960
the beautiful culture, musical maybe,

1636
01:20:10,960 --> 01:20:13,040
musical scene of Bolivia.

1637
01:20:13,040 --> 01:20:16,280
It's very interesting that a lot of Latin American countries,

1638
01:20:16,280 --> 01:20:21,560
including Bolivia, have a huge diverse ethnicity,

1639
01:20:21,560 --> 01:20:24,480
diverse population, a diversity of culture

1640
01:20:24,480 --> 01:20:27,960
that is even unimaginable sometimes.

1641
01:20:27,960 --> 01:20:31,680
And it's hard to count, hard to predict

1642
01:20:31,680 --> 01:20:36,040
how our culture is portrayed or is showcased sometimes.

1643
01:20:36,040 --> 01:20:40,040
So in my case, yeah, my Bolivian-ness, I guess,

1644
01:20:40,040 --> 01:20:42,520
comes from I'm fully Bolivian.

1645
01:20:42,520 --> 01:20:44,040
My parents are Bolivian.

1646
01:20:44,040 --> 01:20:46,760
We have indigenous roots from the different indigenous

1647
01:20:46,760 --> 01:20:49,960
communities that were there for a long time.

1648
01:20:49,960 --> 01:20:52,560
We also have Spanish blood as well.

1649
01:20:52,560 --> 01:20:54,160
That's the product of colonization.

1650
01:20:54,160 --> 01:20:59,640
So Europe has brought a lot of things to Latin America,

1651
01:20:59,640 --> 01:21:02,200
let's say the instruments, let's say some of the rhythms,

1652
01:21:02,200 --> 01:21:05,520
let's say some of the academia that is now present

1653
01:21:05,520 --> 01:21:10,200
in Bolivia and in Latin America to systematize our music.

1654
01:21:10,200 --> 01:21:13,920
But in fact, we are also very rich in other things that

1655
01:21:13,920 --> 01:21:17,680
are not fully part of the Western classical spheres.

1656
01:21:17,680 --> 01:21:21,280
For example, our folk music traditions, our instruments,

1657
01:21:21,280 --> 01:21:27,120
our modes, our own scales and ornaments that are actually not

1658
01:21:27,120 --> 01:21:30,960
very present or not visible at all, I would say,

1659
01:21:30,960 --> 01:21:33,040
in Western classical music.

1660
01:21:33,040 --> 01:21:35,840
So in a way, I took advantage of that,

1661
01:21:35,840 --> 01:21:39,880
of my heritage of having been brought as a classical pianist,

1662
01:21:39,880 --> 01:21:44,160
but actually benefiting from the other aspects of music making

1663
01:21:44,160 --> 01:21:49,200
Bolivia to actually come up with a unique and personal proposal,

1664
01:21:49,200 --> 01:21:53,360
which is play the great masters of Western classical music,

1665
01:21:53,360 --> 01:21:57,120
but as well, my own arrangements of Bolivian music,

1666
01:21:57,120 --> 01:22:01,960
all Bolivian composers' music as well to bring them to light.

1667
01:22:01,960 --> 01:22:05,840
And yes, I feel fully Bolivian, although I've

1668
01:22:05,840 --> 01:22:07,600
spent so much time abroad.

1669
01:22:07,600 --> 01:22:11,160
And actually, I dream of coming back home and living there

1670
01:22:11,160 --> 01:22:13,000
in the upcoming future, hopefully.

1671
01:22:13,000 --> 01:22:13,960
That's wonderful to hear.

1672
01:22:13,960 --> 01:22:16,360
Now, so speaking of Bolivian music,

1673
01:22:16,360 --> 01:22:19,480
so let's talk about the repertoire that you're

1674
01:22:19,480 --> 01:22:23,640
going to be presenting at Merkin Hall in March 1st.

1675
01:22:23,640 --> 01:22:27,680
So tell us the list of the repertoire, the pieces

1676
01:22:27,680 --> 01:22:28,960
that you're performing.

1677
01:22:28,960 --> 01:22:32,280
Well, I'm performing first, I feel

1678
01:22:32,280 --> 01:22:34,480
I need to speak about these two Bolivian composers

1679
01:22:34,480 --> 01:22:35,480
that I'm playing.

1680
01:22:35,480 --> 01:22:37,880
One of them is Matilde Casasola.

1681
01:22:37,880 --> 01:22:42,240
She's a woman, an 80-year-old singer and songwriter

1682
01:22:42,240 --> 01:22:45,080
from Sucre, from the historical capital of Bolivia.

1683
01:22:45,080 --> 01:22:48,360
I'm playing her music, seen through my own eyes

1684
01:22:48,360 --> 01:22:51,080
and through my experience of the past years.

1685
01:22:51,080 --> 01:22:55,240
So it's an arrangement that I'm doing at the moment.

1686
01:22:55,240 --> 01:22:57,440
And her style is, of course, emerging

1687
01:22:57,440 --> 01:23:02,560
from the popular traditions of folk dances, folk songs,

1688
01:23:02,560 --> 01:23:03,880
lullabies.

1689
01:23:03,880 --> 01:23:06,760
So I'm taking one specific song from her.

1690
01:23:06,760 --> 01:23:09,120
I'm taking then another composer who's

1691
01:23:09,120 --> 01:23:11,600
from my native town of Cochabamba.

1692
01:23:11,600 --> 01:23:13,560
His name is Manuel Rodriguez.

1693
01:23:13,560 --> 01:23:16,800
He was the founder of the first orchestra of My City.

1694
01:23:16,800 --> 01:23:21,240
And he's well known for that, but his music is actually

1695
01:23:21,240 --> 01:23:22,680
not known at all.

1696
01:23:22,680 --> 01:23:26,200
It has never been published or edited or performed even.

1697
01:23:26,200 --> 01:23:30,520
It was performed perhaps in a few casual occasions

1698
01:23:30,520 --> 01:23:33,200
by my former teacher from Cochabamba,

1699
01:23:33,200 --> 01:23:34,880
although my former teacher was not Bolivian.

1700
01:23:34,880 --> 01:23:35,840
She was Russian.

1701
01:23:35,840 --> 01:23:39,640
So she tried to rescue the work of this wonderful person

1702
01:23:39,640 --> 01:23:43,480
and founder of this musical movement in Cochabamba.

1703
01:23:43,480 --> 01:23:45,720
And I took over that.

1704
01:23:45,720 --> 01:23:47,720
I said, yeah, I want to play this music.

1705
01:23:47,720 --> 01:23:51,360
I go to that house of the Rodriguez family

1706
01:23:51,360 --> 01:23:54,000
to visit Manuel Rodriguez's daughters who

1707
01:23:54,000 --> 01:23:55,960
are still living there.

1708
01:23:55,960 --> 01:23:57,200
They are incredible people.

1709
01:23:57,200 --> 01:24:00,160
They facilitated the music to me so

1710
01:24:00,160 --> 01:24:03,280
that I could teach to other people or perform it myself.

1711
01:24:03,280 --> 01:24:08,320
So I'm playing two of these pieces in New York as well.

1712
01:24:08,320 --> 01:24:09,840
Wonderful.

1713
01:24:09,840 --> 01:24:12,800
And then, well, of course, those Bolivian pieces

1714
01:24:12,800 --> 01:24:17,520
are in the context of other Latin American genres.

1715
01:24:17,520 --> 01:24:21,000
Latin music is so vast and so huge.

1716
01:24:21,000 --> 01:24:26,640
I'm playing six Cuban sones by Carlos Farinas,

1717
01:24:26,640 --> 01:24:28,400
who is a very well-known composer in Cuba,

1718
01:24:28,400 --> 01:24:32,520
but not often performed in the format of solo piano.

1719
01:24:32,520 --> 01:24:35,840
And I'm playing Uruguayan composer Hector Tozar,

1720
01:24:35,840 --> 01:24:39,200
also very well-known and very important composer for Uruguay.

1721
01:24:39,200 --> 01:24:43,200
But again, because of the geography and the history

1722
01:24:43,200 --> 01:24:46,240
of our continent, it's not very visible

1723
01:24:46,240 --> 01:24:48,560
in the international music scene.

1724
01:24:48,560 --> 01:24:52,760
So I'm playing a brilliant, magnificent work

1725
01:24:52,760 --> 01:24:56,200
full of virtuosity and power by him.

1726
01:24:56,200 --> 01:24:59,040
It's the Creole dance by Hector Tozar.

1727
01:24:59,040 --> 01:25:00,600
Perhaps I could just say a few words

1728
01:25:00,600 --> 01:25:02,640
about the first half of my program that

1729
01:25:02,640 --> 01:25:06,200
includes Chopin and Debussy.

1730
01:25:06,200 --> 01:25:11,840
Of course, everybody will know these names, or most people,

1731
01:25:11,840 --> 01:25:12,360
right?

1732
01:25:12,360 --> 01:25:16,400
And they are inseparable for me because one

1733
01:25:16,400 --> 01:25:17,880
has inspired the other.

1734
01:25:17,880 --> 01:25:21,040
Chopin's music has inspired, of course, other composers as well.

1735
01:25:21,040 --> 01:25:25,200
But there's a direct link of pianism, the French school,

1736
01:25:25,200 --> 01:25:28,480
the touché that has actually been part of my life

1737
01:25:28,480 --> 01:25:31,240
in Switzerland and France.

1738
01:25:31,240 --> 01:25:35,680
I worked on this music with pianists that I admire a lot.

1739
01:25:35,680 --> 01:25:39,400
Pascal Roger, for example, and my very own teacher

1740
01:25:39,400 --> 01:25:42,800
and mentor, Ricardo Castro, who's playing,

1741
01:25:42,800 --> 01:25:45,200
I really admire a lot, and who has inspired me

1742
01:25:45,200 --> 01:25:49,600
to search in depth something in me that could ring

1743
01:25:49,600 --> 01:25:51,880
with this music, French music.

1744
01:25:51,880 --> 01:25:56,040
So Chopin's Second Sonata, which is one of my favorite pieces

1745
01:25:56,040 --> 01:26:00,280
of all time, and the masterpiece by Debussy,

1746
01:26:00,280 --> 01:26:03,360
Estampes, which I consider a revolutionary work,

1747
01:26:03,360 --> 01:26:05,120
forward thinking, forward looking.

1748
01:26:05,120 --> 01:26:08,360
And it's a long program, but I feel very demanding,

1749
01:26:08,360 --> 01:26:10,800
but full of passion and full of love, actually.

1750
01:26:10,800 --> 01:26:14,720
I really love the proposal I'm making.

1751
01:26:14,720 --> 01:26:18,320
Before promoting your concert, in what ways

1752
01:26:18,320 --> 01:26:21,480
will this opportunity contribute to your journey

1753
01:26:21,480 --> 01:26:24,800
as a musician, performing at Merking Hall?

1754
01:26:24,800 --> 01:26:26,240
Well, it's undeniable.

1755
01:26:26,240 --> 01:26:27,680
It's an incredible opportunity.

1756
01:26:27,680 --> 01:26:29,760
I am honored.

1757
01:26:29,760 --> 01:26:30,640
I'm thrilled.

1758
01:26:30,640 --> 01:26:33,080
I cannot be more thankful for the foundation

1759
01:26:33,080 --> 01:26:36,320
and to the incredible pianists sitting in the juries

1760
01:26:36,320 --> 01:26:40,320
and judging unanimously me as the winner.

1761
01:26:40,320 --> 01:26:43,400
Because as I said before, these opportunities

1762
01:26:43,400 --> 01:26:45,560
are not out there for Bolivians.

1763
01:26:45,560 --> 01:26:49,720
We are not that present or represented

1764
01:26:49,720 --> 01:26:51,360
in the classical music scene.

1765
01:26:51,360 --> 01:26:52,760
That's a fact.

1766
01:26:52,760 --> 01:26:55,480
And actually, I'm totally OK with that.

1767
01:26:55,480 --> 01:26:58,560
It's not our job to preserve Western classical music.

1768
01:26:58,560 --> 01:27:01,080
We have other things to preserve.

1769
01:27:01,080 --> 01:27:03,200
We have our own traditions and roots.

1770
01:27:03,200 --> 01:27:05,840
But of course, everybody has the right

1771
01:27:05,840 --> 01:27:10,520
to access the pinnacle of humankind creations.

1772
01:27:10,520 --> 01:27:13,040
And some of that is that music.

1773
01:27:13,040 --> 01:27:14,520
And it's really a privilege.

1774
01:27:14,520 --> 01:27:20,800
I feel this can only make Bolivian artists more visible.

1775
01:27:20,800 --> 01:27:25,800
This can put us and put our value somewhere,

1776
01:27:25,800 --> 01:27:29,520
like in a shelf, full of dignity and integrity

1777
01:27:29,520 --> 01:27:32,440
that is not often the case for a country that

1778
01:27:32,440 --> 01:27:36,480
has suffered a lot, whose history is actually quite hard

1779
01:27:36,480 --> 01:27:39,720
and whose present is also quite blurry in terms

1780
01:27:39,720 --> 01:27:46,000
of politics, social structures, economics, geography.

1781
01:27:46,000 --> 01:27:48,400
So it is a unique opportunity.

1782
01:27:48,400 --> 01:27:51,240
At the same time, I value this opportunity

1783
01:27:51,240 --> 01:27:54,000
as much as I value other instances of my playing,

1784
01:27:54,000 --> 01:27:56,480
which are not in those incredible halls,

1785
01:27:56,480 --> 01:28:00,760
but perhaps in other places, as I said before, in Venezuela,

1786
01:28:00,760 --> 01:28:05,440
in Brazil, in Turkey, in Iraq, or here in Portugal,

1787
01:28:05,440 --> 01:28:08,720
which I feel I commit.

1788
01:28:08,720 --> 01:28:11,920
I'm equally committed to any performance I give.

1789
01:28:11,920 --> 01:28:13,560
I try to do my best.

1790
01:28:13,560 --> 01:28:14,400
Wonderful.

1791
01:28:14,400 --> 01:28:17,880
And I can't wait to really meet you in person very soon

1792
01:28:17,880 --> 01:28:18,560
in March.

1793
01:28:18,560 --> 01:28:21,760
And then I can't wait to attend your concert.

1794
01:28:21,760 --> 01:28:23,440
As I'm speaking, I'm learning a lot.

1795
01:28:23,440 --> 01:28:27,240
I'm learning a lot, especially about Latin American music

1796
01:28:27,240 --> 01:28:32,560
and Bolivian music and such a rich history and legacy

1797
01:28:32,560 --> 01:28:33,960
that the music has.

1798
01:28:33,960 --> 01:28:36,960
And music is an amazing instrument

1799
01:28:36,960 --> 01:28:39,120
to connect people together.

1800
01:28:39,120 --> 01:28:40,240
Yes, exactly.

1801
01:28:40,240 --> 01:28:41,880
And Bolivia is full of music.

1802
01:28:41,880 --> 01:28:46,040
We have such rich and diverse rhythms, instruments.

1803
01:28:46,040 --> 01:28:49,160
Never heard of instruments, perhaps, for our audience.

1804
01:28:49,160 --> 01:28:52,560
So some of these rhythms, of course,

1805
01:28:52,560 --> 01:28:54,120
we are able to arrange now.

1806
01:28:54,120 --> 01:28:56,360
We are able to hear in concert settings.

1807
01:28:56,360 --> 01:28:58,800
But I encourage people, yeah, to discover more.

1808
01:28:58,800 --> 01:29:02,120
I hope that this recital and this episode

1809
01:29:02,120 --> 01:29:05,760
encourages people to discover a bit more of our rich Bolivian

1810
01:29:05,760 --> 01:29:06,840
music and culture.

1811
01:29:06,840 --> 01:29:10,000
So what musical aspirations or goals

1812
01:29:10,000 --> 01:29:13,360
do you have for the future following this triumph

1813
01:29:13,360 --> 01:29:14,720
in this competition?

1814
01:29:14,720 --> 01:29:16,240
It's a competition, after all.

1815
01:29:16,240 --> 01:29:19,080
I know the two other pianists who are finalists.

1816
01:29:19,080 --> 01:29:22,320
And they are equally, they deserve this opportunity

1817
01:29:22,320 --> 01:29:27,160
and many more, as much as I do, probably even more than I do.

1818
01:29:27,160 --> 01:29:29,040
Because they are in great shape.

1819
01:29:29,040 --> 01:29:30,600
And I admire them as well.

1820
01:29:30,600 --> 01:29:32,640
They are incredible pianists.

1821
01:29:32,640 --> 01:29:35,160
And a competition is just that.

1822
01:29:35,160 --> 01:29:37,320
It's an opportunity to show your work.

1823
01:29:37,320 --> 01:29:41,640
And I tend to do many competitions, more chamber

1824
01:29:41,640 --> 01:29:43,520
music competitions nowadays.

1825
01:29:43,520 --> 01:29:45,760
I like to share and to perhaps open

1826
01:29:45,760 --> 01:29:48,000
the eyes of those listening to my music

1827
01:29:48,000 --> 01:29:51,440
and to go a little bit beyond just, OK, we

1828
01:29:51,440 --> 01:29:54,880
can hear Chopin well and Rachmaninov well played.

1829
01:29:54,880 --> 01:29:57,720
But perhaps there is a step beyond that,

1830
01:29:57,720 --> 01:30:00,840
which connects this music to what's

1831
01:30:00,840 --> 01:30:03,120
happening elsewhere in the world.

1832
01:30:03,120 --> 01:30:04,720
Of course, Bolivia is very obvious.

1833
01:30:04,720 --> 01:30:08,480
But my aspirations go beyond Bolivia,

1834
01:30:08,480 --> 01:30:11,160
go to other parts of the world where

1835
01:30:11,160 --> 01:30:13,960
I'm learning the music from.

1836
01:30:13,960 --> 01:30:16,000
I see myself as a traveling musician

1837
01:30:16,000 --> 01:30:18,560
and never-ending learner.

1838
01:30:18,560 --> 01:30:22,720
And I'm going to do my best to do that.

1839
01:30:22,720 --> 01:30:25,160
Sergio, it's been a wonderful conversation.

1840
01:30:25,160 --> 01:30:26,920
I thoroughly enjoyed.

1841
01:30:26,920 --> 01:30:30,800
So for all the piano pods fans and listeners out there,

1842
01:30:30,800 --> 01:30:34,560
if you are in the New York City metropolitan area on March 1,

1843
01:30:34,560 --> 01:30:38,640
I urge you to attend Sergio's solo recital at Merkin Hall.

1844
01:30:38,640 --> 01:30:41,680
Walter has generously provided a discount code

1845
01:30:41,680 --> 01:30:44,480
for purchasing tickets to this fantastic recital.

1846
01:30:44,480 --> 01:30:46,720
Simply visit the link in the show notes

1847
01:30:46,720 --> 01:30:50,560
or visit kofmamusiccenter.org and search

1848
01:30:50,560 --> 01:30:54,600
Cantuta Concerts, Opus 1, and enter the promo code

1849
01:30:54,600 --> 01:30:59,280
CANTUTA, K-A-N-T-U-T-A, as you check out

1850
01:30:59,280 --> 01:31:02,400
to take advantage of a special discounted rate.

1851
01:31:02,400 --> 01:31:04,880
Thank you, Sergio, once again for being here.

1852
01:31:04,880 --> 01:31:07,200
And I'll be there on March 1 at Merkin Hall

1853
01:31:07,200 --> 01:31:08,320
to attend your recital.

1854
01:31:08,320 --> 01:31:10,720
I can't wait to meet you face to face afterwards.

1855
01:31:10,720 --> 01:31:11,240
Thank you.

1856
01:31:11,240 --> 01:31:12,520
It's my pleasure.

1857
01:31:12,520 --> 01:31:17,440
We can talk about music and piano and Latin American music

1858
01:31:17,440 --> 01:31:19,040
and Bolivian music forever.

1859
01:31:19,040 --> 01:31:22,280
But we're coming to an end of our conversation.

1860
01:31:22,280 --> 01:31:25,880
But any message, advice for young musicians

1861
01:31:25,880 --> 01:31:27,520
and piano students?

1862
01:31:27,520 --> 01:31:33,040
So I think my main message for young musicians and piano

1863
01:31:33,040 --> 01:31:36,920
students in particular is to keep doing it.

1864
01:31:36,920 --> 01:31:38,800
There is something really special

1865
01:31:38,800 --> 01:31:43,080
about honing a skill for the long term.

1866
01:31:43,080 --> 01:31:47,200
And there really isn't a replacement for that in life.

1867
01:31:47,200 --> 01:31:53,600
Seeing very slow incremental growth, to me,

1868
01:31:53,600 --> 01:31:57,240
that's the most fascinating part about seeing a student grow

1869
01:31:57,240 --> 01:31:59,080
and teaching students.

1870
01:31:59,080 --> 01:32:01,200
And I see it in myself.

1871
01:32:01,200 --> 01:32:05,080
We as humans are, hopefully, growing little by little

1872
01:32:05,080 --> 01:32:09,080
every day, and having something like an instrument.

1873
01:32:09,080 --> 01:32:10,560
It doesn't have to be an instrument.

1874
01:32:10,560 --> 01:32:13,240
It can be a dance form.

1875
01:32:13,240 --> 01:32:15,680
It can be a painting.

1876
01:32:15,680 --> 01:32:18,320
It can be a sport.

1877
01:32:18,320 --> 01:32:19,440
It can be chess.

1878
01:32:19,440 --> 01:32:22,520
It can be something that you are consistently.

1879
01:32:22,520 --> 01:32:23,520
It can be baking.

1880
01:32:23,520 --> 01:32:25,160
I love baking.

1881
01:32:25,160 --> 01:32:27,560
Little by little, you get better and better.

1882
01:32:27,560 --> 01:32:31,760
And to me, that's very satisfying and instills

1883
01:32:31,760 --> 01:32:33,680
and inculcates integrity.

1884
01:32:33,680 --> 01:32:35,880
So that's my main advice.

1885
01:32:35,880 --> 01:32:38,600
If you are a piano student taking an instrument,

1886
01:32:38,600 --> 01:32:42,320
you will always be frustrated because it's always hard.

1887
01:32:42,320 --> 01:32:45,800
But when it gets a little easier, that's the small win.

1888
01:32:45,800 --> 01:32:47,640
And I think that's very special.

1889
01:32:47,640 --> 01:32:49,080
Well said, my friend.

1890
01:32:49,080 --> 01:32:50,680
Thank you so much, Walter.

1891
01:32:50,680 --> 01:32:54,080
This has been a really fun and inspiring conversation.

1892
01:32:54,080 --> 01:32:56,120
I mean, after so many years, I'm getting

1893
01:32:56,120 --> 01:32:57,880
to know you even better today.

1894
01:32:57,880 --> 01:32:58,640
That's right.

1895
01:32:58,640 --> 01:32:59,240
This is great.

1896
01:32:59,240 --> 01:33:00,480
Thank you for having me.

1897
01:33:00,480 --> 01:33:01,040
So excited.

1898
01:33:01,040 --> 01:33:01,560
Yeah.

1899
01:33:01,560 --> 01:33:05,760
And then I'll be there for the concert, March 1st concert.

1900
01:33:05,760 --> 01:33:07,120
So I can't wait.

1901
01:33:07,120 --> 01:33:09,120
But before I let you go, we have one more thing

1902
01:33:09,120 --> 01:33:12,400
to do, which is the rapid fire questions.

1903
01:33:12,400 --> 01:33:15,800
And then, yes, here is a little twist.

1904
01:33:15,800 --> 01:33:19,160
As silly as these questions may sound, your answers,

1905
01:33:19,160 --> 01:33:21,480
they reveal who you truly are.

1906
01:33:21,480 --> 01:33:23,520
So ready or not, let's go.

1907
01:33:23,520 --> 01:33:26,320
Level one, what's your comfort food?

1908
01:33:26,320 --> 01:33:27,640
Salteñas.

1909
01:33:27,640 --> 01:33:29,440
How do you like your coffee?

1910
01:33:29,440 --> 01:33:30,800
Black.

1911
01:33:30,800 --> 01:33:32,560
Cats or dogs?

1912
01:33:32,560 --> 01:33:33,960
Dogs.

1913
01:33:33,960 --> 01:33:35,240
Sunrise or sunset?

1914
01:33:35,240 --> 01:33:38,600
Oh, you know, lately, I've been doing sunrise.

1915
01:33:38,600 --> 01:33:40,600
I've been getting up very early.

1916
01:33:40,600 --> 01:33:41,640
And it's very new.

1917
01:33:41,640 --> 01:33:43,000
Sorry, I know this is supposed to be just one.

1918
01:33:43,000 --> 01:33:43,680
It's OK.

1919
01:33:43,680 --> 01:33:45,160
It's very new for me.

1920
01:33:45,160 --> 01:33:47,440
And I don't think I get up by the sunrise,

1921
01:33:47,440 --> 01:33:48,520
but I'm getting up early.

1922
01:33:48,520 --> 01:33:51,200
And I think sunsets are overrated.

1923
01:33:51,200 --> 01:33:52,800
Summer or winter?

1924
01:33:52,800 --> 01:33:53,880
Winter.

1925
01:33:53,880 --> 01:33:55,560
Paper book or e-book?

1926
01:33:55,560 --> 01:33:56,680
Oh, paper.

1927
01:33:56,680 --> 01:33:58,720
Oh, OK.

1928
01:33:58,720 --> 01:34:00,440
I'm getting to know you better.

1929
01:34:00,440 --> 01:34:04,160
OK, level two, what skill have you always wanted to learn

1930
01:34:04,160 --> 01:34:05,800
but haven't had the chance to?

1931
01:34:05,800 --> 01:34:06,840
Capoeira.

1932
01:34:06,840 --> 01:34:08,280
What is that?

1933
01:34:08,280 --> 01:34:10,400
Oh, that Brazilian martial arts?

1934
01:34:10,400 --> 01:34:13,840
Yeah, the Brazilian martial arts slash dance.

1935
01:34:13,840 --> 01:34:16,280
But yeah, so I don't know about it in this lifetime,

1936
01:34:16,280 --> 01:34:17,280
but we'll see.

1937
01:34:17,280 --> 01:34:20,400
What is your word or words to live by?

1938
01:34:20,400 --> 01:34:22,480
Never, never, never give up.

1939
01:34:22,480 --> 01:34:24,280
What is the most important quality

1940
01:34:24,280 --> 01:34:26,040
you look for in other people?

1941
01:34:26,040 --> 01:34:27,080
Honesty.

1942
01:34:27,080 --> 01:34:30,800
Name three people who inspire you, living or dead.

1943
01:34:30,800 --> 01:34:31,920
Oh, OK.

1944
01:34:31,920 --> 01:34:34,640
Martha Argerich, obvious reasons.

1945
01:34:34,640 --> 01:34:35,480
Oing.

1946
01:34:35,480 --> 01:34:38,440
I'm going to lump all my friends because they all

1947
01:34:38,440 --> 01:34:39,680
do such amazing things.

1948
01:34:39,680 --> 01:34:44,520
And every day, they inspire me to keep going and doing

1949
01:34:44,520 --> 01:34:45,280
the thing.

1950
01:34:45,280 --> 01:34:46,240
Who's my third?

1951
01:34:46,240 --> 01:34:47,840
I'll say my husband.

1952
01:34:47,840 --> 01:34:50,600
Name one piece in your current playlist.

1953
01:34:50,600 --> 01:34:53,920
Arturo Marquez, Danso Number 2.

1954
01:34:53,920 --> 01:34:55,960
OK, I have to listen to it.

1955
01:34:55,960 --> 01:34:57,280
Oh, it's so good.

1956
01:34:57,280 --> 01:34:58,080
You'll love it.

1957
01:34:58,080 --> 01:34:58,960
Level 3.

1958
01:34:58,960 --> 01:35:02,080
What do you believe is the key to a fulfilling life?

1959
01:35:02,080 --> 01:35:04,120
To be honest with yourself.

1960
01:35:04,120 --> 01:35:05,360
Ah, yes.

1961
01:35:05,360 --> 01:35:06,400
Last question.

1962
01:35:06,400 --> 01:35:07,520
Fill in the blank.

1963
01:35:07,520 --> 01:35:09,120
Music is blank.

1964
01:35:09,120 --> 01:35:10,440
Enriching?

1965
01:35:10,440 --> 01:35:11,560
I don't know.

1966
01:35:11,560 --> 01:35:12,400
Great.

1967
01:35:12,400 --> 01:35:13,120
Thank you.

1968
01:35:13,120 --> 01:35:14,000
Beautiful.

1969
01:35:14,000 --> 01:35:15,240
Beautifully said.

1970
01:35:15,240 --> 01:35:18,360
So that concludes this episode of the Piano Pod.

1971
01:35:18,360 --> 01:35:20,440
Thank you, Walter, for joining my show today

1972
01:35:20,440 --> 01:35:23,360
and sharing your stories and insights and expertise.

1973
01:35:23,360 --> 01:35:25,320
So for the Piano Pod's listeners and viewers,

1974
01:35:25,320 --> 01:35:29,120
please visit walteraprecio.com and connect with him

1975
01:35:29,120 --> 01:35:35,000
via Instagram at WFaprecio to get the latest news about Walter.

1976
01:35:35,000 --> 01:35:37,800
You can also find out more about his organization,

1977
01:35:37,800 --> 01:35:40,520
Foundation for Bolivian Artists, and support it

1978
01:35:40,520 --> 01:35:45,800
through its website, bolivianartistfoundation.org.

1979
01:35:45,800 --> 01:35:47,960
You can listen to his recordings,

1980
01:35:47,960 --> 01:35:51,480
including Iris Indio's Piano Music of Bolivia,

1981
01:35:51,480 --> 01:35:55,000
on all major music streaming services, correct?

1982
01:35:55,000 --> 01:35:58,920
I also would like to extend an invitation to all my dear TPP

1983
01:35:58,920 --> 01:36:02,040
fans and listeners for the March 1st Cantuta Concerts

1984
01:36:02,040 --> 01:36:04,880
Opus 1 at Merkin Hall in New York City,

1985
01:36:04,880 --> 01:36:08,200
supporting the winner of Foundation of Bolivian Artists

1986
01:36:08,200 --> 01:36:11,680
of the Year, Sergio Escalera-Soria.

1987
01:36:11,680 --> 01:36:15,040
Use the exclusive discount code, CANTUTA,

1988
01:36:15,040 --> 01:36:20,360
which is K-A-N-T-U-T-A, to receive a special discount.

1989
01:36:20,360 --> 01:36:20,760
Great.

1990
01:36:20,760 --> 01:36:22,880
And all the links are listed in the show notes.

1991
01:36:22,880 --> 01:36:26,040
Thank you to my wonderful audience and fans for tuning in.

1992
01:36:26,040 --> 01:36:29,240
If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review it

1993
01:36:29,240 --> 01:36:31,720
on whatever podcasting platform you use.

1994
01:36:31,720 --> 01:36:35,600
Remember to hit the thumbs up button and subscribe.

1995
01:36:35,600 --> 01:36:37,160
Thank you to my channel.

1996
01:36:37,160 --> 01:36:39,720
If you are watching this episode on YouTube,

1997
01:36:39,720 --> 01:36:41,640
follow the PianoPod on social media

1998
01:36:41,640 --> 01:36:45,680
to get the latest piano news via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,

1999
01:36:45,680 --> 01:36:46,840
and LinkedIn.

2000
01:36:46,840 --> 01:36:49,440
I will see you for the next episode of the PianoPod.

2001
01:36:49,440 --> 01:36:50,840
Thank you, Walter.

2002
01:36:50,840 --> 01:36:52,000
Thank you, Yukime.

2003
01:36:52,000 --> 01:36:52,800
Thank you so much.

2004
01:36:52,800 --> 01:36:53,640
Bye, everyone.

2005
01:36:53,640 --> 01:37:10,140
["Cantu surgeon's pin buenas