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And they seduced Brno in the morning with a

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Welcome back to another episode of the PianoPod. I am your host, Yukimisong. Today we're thrilled

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to have the esteemed presence of Grammy Award-winning pianist and Steinway artist, Chritian Benitez.

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His exceptional album, Latin American Classics, won a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album

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in 2021. Throughout the season, we've had the privilege of delving into the rich tapestry

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of Latin American piano literature, engaging with artists and Latin American music experts

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like Carlos Franzetti, Alison Brewster Franzetti, and Walter Aprecio. Each conversation has unveiled

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the profound diversity and fusion present within Latin American music and culture.

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With Chritian's perspective, who is based in vibrant New York City but rooted in his

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Venezuelan heritage, we aim to further explore the depth of Latin American music and culture today.

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With the PianoPod's guest rosters spanning from Peru to Bolivia, Argentina, and now Venezuela,

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our journey promises to uncover the rich, multifaceted layers of this captivating musical landscape.

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But before we dive into our conversation with Chritian, let me take a moment to explore his

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illustrious background. Known for his vivid and passionate concerts, Chritian explores a rich

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blend of classical and Latin American music, earning acclaim as a leading figure among

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a new generation of dynamic Venezuelan virtuosos. Praised by José Antonio Abru, founder of Venezuela's

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El Sistema as a crucial leader in Latin America's musical movement and mentored by Philippe Entremont,

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Chritian's performances resonate worldwide. He has performed in iconic venues like Philharmonic

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Hall in Berlin and Davy's Symphony Hall in San Francisco, collaborating with top top conductors

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including Claudia Bado and Gustavo Dudamo. In 2019, Chritian's prowess was showcased during

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a 13-city recital tour in China, reinforcing his global reputation. His album, Latin American

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Classics, captured a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album featuring compelling compositions from

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across the continent. His latest work, Afro-Cuban Dances, also earned a Latin Grammy nomination in

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2023. Mr. Benitez's discography includes over 50 tracks for Steinway's Spirio and albums such as

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miniatures, which won a bronze medal at the Global Music Awards. His leadership extends to

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educational roles, having served as assistant conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the

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Americas and artist in residence for Venezuela's El Sistema. Chritian is a recipient of José Felix

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Riba's award for his cultural contributions. So join us as we explore Chritian's remarkable

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career achievements, including his accolades awards, and examine how his multifaceted identity

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influences his creative processes. We'll also delve into how he has pioneered new ways of

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experiencing music through innovative approaches to music production, extending from his traditional

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concert performances to more experimental projects. Before getting started with this special episode,

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I want to welcome all of our first sign words today to the PianoPod. I'm a classical pianist and

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educator from New York City. Whether diving deep into a piano career, working professionally in the

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classical music scene, or simply having a passion for piano tunes, this podcast is your backstage

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pass to the fascinating world of piano music. To our incredible TPP fans and loyal listeners,

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welcome back. Your continued support means the world to us. If you enjoy today's episode,

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please take a moment to rate and review the show on your favorite podcasting platform.

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Your feedback helps others discover the joy of the PianoPod. Now without further ado,

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I'm thrilled to introduce Mr. Chrissian Benitez and kick off our conversation. So sit back and relax

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and please enjoy the show. You are listening to the PianoPod where we talk to the brightest minds

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in the industry about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century. Welcome, Chrissian,

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to the PianoPod. Thank you. Hi, how are you? Thank you so much. I'm so honored to be here. Thank you.

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Oh, honor is ours. Look, honored to have you and thank you for being here. You know, this season on

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the PianoPod, I've had amazing opportunities to chat with some incredible talents from our industry

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who either hail from Latin America or passionately promote and perform Latin American music and I've

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learned so much and I'm so looking forward to diving deeper into the world of Latin American

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music and culture today with you. So I'm ready to learn. Great. Let's start with this. Your album,

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which one of the albums which won the Latin Grammy for best classical album, which in 2021,

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I believe, and the title is Latin American Classics and which was also produced under the Steinway label.

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That's correct. Wonderful and congratulations. And so I watched actually one piece from the album.

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It's called Adios Cuba by Ignacio Cervantes. So yeah, what inspired you to create the Latin American

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Classics album? So I am originally from Venezuela. I grew up in Venezuela and as part of the musical

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education that I got in the conservatory, we were always encouraged and we need always to add

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as part of the repertoire music from Latin America and from Venezuela. So I kind of like grew up with

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that. That was part of like my DNA and through the years, I saw that sometimes people were referring

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to those type of music as like a different and separate part of the classical music

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world and I started like researching a little bit and some of those composers were actually

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friends and colleagues of the classical composers that we know. So I was like, yeah, so why there's a

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difference? If I recall and as we know as musicians, a lot of composers were inspired

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by folklore, by traditions, same way as Latin America. So one of the things that sometimes people

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were making a differentiation about it was that, oh, in Latin America they were using more

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folk music. Folk music was like, yeah, but for example, Brahms was using folk music, Borjak was

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using folk music, Smith and I. You have a lot of composers that use that element, French music

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as well. So it was like, this is the same type of music. It's just like classical music from

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composers that were born in Latin America. So I needed to be able to show

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audiences about what we are and when I say what we are, I'm not only talking about being Venezuelan,

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but being from Latin America. It's like different countries with an extremely rich culture

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that must be put there in the world. I think the same way that we musicians are

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working so hard on exposing contemporary music, new composers, new ways of

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doing music, we also need to activate some sort of way of the nostalgia of

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what happened there. There are so many different composers, a lot of them unknown, with fantastic

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music. So I have that urge to show a little bit of who we are as Latin Americans.

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Well, thank you. Well said. I mean, Latin America, the continent itself is so diverse, right?

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So how did you go about selecting the specific pieces for this album?

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And why you chose these particular pieces from Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, and of course your

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country of origin, Venezuela and Mexico as well? You know, I started doing a project

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with Steinway about creating this catalog of Latin American music. And the first thing

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that came to my mind was I want to play the music that I love, that I grew up with,

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that makes me happy and makes me want to showcase better. I think when we have pieces

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of music that we perform that we really love, the way that that interconnects the

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artist with the audience, it creates some sort of magic. So I was like, I want to create that.

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But at the moment was just like just doing a catalog for Steinway's Spirio piano, which is a

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high resolution piano. And then I started to just record music that I knew since I was a little kid,

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music that I wanted to perform, that I wanted to be part of that catalog. And then it changed

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the whole project because that catalog became the album. And then when we talked about doing

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the album, I was thinking, OK, I want to make a structure, I want to divide it into countries,

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I want to make like a bigger thing, a bigger project. But then the pandemic came. And I

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remember my producer calling me saying like, you already recorded 24 tracks of music. I know that

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we have a plan that you want some structure, but we don't know what's going to happen with

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the pandemic. And I think this is a really good material that we have here to release an album,

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would you want to do it? And then I was like, yes. And I was happy at the same time, because

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everything that I was selecting at first was just coming from the fact that I want to be more

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connected to the music that I grew up with, that I love. So that album specifically has music that

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I really cherish, that I really love, and that I wanted to show audiences. So it was like a really

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rewarding, nurturing process. And then, of course, from that, then I started making more

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structure, like I want to add more country. There are so many composers. I can just make maybe

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like 10 albums of just one country, like Mexico, for example, that musical

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culture diversity is just like, is so rich. But I need to just kind of like select, you know,

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and sometimes selecting is complicated. But it was just trying to follow my intuition and then

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connect with music that really connects with me emotionally. I think musical connection is

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something that is very, very, very important, especially after everything that we've been

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through, you know, that human connection, that magical connection, that chemistry,

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that electricity that creates the artist with the music. And then we transfer that to the

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audience, you know, is very important. So it was just trying to connect emotionally with music,

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with Latin American music to show in that album. Then do you have any favorite piece on this album?

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If so, what makes it stand out to your personal or maybe you love all of them? I love all of them.

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I have to say that in that album, there's a piece by Ginastera, the Suite of Creole Dances.

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That piece actually, I cherish that piece so much. And I, you know, like I always thank

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Ginastera and that piece because it was a piece that actually started the whole project. It's

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interesting because it's a piece by Ginastera from Argentina, but he composed that piece in New York

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when he was living in New York. So for me, it was some sort of like, you know, me, a Latin American

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that living in New York, start, you know, to build some sort of path with Stanway at that moment.

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They didn't know who I was, you know, anything like that. And then just kind of like connect. So

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because of that piece is that we are doing what we're doing right now. So I would say like,

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I love them all. But that piece specifically is something that is very important to me.

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Also, the Adios a Cuba by Sarandes that we also did after we did a music video with Stanway.

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It talks about the fact that a person has to exile a country. So for me, you know, being an

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immigrant and everything that is going on right now in my country with exile, that is something

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that has been always very close to me. And it's hard, it's painful, but we create magic through

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pain as well. So I think I needed also to show that in that album. And that's also a very,

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very important piece.

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We live in the States and we're not necessarily from here. Like we were not born here. We live

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here. We are from here. But that story is kind of like relatable to any culture. You know, like

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when you have to, you leave your country for many different reasons. You live in a country because

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you want to leave your country or you're forced to leave your country, your country or life

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happens that you have, you know, like things like that. So it's a very like universal story

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for anyone, like even from people that live here in the United States, that they have to move from

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a state to another. Like you have to move that moving part, that emotional journey that we all

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live, even if we like move two blocks away, you know, there's an emotional movement there.

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And I think we have to pay attention to that because especially as artists, we can't open

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universes. We can create from that feeling and we have to be always connected with feeling. I

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think like that's a very important thing. I know that in classical music, you know, we need to build

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up a technical skills, like to the top level. And we all, we're all doing that. Or we did that at

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some point. I think we're all, we're still doing it, you know, while we keep practicing and evolving.

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But the emotional part, that's something that also has to be nourished, you know, like you have to be,

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you know, like we have to water it every day. And we can be better human beings if we are connected

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to it. Sure. And then that's one of the reasons we play music and also, you know, all of a sudden

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music comes alive, right? When you put that part of yourself into the music, music making.

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Before, you know, I go to the next question. I want to know the characteristics of Venezuelan

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music. So, you know, I got to interview Walter Parischio. He is also the champion of the Latin

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American music. And he actually is the one who recommended you, one of the people who recommended

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you to, recommended me to interview you. He is obviously the foundation for the Bolivian artists.

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So he told me many things about Bolivian music. It's so fascinating, the mixture of indigenous

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culture to, you know, European influence to so many others. So how about Venezuelan music?

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Yeah. So, you know, I feel like I have some sort of like flag now, you know, that like

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motto that I, you know, this kind of like, I'm sure people have seen like this Instagram trend,

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like the dude with the sign, you know, like the dude with the sign. I'm the one that said like,

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we are from Latin America and we have a superpower. And the superpower that we have

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is the mix of cultures, you know. We, all of Latin America in different, you know, percentages,

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we have influence from European culture. We have influence, of course, for indigenous because

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they were there already. And also we have influence from Africa, you know, like the Spaniards

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were bringing slaves from Africa at that time. But the most beautiful thing is like the way we were

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kind of like merging together. And even if you don't have, you know, like in your DNA,

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that little part of, let's say like African culture, which I'm sure like we all have that a little

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bit, you know, in Latin America, we some sort of like, we are splashed by it, by the music,

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by the culture, by the festivities that we celebrate. One of the most interesting things is

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like how the Catholic Church had to some sort of like adapt a little bit to the African culture

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and to indigenous culture in order to blend, you know, there was, they were forced. But right now

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when you think about it, like traditions and all of that, it's all together. And sometimes, you know,

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we were thinking, I think, the past that people were not conscious about that. And it's actually a

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superpower, like our, it's part of our identity. We're a mixture. And being a mixture gives us

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variety, gives us, but natural, you know, it's not force, it's not something that we have to

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make up, we have to kind of like make a construct to, we're just born that way. And I'm not saying

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that we are better than everybody else, but it's something that's through history, we were kind of

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like, oh, the Latin culture is kind of like a, you know, like a lower culture on the country. Like

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we have, we adapt and we were open, forced or not, in the past to that mixture. And that gives us a

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lot of color. And I think that's something that's interesting. And that's why sometimes like our

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music sounds on a different way. There's some sort of like colors, some sort of like, of course,

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there's rhythm, a specific rhythm. And when you go through all Latin America, you know, like from

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Mexico all the way to Argentina, Chile, although we are different, like our accents are different,

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the way that we feel the music and the way that we want to create, it's some sort of like equal,

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like the same, like we'll come from the same core. And in Venezuela, we have that, you know, like

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we have influence of indigenous, we have influence of African, we have influence of European.

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Venezuela specifically, not like in the 1900s, but like in this like second World War, for example,

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we had a lot of immigration from Europe, Italian, French, Portuguese, Germans, you know, like, so

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that mixture, like even now, like you talk to a German, you know, person that immigrates

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Venezuela and then they some sort of like, they have this interesting way of seeing life that is

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different, you know. And that's because it's kind of like nurtured by what we are giving,

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you know, maybe we're like, I don't know, too informal sometimes. And that informality, you

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know, it's something that gave us the door, like that opened the door for immigrants to

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came to our country and then have more mixture. So we're part of a mixture. And being mixed is so

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important and so fulfilled, you know, you feel so full of joy, full of color, full of and then that

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transcend to everything, you know, arts, music, different expressions. So in Venezuela, we have

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that we are very, although we're from South America, we are on the coast of South America. So we get

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that Caribbean also like flavor into it. It is interesting and then it is also interesting and

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I encourage people to have some sort of playlist or listen to music from Mexico all the way down

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or from Argentina all the way up. And then you'll see there are a lot of similarity, but also the

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variety is just astonishing. Obviously, you won the Latin Grammy and that's a huge, huge milestone.

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Where were you when you received the? So when I got the nomination, I was here in New York. I

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never expected I when I saw it, I was like, oh my God, I cannot believe it. Like, this is insane.

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This is not happening. And I remember that still like I have it right here. Wow, wow, I see it.

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And I still like till this day, sometimes it feels like it was a dream, you know, I always thought

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like a Grammys of being, you know, like pop music and rock and like which, you know, all of those

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genres are amazing. But then for classical music, I don't know, like I never understand it. And

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I went to a ceremony that was happening in Vegas at the time. It was like post pandemic. So it was

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very weird situation, like the whole thing. And I was just trying to enjoy the moment. I was like,

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I think this is like the only time in my life that I'm going to be walking a red carpet. You know,

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this is like insane. I never expected that. I don't do music for that. You know, it was like,

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and we went through the whole process. I saw the nominations. And then when I heard

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Latin American classic, my name, my producer name, John Finer, we were just like static. We were just

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like extremely happy. And when we were walking on the red carpet after one, a very famous artist,

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Jorge Drexler, a singer, songwriter, pop artist, like it's like a huge, you know,

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a guy, he approached me and he said, like, you know, that classical, like the classical,

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like writing for classical music is like one of the most important things here. And I'm like,

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no, it's not possible. Like, no. I mean, it's like, yes, it is because a classical music album,

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you cannot add effects to it. So what you listen to, you know, besides of like editing or like a

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little, you know, thing, there's nothing. It's very like naked. It's raw. There's no auto-tune.

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There's no, you know, special effects to, especially when you're doing an album that is

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only piano. And then that kind of like resonated with me. You know, resonated with me. And I was

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like, okay, I think we're doing something that is important and I want to keep doing it for the rest

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of my life. There was some sort of like reassurance of this is a hard path because it's not easy for

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musicians, but it's not easy for anyone. Like, you know, life is just complex, but it was so happy

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to be part of the musical world. And just a little bit, just like one little dot of that huge

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universe and representing who I am, you know, as a person, with my culture. So it was just incredible.

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Wow. Well, congratulations again. And also your another album, latest album,

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Afro Cuban Dances was nominated for a Latin Grammy and two years later, 2023,

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in this classical album category. So this album is filled with pieces by Cuban composer

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Ernesto Le Buona. Why you chose his music? Well, I feel like part of my heart belongs to Cuba,

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somewhere or the other. When I was growing up, I had the opportunity to

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just to study with a fantastic Cuban pianist. And then it happens that when I came to New York to

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study, I studied at the Mahálaz School of Music. I also studied with another Cuban teacher, Salomon

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Mikovsky, rest in peace. And I don't know, I feel like Cuban culture and Venezuelan culture, they kind

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of like, they feel very similar. I had the urge to show a little bit more of what Cuban culture was.

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And, you know, some people like it, some people don't like it. The fact that the Spaniard with the

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slaves, the first country that came and conquered was Cuba. So everything happened there first and

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then expanded through Latin America. Le Buona was actually the first composer in history. And this

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is something that not a lot of people know. And that was also the reasons for me of like creating

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kind of like this album is he was the first composer that added African elements into

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classical music, I put it into a regular classical music stage. And it was very controversial, you

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know, the fact that he was like adding like, you know, drums like into like piano rhythms and like

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doing things like that. It was like, what's going on with this? You know, like, I think this is

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something that people should know and feel proud of it. And at the same time, all of these

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selections of pieces, the Afro-Cuban dances, which is a suite, and then I added four more pieces, but

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this selection of this suite, it talks a lot about the carnival celebration. And I was

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telling you before, so the carnival was, you know, instated by the Catholic Church, but actually the

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festivities of carnival were in masks of being, you know, like hidden. It's all African. So it was

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a very interesting moment when they were celebrating the carnival, the processions of

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carnival. They were having the parties, you know, like outside the celebrations with masks on.

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So they were all equal, right? There were no Spanish, no indigenous, no African. They were all

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wearing masks. And then it was very, very interesting because at night, you know, they took off the mask

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and then they were going some sort of like underground parties or like celebration without

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masks, but they were all mixing together, but it was something like hidden. So I wanted to show

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also that in this album. Also it was an album that is very dear to me. I created the idea. It's the

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first time that I play a piece on my own. There's a piece on my own in the album that I dedicated to

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Ernesto Lecuona, like in his style. Also I'm highlighting his sister, Ernestina Lecuona,

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which was the reason that Lecuona became a pianist and a composer. And she was kind of like

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overshadowed. She was part of Cuban musical tradition and history. She wrote a lot of songs.

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She wrote, you know, like she was famous, she was important, but she was forgotten. So I wanted to

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highlight that and I did an arrangement of one of her songs and put it in the album, you know,

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understanding that she was a very important part of who Ernesto was. The other important thing

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is that I relate that and I was doing that in concerts, especially here in the United States,

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is that Lecuona and Gershwin were really, really good friends. They were changing letters.

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They were like a lot of communications. And when Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue in response,

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kind of like a satirical response, Lecuona wrote a piece that is called The Black Rhapsody.

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That nobody knows. And I think it's being recorded just like the piano solo version, but there's a

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piano and orchestra version similar to what Gershwin did, but African elements and using

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the language of Lecuona. So it's very interesting, you know, how we are connected and we don't even

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know. So for me it was very important to highlight that. And then I also dared to

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draw the cover of the album. So the cover is me doing it, trying to kind of like put there

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what I feel about the album, you know, the colors, the rhythm, the culture. And so, you know,

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it's a project that is kind of like a baby. I was really, really, really involved in creating

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the idea. And I have to say that the piece, my piece that is in the album, it was a product

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of an improvisation. And it was very, very scared to do it for an album. You know, I do it like for

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myself. But I think, you know, I've been trying to kind of like open up myself into that world.

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And I know a lot of people know that this is not something new. Like improvisation in classical

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music exists since Bach, you know. And for some reason classical musicians were kind of like,

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you know, take off that element. You know, it's like, oh, you cannot improvise. Improvisation is

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for jazz. And it is not true. So I want to kind of like get in touch again with that feeling.

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It was very scary, I have to say. And it's funny stories when I was recording it in the studio,

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I just did it in one take because it was improvisation. When I finished, I remember telling

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my producer, this is not going to work. This is too short. I cannot, you know, this is like over

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like two minutes, like under two minutes, I don't think it's going to work. And then he said like,

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Christian, you've been playing for seven minutes. And I was like, I cannot believe it. Like it was

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really mind blowing for me experience liberating also. So for me, that album represents a lot and

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makes me want to continue, like do more research and do, you know, because it's not just like putting

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music and that's it. No, I mean, at least for me, I need some sort of like research comes to something

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that will get to people and start like seeing music, Latin American music on a different way.

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You know, I understand that sometimes people feel a little bit intimidated by Latin American music,

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or they feel that it's like minor, like all little pieces. But I encourage people to,

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you don't have to like it necessarily, but just try it, listen to it. And then you'll see the same

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thing happen with regular standard classical music, you know, like not a lot of people necessarily

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love opera, let's say, I don't understand that. But some people just say like, it's too much for me.

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Yeah, but even within opera, there are operas that are different. So give it a try, just

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unblock that, you know, right away. And there's so this beautiful worlds to discover. Once you

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give yourself permission to listen and to experience a little bit more. Absolutely. What's

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a what what a great marketer you are to like, there's a call to action. That's so awesome.

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No, well, I mean, I want to talk more about you as an improviser, but oh, I didn't realize it was

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just the one take you sat down on in front of the piano and then you did it. Yeah. Oh, my goodness,

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that was an amazing experience. And you know, I have to say I turned that piece into a score.

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So the process like was backwards and it was so hard to try to, you know, with the inflections and

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with the time that it was taking like while improvising because it's some sort of like a

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like a low pace piece, like slow, slow side, but then put it into a score. It was also like a

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challenge and an amazing experience, you know, to transform that into like actual rhythms that

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kind of like match, you know, time signature and like so it was it was really entertaining,

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a lot of hard work. But I will do it again a million times. So if I want to get a score,

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is that available? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really? Oh, yes. Look me up. I'm gonna buy it. Yes,

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I want to try it. Yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed the album there. Yeah, very much. Anyway, so

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to all our listeners and viewers, I strongly encourage you to check out Christian's Grammy

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Award winning solo piano albums, Latin American classics and Afro Cuban dances. These albums are

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lively, delightful compilation of works by Latin American composers, short to captivate anyone who

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gives it gives a lesson. So you can find them on all music streaming services, right? That's

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correct. Yes. Okay, I will also post the links in the description. So we just started talking

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improvisation. And I also watched your improv chops on YouTube channel. One was called

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the carnival after dark. Yeah. Wow. Fantastic. So improvisation plays a significant role

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in your career sounds like and it could you describe your creative process when you approach

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improvisation in the studio or during the live performance? So this is a, you know, when you say

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like it takes part of like in my career. Yes, I had to kind of like turn it off for so long.

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And I'm telling you a story when it was seven years old. And this is this is an interesting

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story that I discovered recently with my therapist. So everyone that have access to a therapist,

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please do it is the best thing ever. Amen to that. Yeah. Oh my God. Yes. So when it was seven,

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I had to it was the first time that I was performing a concerto with orchestra. And it was a piece

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that Venezuelan or Argentina composer wrote for me Alejandro Slobodianic is his name. It's like

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the pianist name, but it's a composer from Venezuela, Argentina. And it was a brand new

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piece. He gave me the manuscript and I had to learn it. And it was during summer. I was seven.

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So for me, you know, finishing school and then have summer vacation was like the dream come true.

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You know, and I remember at that time, my teacher in Venezuela, she said like, no, you have to,

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you know, keep practicing all summer. You need to learn your new repertoire and then the concerto

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because you have to play the concerto in September. And then it was June. So I had like very little

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time and it was a new piece. And then, you know, it was a little like mad. It was seven. And then

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seven. And I remember my mom and none of them in my family, there are no musicians. I'm the only one.

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But my mom was very dedicated, you know, to understanding, you know, the pieces. She was

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probably like the most strict judge that I had performing. Like it was so interesting. Like she

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really learned like the pieces and she was understanding and she was like, oh, you're

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rushing there and you're doing too, you know, things like that, that it was really interesting.

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But at that time, she didn't know the pieces because she had to like go to lessons and start

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listening to the pieces in order to get, and that new piece was the new piece, you know, like it

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didn't exist. So she said, okay, so the plan for the summer is you're going to practice in the

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morning and then in the afternoon you can play soccer. I love playing soccer, playing soccer and

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play with my Nintendo, my video game. I was like, okay, seven years old. But at the same time,

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I was mad. I was talking to my friends at the time and they were like, oh, I'm at the beach. I'm

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like doing this and that. I'm like, I'm here, you know, like. So what I did was that I started

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improvising pieces, like, and every day I was doing something different. And then

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my mom, I think like after two or three weeks, she called my teacher and said like, yeah,

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he's ready. Like he's been playing the pieces for me and this sounds great. And like, I really like

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them. You know, I was trying to always add some similar things so my mom couldn't, you know,

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recall that MP. But it was like, you know, just do like shenanigans, you know, like when

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and then my mom said like, okay, so I talked to your teacher, you're going to have a lesson

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because you're already ready. And then I started like weeping, like crying. And I was like, I have

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to confess. Everything is made up. Like I didn't, you know, learn the pieces. And then, and then so

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of course she was mad, but at the same time laughing, it was like a situation that and I remember

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that going that time to my teachers that I kind of like turn off that because it was kind of like

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forbidden. Like, why are you not learning the piece? And you're being like playing with the piano,

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like literally playing games with the piano. And I didn't understand it at the time. So I learned

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the piece after and you know, it was just doing my standard repertoire. But I remember at some

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point, like adult age, remembering that story, I'm like, oh my God, I have that. I had it is still

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there. And it was like a very interesting process to kind of like getting it back. I think like one

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of my biggest reference in terms of improvisation and also as a musician is Venezuela pianist,

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Gabriela Montero. I admire her, admire her so much. She's also a really good friend of mine. And I

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remember talking to her a little bit and saying like, I don't want to, I don't want people to feel

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that I'm trying to copy what you do. And then she turned to me and then she said like, remember that

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improvisation exists not because of me, it's because of music, because of Bach, because of the beginning

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of times. And I'm just telling you the way you improvise is a completely different approach of

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what I do. So please go and fly and do what you want. And so my process is actually, it's just

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connecting with the feeling that I have at the moment. Like sometimes it works, sometimes it

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doesn't work. And I'm happy that if sometimes doesn't work, it's okay. You know, we're humans,

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like it's fine. And it's just that I just let it go. Sometimes I think of a key, but it's so

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interesting that every time I start in a key, I finish in a different key. It's the key that the

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feeling like drives me to. But, and if I need to be like, you know, have some sort of a structure,

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I kind of like say, okay, maybe I have to do like a two part thing, but that never happened. You know,

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if I do, I'm going to do like an ABA form. It ended up being like a complete different thing.

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You know, and I like that. I know that some people, they improvise with structure and I admire that.

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Myself, I don't. And I feel like if I start like adding elements of structure to that, I will kind

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of like, it would kind of like, loot the natural element of what I imprint in my improvisations.

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So I kind of like let it go a little bit and just like do what I feel at the moment. It's a scary,

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it's a scary moment as well, because when you let it go, you're also, you have to let it go also

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everything, you know, like things that you like, your fear. So everything is right there. The

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monsters are like next to you, but it's okay. It's part of you and you have to let your monsters out

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and have coffee with you sometimes. And if they want to improvise with you, they're, you know,

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they are open to and then I want them to be there with me. They're part of me, you know.

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So it's scary sometimes, but when I'm finished, it's like, okay, let's hear. And honestly,

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it's like, I don't remember what I do. Like it's little things, but like there are things like,

373
00:44:19,980 --> 00:44:25,740
oh, I use that chord, like, oh, that chord is nice, you know, and then like, but I never like came

374
00:44:25,740 --> 00:44:33,180
up with a specific plan. That's just my way. Yeah, but it's almost like a free writing like,

375
00:44:33,180 --> 00:44:39,740
so you're really in touch with yourself in ourself. So you that's, that's maybe one of the reasons you

376
00:44:39,740 --> 00:44:45,580
don't remember specific chord that you use, no? Yeah. For me, it's like a, like a meditation.

377
00:44:45,580 --> 00:44:50,300
I remember during the pandemic, everybody were like sending you like, okay, so start like meditating

378
00:44:50,300 --> 00:44:54,620
and then like these apps and like everything, which I think they're like amazing tools. But

379
00:44:54,620 --> 00:45:01,660
my way of meditating was actually improvising. I was sitting in the piano and then just let go.

380
00:45:02,700 --> 00:45:06,860
And then I could leave and like, you know, cry, laugh, everything, but it was like always

381
00:45:06,860 --> 00:45:16,140
through piano. It's like, yeah, I think like, I don't see myself not in this life or not in our life

382
00:45:16,140 --> 00:45:20,620
without the piano. It's crazy, but it's just like, it's who I am, it's part of me.

383
00:45:20,620 --> 00:45:36,620
So it's like, it's my, it's my everything.

384
00:45:50,620 --> 00:45:58,620
I was listening to many pieces this morning by you on Spotify,

385
00:45:58,620 --> 00:46:07,020
playing through, and then I came across your 2016 album, Miniatures, which you earned the bronze

386
00:46:07,020 --> 00:46:15,660
medal at the global music awards. And obviously this album is entirely of your improvisation, no?

387
00:46:15,660 --> 00:46:23,180
Or arrangement? Yeah. Yeah. Wow. And then, you know, I loved the piece called Two Poems,

388
00:46:23,180 --> 00:46:29,740
Op. 32, No. 1, F sharp major. And then also the intermezzo in E major and then

389
00:46:29,740 --> 00:46:35,740
mania, mania nita, caracuore indian. Yeah. Wow. Am I pronouncing okay? Perfect. Okay.

390
00:46:35,740 --> 00:46:44,220
Oh, that was so good. So tell me, are they like based on certain melody or a certain

391
00:46:44,220 --> 00:46:54,540
whole chant? The poem is by Scriabin. Oh, okay. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Got it. The whole, the idea of the whole album

392
00:46:54,540 --> 00:47:06,060
was to just, it was playing live in a concert. Everything was live. The album. Yeah. The whole album is live.

393
00:47:06,060 --> 00:47:15,660
So it was a concert that I did in Mexico City. I had, I lived there for a year and it was just

394
00:47:15,660 --> 00:47:22,140
right when I started living there that I had this opportunity to play this, this recital.

395
00:47:22,140 --> 00:47:32,940
I didn't add all the pieces of the recital, but then this little jewels that I add here and there

396
00:47:33,420 --> 00:47:39,900
were like very special to me at that time. Still, they still are. And the Scriabin,

397
00:47:41,020 --> 00:47:46,620
it's nice that you mention it because I've been talking to some

398
00:47:46,620 --> 00:47:53,980
Russian friends of mine and they say like, yeah, I like it, but it's, there's something different there.

399
00:47:55,740 --> 00:48:02,540
So I don't know, I think, you know, sometimes we are, we grew up with the fact that we have to,

400
00:48:02,540 --> 00:48:07,500
you know, we follow the score, everything that the composer, you know, writes there, we have to do it.

401
00:48:07,500 --> 00:48:15,740
And yes, of course, but there's a moment in time in life that as performers, you know, also we

402
00:48:15,740 --> 00:48:23,980
want to kind of like imprint a little bit what we are. And it's not just saying that the composer is wrong.

403
00:48:23,980 --> 00:48:30,300
I mean, there's nothing to do with that. It's just like we have this some sort of like necessity of

404
00:48:30,300 --> 00:48:36,780
show who we are. And if we play pieces written by different composers, then we also, you know,

405
00:48:36,780 --> 00:48:42,940
we give a little, you know, space to add here and there. I mean, of course, if I'm going to a piano

406
00:48:42,940 --> 00:48:49,660
competition and do that, like I'm not going to, but after you pass all of that, which I think is an

407
00:48:49,660 --> 00:48:53,740
amazing experience to have, you know, competitions and like concerts and all of that, and of course,

408
00:48:53,740 --> 00:48:59,900
school, you need to learn the structure. That's something that a dear teacher of mine told me

409
00:48:59,900 --> 00:49:05,980
always. You need to first learn the structure and then you deform it the way you want it.

410
00:49:05,980 --> 00:49:11,420
But you cannot deform it first. You need to know, understand how it sounds. You need to understand

411
00:49:11,420 --> 00:49:19,500
why the composer is writing that. Why is that happening? You know, and it was a very special

412
00:49:19,500 --> 00:49:27,900
teacher that I had in Germany. I was going to Hamburg for several summers and her name was

413
00:49:28,620 --> 00:49:38,220
Elgin Roth, pianist, very, you know, from the old school. But it was so interesting

414
00:49:38,220 --> 00:49:43,340
that when we were learning Beethoven, we learned all five pianos in terms of Beethoven,

415
00:49:43,340 --> 00:49:49,820
one of the big things that we did. And she was always saying that to me.

416
00:49:50,620 --> 00:49:56,140
Learn the structure first and then, you know, remember that Beethoven was a creative Beethoven,

417
00:49:56,140 --> 00:50:02,700
you know, when he was not able to hear the music, he was feeling the music. He was his universe

418
00:50:02,700 --> 00:50:12,780
inside was so big that it couldn't, you know, stand the real world. So it was like, for me,

419
00:50:12,780 --> 00:50:18,140
it was eye opening. And it's not that I'm do whatever I want. No, but like understanding

420
00:50:18,140 --> 00:50:23,980
the structure and then, you know, you take little licenses here and there if you feel like it

421
00:50:23,980 --> 00:50:30,380
doesn't have to be that way. And then you see famous pianist, you know, I think like one of the

422
00:50:30,380 --> 00:50:36,700
I think like one of the most amazing concert that I've listened to in my life was here in New York,

423
00:50:36,700 --> 00:50:45,420
Lincoln Center, Martha Argerich playing and Rostropovich was conducting like the last years,

424
00:50:45,420 --> 00:50:51,980
you know, and she played Beethoven first piano concerto that that's a concerto that she played

425
00:50:51,980 --> 00:50:56,700
like since she was a little kid. And the way that she was playing that at that time, I'm sure like

426
00:50:56,700 --> 00:51:00,380
she's like if I listen to a concerto right now playing by her, it's going to be a completely

427
00:51:00,380 --> 00:51:07,500
different world. But it was so amazing, so unique. And I remember seeing like, I want to be that

428
00:51:07,500 --> 00:51:13,980
pianist, you know, I want to be that artist, I want to be the one that that understand music,

429
00:51:13,980 --> 00:51:19,660
respect music, because I respect music so much. I respect composers so much. But at the same time,

430
00:51:20,220 --> 00:51:25,900
I want to put all of that in my own universe and in my own world. And I want to play it with my

431
00:51:25,900 --> 00:51:30,540
own words. You know, sometimes when you're reading a book, and then you're explaining the book,

432
00:51:30,540 --> 00:51:35,020
you're not saying what the book is saying, you know, you need you use your own words. So we

433
00:51:35,020 --> 00:51:43,100
we have to use our own words to express ourselves after we understand what is it about. So

434
00:51:44,220 --> 00:51:51,020
Hey there TPP family, the piano part is now into our fourth season. And it's all thanks to you.

435
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Since 2020, you've been with my journey with the TPP exploring this burning question. How do we make

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446
00:53:04,700 --> 00:53:11,660
classical musicians. Now let's continue with the show. And then there's another aspect of you that

447
00:53:11,660 --> 00:53:21,100
is very interesting that it's equal that you work with the collaboration. I listened to the album

448
00:53:21,100 --> 00:53:33,660
mostoros which also, am I pronouncing correctly? Mostoros. Which also won another award and so

449
00:53:33,660 --> 00:53:42,860
and you collaborated with many incredible talents in the Latin music industry. Hey Glenn, Lauda

450
00:53:42,860 --> 00:53:51,740
Guevara. Yeah. Yeah and so many others. And I really enjoyed the album. That album is so special.

451
00:53:51,740 --> 00:54:02,140
So tell me about the collaboration. So that album is an homage to Venezuelan music.

452
00:54:02,140 --> 00:54:10,300
But Venezuelan music of different genres. From classical Venezuelan music for piano,

453
00:54:12,060 --> 00:54:21,980
all the way to like pop and you know boleros, like love songs, like all a huge range with my

454
00:54:21,980 --> 00:54:27,980
current which at the moment when I recorded that it was you know I would just want to try to make a

455
00:54:27,980 --> 00:54:35,580
fusion between classical music and or classical elements or my way like I'm a classical

456
00:54:35,580 --> 00:54:43,980
pianist, trained pianist. Merge with all of that and create some sort of like a minimal elegant

457
00:54:45,260 --> 00:54:51,580
approach to this music and then the idea was to collaborate with people from complete different

458
00:54:51,580 --> 00:54:57,660
genres like not classical musicians like all from different music worlds like singers and

459
00:54:57,660 --> 00:55:07,820
writers, pop, rock, folk. So it was really nurturing. It was an amazing process. I

460
00:55:09,260 --> 00:55:10,940
wish that that album had more

461
00:55:13,820 --> 00:55:23,900
impact but it got released right when the pandemic started. I see. It was kind of like frozen in time

462
00:55:23,900 --> 00:55:28,700
I guess. Like it's stuck in a little capsule. I love that album. Like it taught me a lot.

463
00:55:29,260 --> 00:55:36,380
It taught me a lot of what I want to do and what you know this kind of like homage that I was

464
00:55:36,380 --> 00:55:44,460
paying to Venezuela. I was like doing arrangements also of my own and I asked our people

465
00:55:44,460 --> 00:55:52,860
to help me with our arrangement. There's like a famous pop song that I turned into a kind of like

466
00:55:52,860 --> 00:56:00,620
a Rachmaninoff list piece. So it was going like you know using like pop music. You know I was

467
00:56:00,620 --> 00:56:07,420
like imagine Rachmaninoff listening to this song and creating his own arrangement, transcription

468
00:56:07,420 --> 00:56:13,020
of it. Things like that and then I added there's one track that I collaborated with

469
00:56:13,900 --> 00:56:21,020
a really good friend of mine. We add very 19th century Venezuelan tune and we turn it into

470
00:56:21,020 --> 00:56:26,700
electronic music with acoustic piano and it was like a interesting process you know.

471
00:56:28,540 --> 00:56:33,980
I don't know it was some sort of like paying homage to my country but at the same time paying

472
00:56:33,980 --> 00:56:41,580
homage to composers and creators that they are daring to express themselves through the years.

473
00:56:41,580 --> 00:56:45,180
And I think like one of the people that comes to my mind is Steve Reich.

474
00:56:45,180 --> 00:56:51,340
That I remember the first time that I listened to what was the piece like piano with electronics

475
00:56:51,340 --> 00:56:57,100
like the or the train like what like all of his compositions like it really like blow me

476
00:56:57,100 --> 00:57:04,860
off. I was like oh my god like this guy is amazing and so I wanted to you know some sort of like

477
00:57:04,860 --> 00:57:12,780
it's not the same but I'm saying like just thinking of people that I admire a lot and

478
00:57:12,780 --> 00:57:19,900
Rachmaninoff of course is one of them. Yeah I know so there's one track inspired by jazz

479
00:57:20,860 --> 00:57:30,300
and I admire so much Oscar Peterson. So it's like people that I you know listen to regularly

480
00:57:31,100 --> 00:57:37,100
that I want to kind of some sort of like get some sort of influence but using classical music.

481
00:57:37,100 --> 00:57:43,340
So it was a very interesting a very interesting project also it was a project where

482
00:57:44,460 --> 00:57:49,900
my husband was executive producer he was I think it was like the first one with the idea

483
00:57:51,420 --> 00:57:57,420
of doing things like that. He's a journalist he doesn't come from the music world but the way of

484
00:57:57,420 --> 00:58:05,900
he doesn't come from the music world but the way of that he sees like aesthetics and like I don't

485
00:58:05,900 --> 00:58:12,540
know like interconnections in art is very particular and so he was the one that came up with the idea

486
00:58:13,340 --> 00:58:20,780
of that so it was very like significant for me. Yeah I loved it I love it so much yeah. Now we

487
00:58:20,780 --> 00:58:27,820
we so far we talked about you as a you know pianist who plays Latin American music but

488
00:58:27,820 --> 00:58:32,460
also of course you're a classical musician you're a classical pianist so you have that training as

489
00:58:32,460 --> 00:58:39,020
well and so I'm curious to know how was it like to perform under the buttons of renowned conductors

490
00:58:39,020 --> 00:58:45,580
like Claudia Bardot oh my god and Gustavo Dudavel oh my goodness and he is going to New York in two years.

491
00:58:45,580 --> 00:58:55,020
Yeah so first of all I grew up in Venezuela and in Venezuela there's this social movement

492
00:58:55,020 --> 00:59:03,260
musical movement called El Sistema that was created by José Antonio Abreu. My very first concert that I

493
00:59:03,260 --> 00:59:11,500
did when I was four years old it was dedicated to José Antonio Abreu and that from that time

494
00:59:11,500 --> 00:59:18,300
I started having some sort of like a connection with El Sistema and I think I mean I feel very

495
00:59:18,300 --> 00:59:25,900
honored and privileged to say that I had the opportunity to play with orchestra since I'm

496
00:59:25,900 --> 00:59:31,820
seven years old and I don't think like there's a lot of pianists that have that opportunity yet

497
00:59:31,820 --> 00:59:38,860
like even like at like a older age and I never took that for granted and I owe that a lot to

498
00:59:38,860 --> 00:59:47,900
to that program like El Sistema that I was able to perform you know like I feel like the most that

499
00:59:47,900 --> 00:59:55,260
I did I think in my career has been like playing concertos and that's something that I love that

500
00:59:55,260 --> 01:00:02,140
I adore doing it and I keep doing it but it was because of that you know I was growing up

501
01:00:02,700 --> 01:00:07,500
with all of these fantastic musicians and one of them was Gustavo Dudavel was growing up there and

502
01:00:07,500 --> 01:00:15,980
we had the privilege to play together it was amazing now of course he's a superstar but we kind of

503
01:00:15,980 --> 01:00:21,260
like grew up together so like seeing all these people like shine as artists and also being

504
01:00:21,260 --> 01:00:30,940
nurtured by that through the years has been just amazing and the moment when I well one of the

505
01:00:30,940 --> 01:00:39,340
things is I have to thank Elaine Grimo the pianist because she got sick for a concert and because

506
01:00:39,340 --> 01:00:47,340
she got sick I'm sorry for that that's when I got to play with Claudia Valle it was like a last minute

507
01:00:47,340 --> 01:00:56,700
thing I played Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto with him it was the scariest moment of my life

508
01:00:56,700 --> 01:01:03,900
when I came to a first rehearsal because I had only one week to prepare I didn't know like that

509
01:01:03,900 --> 01:01:11,500
that was going to happen I feel like I practiced the most I don't know maybe like 14 hours or

510
01:01:11,500 --> 01:01:17,660
something like it was like crazy like I was just like and you know also the responsibility you know

511
01:01:17,660 --> 01:01:24,300
it was like playing for someone that I had like I lived I have albums that I own albums that it's

512
01:01:24,300 --> 01:01:30,940
like you know the biggest you know the biggest of the biggest and it was one of the most amazing

513
01:01:30,940 --> 01:01:43,820
moments of my life how kind he was how connected with music he was and I learned so much from him

514
01:01:43,820 --> 01:01:51,900
he wanted to do at the very at the very end of the third movement before the before the cola like the

515
01:01:51,900 --> 01:01:57,500
big you know climax he wanted to me to add like some octaves and he's like I really like it I mean

516
01:01:57,500 --> 01:02:01,980
I know it's not written but can you please play the octaves like playing some octaves there

517
01:02:02,780 --> 01:02:10,620
and I keep playing those octaves till today every time I play a concerto it's like and it really it

518
01:02:10,620 --> 01:02:16,220
was an amazing time it was he was playing a concert in Caracas with the Simón Bolívar orchestra

519
01:02:16,220 --> 01:02:24,540
and then Ellen she came after and played a concert with him but then like for the first concert she

520
01:02:24,540 --> 01:02:30,620
was not able to and then I really thank her for that she doesn't know me I mean she we met there

521
01:02:30,620 --> 01:02:35,500
but I don't think she remembers that even that moment and for me it was like you know

522
01:02:36,540 --> 01:02:42,220
a moment in my life that it was just amazing but you are amazing because you know Rachmaninov

523
01:02:42,220 --> 01:02:48,060
oh it was the last minute thing Rachmaninov for the Giro nº2 I mean it's not something that last minute

524
01:02:48,060 --> 01:02:53,580
thing that anyone can really I mean I'm sure you've practiced in the past you know before but

525
01:02:53,580 --> 01:02:59,580
yeah I feel like growing up and then you see that's one of the things that probably like growing up

526
01:02:59,580 --> 01:03:05,100
in Latin America or in Venezuela that some things happen because because of improvisation you know

527
01:03:05,100 --> 01:03:11,020
because a last minute thing and it has concertos that I had to learn and I like to learn

528
01:03:11,020 --> 01:03:19,100
and I like last minute I played Brahms first piano concerto that I had to learn in one week

529
01:03:20,140 --> 01:03:25,340
and I remember that I mean if I'm thinking about that right now I'm like I'm completely crazy

530
01:03:25,340 --> 01:03:33,260
but at that moment I don't know I just felt like I I had like like that rush of playing this and

531
01:03:33,260 --> 01:03:41,980
learning and you know like of course the amount of stress was inhumane but I really

532
01:03:42,860 --> 01:03:48,540
appreciate that because of that is that I have like you know so many concertos that I

533
01:03:48,540 --> 01:03:54,220
perform that I have on my repertoire that I can you know and also learn from that it's

534
01:03:54,220 --> 01:03:59,740
like a different configuration you have the regular configuration of like learning a piece

535
01:03:59,740 --> 01:04:06,300
I have the whole process and I have enough time to do it and then and then also I had the opportunity

536
01:04:06,300 --> 01:04:11,660
to have that or experience which is not ideal for everyone there are people that are not suitable

537
01:04:11,660 --> 01:04:21,580
for it I was doing it because I loved doing it I love playing piano I love playing with orchestra

538
01:04:21,580 --> 01:04:25,900
so much that it was like I don't care I'm gonna do it you know it was it was just like that and

539
01:04:25,900 --> 01:04:33,340
um it taught me a lot it taught me it taught me a lot how to like approach um music on a different

540
01:04:33,340 --> 01:04:39,100
way nowadays not just practicing in your own practice rooms for hours hours but actually to

541
01:04:39,100 --> 01:04:44,860
do it with the orchestra to do it with other musicians that that's when you learn so complete

542
01:04:45,740 --> 01:04:50,700
and I I believe in collaboration I believe in collaboration so much I think this is one of the

543
01:04:50,700 --> 01:04:55,820
things that sometimes like in the like the old school of classical music that was not necessarily

544
01:04:55,820 --> 01:05:02,060
something good like to collaborate or to you know but I always feel like I I'm a better musician

545
01:05:02,060 --> 01:05:07,980
when I collaborate with ours or you know if I have an opportunity and I can help a friend get that

546
01:05:07,980 --> 01:05:13,500
opportunity as well you know that is something that makes me happy and I truly believe in that

547
01:05:13,500 --> 01:05:17,900
I think that was something that maybe you know sometimes like ego or like you know there are

548
01:05:17,900 --> 01:05:22,220
people that are like I don't want I don't want to give you my sources or I don't want to give you my

549
01:05:22,220 --> 01:05:28,540
wisdom because you know and that talks a lot about insecurity and that's a that's another

550
01:05:28,540 --> 01:05:39,580
different topic uh for me it's all about what what is right and understanding that in the music world

551
01:05:39,580 --> 01:05:47,020
regardless of the genre of music there's space for everyone that doesn't mean like if there's

552
01:05:47,020 --> 01:05:51,740
someone that is extremely famous and there's another person that is also equally famous that

553
01:05:51,740 --> 01:05:57,660
doesn't mean that they're gonna clash you know they have their own moment the audience like this

554
01:05:57,660 --> 01:06:03,500
is subjective you know uh this is something that and you're able to like 10 different artists it's

555
01:06:03,500 --> 01:06:09,260
not just one you know like and and I I believe in that and I believe in like that give an opportunity

556
01:06:09,260 --> 01:06:15,260
to people uh collaborating with other people interchange experiences wisdom and I think like

557
01:06:15,260 --> 01:06:23,100
one of my my biggest dreams um is I I always say like I want to be extremely famous but not

558
01:06:23,100 --> 01:06:28,940
because of fame or ego I don't care about that it's because that will be like my only way to

559
01:06:28,940 --> 01:06:35,980
help our people like I want to have a foundation an organization that helps young musicians to

560
01:06:35,980 --> 01:06:42,140
achieve their goal something that not a lot of us had you know there's no like there are

561
01:06:42,140 --> 01:06:46,780
organizations doing it but like something that you know there's so much talent in the world

562
01:06:47,340 --> 01:06:53,340
and one of the most important things for us that we are in this stage or in this age at this moment

563
01:06:53,340 --> 01:07:00,060
after all of the experience that we had is to plan you know to seed to plant that seed for next

564
01:07:00,060 --> 01:07:06,860
gen generations you know by teaching by giving master classes by helping others it's not just

565
01:07:06,860 --> 01:07:14,540
about winning Grammys and playing concerts that's nice receiving the applause of the audiences that's

566
01:07:14,540 --> 01:07:25,980
amazing um the energy is is is wow but it's more wow when you see uh that everything that you're

567
01:07:25,980 --> 01:07:31,740
doing that you're working on that you're like you know fighting for it's getting you know new

568
01:07:31,740 --> 01:07:36,060
roots and it's like developing in a different way so I think that's one of the most important

569
01:07:36,060 --> 01:07:43,020
things for me in terms of like fame collaboration uh interaction with with with our musicians like

570
01:07:43,020 --> 01:07:49,100
I love to play with musicians that they don't have to think the same way as I do but some sort of

571
01:07:49,100 --> 01:07:56,620
like same values you know the values of uh of artistry the values of of of being human

572
01:07:56,620 --> 01:08:02,620
and the values of humility for me are very important and passion always passion I'm from

573
01:08:02,620 --> 01:08:11,340
yes I can I can really sense your passion for gear yes no worries no so but just just to be a

574
01:08:11,340 --> 01:08:18,300
little bit of I don't know I don't want to sound so cheap or anything but or cheesy or anything but

575
01:08:18,300 --> 01:08:24,540
you know Gustavo de Zanjel is coming and is there any collaboration future collaboration with you

576
01:08:24,540 --> 01:08:32,780
again um yes I'm doing a I'm doing a project uh with the Venezuelan American pianist Vanessa Perez

577
01:08:32,780 --> 01:08:38,700
and uh composer Stephen Buck we have a special project of Latin music and classic it's a two

578
01:08:38,700 --> 01:08:45,260
piano project uh it's a solo recital two piano project and a two piano and orchestra project

579
01:08:45,820 --> 01:08:49,900
um that I don't know if I'm allowed to say it but I'm going to say it because

580
01:08:49,900 --> 01:08:58,700
yeah why not um we premiered the the two piano project last year in Romania and uh we the the

581
01:08:58,700 --> 01:09:07,260
plans are uh we're gonna record the the the project is called a fuego lento and it's a mixture of

582
01:09:08,540 --> 01:09:19,180
really um famous uh music of Latin America turned into uh two piano arrangements by uh Stephen

583
01:09:19,180 --> 01:09:25,740
Buck and some like original works by him as well um but turning like into like in a level of

584
01:09:25,740 --> 01:09:31,820
difficulty that is like you know classical pianists like you know like technical and like

585
01:09:31,820 --> 01:09:39,580
contemporary music and of course the Latin rhythm of it and then we are mixing that uh with uh

586
01:09:39,580 --> 01:09:48,540
Rachmaninoff second piano suite and um some other things so it's like a it's a project that we have

587
01:09:48,540 --> 01:09:55,820
that we uh if someone is listening to this that is interested in we're more than happy to

588
01:09:56,540 --> 01:10:03,020
play for you um anywhere in the world that's the idea it's an amazing project and working with them

589
01:10:03,020 --> 01:10:09,100
they're like family to me it has been just a uh a blessing and one of the most important thing is

590
01:10:09,100 --> 01:10:14,860
that we think alike we want to expand the universe we want to expand the universe of music we want

591
01:10:14,860 --> 01:10:21,820
to help other people um and collaborating with great people and there are so many great people

592
01:10:21,820 --> 01:10:29,020
in the world that um that yes i mean like i think this is something uh worth mentioning uh that

593
01:10:29,020 --> 01:10:36,620
project and then um yeah our projects and our people i'm collaborating with um yes i cannot

594
01:10:36,620 --> 01:10:52,620
say that right now but it's it's coming okay

595
01:11:07,420 --> 01:11:12,620
um

596
01:11:17,900 --> 01:11:26,620
do

597
01:11:26,620 --> 01:11:51,820
Now let's talk about identity.

598
01:11:51,820 --> 01:11:57,500
I watched a YouTube clip of your performance of Piano Concerto in A major by

599
01:11:57,500 --> 01:12:02,940
Eveni Inesio Castellanos, Venezuelan composer, conductor.

600
01:12:02,940 --> 01:12:09,020
Your music production profoundly embodies the spirit of Venezuela.

601
01:12:09,020 --> 01:12:11,020
I can really sense that.

602
01:12:11,020 --> 01:12:18,940
So what significance does your native country, Venezuela, hold you in regards to your music making?

603
01:12:18,940 --> 01:12:25,340
Venezuela is where I was born, where I grew up.

604
01:12:25,340 --> 01:12:29,180
Venezuela gave me the love of music.

605
01:12:29,180 --> 01:12:31,580
Venezuela gave me my family, my traditions.

606
01:12:34,380 --> 01:12:39,740
Venezuela gave me a lot of things and took away things from me as well.

607
01:12:40,300 --> 01:12:43,260
That shaped me into the musician that I am right now.

608
01:12:43,260 --> 01:12:55,580
It also showed me the beauty of arts through people, not necessarily through light landscape.

609
01:12:55,580 --> 01:12:57,100
We have beautiful landscape.

610
01:12:57,100 --> 01:12:58,140
Venezuela is beautiful.

611
01:12:58,140 --> 01:12:58,620
It's amazing.

612
01:12:58,620 --> 01:12:59,660
Another amazing country.

613
01:12:59,660 --> 01:13:07,020
But I'm just saying like just be touched and be who I am through the people that I grew up with.

614
01:13:07,020 --> 01:13:13,420
And then it gave me also the opportunity to learn overseas.

615
01:13:13,420 --> 01:13:22,460
And I think that the most thing that I owe to my country, that it kind of like it gave me and my family, of course, the support.

616
01:13:22,460 --> 01:13:29,420
But it gave me that kind of like platform to go and understand the real world.

617
01:13:29,420 --> 01:13:39,180
I think I left, I lived a life, a privileged life full of love.

618
01:13:39,180 --> 01:13:44,700
And I'm grateful for it, for my family and my friends and my teachers.

619
01:13:44,700 --> 01:13:52,300
But I also need to see myself.

620
01:13:52,300 --> 01:13:54,460
What do I want to become?

621
01:13:54,460 --> 01:14:03,820
And that because I was living in Venezuela, that gave me the opportunity to be outside and understand me more.

622
01:14:03,820 --> 01:14:10,780
And so, yeah, Venezuela gave me my family.

623
01:14:10,780 --> 01:14:12,140
Venezuela gave me my husband.

624
01:14:12,140 --> 01:14:15,100
Venezuela gave me so many things.

625
01:14:15,100 --> 01:14:27,340
And even though I'm here and I've been in the States for so long, Venezuela is still in me.

626
01:14:27,980 --> 01:14:28,940
And it will always be.

627
01:14:28,940 --> 01:14:31,660
But it's just like on a different way.

628
01:14:31,660 --> 01:14:39,100
I don't see myself, as I told you in the very beginning of this, as a Venezuelan necessarily, but more as a Latin American.

629
01:14:39,100 --> 01:14:51,580
And even further, just as someone that had the chance to get some sort of spark from the universe and create.

630
01:14:51,580 --> 01:14:55,660
And I have a duty with that.

631
01:14:55,660 --> 01:14:59,580
So kind of like as a worldwide artist.

632
01:14:59,580 --> 01:15:09,900
So just given what I was given to the world.

633
01:15:09,900 --> 01:15:25,100
Then also you mentioned, you know, when we were communicating that, you know, you as not only Latino artists, but also you mentioned bisexual artists.

634
01:15:25,100 --> 01:15:31,820
So can we talk about experiences as a Latino and bisexual artist in the classical music industry?

635
01:15:31,820 --> 01:15:36,940
How have these aspects of the identity influenced?

636
01:15:36,940 --> 01:15:38,620
It's interesting.

637
01:15:38,620 --> 01:15:41,180
It has been rough, I have to say.

638
01:15:41,180 --> 01:15:50,380
Like Venezuela is not necessarily like the open country that is very close.

639
01:15:50,380 --> 01:15:55,980
And I always felt that it was some sort of like alien.

640
01:15:55,980 --> 01:15:57,340
You know, I was like weird.

641
01:15:57,340 --> 01:16:04,140
I was like, why do I have this dual, you know, way of see life?

642
01:16:04,140 --> 01:16:08,460
You know, like I like and everything's like dual, you know, like for me.

643
01:16:08,460 --> 01:16:10,460
And I felt it was weird.

644
01:16:10,460 --> 01:16:17,740
And sometimes, you know, people think that the music world, the arts world is like, oh, yeah, everything happened.

645
01:16:17,740 --> 01:16:21,100
The arts world is super open and you can just do whatever you want.

646
01:16:21,100 --> 01:16:22,700
And it's not true.

647
01:16:22,700 --> 01:16:24,940
Sometimes it's the country, you know.

648
01:16:24,940 --> 01:16:33,260
So I think like one of the things like now that I'm like older is that I'm proud of who I am.

649
01:16:33,260 --> 01:16:38,140
I've been like going through like this like identity process that also influenced my music.

650
01:16:38,140 --> 01:16:42,620
I feel like the way I'm playing piano right now is completely different from before.

651
01:16:42,620 --> 01:16:54,220
And that not mainly, but there's a lot of percentages that is due to understanding who I am and being proud of who I am as a human being.

652
01:16:54,220 --> 01:16:55,420
It has been tough.

653
01:16:55,420 --> 01:17:02,540
And you get like, I don't know any or experience, but mine at this moment.

654
01:17:02,540 --> 01:17:12,700
But sometimes bisexuality is always seen as we're like the underdogs, I feel, of the LGBTQ community sometimes.

655
01:17:12,700 --> 01:17:18,300
I mean, I'm sure like a lot of people feel that way and they belong to a different group.

656
01:17:18,300 --> 01:17:26,700
But but in my experience, it's like they always like take it like, oh, no, you're just closet or oh, no, this and that, you know.

657
01:17:26,700 --> 01:17:42,140
And I think the only entity to call it that way that understood myself, understood me all the way has been the piano, like my best friend, my everything.

658
01:17:42,140 --> 01:17:48,780
So I feel that that when I was playing piano, I was able to be completely myself.

659
01:17:48,780 --> 01:17:53,740
And I don't have to give any excuses to anyone.

660
01:17:53,740 --> 01:17:55,260
Just let it go.

661
01:17:55,260 --> 01:18:03,900
And so for me, like playing piano as well has been like very kind of like a cathartic experience.

662
01:18:03,900 --> 01:18:10,780
I was able to tell people who I was or who I am without telling it with words.

663
01:18:10,780 --> 01:18:25,100
Now I am happy and I can tell it with words and I'm proud and I'm like and I and I want all people that are feeling that way, especially young kids, which I'm sure that they're more advanced than us.

664
01:18:25,100 --> 01:18:31,580
For sure to feel comfortable in your own skin.

665
01:18:31,580 --> 01:18:38,300
And the more comfortable you are in your in your own skin, the better artist and human you can be.

666
01:18:38,300 --> 01:18:41,420
And so that doesn't go to her for some people.

667
01:18:41,420 --> 01:18:55,020
It is so important that the stimulation that you get from like exterior like agents, like even like watching TV, going to a park, everything influence the way you approach.

668
01:18:55,020 --> 01:18:56,060
Music.

669
01:18:56,060 --> 01:19:01,260
So if you're not happy with who you are, then the music is going to be broken.

670
01:19:01,260 --> 01:19:10,060
You want that to be a beautiful sphere, you know, and if you want to break it, it's your decision.

671
01:19:10,060 --> 01:19:15,500
It's not because the social construct or people or bullying or anything.

672
01:19:15,500 --> 01:19:18,220
I'm completely against that.

673
01:19:18,220 --> 01:19:25,180
So, yeah, I've been always I think like I've been.

674
01:19:25,180 --> 01:19:34,300
OK, with the fact that because I have the piano and I can be myself there, I didn't have necessarily that urge before.

675
01:19:34,300 --> 01:19:44,460
Also with the Latin culture, you know, which was very like macho, you know, like oriented.

676
01:19:44,460 --> 01:19:48,620
And now I'm just who I am. I'm free. I'm happy.

677
01:19:48,620 --> 01:19:57,980
And if there are people that they feel threatened or they don't like it or or it's OK, it's fine.

678
01:19:57,980 --> 01:20:03,580
I think like that's part of like the diversity that you don't have to like everything.

679
01:20:03,580 --> 01:20:10,460
But respect is something that we all have to give and we have to receive.

680
01:20:10,460 --> 01:20:18,460
OK, I didn't mean to really label you in any ways, you know, by talking about, you know, bringing Venezuela, for example.

681
01:20:18,460 --> 01:20:21,340
And I understand you lived in this country for a long time.

682
01:20:21,340 --> 01:20:29,900
So, you know, when someone does that to me about my origin, native country, you know, sometimes it's like, please, I've been here too long.

683
01:20:29,900 --> 01:20:38,140
You know, so I don't mean that. But, you know, I was very fascinated about how complex we are as human beings.

684
01:20:38,140 --> 01:20:45,180
And then these days, as hard as you mentioned, challenging as it can be.

685
01:20:45,180 --> 01:20:49,900
But then you still can express yourself that way in a complex way.

686
01:20:49,900 --> 01:20:54,060
Yeah, does that make sense? Yeah, that's that's the reason I asked all these questions.

687
01:20:54,060 --> 01:20:57,980
So I don't mean to really I don't think no, no, no, no. Thank you.

688
01:20:57,980 --> 01:21:03,340
I feel like this is like it's good. It's liberating for me. Thank you for. Yeah, thank you.

689
01:21:03,340 --> 01:21:14,300
Like, sometimes people get scared of asking things and there's the worst thing that could happen is I can tell you, no, I'm not going to.

690
01:21:14,300 --> 01:21:19,900
As you say, like, I'm happy to. I'm an open book, especially now. I appreciate that.

691
01:21:19,900 --> 01:21:28,300
I appreciate you. Yeah, it's a great conversation. Anyway, I want to know your alter ego, Benitez.

692
01:21:28,300 --> 01:21:37,660
Because Mr. Benitez has his own Instagram account and I'm following you and then also the music streaming service account as well.

693
01:21:37,660 --> 01:21:52,060
So tell us. So Benitez is an extension of me. Benitez is well, you know, it's a reason to say that I love music, regardless of the genre.

694
01:21:52,060 --> 01:22:01,940
I come from the classical music and I will be playing classical music all of my life because it's part of me and I love it so much.

695
01:22:01,940 --> 01:22:09,620
But also I can do other things. You know, people are.

696
01:22:09,620 --> 01:22:15,900
They have the right to do other things and just not be labeled for one for one thing.

697
01:22:15,900 --> 01:22:30,340
So the reason to create Benitez was to explore a little bit of my my side of creating music, always using the acoustic piano, but go a little further,

698
01:22:30,340 --> 01:22:39,620
using electronic elements, doing music for for film.

699
01:22:39,620 --> 01:22:47,620
I am actually I just work in a fashion film. I did the music for a very small fashion film.

700
01:22:47,620 --> 01:22:56,860
Wow. Entertainment Latin America. And so it's amazing, you know, that you have to like your your universe expanded.

701
01:22:56,860 --> 01:23:03,580
You know, it's not just piano. It's not just like the way it is also like, OK, you need to understand a visual.

702
01:23:03,580 --> 01:23:10,780
You need to give it a different place.

703
01:23:10,780 --> 01:23:16,580
Creating music right now, I think Benitez is going through like a lo fi era.

704
01:23:16,580 --> 01:23:21,220
It's creating music with acoustic piano and like electronic elements.

705
01:23:21,220 --> 01:23:30,540
One of my dreams, I would say, is to play a concert. It's Christian Benitez and Benitez in the same stage.

706
01:23:30,540 --> 01:23:39,460
And then showing me classical pianist and then showing Benitez and have kind of like a collaboration together.

707
01:23:39,460 --> 01:23:44,900
It's like Benitez Christian Benitez featuring Benitez. Wow, that sounds so amazing.

708
01:23:44,900 --> 01:23:49,260
Where these two worlds, they are the same world.

709
01:23:49,260 --> 01:23:55,340
It's like sometimes it's not understood by by everyone.

710
01:23:55,340 --> 01:24:02,020
And I think for now, also for me, like I'm like entering this new world and it's good to kind of like separate it.

711
01:24:02,020 --> 01:24:05,620
And then I think eventually it just will merge into just one.

712
01:24:05,620 --> 01:24:10,500
So maybe Benitez will be just everything in the future. Who knows?

713
01:24:10,500 --> 01:24:22,580
But I encourage people to first of all, to all classical musicians there that you love classical music, but you also love electronic music.

714
01:24:22,580 --> 01:24:26,900
You love pop, you love rock, you love everything else. Do it.

715
01:24:26,900 --> 01:24:31,420
It's going to enrich your classical performance. It's going to enrich you as a human being.

716
01:24:31,420 --> 01:24:41,500
And if you have moments where people are like, oh, so now you are a classical or you are a pop or you are electronic or you are you can you can be everything.

717
01:24:41,500 --> 01:24:46,220
Just always do it with love and with a lot of responsibility.

718
01:24:46,220 --> 01:24:49,300
Just don't take it as like, oh, whatever. No.

719
01:24:49,300 --> 01:24:53,540
Do it with responsibility, do it with discipline, do it with love.

720
01:24:53,540 --> 01:24:57,140
But you're you can do everything. And that's true.

721
01:24:57,140 --> 01:25:00,260
That that is not a cliche.

722
01:25:00,260 --> 01:25:04,820
Thank you. So powerful. So what's your next phase?

723
01:25:04,820 --> 01:25:07,100
I know new album is coming up soon.

724
01:25:07,100 --> 01:25:16,700
Yeah. Yeah. So we have the the Latin American Classics Volume Two is coming in in the fall.

725
01:25:16,700 --> 01:25:23,580
So we in this one, I'm trying to add more countries.

726
01:25:23,580 --> 01:25:29,340
It's inevitable not to add Venezuela. Venezuela is there. Cuba is there.

727
01:25:29,340 --> 01:25:33,740
It's Mexico is there again, Argentina.

728
01:25:33,740 --> 01:25:39,540
But then I'm adding Brazil, Colombia.

729
01:25:39,540 --> 01:25:50,260
There's. Or Walter Bolivia that actually Walter gave me some suggestions of repertoire that I really thank him a lot.

730
01:25:50,260 --> 01:25:55,260
So it's it's going to be there going to be a lot of variety in that.

731
01:25:55,260 --> 01:26:02,500
And and I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward to this to this album to continue the catalog.

732
01:26:02,500 --> 01:26:08,180
So the idea is to create in the future three volumes of this.

733
01:26:08,180 --> 01:26:14,020
So, you know, the fact that we're doing the second volume right now, it's a dream come true.

734
01:26:14,020 --> 01:26:24,620
There are going to be some side projects like Afro Cuban Dances, who was kind of like it's part of it, but it's like just specific for for La Cuana.

735
01:26:24,620 --> 01:26:32,420
There's something coming there like one are related again next year.

736
01:26:32,420 --> 01:26:36,540
And just stay tuned, just, you know, go to my social media.

737
01:26:36,540 --> 01:26:40,420
I always like post things. I'm not as regular as I should be.

738
01:26:40,420 --> 01:26:45,380
Sorry for my husband that he always like encouraged me to post more things.

739
01:26:45,380 --> 01:26:53,980
But I'm always trying just, you know, to be myself and post things that I like and play and improvise.

740
01:26:53,980 --> 01:27:01,100
And eventually I want to be able to, you know, to communicate more with with with people.

741
01:27:01,100 --> 01:27:15,100
I one of the things and this is changing just a little bit the subject, but one of the things that I remember when I won the Grammy is that I remember someone told me that, oh, you're famous now.

742
01:27:15,100 --> 01:27:17,060
Then what are you going to do?

743
01:27:17,060 --> 01:27:20,820
Like replying to people, you know, messages and all of that.

744
01:27:20,820 --> 01:27:28,500
And I say, like, I don't care if I'm like, you know, famous as the most famous people in the world.

745
01:27:28,500 --> 01:27:32,060
I will always go and reply to every single one of them.

746
01:27:32,060 --> 01:27:36,100
And I remember when I won, I got.

747
01:27:36,100 --> 01:27:47,660
I don't know, it was like maybe like three or four thousand messages, and I replied to every single one of them because they're taking the time to listen, to celebrate with you, to listen to your music.

748
01:27:47,660 --> 01:27:57,340
They're giving you time and I'm giving them, you know, my appreciation of my time and my my my thank you.

749
01:27:57,340 --> 01:28:00,740
Well, thanks. What a wonderful conversation I had.

750
01:28:00,740 --> 01:28:02,180
I enjoyed thoroughly.

751
01:28:02,180 --> 01:28:06,420
My heart is full because there's a really enriching conversation.

752
01:28:06,420 --> 01:28:09,580
But before I let you go, we have one more thing to do.

753
01:28:09,580 --> 01:28:12,100
Yes, that's the piano part.

754
01:28:12,100 --> 01:28:13,500
I think my questions.

755
01:28:13,500 --> 01:28:15,700
So whether you like it or not, here we are.

756
01:28:15,700 --> 01:28:26,980
So I'll ask some silly questions, but be careful because these questions tend to be a little tricky because that shows really your answers may reveal who you truly are.

757
01:28:26,980 --> 01:28:29,460
OK, get ready.

758
01:28:29,460 --> 01:28:34,180
And so I want you to answer them as short responses as possible.

759
01:28:34,180 --> 01:28:36,660
So we'll start with level one.

760
01:28:36,660 --> 01:28:38,380
OK, question number one.

761
01:28:38,380 --> 01:28:42,260
What is your comfort food?

762
01:28:42,260 --> 01:28:43,300
Pasta.

763
01:28:43,300 --> 01:28:45,100
Oh, yes.

764
01:28:45,100 --> 01:28:47,900
How do you like your coffee in the morning?

765
01:28:47,900 --> 01:28:50,180
Double shot espresso.

766
01:28:50,180 --> 01:28:50,900
Sounds great.

767
01:28:50,900 --> 01:28:52,580
Cats or dogs?

768
01:28:52,580 --> 01:28:54,100
Definitely dogs.

769
01:28:54,100 --> 01:28:56,020
Sunrise or sunset?

770
01:28:56,020 --> 01:28:57,220
Sunset.

771
01:28:57,220 --> 01:28:59,500
Summer or winter?

772
01:28:59,500 --> 01:29:01,100
Fall.

773
01:29:01,100 --> 01:29:04,340
OK.

774
01:29:04,340 --> 01:29:05,660
I'll allow it.

775
01:29:05,660 --> 01:29:06,660
Level two.

776
01:29:06,660 --> 01:29:11,900
What skill have you always wanted to learn but haven't got the chance to?

777
01:29:11,900 --> 01:29:14,500
To dance like N-Sync.

778
01:29:14,500 --> 01:29:15,980
Dance like N-Sync?

779
01:29:15,980 --> 01:29:20,620
That's a very specific era.

780
01:29:20,620 --> 01:29:24,540
What is your word of words to live by?

781
01:29:24,540 --> 01:29:26,860
Passion.

782
01:29:26,860 --> 01:29:30,940
What is the most important polyv you look for in other people?

783
01:29:30,940 --> 01:29:32,020
Truth.

784
01:29:32,020 --> 01:29:37,820
Name three people who inspire you living your death.

785
01:29:37,820 --> 01:29:38,780
Rachmaninoff.

786
01:29:42,780 --> 01:29:43,700
Rubinstein.

787
01:29:49,780 --> 01:29:50,940
There are so many.

788
01:29:50,940 --> 01:29:52,980
I know, right?

789
01:29:52,980 --> 01:29:54,420
I'll say it's Kriabin.

790
01:29:54,420 --> 01:29:55,340
OK.

791
01:29:55,340 --> 01:29:56,460
Great.

792
01:29:56,460 --> 01:29:57,660
Now two more.

793
01:29:57,660 --> 01:29:59,500
Now these are difficult ones.

794
01:29:59,500 --> 01:30:03,340
Name one piece in your current playlist.

795
01:30:03,340 --> 01:30:05,260
One piece?

796
01:30:05,260 --> 01:30:06,820
Like classical music piece?

797
01:30:06,820 --> 01:30:08,300
Anything.

798
01:30:08,300 --> 01:30:10,540
Godofsky, Java, Sweet.

799
01:30:10,540 --> 01:30:12,420
OK.

800
01:30:12,420 --> 01:30:13,620
Last question.

801
01:30:13,620 --> 01:30:14,940
Fill in the blank.

802
01:30:14,940 --> 01:30:17,580
Music is blank.

803
01:30:17,580 --> 01:30:19,940
Music is my everything.

804
01:30:19,940 --> 01:30:20,980
Ding ding ding.

805
01:30:20,980 --> 01:30:21,820
Thank you.

806
01:30:21,820 --> 01:30:23,580
That was great.

807
01:30:23,580 --> 01:30:27,220
So this concludes the episode of this episode of Piano Pops.

808
01:30:27,220 --> 01:30:29,780
Thank you, Christian, for joining my show today

809
01:30:29,780 --> 01:30:31,580
and sharing your stories and expertise.

810
01:30:31,580 --> 01:30:32,780
I enjoyed it so much.

811
01:30:32,780 --> 01:30:34,900
So for the Piano Pops listeners and viewers,

812
01:30:34,900 --> 01:30:41,020
please visit Kbenitas.com to learn more about Christian's

813
01:30:41,020 --> 01:30:43,620
career and the many time on social media.

814
01:30:43,620 --> 01:30:45,820
All the links are listed in the show notes.

815
01:30:45,820 --> 01:30:47,540
Thank you to my wonderful audience and fans

816
01:30:47,540 --> 01:30:48,540
for tuning in today.

817
01:30:48,540 --> 01:30:50,940
If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review it

818
01:30:50,940 --> 01:30:53,300
on whatever podcasting platform you use.

819
01:30:53,300 --> 01:30:55,460
Remember to hit the thumbs up button

820
01:30:55,460 --> 01:30:57,340
and subscribe to my YouTube channel

821
01:30:57,340 --> 01:31:00,380
if you are watching from YouTube.

822
01:31:00,380 --> 01:31:03,380
Follow TPP on social media to get the latest news

823
01:31:03,380 --> 01:31:05,980
via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

824
01:31:05,980 --> 01:31:08,980
I will see you for the next episode of the Piano Pops.

825
01:31:08,980 --> 01:31:09,980
Thank you, Christian.

826
01:31:09,980 --> 01:31:10,700
Bye, everyone.

827
01:31:10,700 --> 01:31:11,300
Bye.

828
01:31:11,300 --> 01:31:11,980
Thank you.

829
01:31:11,980 --> 01:31:12,740
Thank you.

830
01:31:12,740 --> 01:31:28,740
Thank you.