WEBVTT 00:01:08.430 --> 00:01:11.469 Welcome back to the PianoPod, everyone. Today's 00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:14.590 guest is a true visionary whose artistry has 00:01:14.590 --> 00:01:17.129 captivated piano enthusiasts around the world, 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:20.709 Eleanor Bindman, pianist, arranger, recording 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:23.530 artist, and passionate advocate for bringing 00:01:23.530 --> 00:01:26.670 the music of Johann Sebastian Bach to life in 00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:30.250 ways that are both deeply meaningful and refreshingly 00:01:30.250 --> 00:01:34.170 accessible. Described by Pianist Magazine as, 00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:38.049 quote, breathtaking in its sheer precision and 00:01:38.049 --> 00:01:42.109 vitality, end quote. Eleanor has reimagined Bach's 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:44.790 orchestral and instrumental works for solo and 00:01:44.790 --> 00:01:48.810 duo piano, creating beautifully crafted transcriptions 00:01:48.810 --> 00:01:52.829 and recording each one herself, so piano enthusiasts 00:01:52.829 --> 00:01:56.430 of all levels can play the music, explore the 00:01:56.430 --> 00:01:59.489 recordings, and find inspiration in her interpretations. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.180 Her Brandenburg duets have been celebrated by 00:02:04.180 --> 00:02:07.140 professional musicians for illuminating the intricate 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:10.360 counterpoint and inner voicing already present 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:13.840 in the original orchestral scores. Through the 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.060 lens of her piano transcriptions, these details 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:20.620 often emerge with greater clarity, offering fresh 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.680 insights even to those deeply familiar with the 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:27.620 works. Meanwhile, her solo piano transcriptions 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:31.020 of the Cello Suites, along with her most recent 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:35.280 project, Absolute, an album accompanied by a 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:38.479 set of transcriptions of the Lute Suites, have 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:42.659 opened up Bach's genius to adult learners, educators, 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:46.259 and pianists around the world. Oh, by the way, 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:49.319 if you are an intermediate pianist looking for 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:52.419 beautifully arranged versions of Bach's most 00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:56.659 beloved tunes, or a teacher whose students struggle 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:59.360 to connect with the two -part or three -part 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:02.939 inventions, for example, I highly recommend checking 00:03:02.939 --> 00:03:06.840 out Eleanor's Stepping Stones to Bach, which 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:10.379 features accessible arrangements of Bach's iconic 00:03:10.379 --> 00:03:14.259 non -keyboard works. So, in this episode, we 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:17.900 explore the artistic choices behind arranging 00:03:17.900 --> 00:03:21.819 Bach's orchestral works for piano solo and duet. 00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:25.439 how Eleanor empowers intermediate and amateur 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:29.780 pianists with rich and playable repertoire, common 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:32.759 myths around interpreting Bach on the modern 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:37.319 piano, and the creative process behind her educational 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:41.819 YouTube projects, and more. But before we dive 00:03:41.819 --> 00:03:45.099 in, just a quick note. If you have been enjoying 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:48.719 the past episodes and believe in the mission 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:53.039 of the Pianopod, please consider becoming a paid 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:58.439 subscriber on Substack at thepianopod .substack 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:03.340 .com. Your support, big or small, helps us keep 00:04:03.340 --> 00:04:06.500 bringing you meaningful content that bridges 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:09.659 the classical music world with broader communities. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:15.000 Now, let's welcome Eleanor Bindman to The Piano 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:23.339 Pod. Please enjoy the show. You are listening 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:25.660 to The Piano Pod, where we talk to the brightest 00:04:25.660 --> 00:04:28.279 minds in the industry about how they are bringing 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:31.519 the piano into the future and thriving in a complex, 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:36.399 ever -evolving world. Welcome to The Piano Pod, 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:38.839 Eleanor. It is so wonderful to have you here. 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:41.839 You keep me. I'm so happy to be here and so look 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.279 forward to discussing so many interesting questions 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:48.060 that I know you're going to ask. I'm very excited. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:51.899 Oh, me too. So one of our faithful listeners, 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:56.779 Opoku Boadu, he is actually also a big fan of 00:04:56.779 --> 00:04:59.540 yours. Like he's been watching your YouTube channel 00:04:59.540 --> 00:05:01.920 and then listening to your recordings. And he 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:04.000 actually is the one that who recommended that 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.240 I should reach out to you. And I'm so glad I 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.920 did. And then I didn't realize we are fellow 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:13.839 Brooklynites and we're pretty close, right? Yes, 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:16.899 that's amazing. And I'm so grateful that you 00:05:16.899 --> 00:05:19.300 told me about Opoko. I actually thanked him. 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:24.240 He took one of my mindful memorization workshop 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.399 classes on Zoom. So we know each other that way. 00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:31.959 And I'm glad that he was inspired by it. Yeah. 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:34.800 Oh, wow. Really? Yeah. He mentioned something 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:36.819 about the memorization. Maybe we can talk about 00:05:36.819 --> 00:05:40.019 that later. Yes, maybe. So I've been listening 00:05:40.019 --> 00:05:42.769 to your recordings and absolutely. Absolutely 00:05:42.769 --> 00:05:45.730 loving your transcription of especially Bach's 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:49.389 Brandenburg Concertos. And that's transcribed 00:05:49.389 --> 00:05:53.850 by you and for four hands and brilliantly performed 00:05:53.850 --> 00:06:00.569 with Jenny Lin. Yes. Yeah. And also, you just 00:06:00.569 --> 00:06:05.889 released an album called Absolute. Yes. I just 00:06:05.889 --> 00:06:09.569 released my latest project, which is the fourth 00:06:09.569 --> 00:06:14.560 set of... cycle of Bach's works not for piano 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:19.480 and in it I transcribed three sets of Bach's 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.959 works which were written either for lute or for 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:27.139 lute harpsichord. It's not really clear according 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:31.480 to the existing manuscripts but there can be 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:35.279 played on both and to date the recordings of 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.790 the complete cycle exist either on guitar or 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:42.490 on lute or on harpsichord. But this is the first 00:06:42.490 --> 00:06:47.350 piano recording of the complete three sets. Wow. 00:06:47.410 --> 00:06:50.470 And congratulations. They're so available on 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:53.670 all music streaming services. Yes, absolutely. 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:56.449 They were released by Orchid Classics on March 00:06:56.449 --> 00:07:00.370 7th, a little less than a month ago. And they're 00:07:00.370 --> 00:07:03.449 streaming everywhere and sold everywhere and 00:07:03.449 --> 00:07:06.310 distributed worldwide and actually already doing 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:10.290 very well. I'm very happy. Yeah, we also made 00:07:10.290 --> 00:07:14.350 the Apple Music playlist. We were the first track. 00:07:14.370 --> 00:07:17.509 Well, one of the tracks was the first track on 00:07:17.509 --> 00:07:20.490 Bach and the Baroque on Apple Music and also 00:07:20.490 --> 00:07:23.790 women and classical music. So that was really 00:07:23.790 --> 00:07:28.079 helpful in the initial kind of push. Oh, my goodness. 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:31.360 That's a huge milestone. Yeah. And really, I 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.139 love all the pieces that you transcribed, but 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:37.100 we'll talk more in detail with the album. The 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:39.300 album is called Absolute, right? Yeah. And then, 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:42.899 yeah, but before we begin, I usually ask this 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:46.699 very important question. So let's begin with 00:07:46.699 --> 00:07:50.660 this. So if you were to capture the essence of 00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:53.980 your artistry and mission and passion in just 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:56.860 a few sentences, how would you define who you 00:07:56.860 --> 00:08:02.500 are as an artist today? I was thinking about 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:09.000 this and I guess something that I try to do lately 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:13.600 today, as opposed to, let's say, 10 years ago 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:18.300 when I started earnestly transcribing Bach. because 00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:21.620 it kind of happened to me and it felt very important. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.600 I think it's very important to try to get a fresh 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:30.839 perspective and a fresh look at pretty much everything 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:34.159 in life because it helps appreciate it and helps 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:38.259 us shed old beliefs, but especially as far as 00:08:38.259 --> 00:08:42.879 Bach's music and the way it has been, in a way, 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:47.539 preserved. in the best sense of the word, but 00:08:47.539 --> 00:08:53.120 also perhaps maybe in the sense of just being 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:56.440 put in a jar with some kind of a protective liquid 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.379 around it. So lately, I find that partially because 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:04.080 I've been doing it now for so long and so intensely, 00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:11.659 it became important to me to focus on a new way 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:15.399 of looking at Bach's music. and that by virtue 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:19.259 of the fact that I transcribe for piano. And 00:09:19.259 --> 00:09:24.840 it's really a different way of seeing his music 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:28.700 because as a musician who played several instruments 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:31.220 himself, he obviously approached whatever he 00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:33.480 wrote with the particular instrument in mind, 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:36.539 yet his music is so universal in language and 00:09:36.539 --> 00:09:40.419 so easily translatable. So I really feel that 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:43.820 in the past year or so, I've become a little 00:09:43.820 --> 00:09:48.360 less hesitant and a little more, I don't want 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:52.779 to say fearless, but less inhibited in just trying 00:09:52.779 --> 00:09:56.000 to go where I feel and, you know, doing ornaments 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:01.100 that do not agree with any particular conventions. 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:05.220 Or sometimes even if I seriously feel that the 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:08.440 score has something that may be the mistake, 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:12.580 I'm not scared to just... play it that way. So 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:16.539 I think we all need a new perspective on Bach 00:10:16.539 --> 00:10:22.759 and a new perspective on his music as kind of 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:28.779 a tool for enjoyment and calmness and centering 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:33.320 and how it can feed the brain of, you know, amateurs 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:37.159 and children and just lovers of music alike. 00:10:39.309 --> 00:10:42.370 But first, what sparked your connection with 00:10:42.370 --> 00:10:45.750 Bach's music? I know you've played many other 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:49.730 composers. I've listened to Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky 00:10:49.730 --> 00:10:53.629 as well. Well, you know, I started studying music 00:10:53.629 --> 00:10:57.250 as most of us when I was very young. And I went 00:10:57.250 --> 00:11:00.809 to a school in the former Soviet Union in Riga, 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:05.590 Latvia, where one needed to pass a certain... 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:08.840 amount of tests every year in order to remain 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:10.960 in the school, because it was a school run by 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:15.820 the state. And there was, in the fall of every 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:19.139 year, there was an exam that we have, which was 00:11:19.139 --> 00:11:22.120 called Bach etude. You know, it was Bach and 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:25.519 studies. So before anything else, we had to work 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:28.419 on our technique and to work on Bach. So there 00:11:28.419 --> 00:11:32.159 was no way to avoid Bach as far as playing. And 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:36.620 I guess I got... positive feedback on my playing 00:11:36.620 --> 00:11:39.860 of Bach. Even then, from my teacher, I actually 00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:42.740 remember, I sneaked a look at her notebook when 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:45.700 she was away, my piano teacher, because it was 00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:49.200 a school of many subjects. But my piano teacher 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.059 was in the true Soviet fashion, you know, very 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:54.879 phlegmatic, serious person. It wasn't like she 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:57.960 never told me, oh, this sounded great, but you 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:00.080 have to change this. It was always like, this 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.139 is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong. But she 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:05.659 walked out of the room once and I guess it was 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:08.580 time for evaluations. And I, you know, I sneaked 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:12.179 a peek at her notebook and she wrote on my page, 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:15.399 she wrote, please bach well. That's all I remember. 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:20.200 So, you know, that was probably one of the small 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:23.779 pieces of positive feedback I even got from her, 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:28.870 you know, so explicitly. So maybe. Thinking back, 00:12:28.889 --> 00:12:31.769 that gave me a confidence and more of an affinity 00:12:31.769 --> 00:12:35.850 to play Bach because I felt I'm good at it. I 00:12:35.850 --> 00:12:39.309 don't know really. I guess there is some kind 00:12:39.309 --> 00:12:42.070 of an essential understanding that maybe came 00:12:42.070 --> 00:12:46.049 through when I was younger, which comes through 00:12:46.049 --> 00:12:49.429 if you have a connection with the music of any 00:12:49.429 --> 00:12:53.529 composer. You mentioned that you want to approach 00:12:53.529 --> 00:12:57.460 Bach's music in a new way. You want to have a 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:00.480 new approach to his music. So speaking of that 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:04.000 now, some listeners, especially, especially young 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:06.679 students, I have quite a few young students. 00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:10.080 And then there are several that are really serious 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:15.039 about, you know, pursuing this piano and hoping 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.779 to maybe go to college, majoring piano or something. 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:23.539 But whenever we have to, we. Talk about Bach. 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:25.679 Oh, Bach is boring. I don't want to do Bach. 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:28.419 You know, I want to do bare minimum of Bach. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:32.080 But maybe they're not truly introduced the music 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:34.399 of Bach in an engaging way. I'm trying, right? 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:37.639 But how do you respond to that? How do you reveal 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:43.480 the true beauty of his music? Well, I think just 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:48.009 before focusing on that. It is true that not 00:13:48.009 --> 00:13:52.250 everyone may be great material for loving Bach. 00:13:52.649 --> 00:13:58.070 Bach is a serious composer and we're all different. 00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:00.809 And to me, Bach is kind of like jazz. I love 00:14:00.809 --> 00:14:04.149 jazz, but I know a lot of people who just don't 00:14:04.149 --> 00:14:08.070 kind of get it. There's something that's missing 00:14:08.070 --> 00:14:11.129 in the connection with the brain or the body 00:14:11.129 --> 00:14:13.490 or whatever processes the music that doesn't 00:14:13.490 --> 00:14:16.090 give the person that, oh my God, this is great. 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:22.019 And with Bach, I think, frankly, especially as 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:25.179 a young student, the available material is wonderful, 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:30.919 of course. And a lot of people have asked me, 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:35.000 why would we need more Bach? That is not that 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.940 difficult when we have the inventions, we have 00:14:37.940 --> 00:14:40.980 the minuets. And that's all true. But I don't 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:44.919 think those are his most inspired pieces. I think 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:47.679 the inventions are wonderful, but they are a 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:52.279 bit dry, right? So they may not appeal to everyone, 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:57.559 you know, at five, six, seven, eight. And the 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:00.559 minuets, in my opinion, the dances, again, they're 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.919 wonderful, but the minuets are more, you know, 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:06.620 they're more Mozart to me. When I hear, you know, 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:11.590 the G major minuet of Bach. It almost, it's not 00:15:11.590 --> 00:15:14.070 Bach. It doesn't have the complexity. It almost 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:17.009 doesn't have the genius kind of shining through 00:15:17.009 --> 00:15:19.710 it. So that's all obviously with a grain of salt. 00:15:19.830 --> 00:15:23.309 It's wonderful work. But I think if you're talking 00:15:23.309 --> 00:15:26.629 about young students, for example, who may not 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:31.690 be disposed to analysis because to analyze an 00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:34.370 invention, I've had the experience as a teacher 00:15:34.370 --> 00:15:37.909 of kids who can understand that this is a little 00:15:37.909 --> 00:15:41.590 puzzle. And if you spend 20 minutes showing that 00:15:41.590 --> 00:15:44.450 it's a little puzzle, I've had 10, 11 -year -olds 00:15:44.450 --> 00:15:47.889 say, oh, wow, this is really cool. And once they 00:15:47.889 --> 00:15:50.830 say that, they will play it with a completely 00:15:50.830 --> 00:15:54.009 different mindset and a completely different 00:15:54.009 --> 00:15:57.269 level of interest, just like the adult amateurs 00:15:57.269 --> 00:16:01.590 will, because many adults don't really go through 00:16:01.590 --> 00:16:05.909 this analysis of Bach. So one way is to analyze 00:16:05.909 --> 00:16:10.049 if the person is ready. you know, abstractly 00:16:10.049 --> 00:16:13.789 and mentally. And I also think that now that 00:16:13.789 --> 00:16:16.590 I have produced, or I'm not the only one to, 00:16:16.669 --> 00:16:19.970 but for example, the cello suite prelude from 00:16:19.970 --> 00:16:22.970 the G major cello suite, which has been prescribed 00:16:22.970 --> 00:16:25.250 by other people because it's such a big hit. 00:16:26.610 --> 00:16:30.289 I think if they played something like that, because 00:16:30.289 --> 00:16:34.269 frankly, it sounds a lot less like Bach that 00:16:34.269 --> 00:16:37.620 we think about, but it's. you know, it's kind 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:39.840 of meditative, contemplative. It sounds like 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:43.659 pop music, right? In a sense. I think they would 00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:46.419 enjoy playing something like that more than the 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:50.200 minuet, let's say. I just think it's less boring, 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:52.759 right? And again, forgive me for saying minuets 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:54.519 are boring, but I don't think they're the best 00:16:54.519 --> 00:17:00.379 Bach pieces. Or to play even versions of music 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:02.639 that's great music, maybe not written for piano. 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:06.640 Like the Badinerie, for example, from the last, 00:17:06.779 --> 00:17:11.000 sorry, from the second orchestral suite. You 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:15.019 know, everybody loves that. And since my transcription, 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:17.680 I've had piano teachers telling me, oh, I played 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:19.799 this for my piano students. They love it. They 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:21.859 want to play it. So, you know, I don't think 00:17:21.859 --> 00:17:25.019 it's a sin to try to introduce some of Bach's 00:17:25.019 --> 00:17:27.660 greatest hits, so to speak, into the repertoire. 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:31.160 Because, you know, the genius comes through there. 00:17:31.579 --> 00:17:34.839 And then I think people will be more ready later 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:40.359 to play more serious works. Oh, now I understand. 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:44.180 Yeah. It's one point of view. Obviously, there 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:46.940 are kids like me who at the age of seven got 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:50.980 Bach. Right. I have that kind of a personality. 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:55.700 I'm an introverted person who likes serious things. 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:59.539 You know what I mean? Yeah. And that, I think, 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:02.390 is very important. And the other thing, just 00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:05.890 briefly, I remember as a teenager listening to 00:18:05.890 --> 00:18:09.130 the St. Matthew's Passion, hearing the first 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:11.369 chorus of St. Matthew's Passion. And this is 00:18:11.369 --> 00:18:14.410 after more than 10 years of having played Bach 00:18:14.410 --> 00:18:19.410 pieces. And, you know, that was my first, truly 00:18:19.410 --> 00:18:23.089 my first emotional surrender to Bach because 00:18:23.089 --> 00:18:26.509 I thought, wow, this is so great. So also more 00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:30.710 exposure to non -piano works. Because Bach obviously 00:18:30.710 --> 00:18:34.730 approached his piano works as tasks for his students. 00:18:35.549 --> 00:18:37.690 You know, there's no way that he could have been 00:18:37.690 --> 00:18:39.809 thinking of the inventions the same way that 00:18:39.809 --> 00:18:43.390 he thought of the oratorios or the cantatas, 00:18:43.529 --> 00:18:46.470 right? It's just, he was a businessman. This 00:18:46.470 --> 00:18:49.069 is for the little kids. This is for the church 00:18:49.069 --> 00:18:52.329 service. And the Brandenburgs are, you know, 00:18:52.329 --> 00:18:55.849 for the court orchestra. And the partitas are 00:18:55.849 --> 00:18:59.490 for my soul because he actually... himself published 00:18:59.490 --> 00:19:02.730 the partitas. So it's nice, you know, once you 00:19:02.730 --> 00:19:05.410 familiarize yourself with the output, not just 00:19:05.410 --> 00:19:08.130 as a pianist, but not just as a piano student, 00:19:08.329 --> 00:19:11.750 I think it will be a huge boost in the interest 00:19:11.750 --> 00:19:17.470 in Bach. Yeah. If you think of Bach that way, 00:19:17.529 --> 00:19:44.819 it totally makes sense. So what makes Bach music 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:49.220 so timeless and relevant even today? And how 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:52.059 do you see it resonating with contemporary musicians 00:19:52.059 --> 00:19:57.420 and audiences? You know, I think that Bach, as 00:19:57.420 --> 00:20:02.039 most people who are musical professionals will 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:04.779 tell you, he's really in the category of his 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:08.160 own. And, you know, there's almost like music 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.660 before Bach and music after Bach and all major 00:20:10.660 --> 00:20:15.339 composers. Despite some historical, supposedly 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:17.400 there were some gray areas where Bach wasn't 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:20.359 played. I think most, you know, Beethoven had 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.039 the famous quote about Bach not being a brook 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:28.960 by an ocean. Schumann did some sketches of cello 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:33.119 suite transcriptions that I saw. So major composers, 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:35.779 you know, Chopin wrote the 24 Preludes. Major 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:38.380 composers were always aware of Bach. It's not 00:20:38.380 --> 00:20:41.420 true that just Mendelssohn revived St. Matthew's 00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:43.880 Passion and then everybody remembered Bach. Maybe 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:46.400 as far as the general public, it's true. But 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.200 the question why, what makes him so special, 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:51.960 I think is a wonderful question that I'll never 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:54.460 stop thinking about. And it has been brought 00:20:54.460 --> 00:21:01.420 up to me a lot recently. And I think that one 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:06.099 of the answers is that... I mean, first of all, 00:21:06.099 --> 00:21:09.220 it just seems like it's a source of comes from 00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:12.460 a greater source than just one person. I think 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:16.000 a lot of artistic output artists are just filters 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:20.000 through some, you know, natural forces or ideas 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.940 and, of course, take their ideas from nature. 00:21:23.140 --> 00:21:26.599 So he was definitely, to me, a filter of just 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:30.359 an incredible amount of some kind of information. 00:21:31.789 --> 00:21:35.170 for lack of a better word. And his music, since 00:21:35.170 --> 00:21:40.109 it's largely characterized by patterns and structure, 00:21:40.349 --> 00:21:45.529 and structure is a Rosalind Turek kind of a quote 00:21:45.529 --> 00:21:49.450 because I like her a lot. And she, I think, has 00:21:49.450 --> 00:21:54.029 a great grasp on how to talk about Bach. His 00:21:54.029 --> 00:21:57.769 music sounds great no matter what instrument 00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:00.690 you play it on. And even no matter what tempo 00:22:00.690 --> 00:22:05.069 you play it on, broadly speaking, what tempo 00:22:05.069 --> 00:22:09.430 you play it at, because it is structured on very 00:22:09.430 --> 00:22:12.849 basic patterns that are very clearly manipulated. 00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:16.970 And there's something about that that I think 00:22:16.970 --> 00:22:20.630 appeals to our brains because we react to symmetry 00:22:20.630 --> 00:22:25.410 and structure and we somehow see it as something 00:22:25.410 --> 00:22:30.009 akin to beauty. We're very satisfied with something 00:22:30.009 --> 00:22:34.490 that makes sense as far as repetition or order. 00:22:35.130 --> 00:22:38.750 And that is very much a part of his language 00:22:38.750 --> 00:22:43.190 as far as the musical structure and the basics 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:47.109 of it, like I think no other composers. And also 00:22:47.109 --> 00:22:51.369 there is complexity at the same time. There is 00:22:51.369 --> 00:22:56.319 the layers. Yet there's simplicity and there 00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:01.039 is this organic hole that makes sense on some 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.980 level. You know, and those of us who can analyze 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:07.339 things, we're like, oh, my God, how could he 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:10.779 even do this? And those of us who can't analyze, 00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:14.839 but are receptive to it, they're like, wow, this 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:17.940 is amazing. It makes me feel, you know, centering. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.299 It makes it just makes me come to myself. People 00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:24.279 say all kinds of things like that. about Bach. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:28.559 So I think that that is something that sets him 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:31.480 apart and that's something that will never be 00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:36.700 in any way old or out of context because we are 00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:39.700 wired the way we're wired as far as the perception 00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:46.700 of music. And we also, we like to have this feeling 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:51.920 of calmness and kind of this attention to something. 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:56.940 that doesn't distract us, like maybe some romantic 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:59.900 music that, oh, this is sad, oh, I can relate 00:23:59.900 --> 00:24:02.859 to it, you know. But this kind of music really 00:24:02.859 --> 00:24:06.539 brings us to a part that understands, like, it's 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:27.920 a universal kind of a language. We briefly touched 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:31.819 upon your new album, Absolute. What was your 00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:34.839 process in, you know, adapting these suites to 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:39.059 modern piano? So there are lute suites and also, 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:44.140 what is it, Prelude, Fugue, Allegro. Yes, Prelude, 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:47.140 Fugue, Allegro. I remember you just released 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:51.079 a video of Allegro on the piano on YouTube. Yes, 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:54.690 actually, this morning. Yes, I watched it. It's 00:24:54.690 --> 00:24:59.210 fantastic. Yes. So, so rhythm driven. And so, 00:24:59.329 --> 00:25:03.930 you know, like really, it sounds like a dance 00:25:03.930 --> 00:25:06.789 suite from like one of the patitas or something 00:25:06.789 --> 00:25:11.069 like that. And yeah, a lot of hemiola going on. 00:25:11.089 --> 00:25:16.190 And I love those. Oh, same. And you played so 00:25:16.190 --> 00:25:19.690 beautifully. So, but what would be the challenging 00:25:19.690 --> 00:25:23.839 part where you transcribe? A piece from, you 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:28.500 know, originally written for Lautenberg. Is that 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:31.259 how you call this? Lautenberg, I think, was the 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:34.599 general name in Bach's time for these types of 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:37.819 instruments. That were a lute, you know, strings 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:40.779 with a keyboard. Yeah, interesting instrument. 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:45.420 Has that lute -like quality of tone, but the 00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:48.220 instrument is keyboard instead of, you know. 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:51.710 Right. roughly speaking, like a harpsichord with 00:25:51.710 --> 00:25:54.809 gut strings. So it sounded a little bit more 00:25:54.809 --> 00:25:59.529 gentle. It was a different tone, like a warmer 00:25:59.529 --> 00:26:02.750 tone, they say. Right, right, right. Did you 00:26:02.750 --> 00:26:06.009 have to alter anything for this to apply to this 00:26:06.009 --> 00:26:10.170 modern piano? Well, I think every time you go 00:26:10.170 --> 00:26:12.769 from one instrument to another, there's considerations 00:26:12.769 --> 00:26:16.650 and choices. In this particular case, actually, 00:26:16.730 --> 00:26:21.130 I probably had the least amount of questions 00:26:21.130 --> 00:26:26.009 and decisions to make because it was partially 00:26:26.009 --> 00:26:29.809 intended for a keyboard, unlike my other, you 00:26:29.809 --> 00:26:33.609 know, transcriptions. So mostly what I did there 00:26:33.609 --> 00:26:39.089 was I tried to enhance the possibilities by, 00:26:39.170 --> 00:26:42.450 for example, holding a bass note, right? Because 00:26:42.450 --> 00:26:46.109 the Allegro that you heard this morning is a 00:26:46.109 --> 00:26:49.609 part of... you know, a trifecta, three movement 00:26:49.609 --> 00:26:52.769 work, which was very unusual for Bach. But in 00:26:52.769 --> 00:26:57.009 the prelude, for example, of that set, the original 00:26:57.009 --> 00:27:01.910 score just repeats an E flat at the downbeat 00:27:01.910 --> 00:27:05.150 of every measure, let's say in the beginning. 00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:08.509 Now, obviously, when one goes to the piano, one 00:27:08.509 --> 00:27:12.109 needs to look at that and think, well, Bach repeated 00:27:12.109 --> 00:27:16.880 the E flat every time because neither the lute 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:19.380 nor the lute harpsichord could actually hold 00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:23.500 that note. But it's clearly a bass that is meant 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:27.180 to be held. So on the piano, to me, it made sense 00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:33.440 to just play an octave and sustain it by alternating 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.599 the octave sounds, but to have one long bass, 00:27:36.859 --> 00:27:41.039 because conceptually that's what it was. So I 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:43.799 needed to think about... What is it that I can 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:47.039 do on the piano without adding, you know, obviously 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:51.240 I don't want to change the piece. And that has 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:56.660 been one of my very important criterions because 00:27:56.660 --> 00:28:01.779 I'm not a transcriber who adds anything of myself, 00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:07.099 you know, beyond something very basic or beyond 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:15.960 ornaments going the second time around. my purpose 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:18.759 is not to be able to play this on my own. My 00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:22.539 purpose had become to make this accessible to 00:28:22.539 --> 00:28:26.240 people. So one of my criterions is I also, I 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:28.460 don't want this to be very difficult because 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:31.940 I don't want 3 % of the existing pianists to 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:34.440 be able to play it. I would like more than 50 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:38.619 % to be able to play it. So I'm always wary of 00:28:38.619 --> 00:28:42.700 adding things that are very difficult. But in 00:28:42.700 --> 00:28:46.359 the case of the suites, it would be prolonged 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:50.660 notes or just being able to hold notes, which 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:53.660 is the same thing, except in the case of the 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:55.500 prelude I mentioned, it would be just a bass 00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:58.500 note that's held for three. But let's say in 00:28:58.500 --> 00:29:02.460 the Allemande, for example, there are also not 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:06.380 many held notes and not many polyphonic sounding. 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:11.319 elements because the lute or the lute harpsichord 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:13.759 cannot hold the note for four beats and still 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:17.460 be heard but on the piano you can so i did enhance 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:20.500 the polyphony a little bit just because i've 00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:23.519 played so many alabans on the piano i needed 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:27.579 to approach them as a pianist interesting that 00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:31.259 but takes a lot of thought into it and experience 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:33.759 as a pianist and arranger too you've been arranging 00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:37.980 or transcribing Bach's pieces and other pieces 00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:43.000 for a long time. So what level, you mentioned 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:47.559 that these lute suites also are intended for 00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:53.160 maybe 50 % of so -and -so called pianists, or 00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:56.960 some of the pieces were hard, I think, in the 00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:01.019 album. Well, that's, you know, depending on the 00:30:01.019 --> 00:30:04.700 piece. I mentioned 50 % just as a, you know, 00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:07.099 I pulled it out of the hat, just trying to make 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:11.099 a point that there are many intermediate pianists, 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:14.099 you know, early, late intermediate pianists who 00:30:14.099 --> 00:30:17.559 could play this. It really depends on the movement. 00:30:17.619 --> 00:30:19.599 You're absolutely right. Some movements are hard. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:24.099 And one of the challenges for me, especially 00:30:24.099 --> 00:30:26.839 as a recording artist, right, because recordings 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:30.829 get scrutinized and reviewed, et cetera. I kind 00:30:30.829 --> 00:30:33.049 of need to show that I can also play the piano. 00:30:33.230 --> 00:30:36.430 And a way to show that you can play the piano 00:30:36.430 --> 00:30:40.109 on a very basic level is show that you can play 00:30:40.109 --> 00:30:44.849 fast, right? So some of the movements in this 00:30:44.849 --> 00:30:48.190 particular recording and also in the cello suites, 00:30:48.309 --> 00:30:52.170 I play much faster than one could play on guitar 00:30:52.170 --> 00:30:55.269 or a harpsichord because on the piano it's possible 00:30:55.269 --> 00:30:58.869 and it sounds good and it makes people think 00:30:58.869 --> 00:31:01.130 that, oh, she can play well. She doesn't just 00:31:01.130 --> 00:31:05.710 transcribe. So even this Allegro, for example, 00:31:06.230 --> 00:31:10.170 it is actually quite difficult just because it's 00:31:10.170 --> 00:31:12.529 in E flat major. It does not pianistically make 00:31:12.529 --> 00:31:15.750 a lot of sense for the right hand. But I had 00:31:15.750 --> 00:31:19.029 to look. There is a recording of that particular 00:31:19.029 --> 00:31:24.670 set has been transcribed by actually Busoni in 00:31:24.670 --> 00:31:28.529 also a very simplistic manner like mine. and 00:31:28.529 --> 00:31:30.569 by someone else. So there's actually a Richter 00:31:30.569 --> 00:31:35.170 recording of that set. And I made sure that I 00:31:35.170 --> 00:31:37.630 didn't play any slower than he did, just because 00:31:37.630 --> 00:31:42.710 that's the academic standard. But some of the 00:31:42.710 --> 00:31:47.509 movements, the prelude that I mentioned, the 00:31:47.509 --> 00:31:52.269 fugue also from 998, is not difficult compared 00:31:52.269 --> 00:31:56.049 to Bach's other fugues. And, you know, the Allemande, 00:31:56.269 --> 00:32:01.130 many of the movements are not difficult. No more 00:32:01.130 --> 00:32:04.690 difficult than, let's say, a French suite. Yeah, 00:32:04.730 --> 00:32:08.609 yeah. So are the scores available, your transcription? 00:32:09.170 --> 00:32:12.390 The scores are available. I usually finish the 00:32:12.390 --> 00:32:15.990 scores after the recording is made because making 00:32:15.990 --> 00:32:20.650 the recording helps me refine any new thoughts 00:32:20.650 --> 00:32:24.309 that I have. And then, of course, I need to go 00:32:24.309 --> 00:32:27.529 over and edit things and check for misprints. 00:32:27.990 --> 00:32:30.789 Because I know the music, but then I have to 00:32:30.789 --> 00:32:32.430 look at it with the eyes of someone who doesn't 00:32:32.430 --> 00:32:34.630 know the music. And then I find the accidentals 00:32:34.630 --> 00:32:38.910 missing, etc. So I just finished the score in 00:32:38.910 --> 00:32:42.170 February and now it is ready. And actually, I 00:32:42.170 --> 00:32:45.130 brought some with me to England when I just did 00:32:45.130 --> 00:32:48.609 my record launch party. And I was very gratified 00:32:48.609 --> 00:32:50.769 because they just... you know, flew, everybody 00:32:50.769 --> 00:32:52.829 loved them. And they started asking me, and what 00:32:52.829 --> 00:32:55.890 are you doing here? It was very nice. Oh, wow. 00:32:56.049 --> 00:32:58.650 They're available from my website at the moment. 00:32:58.869 --> 00:33:03.349 Oh, okay. Wonderful. It's so wonderful that most 00:33:03.349 --> 00:33:07.150 of your transcriptions are synced with your recordings. 00:33:07.210 --> 00:33:09.970 Like either people can have the reference to, 00:33:10.069 --> 00:33:13.150 right? Yeah. Yes. I think I'm very fortunate 00:33:13.150 --> 00:33:17.230 because record labels are interested in my work 00:33:17.230 --> 00:33:23.150 because it's new. And for me, that's really the 00:33:23.150 --> 00:33:25.509 only way to introduce my transcriptions because 00:33:25.509 --> 00:33:28.750 otherwise people will not be interested if they 00:33:28.750 --> 00:33:30.910 don't hear what they sound like, right? Anybody 00:33:30.910 --> 00:33:33.650 could transcribe anything. It doesn't matter 00:33:33.650 --> 00:33:35.769 that, you know, you don't know that it's good. 00:33:36.089 --> 00:33:41.130 So I'm very lucky to be able to record and to 00:33:41.130 --> 00:33:44.390 have people, you know, shazam and then write 00:33:44.390 --> 00:33:47.269 to me and ask, oh, you know, this is great. You 00:33:47.269 --> 00:34:11.239 can have this score. And also, I want to talk 00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:13.659 about your Brandenburg concertos beforehand. 00:34:14.179 --> 00:34:17.940 Oh, I love them so much. Yeah, thank you so much. 00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:20.780 That is, to me, that will always be my most, 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:25.159 you know, my biggest accomplishment. The Brandenburg 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:30.559 concertos, no question. Sure. So, I mean, where 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:33.599 do I start? How long did it take for you to complete 00:34:33.599 --> 00:34:36.960 all six? You know, it took nearly three years. 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:40.329 I started with one. And, you know, I always tell 00:34:40.329 --> 00:34:43.269 the story, me and my piano partner at the time, 00:34:43.269 --> 00:34:47.329 we tried Max Reger's score many times and it 00:34:47.329 --> 00:34:50.050 was just not viable. So what he did wrong was, 00:34:50.170 --> 00:34:53.710 it was kind of like he just put all of the high 00:34:53.710 --> 00:34:57.250 notes in the primo part and all of the low notes 00:34:57.250 --> 00:35:01.670 in the secondo part. So, in effect, the primo 00:35:01.670 --> 00:35:05.570 part looks like this Amazon forest of notes, 00:35:05.750 --> 00:35:10.489 which... completely obscures any counterpoint. 00:35:10.650 --> 00:35:13.449 So they're just clusters of chords because you 00:35:13.449 --> 00:35:15.869 have the violins playing, you have the oboes, 00:35:15.869 --> 00:35:18.110 and sometimes you have the trumpets. They're 00:35:18.110 --> 00:35:21.429 all scored differently. So it's impossible to 00:35:21.429 --> 00:35:25.909 play up -tempo and really convey the different 00:35:25.909 --> 00:35:29.510 lines converging, which is what he did for the 00:35:29.510 --> 00:35:32.730 orchestra. And the secondo part, the bottom part, 00:35:32.829 --> 00:35:36.889 very often just has octaves doubled because by 00:35:36.889 --> 00:35:39.150 virtue of it being low, nothing else was happening 00:35:39.150 --> 00:35:42.269 in there. So whoever's playing primo is completely 00:35:42.269 --> 00:35:46.309 frazzled and frustrated. And whoever's playing 00:35:46.309 --> 00:35:48.929 secondo is also frustrated for a different reason, 00:35:49.010 --> 00:35:52.320 that they're barely doing anything. So I just 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:55.460 transcribed one of the concertos of 2014 because 00:35:55.460 --> 00:35:59.219 I was presenting a series of Bach concerts and 00:35:59.219 --> 00:36:02.760 I wanted to do Brandenburg too. And first I thought 00:36:02.760 --> 00:36:04.719 that I could just change it a little bit, looking 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:06.619 at the score, but then I realized that I need 00:36:06.619 --> 00:36:09.739 to redo it because you need to enter things into 00:36:09.739 --> 00:36:13.000 software and it just wasn't viable to change. 00:36:14.570 --> 00:36:17.050 So I did that one. It took me about three months. 00:36:17.050 --> 00:36:19.469 It was not one of the complex ones. And then 00:36:19.469 --> 00:36:22.110 after doing that and playing it at a concert, 00:36:22.230 --> 00:36:23.590 then people were saying, well, are you going 00:36:23.590 --> 00:36:25.289 to do all six? Are you going to do all six? And 00:36:25.289 --> 00:36:28.130 I was like, oh my God, am I going to do all six? 00:36:28.150 --> 00:36:31.869 It took me a few months to get my readiness level 00:36:31.869 --> 00:36:34.329 to a point where I said, okay, I'm going to start 00:36:34.329 --> 00:36:36.829 working on this. And then it was about two years. 00:36:37.530 --> 00:36:41.130 It was an extremely difficult and involving process. 00:36:42.489 --> 00:36:45.369 I'm still frankly amazed that I've done it because 00:36:45.369 --> 00:36:48.309 everything subsequent was not nearly as difficult. 00:36:48.929 --> 00:36:52.690 And these are written for advanced pianists? 00:36:53.030 --> 00:36:56.510 Well, again, I don't know what the designation 00:36:56.510 --> 00:36:59.730 would be because I just transcribed the music 00:36:59.730 --> 00:37:03.030 the best way I could for forehand piano. Some 00:37:03.030 --> 00:37:06.469 of the slow movements could be done by the intermediate 00:37:06.469 --> 00:37:11.949 pianists. But the fast movements are just... 00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:14.079 you know, the first, third movements, they are 00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:18.920 very complex. And those are definitely not for, 00:37:18.940 --> 00:37:25.400 you know, students on the lower levels. I didn't 00:37:25.400 --> 00:37:27.579 change anything. You know, I really tried not 00:37:27.579 --> 00:37:30.280 to eliminate anything except double notes and 00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:33.760 maybe the viola parts, you know, because everything 00:37:33.760 --> 00:37:36.019 there is so important. So a lot of them were 00:37:36.019 --> 00:37:40.159 quite complex. And I made the counterpoint very 00:37:40.159 --> 00:37:43.389 clear. And I gave a lot more to the bass, even 00:37:43.389 --> 00:37:46.050 to we cross hands a lot because not the bass, 00:37:46.090 --> 00:37:49.329 the secondo. I wanted the secondo to have melodic 00:37:49.329 --> 00:37:53.570 material. So that is the most difficult set by 00:37:53.570 --> 00:37:56.010 and large. Some concertos are more difficult 00:37:56.010 --> 00:38:00.809 than others, but they're definitely also more 00:38:00.809 --> 00:38:03.110 difficult than the orchestral suites. Quite, 00:38:03.230 --> 00:38:05.929 quite more difficult. Yeah, I'm really, you know, 00:38:05.989 --> 00:38:08.469 I really need to get some more people to play 00:38:08.469 --> 00:38:12.179 them because. They're not easy. I would love 00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:31.559 to play them. Speaking of orchestral suites, 00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:35.179 that's a Bach orchestral suite. And I listened 00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:39.840 to the album. There are many iconic pieces. in 00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:42.099 the orchestra suites. And then that's also transcribed 00:38:42.099 --> 00:38:44.559 for four hands. Now, what do you think about 00:38:44.559 --> 00:38:48.500 a four -hand duo? Like, I just performed a four 00:38:48.500 --> 00:38:52.039 -hand duet with someone. Oh, that's great. Yeah, 00:38:52.119 --> 00:38:56.960 I really, I love the format. I like it. Maybe 00:38:56.960 --> 00:38:58.980 we should try to get together in Brooklyn and 00:38:58.980 --> 00:39:00.599 play through some of these. I would love that. 00:39:00.679 --> 00:39:05.599 Oh, really? Let's do it. Yes. There's something 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:08.090 about four -hand duet. The intimacy that you 00:39:08.090 --> 00:39:13.110 feel. And also, I don't know, it can be also 00:39:13.110 --> 00:39:16.730 written for solo piano, but obviously with 20 00:39:16.730 --> 00:39:19.670 fingers, you can do so much. But at the same 00:39:19.670 --> 00:39:21.849 time, because it's two people, you have to sing 00:39:21.849 --> 00:39:25.190 together. It's so challenging, but I love doing 00:39:25.190 --> 00:39:28.989 it. Yeah, I agree. I love doing it. And I've 00:39:28.989 --> 00:39:32.489 done it literally. And I wrote a piece about 00:39:32.489 --> 00:39:36.079 this for someone in England. After doing the 00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:39.039 Brandenburg duets. When I was studying, when 00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:42.900 I started to study piano in Riga, if you look 00:39:42.900 --> 00:39:46.699 at the most commonly used book in the former 00:39:46.699 --> 00:39:49.739 Soviet Union, it was called The School of Nikolayev. 00:39:49.739 --> 00:39:52.739 All the Russian kids, you know, Soviet Union 00:39:52.739 --> 00:39:56.460 kids started learning from that book. Literally, 00:39:56.619 --> 00:39:58.820 on I think the third page, there's already a 00:39:58.820 --> 00:40:01.820 duet. Because, you know, there's a very simple 00:40:01.820 --> 00:40:04.420 one note at a time line for the student. And 00:40:04.420 --> 00:40:07.440 the teacher does chords. And I actually remember, 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:11.440 I think I remember when my teacher did that with 00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:14.159 me very early on, because for the first time, 00:40:14.179 --> 00:40:16.380 it sounded like I'm playing, you know, I'm making 00:40:16.380 --> 00:40:20.639 music with someone. And it's a great tool. And 00:40:20.639 --> 00:40:23.780 the Russians knew it and know it. I mean, the 00:40:23.780 --> 00:40:26.260 Russian school, you know, which is very well, 00:40:26.360 --> 00:40:30.719 the oldest kind of piano school, even though 00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:34.110 it evolved from the Germans. They know how important 00:40:34.110 --> 00:40:37.989 it is to foster musicianship and to foster synchronized 00:40:37.989 --> 00:40:41.110 playing and sensitivity. At beginner's piano 00:40:41.110 --> 00:40:44.590 lessons, that's always done. I don't think it's 00:40:44.590 --> 00:40:47.570 always done here, not as much, but it is, you 00:40:47.570 --> 00:40:50.349 know, also and it should be. But the feeling 00:40:50.349 --> 00:40:53.110 of making music with somebody so close to you 00:40:53.110 --> 00:40:56.010 for a pianist is no, you know, unlike any other. 00:40:56.150 --> 00:40:58.469 Of course, we can play with violinists or with 00:40:58.469 --> 00:41:01.849 cellos, but somebody sitting right next to you 00:41:01.849 --> 00:41:05.050 on a bench. And you need to, first of all, you 00:41:05.050 --> 00:41:07.969 need to be polite and navigate the piano together. 00:41:08.210 --> 00:41:10.690 So there's the logistics of that, which is helpful. 00:41:10.889 --> 00:41:13.630 Then you need to match your sound very often 00:41:13.630 --> 00:41:16.789 or listen to the balance of the sound. So it's 00:41:16.789 --> 00:41:19.269 really conducive to just becoming a much better 00:41:19.269 --> 00:41:22.989 pianist. And you're right, as opposed to two 00:41:22.989 --> 00:41:26.269 pianos, which is also a wonderful medium, it's 00:41:26.269 --> 00:41:28.980 a different type of synchronization. Because 00:41:28.980 --> 00:41:32.860 with two pianos, the synchronization, just playing 00:41:32.860 --> 00:41:35.079 a chord at the same time is almost the biggest 00:41:35.079 --> 00:41:39.719 issue. And it's almost a 50 -50 chance very often, 00:41:39.760 --> 00:41:42.880 you know, because I recorded on two pianos as 00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:47.739 well. So I think the duets is a very underrated 00:41:47.739 --> 00:41:52.000 pedagogical tool. Although I understand that 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:54.739 for teachers, for logistical reasons, it's hard 00:41:54.739 --> 00:41:58.639 to do duets. different students at the same time 00:41:58.639 --> 00:42:02.340 because it's scheduling, et cetera. But I think 00:42:02.340 --> 00:42:05.980 it's very important to start in the class with 00:42:05.980 --> 00:42:07.900 the students to give them the opportunity of 00:42:07.900 --> 00:42:12.039 duets. And as far as two pianos, just as an aside, 00:42:12.159 --> 00:42:15.199 because somebody in England just asked me, a 00:42:15.199 --> 00:42:18.280 very nice lady came who actually plays my Brandenburgs. 00:42:18.280 --> 00:42:21.000 And she said, well, no, I have to ask you, my 00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:23.840 partner and I tried this on two pianos and she 00:42:23.840 --> 00:42:27.840 was apologetic. She was almost asking my permission 00:42:27.840 --> 00:42:31.519 to play these on two pianos. And of course, needless 00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:35.739 to say, I'm all for two piano renditions of the 00:42:35.739 --> 00:42:39.400 Brandenburg duets. It's just that at the time 00:42:39.400 --> 00:42:41.579 that I was making the transcription, I thought 00:42:41.579 --> 00:42:45.360 that practically speaking, it's just a lot harder 00:42:45.360 --> 00:42:48.280 to have access to two pianos in the same room 00:42:48.280 --> 00:42:52.039 for any of us. And of course, if I wanted to 00:42:52.039 --> 00:42:54.619 make a transcription for two pianos, it would 00:42:54.619 --> 00:42:58.739 have been a hell of a lot easier to write than 00:42:58.739 --> 00:43:02.059 to try to understand how will this work? How 00:43:02.059 --> 00:43:05.639 will my left hand work with the right hand of 00:43:05.639 --> 00:43:08.239 somebody else? That was the main difficulty in 00:43:08.239 --> 00:43:10.820 the forehand transcription is the logistics. 00:43:12.159 --> 00:43:14.760 But it's actually easier to play on two pianos 00:43:14.760 --> 00:43:17.119 because you don't need to worry about sharing 00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:20.000 that prized space in the middle of the piano. 00:43:36.460 --> 00:43:39.639 Can we talk about your cello suite for solo piano 00:43:39.639 --> 00:43:42.480 and then maybe stepping stones to Bach both? 00:43:42.699 --> 00:43:46.500 Of course, of course. So cello suite, these pieces 00:43:46.500 --> 00:43:50.119 are iconic. And as you mentioned, there are other 00:43:50.119 --> 00:43:53.559 composers or arrangers who transcribed for solo 00:43:53.559 --> 00:43:58.059 piano. And you graciously sent me both cello 00:43:58.059 --> 00:44:01.489 suite and stepping stones to Bach. So thank you 00:44:01.489 --> 00:44:04.349 so much. And then I showed it to one of my adult 00:44:04.349 --> 00:44:08.349 students and he was so excited because he loved 00:44:08.349 --> 00:44:11.329 the iconic, of course, the G major cello. Yeah. 00:44:12.130 --> 00:44:16.469 So he said he's going to purchase the book and 00:44:16.469 --> 00:44:20.909 we're going to try the first one. But yeah. So 00:44:20.909 --> 00:44:26.929 what makes yours unique from others, other transcriptions? 00:44:26.929 --> 00:44:30.130 What was your intention? What makes my cello 00:44:30.130 --> 00:44:33.489 transcription unique is that I actually worked 00:44:33.489 --> 00:44:37.869 on all 36 movements of all six suites. And I 00:44:37.869 --> 00:44:40.849 approached them really with the least amount 00:44:40.849 --> 00:44:44.949 of alteration because I wanted to preserve the 00:44:44.949 --> 00:44:50.650 sound, the register, and I don't know, the universe, 00:44:50.710 --> 00:44:55.150 if you will, of this very interesting one voice, 00:44:55.250 --> 00:45:00.469 kind of one line focus. that we pianists often 00:45:00.469 --> 00:45:06.530 don't have. So I really got my inspiration from 00:45:06.530 --> 00:45:09.150 the Russian transcriber and pianist Alexander 00:45:09.150 --> 00:45:13.789 Zoloti, who was a student of Liszt and who's 00:45:13.789 --> 00:45:17.010 responsible for many, many virtuosic transcriptions, 00:45:17.010 --> 00:45:20.110 including Bach in octaves. He did some really 00:45:20.110 --> 00:45:23.090 crazy things that only he and Rachmaninoff and 00:45:23.090 --> 00:45:26.650 others could play. But interestingly, I stumbled 00:45:26.650 --> 00:45:30.309 upon... his transcriptions of four of the movements 00:45:30.309 --> 00:45:33.710 from the cello suites, including the first suite 00:45:33.710 --> 00:45:36.889 prelude. But then there were disparate, like 00:45:36.889 --> 00:45:39.809 random movements from the rest of the suites, 00:45:39.909 --> 00:45:44.250 which really, other than a held octave in some, 00:45:44.409 --> 00:45:46.389 they really did not change anything. And they 00:45:46.389 --> 00:45:51.449 were intended for students. So that gave me almost 00:45:51.449 --> 00:45:53.789 the courage to do something like this, because 00:45:53.789 --> 00:45:56.940 it seemed like for a pianist, this would be um, 00:45:57.139 --> 00:46:00.079 just too easy. And, and especially for me, the 00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:02.880 thought of recording that, um, I thought that 00:46:02.880 --> 00:46:04.539 people would laugh at me while she's playing 00:46:04.539 --> 00:46:07.460 one note at a time, you know, like what, you 00:46:07.460 --> 00:46:10.300 know, it was, um, um, a lot of, there was a lot 00:46:10.300 --> 00:46:12.840 of insecurity. And as a matter of fact, writing 00:46:12.840 --> 00:46:15.099 the program, the booklet notes for the cello 00:46:15.099 --> 00:46:18.820 suite album, I, I literally, I had like, I developed 00:46:18.820 --> 00:46:22.360 a, you know, I had a skin like itching or something. 00:46:22.400 --> 00:46:25.099 I was so nervous. because I felt I need to justify 00:46:25.099 --> 00:46:30.159 doing this. So seeing Zloty do this, it kind 00:46:30.159 --> 00:46:32.559 of gave me strength because, well, he did it. 00:46:32.619 --> 00:46:35.320 He thought it was worthwhile, so I can do it 00:46:35.320 --> 00:46:41.880 too. And just all 36 movements just give such 00:46:41.880 --> 00:46:46.739 an incredible glimpse into a smaller, it's like 00:46:46.739 --> 00:46:49.760 you're zooming into how Bach wrote because you're 00:46:49.760 --> 00:46:55.190 only looking at one voice at a time. dividing 00:46:55.190 --> 00:46:58.610 the music between two hands pianistically, which 00:46:58.610 --> 00:47:03.489 I'm equipped to do because I'm a pianist, enables 00:47:03.489 --> 00:47:06.610 me to show the hidden polyphony and the structure 00:47:06.610 --> 00:47:11.389 better because it's now divided. So I can show 00:47:11.389 --> 00:47:13.929 the first, let's say, the four notes of the main 00:47:13.929 --> 00:47:18.070 pattern, and then I can show the hidden polyphony 00:47:18.070 --> 00:47:20.449 notes that change or don't change in the other 00:47:20.449 --> 00:47:24.559 hand. So it's visually... almost like a guide 00:47:24.559 --> 00:47:29.260 to how Bach wrote his themes. So I think in that 00:47:29.260 --> 00:47:32.380 sense, it's an invaluable resource for study. 00:47:33.219 --> 00:47:37.199 And also, to be honest, when I was recording 00:47:37.199 --> 00:47:39.639 the cello suites, I felt that I'm in better shape 00:47:39.639 --> 00:47:43.639 than I've ever been. Because when you play these, 00:47:43.940 --> 00:47:47.480 they almost have a better effect than like a 00:47:47.480 --> 00:47:51.659 churny study. They really are a great exercise 00:47:51.659 --> 00:47:55.230 for finger work. They're so different. Really? 00:47:55.510 --> 00:48:00.530 Yeah. Oh, okay. So I should try them, not just 00:48:00.530 --> 00:48:03.690 as a teaching tool. Well, as a warm -up tool. 00:48:03.849 --> 00:48:06.349 You know, many of them, it's just, you know, 00:48:06.389 --> 00:48:08.650 I'm sure that, you know, Bach is great for your 00:48:08.650 --> 00:48:10.909 fingers as well as Czerny and definitely a lot 00:48:10.909 --> 00:48:14.010 better than Han. But just, you know, it's very 00:48:14.010 --> 00:48:16.610 digital. There are some very lyrical movements, 00:48:16.809 --> 00:48:19.849 the Sarabands. But it's a really great workout 00:48:19.849 --> 00:48:22.590 and it's wonderful music. There is no better. 00:48:23.119 --> 00:48:26.059 finger exercise music, let's say, than the cello 00:48:26.059 --> 00:48:29.699 suites on that level. And there are some wonderful 00:48:29.699 --> 00:48:33.500 movements which are not that well known. For 00:48:33.500 --> 00:48:36.139 example, some movements from the fifth and sixth 00:48:36.139 --> 00:48:39.599 suites, which are more polyphonic, actually, 00:48:39.619 --> 00:48:43.340 were written for a different cello with an extra 00:48:43.340 --> 00:48:47.719 string. And the fifth suite has also been transcribed 00:48:47.719 --> 00:48:50.219 for the lute and the lute harpsichord as well 00:48:50.219 --> 00:48:54.599 by Bach himself. So there's one Sarabande, for 00:48:54.599 --> 00:48:56.780 example, from the sixth suite, which just sounds 00:48:56.780 --> 00:48:59.599 like a Brahms piece. It sounds like a Brahms 00:48:59.599 --> 00:49:03.559 intermezzo. They really give a glimpse into the 00:49:03.559 --> 00:49:06.940 different sides of Bach or the very famous Sarabande 00:49:06.940 --> 00:49:09.780 from the C minor suite, from the third suite, 00:49:09.960 --> 00:49:12.219 which is just very simple, very contemplative. 00:49:13.500 --> 00:49:16.780 It's very different from what we pianists think 00:49:16.780 --> 00:49:21.070 of, again, you know, of Bach. I think it's very, 00:49:21.110 --> 00:49:24.710 very helpful also. And I'm giving these long 00:49:24.710 --> 00:49:27.989 answers, but there's really so much benefit from 00:49:27.989 --> 00:49:32.170 this. The idea of us as pianists, you know, as 00:49:32.170 --> 00:49:36.250 advanced pianists, looking at a fugue or an invention 00:49:36.250 --> 00:49:39.429 with two voices, we're automatically already 00:49:39.429 --> 00:49:43.329 reconciling everything we need to do. But when 00:49:43.329 --> 00:49:47.269 we look at something with just one voice, the 00:49:47.269 --> 00:49:51.170 understanding is very different. So when we actually 00:49:51.170 --> 00:49:55.449 focus on an allemande where there's only one 00:49:55.449 --> 00:49:57.730 voice that we toss around between two hands, 00:49:57.889 --> 00:50:00.750 when we then look at an allemande written for 00:50:00.750 --> 00:50:04.230 the keyboard by Bach, we all of a sudden understand 00:50:04.230 --> 00:50:07.110 it a lot better, you know, because we simultaneously 00:50:07.110 --> 00:50:10.590 see each part a lot more clearer. Yeah, yeah, 00:50:10.610 --> 00:50:14.949 yeah. Yeah, as I was sort of playing the allemande 00:50:14.949 --> 00:50:18.610 from Cello Suite, the G major. Yes, I love that 00:50:18.610 --> 00:50:22.139 one. yeah it's i i can really see it although 00:50:22.139 --> 00:50:24.320 it's you know because it's cello suites it's 00:50:24.320 --> 00:50:29.219 one line but i see the you know two voices separate 00:50:29.219 --> 00:50:33.659 voices and then i was like oh wait a minute yeah 00:50:33.659 --> 00:50:36.780 even within one voice you can do that huh i didn't 00:50:36.780 --> 00:50:39.340 think of Bach that way i didn't think of Bach's 00:50:39.340 --> 00:50:43.440 music so i don't know how to say 3d or three 00:50:43.440 --> 00:50:46.880 -dimensional almost right wow Right. Exactly. 00:50:46.960 --> 00:50:49.659 This is very interesting because looking at one 00:50:49.659 --> 00:50:52.559 line in a way opens up the three dimensionality 00:50:52.559 --> 00:50:55.139 within that one line. It's like it's a little 00:50:55.139 --> 00:50:59.320 microcosm, which, you know, then when he has 00:50:59.320 --> 00:51:01.800 an oratorio, he had 12 things going on in one. 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:04.940 Incredible. But you do understand that better. 00:51:05.079 --> 00:51:08.559 And also that gave me, you know, after I'd done 00:51:08.559 --> 00:51:10.320 the cello suites, I really feel they gave me 00:51:10.320 --> 00:51:12.659 the greatest, you know, new understanding of 00:51:12.659 --> 00:51:15.550 Bach on some level. And it also gave me a new 00:51:15.550 --> 00:51:18.730 understanding of ornaments, because by looking 00:51:18.730 --> 00:51:22.130 at, for example, some of the gigues in the cello 00:51:22.130 --> 00:51:25.190 suite, there could be parts where there are some 00:51:25.190 --> 00:51:29.630 eighth note triplets, but then he inserts a couple 00:51:29.630 --> 00:51:32.909 of 16th notes, like a running up pattern or some 00:51:32.909 --> 00:51:36.150 kind of pattern. And then I understood that these 00:51:36.150 --> 00:51:39.170 little insertions that he makes are perfectly 00:51:39.170 --> 00:51:44.260 legitimate and natural seeds for ornaments so 00:51:44.260 --> 00:51:47.619 when I play the second time I make more of those 00:51:47.619 --> 00:51:50.599 you know what I mean it gave me the confidence 00:51:50.599 --> 00:51:54.059 in seeing it that way and using his own material 00:51:54.059 --> 00:51:57.079 because his material became so much clearer and 00:51:57.079 --> 00:52:00.380 the elements I learned that the elements can 00:52:00.380 --> 00:52:03.840 be used in repeats which is I think a somewhat 00:52:03.840 --> 00:52:07.300 unorthodox way of doing repeats because usually 00:52:07.300 --> 00:52:10.619 think of people think of ornamentation and trills 00:52:10.619 --> 00:52:15.699 and so on But after doing the cello suite, that 00:52:15.699 --> 00:52:19.320 became a very important part of my development 00:52:19.320 --> 00:52:23.300 as, you know, let's say an interpreter or embellisher 00:52:23.300 --> 00:52:29.059 of Bach, if you will. Wow. Wow. I've never thought 00:52:29.059 --> 00:52:34.559 of playing Bach that way. I haven't either until 00:52:34.559 --> 00:52:39.820 I did that. Wow. And, you know, it's a shame 00:52:39.820 --> 00:52:42.380 that transcriptions, in a sense, are not, you 00:52:42.380 --> 00:52:46.420 know, validated by people. For example, somebody 00:52:46.420 --> 00:52:50.360 in Germany asked me for a music of the Brandenburg 00:52:50.360 --> 00:52:53.820 Duet for a duo piano competition for their students, 00:52:53.960 --> 00:52:57.380 but they weren't accepted. The judges wouldn't 00:52:57.380 --> 00:52:59.539 accept them because it's not an authentic work 00:52:59.539 --> 00:53:02.139 for four hands as a transcription, you know, 00:53:02.139 --> 00:53:04.840 and obviously, you know, they... They don't know 00:53:04.840 --> 00:53:07.159 or didn't know. Not that my transcriptions are 00:53:07.159 --> 00:53:10.099 so great, but, you know, it's just an unquestionable 00:53:10.099 --> 00:53:13.679 authentic. It has to be authentic. And, you know, 00:53:13.679 --> 00:53:16.719 they don't think to maybe question or to hear 00:53:16.719 --> 00:53:20.159 a new transcription, let's say. But, you know, 00:53:20.159 --> 00:53:23.320 even the cello suites as a pedagogical tool, 00:53:23.539 --> 00:53:27.860 people have so many method books and so many 00:53:27.860 --> 00:53:30.579 established routines of what they teach that. 00:53:31.039 --> 00:53:33.500 You know, I don't think it will be easy for me 00:53:33.500 --> 00:53:36.239 when I try and I'm planning on trying to introduce 00:53:36.239 --> 00:53:39.480 these to teachers because it's just a matter 00:53:39.480 --> 00:53:42.420 of, you know, trying to make them understand 00:53:42.420 --> 00:53:45.519 how different this is and how worthwhile. But 00:53:45.519 --> 00:53:47.980 they can't really understand until they look 00:53:47.980 --> 00:53:50.420 or they're interested in how valuable it would 00:53:50.420 --> 00:53:54.099 be for their students as opposed to so many other 00:53:54.099 --> 00:53:56.380 things that the students play, you know, even 00:53:56.380 --> 00:53:59.190 though they're so easy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, 00:53:59.210 --> 00:54:02.130 tell me more about it. So what are some of the 00:54:02.130 --> 00:54:05.650 challenges you faced as an arranger, as a transcriber? 00:54:05.889 --> 00:54:10.869 Like, why don't they respect your work? Well, 00:54:10.949 --> 00:54:13.909 they don't, you know, I'm not famous. And, you 00:54:13.909 --> 00:54:17.889 know, I just think it's routine. Don't you think 00:54:17.889 --> 00:54:20.949 that a lot of us teachers, and I include myself 00:54:20.949 --> 00:54:23.849 in that, you know, we sometimes just do things 00:54:23.849 --> 00:54:27.079 our way and we have a... our lives get in the 00:54:27.079 --> 00:54:29.340 way and we have so many other things to do that 00:54:29.340 --> 00:54:32.260 to constantly think, Oh, what can I do? That's 00:54:32.260 --> 00:54:35.699 new. Or what is out there? That's, you know, 00:54:35.699 --> 00:54:40.260 things need to be approved. You know, you, not 00:54:40.260 --> 00:54:44.539 everybody is a forward looking progressive piano 00:54:44.539 --> 00:54:48.599 teacher, you know? Sure. Oh, but you know, I 00:54:48.599 --> 00:54:53.219 guess it's. Me, I want to be progressive and 00:54:53.219 --> 00:54:57.360 open -minded. Yes, and you are. And you have 00:54:57.360 --> 00:55:01.559 a podcast and you're doing so many things. You're 00:55:01.559 --> 00:55:03.980 that kind of person. That's wonderful. And I 00:55:03.980 --> 00:55:06.219 feel lucky to be talking to you about this. But 00:55:06.219 --> 00:55:11.119 I have certainly met a lot of piano teachers. 00:55:11.219 --> 00:55:15.480 And I've toyed with the idea of doing presentations 00:55:15.480 --> 00:55:18.110 at conferences. But it seems like... They're 00:55:18.110 --> 00:55:19.650 all these, you know, it's almost like they're 00:55:19.650 --> 00:55:23.190 gatekeepers for all of these things. And, you 00:55:23.190 --> 00:55:26.010 know, to do a presentation at a conference, you 00:55:26.010 --> 00:55:28.289 know, you have to become a member. It just seems 00:55:28.289 --> 00:55:31.730 too much. But when I send out, for example, a 00:55:31.730 --> 00:55:35.289 newsletter offering a discount or, you know, 00:55:35.289 --> 00:55:38.909 PDFs for them to try it, very few people are 00:55:38.909 --> 00:55:41.730 interested for now. But it's a matter of time. 00:55:41.789 --> 00:55:45.400 You know, there's certainly with time. There's 00:55:45.400 --> 00:55:49.400 a Russian edition of music, the main Russian, 00:55:49.539 --> 00:55:52.780 almost the only one that has existed for over 00:55:52.780 --> 00:55:55.659 a century called Jurgensen or Musica edition, 00:55:55.840 --> 00:55:59.539 which unfortunately now, because of the political 00:55:59.539 --> 00:56:03.239 situation, is not accessible to anybody in the 00:56:03.239 --> 00:56:06.039 Western world. But they have published my cello 00:56:06.039 --> 00:56:08.920 suites and they have published my Brandenburg 00:56:08.920 --> 00:56:11.940 duets and orchestral suites. And they will likely 00:56:11.940 --> 00:56:15.340 publish the lute suites. they're doing well in 00:56:15.340 --> 00:56:19.940 Russia because the pedagogical value of that, 00:56:20.039 --> 00:56:24.500 they're very serious about Bach and they appreciate, 00:56:24.599 --> 00:56:26.960 you know, what I'm doing. And I'm very happy 00:56:26.960 --> 00:56:29.239 that, you know, people in Russia in the time 00:56:29.239 --> 00:56:31.500 of war right now, at least have some, some more 00:56:31.500 --> 00:56:36.460 music to play. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think that's 00:56:36.460 --> 00:56:39.000 why we're here, right? I really would like for 00:56:39.000 --> 00:56:45.139 my listeners to check out Eleanor's wonderful 00:56:45.139 --> 00:56:48.760 transcriptions and recordings of them and also 00:56:48.760 --> 00:56:52.320 stepping stones to Bach. That's also their total 00:56:52.320 --> 00:56:57.539 of 48 arrangements of Bach's non -keyboard music, 00:56:57.800 --> 00:57:03.860 right? Choral. I would say 85 % or 90 % is not 00:57:03.860 --> 00:57:06.880 keyboard music. I do have some excerpts from 00:57:06.880 --> 00:57:11.559 the concertos. Okay. Just as. You know, the design 00:57:11.559 --> 00:57:16.139 for the stepping stones was mostly to have literally 00:57:16.139 --> 00:57:19.260 a one page piece. And I know it seems silly, 00:57:19.320 --> 00:57:22.860 but there was a format that I wanted because 00:57:22.860 --> 00:57:26.119 I wanted people to look at a piece and think 00:57:26.119 --> 00:57:31.400 I can play this. And I think one of the first 00:57:31.400 --> 00:57:34.639 seeds for those were actually the cello suites, 00:57:34.639 --> 00:57:41.340 because. Or was it the other way around? I did 00:57:41.340 --> 00:57:43.900 the stepping stones before the cello suites. 00:57:43.980 --> 00:57:49.280 Yes. There were some movements that I thought 00:57:49.280 --> 00:57:52.039 of maybe making an exercise book from box experts, 00:57:52.300 --> 00:57:55.539 excerpts, because they're so good for the fingers 00:57:55.539 --> 00:57:58.340 as we talked about. Not as something that's of 00:57:58.340 --> 00:58:01.280 my authorship, but just to present excerpts so 00:58:01.280 --> 00:58:03.599 that people can use them. And then on my website, 00:58:03.780 --> 00:58:07.179 I do have a couple of exercise which people can 00:58:07.179 --> 00:58:10.269 download for free. which are based on Bach's 00:58:10.269 --> 00:58:14.670 E minor toccata or, you know, the Beethoven third 00:58:14.670 --> 00:58:16.849 movement of the appassionata where everybody 00:58:16.849 --> 00:58:20.610 struggles with, you know, the octaves, staggered 00:58:20.610 --> 00:58:22.909 octaves. So I make a little exercise with that. 00:58:23.070 --> 00:58:26.690 So I started with the stepping stones was just 00:58:26.690 --> 00:58:30.090 finding an excerpt or something. And one of the 00:58:30.090 --> 00:58:32.269 excerpts is just the very beginning of the D 00:58:32.269 --> 00:58:37.309 minor concerto. Because I think just playing 00:58:37.309 --> 00:58:40.110 that. The very beginning is just so empowering, 00:58:40.230 --> 00:58:44.429 such a wonderful feeling. So that theme, it's 00:58:44.429 --> 00:58:47.230 an octave, and it's not difficult to play if 00:58:47.230 --> 00:58:49.949 you're a beginner. But I think the feeling of 00:58:49.949 --> 00:58:52.989 playing that can bring such satisfaction. And 00:58:52.989 --> 00:58:56.110 then maybe listening to the entire concerto, 00:58:56.110 --> 00:58:59.570 and the student can appreciate listening to that 00:58:59.570 --> 00:59:02.170 concerto, let's say, you know, an 8-, 9-, 10 00:59:02.170 --> 00:59:05.139 -year -old, if they play the first theme. then 00:59:05.139 --> 00:59:07.480 listening to the concerto will be a completely 00:59:07.480 --> 00:59:10.519 different experience and level of interest. So 00:59:10.519 --> 00:59:14.119 for me, that was the impetus behind the stepping 00:59:14.119 --> 00:59:16.920 stones. And I think that was one of your questions. 00:59:17.179 --> 00:59:19.900 It's almost the opposite sides of the coin, that 00:59:19.900 --> 00:59:24.840 for a student, it's a way to kind of feel as 00:59:24.840 --> 00:59:27.539 a part of participation in the larger output 00:59:27.539 --> 00:59:31.039 of Bach and then listening in the larger output 00:59:31.039 --> 00:59:35.619 of Bach. like a keyboard, you know, harpsichord 00:59:35.619 --> 00:59:39.860 concerto or a flute sonata or an aria from a 00:59:39.860 --> 00:59:46.320 cantata. And for the adult beginners who normally 00:59:46.320 --> 00:59:49.260 already know and love this music, it's a way 00:59:49.260 --> 00:59:53.559 to play something they love without struggling 00:59:53.559 --> 00:59:57.139 with the polyphony and without, you know, struggling 00:59:57.139 --> 01:00:00.539 with the self -doubt because, you know, adult... 01:00:00.800 --> 01:00:04.719 pianists, amateurs, most of them, and a lot of 01:00:04.719 --> 01:00:06.920 them are my students, and that's why my heart 01:00:06.920 --> 01:00:08.980 always went out to them when I'm doing this. 01:00:09.300 --> 01:00:12.179 They're just always so critical of themselves 01:00:12.179 --> 01:00:15.739 because they're comparing themselves to Yuja 01:00:15.739 --> 01:00:20.159 Wang or to Horowitz or which is understandable, 01:00:20.539 --> 01:00:25.139 but the piano is as easy as it is in the beginning 01:00:25.139 --> 01:00:29.690 to play the right note. The repertoire is vast 01:00:29.690 --> 01:00:34.429 and the stars that the amateurs compare themselves 01:00:34.429 --> 01:00:36.630 to and listen to, which of course they need to 01:00:36.630 --> 01:00:41.150 listen, they're just light years away and, you 01:00:41.150 --> 01:00:44.570 know, 30 years of practice away from the ability 01:00:44.570 --> 01:00:47.389 of someone who is maybe 60 and picking up the 01:00:47.389 --> 01:00:50.909 piano, that it just results in this, the negative 01:00:50.909 --> 01:00:53.789 part of the experience and this lack of relaxation 01:00:53.789 --> 01:00:58.619 is so detrimental. to the experience of somebody 01:00:58.619 --> 01:01:01.500 like that that I really felt that it would be 01:01:01.500 --> 01:01:04.000 great to create something that may be unusual 01:01:04.000 --> 01:01:08.059 but will enable people you know for two minutes 01:01:08.059 --> 01:01:10.599 to really enjoy playing one of their favorite 01:01:10.599 --> 01:01:16.260 pieces and I've been very gratified with many 01:01:16.260 --> 01:01:19.179 many emails that I got about that particular 01:01:19.179 --> 01:01:23.260 set because you know I get emails from people 01:01:23.260 --> 01:01:26.360 who have arthritis and say, you know, I just 01:01:26.360 --> 01:01:29.639 picked up the piano. I can barely play anymore, 01:01:29.900 --> 01:01:32.860 but thank you so much because I can play the 01:01:32.860 --> 01:01:35.800 prelude from the cello suite or I can play the 01:01:35.800 --> 01:01:39.139 little aria and they can enjoy themselves, you 01:01:39.139 --> 01:01:41.659 know, and it's so important for us to do things 01:01:41.659 --> 01:01:45.699 that we enjoy these days, especially. So during 01:01:45.699 --> 01:01:48.699 COVID, for example, I had the stepping stones 01:01:48.699 --> 01:01:54.429 and I sent out Every week I sent out a PDF to 01:01:54.429 --> 01:01:57.909 my newsletter people of a new stepping stone 01:01:57.909 --> 01:02:00.869 to kind of keep them interested in playing the 01:02:00.869 --> 01:02:03.510 piano. And that was really very well received. 01:02:04.590 --> 01:02:08.469 To be able to play something that you hear on, 01:02:08.590 --> 01:02:13.769 you know, from the movie or from anywhere else, 01:02:13.849 --> 01:02:17.070 like a familiar Bach piece, and just being able 01:02:17.070 --> 01:02:20.000 to do that. in such a simple way but it's still 01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:23.039 beautiful is i'm sure it's so meaningful for 01:02:23.039 --> 01:02:26.679 especially for adult students and then for as 01:02:26.679 --> 01:02:29.860 you said mentioned for kids that's a great way 01:02:29.860 --> 01:02:33.079 to introduce to the the world of classical music 01:02:33.079 --> 01:02:35.940 where you learn something simple on the piano 01:02:35.940 --> 01:02:39.099 and then later on oh, I know this piece, right? 01:02:39.260 --> 01:02:41.960 And, oh, this is something that such and such 01:02:41.960 --> 01:02:45.940 introduced me to when I was a little kid. And, 01:02:45.960 --> 01:02:48.699 oh, this is, oh, I didn't realize that was the, 01:02:48.699 --> 01:02:51.980 you know, orchestral piece. And to go step further, 01:02:52.019 --> 01:02:55.460 this is my piece. You know, there's a little 01:02:55.460 --> 01:03:00.719 bit of that. And that goes a long way in internalizing 01:03:00.719 --> 01:03:04.480 and appreciating music, which we so much need. 01:03:04.960 --> 01:03:09.119 to instill in our kids, and it's so difficult. 01:03:09.619 --> 01:03:14.119 Right. Yeah, it is. And then, you know, since 01:03:14.119 --> 01:03:18.760 January of this year, the inquiries, because 01:03:18.760 --> 01:03:23.460 now I'm based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where 01:03:23.460 --> 01:03:26.820 I used to go to my students' homes to teach when 01:03:26.820 --> 01:03:29.500 I was starting out. Now I'm getting older, so 01:03:29.500 --> 01:03:34.719 I'm here. I want to open my... home as a piano 01:03:34.719 --> 01:03:38.739 studio so i get a lot of inquiries from adults 01:03:38.739 --> 01:03:42.739 but last three months has been crazy oh yeah 01:03:42.739 --> 01:03:48.340 i don't know what ticked but um it's quiet quieting 01:03:48.340 --> 01:03:51.579 down right now but till two weeks ago almost 01:03:51.579 --> 01:03:54.199 every day i get emails i want to take lessons 01:03:54.199 --> 01:03:58.599 but most of them as much as i want to you know 01:03:58.599 --> 01:04:02.289 include them but it's difficult because Some 01:04:02.289 --> 01:04:04.329 of them think that playing the piano is like 01:04:04.329 --> 01:04:08.389 pressing the button. You know that idea? So the 01:04:08.389 --> 01:04:11.070 reality when they come in, how difficult it is. 01:04:11.230 --> 01:04:14.710 But I try to be, you know, very, very simple 01:04:14.710 --> 01:04:18.030 and everything. So most of them cannot. But some 01:04:18.030 --> 01:04:21.489 of them do continue. But it's just so curious 01:04:21.489 --> 01:04:25.170 to see this Gen Z that are popping up in this 01:04:25.170 --> 01:04:28.869 neighborhood. And they, I don't know, they're 01:04:28.869 --> 01:04:34.679 trying to find something. in music i guess something 01:04:34.679 --> 01:04:37.320 meaningful something beautiful something healing 01:04:37.320 --> 01:04:40.239 yeah i don't know yeah yes and they do listen 01:04:40.239 --> 01:04:44.599 to music a lot i mean i have teenagers well 20 01:04:44.599 --> 01:04:48.639 and 18 at the moment of our um interview and 01:04:48.639 --> 01:04:50.360 they're always you know they're always listening 01:04:50.360 --> 01:04:54.320 they always have their headphones on so yeah 01:04:54.320 --> 01:04:57.480 it could be a mix i mean my children my daughter 01:04:57.480 --> 01:05:01.659 listens to a mix of music And my son, not as 01:05:01.659 --> 01:05:04.539 much. But I know that because they were exposed 01:05:04.539 --> 01:05:08.659 to classical music as children, they will always 01:05:08.659 --> 01:05:15.699 be receptive to it. And I'm just going to segue 01:05:15.699 --> 01:05:18.199 into a different topic, which is very important 01:05:18.199 --> 01:05:20.300 to me, because at some point I would like to 01:05:20.300 --> 01:05:23.820 spend more of my energy when I'm done with transcribing, 01:05:23.820 --> 01:05:26.460 and probably I'm not going to be doing it forever. 01:05:27.070 --> 01:05:30.690 I think there's a very simple tool that we need 01:05:30.690 --> 01:05:34.389 to advocate as music educators, which is streaming. 01:05:35.090 --> 01:05:40.250 I think that listening to classical music, as 01:05:40.250 --> 01:05:44.949 you know, has been kind of put in some kind of 01:05:44.949 --> 01:05:48.750 a box. It's hard to understand or it's elitist 01:05:48.750 --> 01:05:51.250 or I don't know, they're dead white composers, 01:05:51.550 --> 01:05:56.699 all kinds of things. And I think that. And I 01:05:56.699 --> 01:05:59.679 did a survey about this with my newsletter and 01:05:59.679 --> 01:06:02.559 on Twitter. The people who listen to classical 01:06:02.559 --> 01:06:06.500 music as adults are people whose parents listen 01:06:06.500 --> 01:06:09.199 to classical music in the home. There's just 01:06:09.199 --> 01:06:13.159 no ifs, ands, or buts about that. I mean, by 01:06:13.159 --> 01:06:16.039 and large. Obviously, there are people who as 01:06:16.039 --> 01:06:18.500 a teenager maybe had a teacher who turned them 01:06:18.500 --> 01:06:21.219 on to Bach or anybody else. It's all that. But 01:06:21.219 --> 01:06:23.679 these days with streaming, it's so simple to 01:06:23.679 --> 01:06:26.900 just... press a button, you know, not learn an 01:06:26.900 --> 01:06:30.559 instrument. I'm talking about fostering future 01:06:30.559 --> 01:06:33.119 audiences, you know, the people who will listen 01:06:33.119 --> 01:06:36.980 to my CD, the people who will support whatever's 01:06:36.980 --> 01:06:40.119 left of the classical or jazz or, you know, any 01:06:40.119 --> 01:06:44.500 music without words, right? Which people think, 01:06:44.619 --> 01:06:47.760 oh, they won't understand. And parents think 01:06:47.760 --> 01:06:50.469 that their children won't understand it. Because 01:06:50.469 --> 01:06:52.769 they don't understand it. But that is, as you 01:06:52.769 --> 01:06:55.409 know, completely untrue. And, you know, we're 01:06:55.409 --> 01:06:57.949 all receptive to music as children. And all that 01:06:57.949 --> 01:07:00.010 needs to happen is it needs to be playing in 01:07:00.010 --> 01:07:02.530 the background. You know, I don't think we need 01:07:02.530 --> 01:07:06.090 to talk about it. It's helpful to discuss it. 01:07:06.210 --> 01:07:08.730 But, you know, kids don't always want to discuss 01:07:08.730 --> 01:07:11.210 what's going on. And, you know, their eyes will 01:07:11.210 --> 01:07:14.909 glaze over. But just having it there, you know, 01:07:14.949 --> 01:07:18.699 when they're having breakfast. when they're drawing, 01:07:18.880 --> 01:07:21.219 I'm talking three, four, five year olds before 01:07:21.219 --> 01:07:23.139 they can say, no, I don't want to hear that. 01:07:23.699 --> 01:07:28.079 I think that will keep them open to listening 01:07:28.079 --> 01:07:32.019 and to inquiry later. And I think people don't 01:07:32.019 --> 01:07:33.880 understand that, you know, and going to concerts 01:07:33.880 --> 01:07:37.739 is expensive and taking lessons is expensive. 01:07:37.980 --> 01:07:41.719 It's not accessible to everyone, but streaming 01:07:41.719 --> 01:07:45.019 is accessible to overwhelming majority of people. 01:07:45.039 --> 01:07:47.840 And that's. I'm hoping that more people will 01:07:47.840 --> 01:07:50.860 be doing that and actually have made some playlists 01:07:50.860 --> 01:07:55.820 on Spotify and on Apple Music. But I haven't 01:07:55.820 --> 01:07:57.639 had time to make more. They're called classical 01:07:57.639 --> 01:08:02.260 for kids where, you know, I have different, you 01:08:02.260 --> 01:08:05.199 know, I categorize them by pastimes. Like I have 01:08:05.199 --> 01:08:08.119 Saturday morning music, which is mostly kind 01:08:08.119 --> 01:08:11.500 of up. And I also include some jazz. And I started 01:08:11.500 --> 01:08:14.159 lately including some jazz and some folk music 01:08:14.159 --> 01:08:17.010 because. I think that comes under the general 01:08:17.010 --> 01:08:19.930 idea of you don't need words to understand music. 01:08:20.449 --> 01:08:23.010 But that's something that I feel very passionate 01:08:23.010 --> 01:08:28.010 about and would like someday to try to promote 01:08:28.010 --> 01:08:31.329 that in a more organized fashion. Yeah, only 01:08:31.329 --> 01:08:33.909 if we have time. But, you know, it's interesting 01:08:33.909 --> 01:08:39.050 because I also, through my podcast, I create 01:08:39.050 --> 01:08:44.529 a playlist. Playlist of pieces that we... talked 01:08:44.529 --> 01:08:49.409 about during the season uh through episodes but 01:08:49.409 --> 01:08:52.890 i think creating playlists is a way to do way 01:08:52.890 --> 01:08:57.630 to educate people and uh even when it's like 01:08:57.630 --> 01:09:00.050 a little i don't know about this playlist but 01:09:00.050 --> 01:09:03.470 i think you know these days with algorithm one 01:09:03.470 --> 01:09:07.310 thing to another will lead into this piece and 01:09:07.310 --> 01:09:09.270 that will lead into playlists i think it's very 01:09:09.270 --> 01:09:13.010 important that every artist especially those 01:09:13.010 --> 01:09:18.029 who are composers, even like with performing 01:09:18.029 --> 01:09:24.189 artists, I think in order for them to promote 01:09:24.189 --> 01:09:26.729 themselves, their work, I think playlist is a 01:09:26.729 --> 01:09:29.350 way to do, don't you think? Yes. And that's, 01:09:29.350 --> 01:09:31.930 I definitely, I'm guilty of inserting my own 01:09:31.930 --> 01:09:34.449 tracks into my playlist. No, that's great. Yeah. 01:09:34.689 --> 01:09:38.689 Yeah. But, you know, I think for kids specifically, 01:09:38.829 --> 01:09:43.390 one can tailor things slightly. But you're right. 01:09:43.529 --> 01:09:48.750 And it is the only way to really reach a wider 01:09:48.750 --> 01:09:52.949 audience these days because very few people own 01:09:52.949 --> 01:09:56.569 CDs anymore, CD players. And with all the retro 01:09:56.569 --> 01:10:00.369 movements right now where there are LPs now and 01:10:00.369 --> 01:10:04.350 even cassettes coming back, but it's really the 01:10:04.350 --> 01:10:07.210 streaming that gets the exposure. Unfortunately, 01:10:07.310 --> 01:10:09.789 it gets very little earnings to the artists. 01:10:11.529 --> 01:10:15.130 We as artists know that we need to continue for 01:10:15.130 --> 01:10:20.430 art's sake because making money is not easy. 01:10:20.729 --> 01:10:26.109 I know, I know. Then you also have a very extensive 01:10:26.109 --> 01:10:32.449 YouTube channel and I also watched you in a costume 01:10:32.449 --> 01:10:36.970 with the whole makeup from the Baroque era. That 01:10:36.970 --> 01:10:40.529 was so much fun to do. Yes. I was obsessed with 01:10:40.529 --> 01:10:45.670 that for a week. Wow. Where do you usually do 01:10:45.670 --> 01:10:48.130 the recording? Is that your home in Brooklyn? 01:10:48.449 --> 01:10:52.529 Yes, yes. That's a beautiful studio. Thank you. 01:10:52.590 --> 01:10:57.029 Yeah. I'm very lucky. I actually have recorded 01:10:57.029 --> 01:11:02.090 my last four albums in my home. Really? Yes. 01:11:02.210 --> 01:11:07.119 It started with the Cello Suites. I own a Bosendorfer 01:11:07.119 --> 01:11:11.560 piano, which I just absolutely love. And the 01:11:11.560 --> 01:11:15.579 cello register on it is so beautiful that I think 01:11:15.579 --> 01:11:18.079 if I didn't have that piano, I wouldn't think 01:11:18.079 --> 01:11:22.199 of recording the cello suites because it's just 01:11:22.199 --> 01:11:26.399 the singing tone and the warmth and the expressivity 01:11:26.399 --> 01:11:29.760 of that particular register. Wow. Yeah, it's 01:11:29.760 --> 01:11:32.920 a beautiful piano. And then your channel is beautiful. 01:11:34.199 --> 01:11:37.840 Did you, so you have a sort of like a sound system 01:11:37.840 --> 01:11:42.260 or something, recording system? Well, no, I mean, 01:11:42.279 --> 01:11:47.760 with my actual recordings, the albums, I had 01:11:47.760 --> 01:11:52.539 somebody come to the home and we were just doing 01:11:52.539 --> 01:11:55.319 it on the weekends in between, you know, takes 01:11:55.319 --> 01:11:58.439 in between the planes passing by and children 01:11:58.439 --> 01:12:00.699 playing and the birds, et cetera. And it worked 01:12:00.699 --> 01:12:05.170 because it was quiet enough. But the videos that 01:12:05.170 --> 01:12:07.930 I make on YouTube, I just mostly do with my iPad. 01:12:08.109 --> 01:12:11.270 I mean, once in a while, depending. Now I have, 01:12:11.329 --> 01:12:14.689 I think, about 250 videos or so, which is mind 01:12:14.689 --> 01:12:17.510 boggling. But I started all of this to promote 01:12:17.510 --> 01:12:20.289 the Brandenburg Duets. You know, I was told when 01:12:20.289 --> 01:12:22.329 I started doing them and my goal was to make 01:12:22.329 --> 01:12:24.649 a recording, was that I need to get on social 01:12:24.649 --> 01:12:27.590 media in earnest and I need to start posting. 01:12:27.649 --> 01:12:30.109 And I had this idea of a Monday morning Bach 01:12:30.109 --> 01:12:35.050 post. So in 2017, I believe I started every Monday. 01:12:35.449 --> 01:12:39.609 I posted on social media and then the same video 01:12:39.609 --> 01:12:44.130 went on YouTube. And that has been my kind of 01:12:44.130 --> 01:12:46.850 main tool in building up my social media following. 01:12:47.609 --> 01:12:51.789 And I'm still doing it. Yeah, it's educational. 01:12:51.810 --> 01:12:55.510 And you are actually quite natural at it on camera. 01:12:56.210 --> 01:13:00.119 Well, I guess I became so. But I love making 01:13:00.119 --> 01:13:02.380 those videos because they're a great way of practice, 01:13:02.600 --> 01:13:04.180 you know, because you usually have to do quite 01:13:04.180 --> 01:13:06.439 a few takes. And every time you play it again, 01:13:06.520 --> 01:13:09.279 it gets better and better. So you practice up 01:13:09.279 --> 01:13:13.100 the piece really well and you memorize it. The 01:13:13.100 --> 01:13:17.420 PianoPod is now on Substack. If you're wondering, 01:13:17.720 --> 01:13:22.100 Substack is an all -in -one platform where creators 01:13:22.100 --> 01:13:25.380 like me can connect directly with you, share 01:13:25.380 --> 01:13:28.579 exclusive content, and build a thriving community. 01:13:29.119 --> 01:13:32.479 By subscribing, you'll get a behind the scenes 01:13:32.479 --> 01:13:36.520 updates, early access to new episodes and special 01:13:36.520 --> 01:13:41.520 perks designed just for our audience. Your Substack 01:13:41.520 --> 01:13:45.199 subscription helps us create more of these meaningful 01:13:45.199 --> 01:13:48.779 conversations and support initiatives that uplift 01:13:48.779 --> 01:13:52.300 the classical music community. So join us on 01:13:52.300 --> 01:13:55.449 Substack and be part of this journey. please 01:13:55.449 --> 01:14:01.010 go to thepianopod .substack .com slash subscribe 01:14:01.010 --> 01:14:04.329 or click the link in the description to subscribe 01:14:04.329 --> 01:14:07.489 today. Thank you for your support, and I look 01:14:07.489 --> 01:14:10.029 forward to sharing more joyous and meaningful 01:14:10.029 --> 01:14:14.010 experiences with you on The Piano Pod. What do 01:14:14.010 --> 01:14:17.529 you think about teaching polyphony? Maybe you 01:14:17.529 --> 01:14:21.789 already covered, but what I sometimes... do is 01:14:21.789 --> 01:14:24.649 uh especially even like the advanced ones because 01:14:24.649 --> 01:14:30.289 as a pianist playing polyphony is not easy you 01:14:30.289 --> 01:14:36.149 know it is not um and then because we sometimes 01:14:36.149 --> 01:14:40.069 i hear you know prelude and fugue especially 01:14:40.069 --> 01:14:42.989 fugue i hear students playing in such a way that 01:14:42.989 --> 01:14:46.329 you just hear the harmony vertical vertically 01:14:46.329 --> 01:14:51.039 right it's very hard to hear three or four different 01:14:51.039 --> 01:14:53.779 voices independently, and that's very difficult 01:14:53.779 --> 01:14:58.060 to do. Yes, I think it's ear training. I think, 01:14:58.079 --> 01:15:03.659 again, the analysis is very important. It's very 01:15:03.659 --> 01:15:07.819 important to look at not only, you know, in a 01:15:07.819 --> 01:15:10.319 fugue it's difficult because there are many layers, 01:15:10.439 --> 01:15:16.619 but to look at the theme itself, to try to understand 01:15:16.619 --> 01:15:20.199 that as a unit. And then obviously, you know, 01:15:20.220 --> 01:15:22.460 to show wherever it occurs and so on, which I 01:15:22.460 --> 01:15:26.100 think most is not difficult. You know, what we 01:15:26.100 --> 01:15:28.960 used to do, I used to do as a child studying, 01:15:29.039 --> 01:15:33.000 I used to actually rewrite the fugue in three 01:15:33.000 --> 01:15:36.279 different colors. I'm not saying that needs to 01:15:36.279 --> 01:15:40.520 be a method, but it helped. And certainly playing 01:15:40.520 --> 01:15:43.800 through each voice, it helps see the continuity 01:15:43.800 --> 01:15:48.640 of it. But it's certainly not easy. And again, 01:15:48.859 --> 01:15:53.699 I don't think everybody can do it justice. You 01:15:53.699 --> 01:15:56.439 know, it's just one of those things. As you know, 01:15:56.500 --> 01:15:59.140 as a teacher, your students come with different 01:15:59.140 --> 01:16:06.479 natural abilities or different natural difficulties 01:16:06.479 --> 01:16:11.199 or, you know, weak spots. And hearing polyphony 01:16:11.199 --> 01:16:13.920 and playing polyphony is just not everyone can 01:16:13.920 --> 01:16:17.039 do it equally well. So you can definitely develop 01:16:17.039 --> 01:16:23.220 it by trying to go over each voice and analysis. 01:16:23.699 --> 01:16:28.239 But beyond that, I'm not sure, you know, you 01:16:28.239 --> 01:16:31.020 know, structure, understanding the structures 01:16:31.020 --> 01:16:34.720 is most important, I think. Yeah. I do a lot 01:16:34.720 --> 01:16:38.140 of color, use different colors to, first of all, 01:16:38.140 --> 01:16:41.760 you know, divide that into different sections. 01:16:41.800 --> 01:16:44.300 Like, you know, this is a theme and then this 01:16:44.300 --> 01:16:46.909 is a. section the bridge section so episodes 01:16:46.909 --> 01:16:49.789 so how you yeah yeah that sort of things yeah 01:16:49.789 --> 01:16:53.189 it helps but it's not easy now another thing 01:16:53.189 --> 01:16:57.470 would be articulation and pedal right so people 01:16:57.470 --> 01:17:00.609 argue about it and then sometimes i hear students 01:17:00.609 --> 01:17:05.329 play so dry that there are a lot of staccato 01:17:05.329 --> 01:17:10.789 going on yeah so what is your take on those those 01:17:10.789 --> 01:17:15.510 articulations and the pedal I think variety is 01:17:15.510 --> 01:17:20.970 key. I like many ways of being able to play Bach. 01:17:21.310 --> 01:17:27.289 And of course, as pianists, we often play the 01:17:27.289 --> 01:17:30.850 same pieces after we put them aside, after an 01:17:30.850 --> 01:17:34.329 interval. And I find that with me, very often, 01:17:34.369 --> 01:17:37.470 I find myself playing something, especially after 01:17:37.470 --> 01:17:39.810 putting it aside, in a very new, different way. 01:17:39.989 --> 01:17:44.930 And with Bach, it is possible. So I agree that 01:17:44.930 --> 01:17:48.430 certainly a specific way that people feel is 01:17:48.430 --> 01:17:52.130 proper for Bach is maybe historically informed 01:17:52.130 --> 01:17:55.789 and valid, and one needs to be educated and understand 01:17:55.789 --> 01:18:00.810 where that comes from. Yet again, sometimes it's 01:18:00.810 --> 01:18:03.850 just gimmicky. Glenn Gould certainly did a lot 01:18:03.850 --> 01:18:07.369 of new and interesting things with his recordings, 01:18:07.470 --> 01:18:10.770 but at the same time, they didn't always pay 01:18:10.770 --> 01:18:15.319 off. necessarily, and then he would re -record 01:18:15.319 --> 01:18:19.840 things, as we know. So I think it's important 01:18:19.840 --> 01:18:22.460 to use the resources of the piano, which can 01:18:22.460 --> 01:18:25.479 sound like a harpsichord with a certain touch, 01:18:25.619 --> 01:18:29.060 and can sound like an organ with a different 01:18:29.060 --> 01:18:32.659 touch, and can sound like a piano. And as a matter 01:18:32.659 --> 01:18:36.260 of fact, in my last recording, The Absolute Lutz 01:18:36.260 --> 01:18:40.899 Suites, I distinctly try to treat the first set 01:18:40.899 --> 01:18:45.369 as a pianist, a second set as a more of a harpsichord 01:18:45.369 --> 01:18:50.229 idea and touch, especially in the prelude, and 01:18:50.229 --> 01:18:53.489 the last one more as an organ. And I actually 01:18:53.489 --> 01:18:57.229 hold in the prelude, I hold some notes to create 01:18:57.229 --> 01:19:00.770 the chords because the music lends itself to 01:19:00.770 --> 01:19:04.989 that. So there is no one way to play Bach. I 01:19:04.989 --> 01:19:08.600 certainly use pedal. Again, one needs to listen 01:19:08.600 --> 01:19:11.359 and apply it in places where the harmony can 01:19:11.359 --> 01:19:13.560 be blended. There are plenty of places like that. 01:19:14.619 --> 01:19:18.680 So we need to use our judgment and certainly 01:19:18.680 --> 01:19:23.199 stop saying that one cannot play Bach on the 01:19:23.199 --> 01:19:26.159 piano. Bach used all the instruments that were 01:19:26.159 --> 01:19:29.199 accessible to him during his lifetime, and I'm 01:19:29.199 --> 01:19:32.119 sure he would have approved and would really 01:19:32.119 --> 01:19:35.600 enjoy playing on the piano. You know, even on 01:19:35.600 --> 01:19:39.720 a synthesizer like, you know, Wendy Carlos or 01:19:39.720 --> 01:19:44.380 on a theremin like Rosalind Turek actually made 01:19:44.380 --> 01:19:47.220 her Carnegie Hall debut playing Bach on the theremin, 01:19:47.359 --> 01:19:50.720 which is an electronic instrument that you don't 01:19:50.720 --> 01:19:54.520 even touch anything. It's completely energy based. 01:19:54.760 --> 01:20:00.359 And, you know, it works. Yeah. And then do you 01:20:00.359 --> 01:20:03.739 know a pianist, Chris O 'Reilly? Yes. Yeah, he 01:20:03.739 --> 01:20:08.239 did the whole book one and book two of Well -Tempered 01:20:08.239 --> 01:20:12.359 Clavier on virtual instrument. Yeah, that was 01:20:12.359 --> 01:20:14.460 interesting, you know, connecting the keyboard 01:20:14.460 --> 01:20:18.500 into his computer. And then so each, you know, 01:20:18.500 --> 01:20:20.520 Well -Tempered Clavier, every single one had 01:20:20.520 --> 01:20:22.899 a different temperament. That was interesting. 01:20:23.060 --> 01:20:26.340 That was an interesting. I mean, there's, you 01:20:26.340 --> 01:20:28.479 know, everybody does their own thing. And it's 01:20:28.479 --> 01:20:31.119 wonderful that Bach is a source of so much inspiration. 01:20:50.769 --> 01:20:55.050 You know, I think it's another thing that needs 01:20:55.050 --> 01:21:00.729 to be reconsidered and departed from the historical. 01:21:02.169 --> 01:21:07.590 period instrument ideas is the ornamentation 01:21:07.590 --> 01:21:12.430 and the once treatment of repeats. I actually 01:21:12.430 --> 01:21:15.489 just spoke to somebody who's writing a thesis 01:21:15.489 --> 01:21:17.630 on the well -tempered clavier and performance 01:21:17.630 --> 01:21:20.670 practices. And it was very interesting young 01:21:20.670 --> 01:21:25.069 lady from Belfast in Ireland. When I was in London, 01:21:25.069 --> 01:21:29.489 I met with her and she was questioning. this 01:21:29.489 --> 01:21:33.029 stickler attitude toward ornaments and this whole 01:21:33.029 --> 01:21:37.470 um historic instrument you know practice and 01:21:37.470 --> 01:21:42.210 um i think it's it's important um one thought 01:21:42.210 --> 01:21:45.430 that i had was was new for me was that um people 01:21:45.430 --> 01:21:48.229 who perform in period instruments by and large 01:21:48.229 --> 01:21:51.130 are not pianists right obviously there are keyboard 01:21:51.130 --> 01:21:54.310 players who play in period orchestras and they're 01:21:54.310 --> 01:21:56.350 trained in their harpsichords and they certainly 01:21:56.350 --> 01:22:00.909 belong in those ensembles, yet most of the people 01:22:00.909 --> 01:22:05.289 who thrive in the period instrument milieu are 01:22:05.289 --> 01:22:09.729 usually string players, some wind players, who 01:22:09.729 --> 01:22:15.029 in a way feel that they are a more active, full 01:22:15.029 --> 01:22:18.869 -fledged, more lively member of an ensemble compared 01:22:18.869 --> 01:22:22.770 to a normal orchestra, where there's a conductor 01:22:22.770 --> 01:22:26.210 that comes tells you what to do. So I think for 01:22:26.210 --> 01:22:29.710 string instruments, by and large, and oboes, 01:22:29.710 --> 01:22:33.590 being a part of a period instrument ensemble 01:22:33.590 --> 01:22:37.270 is a wonderful experience. For us pianists, it 01:22:37.270 --> 01:22:42.149 really is, we're not a part of that. And we play 01:22:42.149 --> 01:22:44.329 Bach a certain way that we're used to, that we're 01:22:44.329 --> 01:22:48.329 taught. And since we mostly play on our own when 01:22:48.329 --> 01:22:51.149 it comes to Bach, we have a lot more freedom. 01:22:52.880 --> 01:22:56.180 to improvise or to do what Chris O 'Reilly did 01:22:56.180 --> 01:22:58.340 or to do all kinds of interesting things with 01:22:58.340 --> 01:23:02.060 Bach. And I think the treatments of repeats is 01:23:02.060 --> 01:23:04.739 very important in that I think we need to depart 01:23:04.739 --> 01:23:07.279 and be a little bit more freer with what we want 01:23:07.279 --> 01:23:10.619 to do right now, as opposed to do things the 01:23:10.619 --> 01:23:15.979 way they were done in 1750 or 1800. So I think 01:23:15.979 --> 01:23:20.319 it's also a very creative endeavor for pianists 01:23:20.319 --> 01:23:24.060 and a very liberating one. And to look into the 01:23:24.060 --> 01:23:26.500 text and see what can I do and how can I repeat 01:23:26.500 --> 01:23:30.659 things. And I find that listening to recordings, 01:23:30.960 --> 01:23:34.859 for example, I listened to probably 15, 20 recordings 01:23:34.859 --> 01:23:37.760 of the cello suites when I was doing the transcriptions. 01:23:37.760 --> 01:23:40.859 And, you know, as an aside, that was a huge, 01:23:40.899 --> 01:23:44.159 huge element of transcribing for me is the listening 01:23:44.159 --> 01:23:47.600 to prepare because I need to do a lot of listening 01:23:47.600 --> 01:23:50.510 to everything extant. for every one of those 01:23:50.510 --> 01:23:53.630 pieces to educate myself to different interpretations. 01:23:54.090 --> 01:23:57.489 And it's really, it was mind -boggling to me 01:23:57.489 --> 01:24:00.609 how few cellists did anything when they played 01:24:00.609 --> 01:24:04.189 the cello suite. You know, the iconic Pablo Casals, 01:24:04.350 --> 01:24:09.130 Rastropovich, they barely embellished, they do 01:24:09.130 --> 01:24:11.750 nothing, literally. They would repeat exactly 01:24:11.750 --> 01:24:16.170 the same way, even Yo -Yo Ma. And I was thinking, 01:24:16.210 --> 01:24:18.649 but why? They're repeating, they're playing. 01:24:19.039 --> 01:24:23.340 six suites, they're not doing anything. And why 01:24:23.340 --> 01:24:26.260 is that? You know, I think people are afraid 01:24:26.260 --> 01:24:29.279 to ruffle feathers or they just don't think about 01:24:29.279 --> 01:24:32.880 it. But repeats were such an important part for 01:24:32.880 --> 01:24:37.180 a performer to showcase their creativity. Nobody 01:24:37.180 --> 01:24:39.380 in Bach times would play a repeat exactly the 01:24:39.380 --> 01:24:41.920 same way. And why should we just do a little 01:24:41.920 --> 01:24:44.680 trill when there's so much material in the music? 01:24:45.079 --> 01:24:48.760 that can be a point of departure. So, and I write 01:24:48.760 --> 01:24:51.380 about that in my booklet notes, and I certainly 01:24:51.380 --> 01:24:55.300 do a few unorthodox repeats in my lute suites, 01:24:55.359 --> 01:24:59.979 you know, intentionally, because I want to show 01:24:59.979 --> 01:25:03.199 people that nobody's going to fire them from 01:25:03.199 --> 01:25:06.119 anything if they do that, you know, and it just 01:25:06.119 --> 01:25:08.699 sounds a lot more fresh, especially for amateur 01:25:08.699 --> 01:25:11.380 musicians who are not secure in what they should 01:25:11.380 --> 01:25:14.060 do. You know, people who look at the score and... 01:25:14.380 --> 01:25:16.359 think that this is what they need to play even 01:25:16.359 --> 01:25:18.520 if the score is edited by someone that perhaps 01:25:18.520 --> 01:25:21.819 wasn't even that educated you know but but this 01:25:21.819 --> 01:25:24.720 idea of um trying to experiment with repeats 01:25:24.720 --> 01:25:30.680 to me is very important yeah thank you yes that's 01:25:30.680 --> 01:25:34.380 true and then in in that sense like as us pianists 01:25:34.380 --> 01:25:37.640 we are more creative no because when we repeat 01:25:37.640 --> 01:25:41.510 something whether that is Bach or excuse me, 01:25:41.510 --> 01:25:45.270 not Clementi, a Scarlatti sonata, even with the 01:25:45.270 --> 01:25:50.750 second repeat or handle, you know, suite. When 01:25:50.750 --> 01:25:53.510 they repeat, they have to do something else. 01:25:53.550 --> 01:25:56.869 Like we changed the ornaments. That's how I was 01:25:56.869 --> 01:26:00.350 taught. So I guess we are, have more sort of 01:26:00.350 --> 01:26:04.829 sense of freedom and improvisation in mind. Yes, 01:26:04.850 --> 01:26:07.689 I think so. And we are not a part of an ensemble, 01:26:07.930 --> 01:26:11.680 you know, at least. There are pieces for solo 01:26:11.680 --> 01:26:13.899 cello and solo violin in the repertoire, but 01:26:13.899 --> 01:26:17.319 not that many from that period. And, you know, 01:26:17.359 --> 01:26:19.699 I once played with a violinist, a Bach sonata, 01:26:19.880 --> 01:26:23.380 and, you know, he literally did not understand 01:26:23.380 --> 01:26:26.880 that at some point I actually have the theme. 01:26:27.819 --> 01:26:29.420 You know, he's like, you're playing too loud. 01:26:29.560 --> 01:26:33.560 I'm like, I have the theme. You know, sometimes 01:26:33.560 --> 01:26:36.140 orchestral players, they're not trained to really 01:26:36.140 --> 01:26:37.960 try to listen to the whole. They know what their 01:26:37.960 --> 01:26:40.310 part is. I mean, obviously, most are not that 01:26:40.310 --> 01:26:43.369 way. But we pianists, you know, the part of package 01:26:43.369 --> 01:26:46.689 of being part and parcel of being a pianist is 01:26:46.689 --> 01:26:51.770 to consider many different voices and to consider 01:26:51.770 --> 01:26:57.210 what to do and to have more choices. But I think 01:26:57.210 --> 01:26:59.409 it's important for other instrumentalists to, 01:26:59.529 --> 01:27:02.810 at least when repeating, you know, solo Baroque 01:27:02.810 --> 01:27:05.090 music, to do a little bit more. And I'm still 01:27:05.090 --> 01:27:09.199 not seeing it on recordings. That's a very interesting 01:27:09.199 --> 01:27:13.739 point. Yeah. When you listen to recordings of, 01:27:13.760 --> 01:27:19.699 you know, Andra Schiff or all of the contemporary, 01:27:19.720 --> 01:27:23.659 you know, Bach specialists, Angela Hewitt, whom 01:27:23.659 --> 01:27:26.399 I love, you know, I admire both of them greatly, 01:27:26.479 --> 01:27:29.319 but I have heard them in concert playing, you 01:27:29.319 --> 01:27:31.800 know, all of the partitas and, you know, they 01:27:31.800 --> 01:27:37.840 do the series and it's just very... surprising 01:27:37.840 --> 01:27:42.819 at how little is done with repeats maybe I don't 01:27:42.819 --> 01:27:46.699 know it's a trend because Bach's era used to 01:27:46.699 --> 01:27:50.960 be more the improvisation was encouraged yeah 01:27:50.960 --> 01:27:55.979 and somehow that sort of disappeared that but 01:27:55.979 --> 01:28:00.100 it's coming back the philosophy of improvisation 01:28:00.100 --> 01:28:02.909 or introducing improvisation to music lessons 01:28:02.909 --> 01:28:06.609 or piano lessons or even as a pianist. I think 01:28:06.609 --> 01:28:11.510 it is slowly coming back. Yes. I think so. And 01:28:11.510 --> 01:28:15.770 it would be nice to also cross over a little 01:28:15.770 --> 01:28:19.310 bit in the actual performance of a repeat, even 01:28:19.310 --> 01:28:23.369 if it's, you know, I think people are, they want 01:28:23.369 --> 01:28:25.329 to ruffle feathers, you know, because they're 01:28:25.329 --> 01:28:29.239 critics. But why is she doing that? You know, 01:28:29.279 --> 01:28:34.020 Bach is sacred. A lot of people look at that 01:28:34.020 --> 01:28:40.119 as, you know, some kind of a, you know, effigy, 01:28:40.119 --> 01:28:46.039 some kind of a fossil that needs to be dusted 01:28:46.039 --> 01:28:50.939 off periodically. They don't see how Bach looked 01:28:50.939 --> 01:28:54.920 forward. Schoenberg called Bach the first 12 01:28:54.920 --> 01:28:58.630 -tone composer. We all know that Bach is very 01:28:58.630 --> 01:29:03.510 jazzy. And especially if we consider, by and 01:29:03.510 --> 01:29:06.810 large, his music for other instruments, we see 01:29:06.810 --> 01:29:12.149 how much he was looking forward. And yet we treat 01:29:12.149 --> 01:29:17.770 him as somebody who liked to wear that wig. I 01:29:17.770 --> 01:29:21.210 don't know how that happened. Well, there's a 01:29:21.210 --> 01:29:23.869 lot of respect. There's a lot of respect. And 01:29:23.869 --> 01:29:26.170 I'm saying that I know. I don't know either. 01:29:26.600 --> 01:29:30.359 But I find, again, in the past 10 years, I have 01:29:30.359 --> 01:29:33.159 grown a little bit less timid just because there's 01:29:33.159 --> 01:29:35.640 a part of me that's perhaps, you know, a little 01:29:35.640 --> 01:29:39.220 full of itself that says, you know, you worked 01:29:39.220 --> 01:29:41.659 hard at this. You transcribed the Brandenburgs. 01:29:41.659 --> 01:29:44.300 You did this and this. So if you want to do something 01:29:44.300 --> 01:29:46.720 a little crazy, people are still going to say, 01:29:46.859 --> 01:29:49.439 OK, well, yeah, we'll let her, you know, we'll 01:29:49.439 --> 01:29:51.939 let that go because she, you know, she worked 01:29:51.939 --> 01:29:55.739 hard and she obviously respects Bach. So I grew 01:29:55.739 --> 01:29:59.340 a little bit less afraid, as I said, to do some 01:29:59.340 --> 01:30:01.939 strange things, some jazzy things and repeats. 01:30:02.260 --> 01:30:05.539 But I think it takes a long journey for somebody 01:30:05.539 --> 01:30:09.399 to become a little bit less afraid and coming 01:30:09.399 --> 01:30:12.340 from a different perspective, like I do, because 01:30:12.340 --> 01:30:14.659 I'm certainly not a part of the establishment 01:30:14.659 --> 01:30:18.880 of the classical music. I'm not a widely concert 01:30:18.880 --> 01:30:23.979 -tasing pianist. I come to it from, I've come 01:30:23.979 --> 01:30:27.560 around through this lens of transcription. So 01:30:27.560 --> 01:30:31.539 it's a different perspective. Sure. Where did 01:30:31.539 --> 01:30:35.079 you get this love for or bug for arrangements 01:30:35.079 --> 01:30:39.000 or transcription? That's a very creative side 01:30:39.000 --> 01:30:43.399 of music making, you know? Yeah, it was always 01:30:43.399 --> 01:30:46.239 from wanting to play something that I love. My 01:30:46.239 --> 01:30:48.539 first transcription was Night on Bold Mountain 01:30:48.539 --> 01:30:52.520 by Ozark Street. Incredible, incredible transcription. 01:30:52.880 --> 01:30:56.579 I love Mussorgsky. Thank you. And I was playing 01:30:56.579 --> 01:31:00.079 pictures at an exhibition and I was like, I want 01:31:00.079 --> 01:31:02.939 to play this. And I was still in college and 01:31:02.939 --> 01:31:06.500 I created and that was before the Internet. And 01:31:06.500 --> 01:31:09.199 then, you know, I wanted to play a Tchaikovsky 01:31:09.199 --> 01:31:12.300 Waltz from Eugene Onegin, a piece that I associated 01:31:12.300 --> 01:31:15.640 with my childhood. And I made that transcription. 01:31:17.680 --> 01:31:20.479 You know, at some point I did take I was well 01:31:20.479 --> 01:31:23.140 educated in high school and in college. I took 01:31:23.140 --> 01:31:26.119 orchestration courses. I took figured, you know, 01:31:26.159 --> 01:31:30.920 I took polyphony courses and I played four hands 01:31:30.920 --> 01:31:34.279 piano. So I felt, you know, and I do have perfect 01:31:34.279 --> 01:31:37.119 pitch, which helps in listening and analyzing 01:31:37.119 --> 01:31:41.380 what you're about to transcribe. So, you know, 01:31:41.380 --> 01:31:44.720 I felt like I was somehow qualified with my education 01:31:44.720 --> 01:31:49.800 to do it and came out well. But always in the 01:31:49.800 --> 01:31:52.479 Brandenburgs, I wanted to play. And again, there 01:31:52.479 --> 01:31:55.560 are people who understand that whatever exists 01:31:55.560 --> 01:31:59.460 was unplayable because there's no famous pianist 01:31:59.460 --> 01:32:02.100 or duo that have been playing the Brandenburgs. 01:32:02.100 --> 01:32:04.600 How is that possible? You know, how is it possible 01:32:04.600 --> 01:32:07.779 that we've had for a hundred years the regular 01:32:07.779 --> 01:32:10.579 transcription of the six Brandenburg concertos 01:32:10.579 --> 01:32:13.800 and we don't hear them in concert? from Martha 01:32:13.800 --> 01:32:16.340 Argerich, who constantly plays four hands, from 01:32:16.340 --> 01:32:20.560 anybody except Anderson and Rowe, who played, 01:32:20.600 --> 01:32:23.399 who themselves transcribed the third Brandenburg, 01:32:23.600 --> 01:32:26.079 and that's the easiest one to transcribe because 01:32:26.079 --> 01:32:28.340 it's the smaller strings -only orchestration. 01:32:28.500 --> 01:32:30.859 How is it possible that we have this music and 01:32:30.859 --> 01:32:34.079 nobody played it? Because it's unplayable. So, 01:32:34.180 --> 01:32:36.579 you know, to make it, I wanted to play it so 01:32:36.579 --> 01:32:39.979 badly. It's Bach, you know, so I ended up doing 01:32:39.979 --> 01:32:46.180 it. Unfortunately, I felt qualified because I 01:32:46.180 --> 01:32:49.479 have been playing four hands for over a decade 01:32:49.479 --> 01:32:55.020 and I can do that. But I'm not a composer, for 01:32:55.020 --> 01:32:57.960 example, although I'm trying to just do that 01:32:57.960 --> 01:33:00.539 a little bit just for fun because I like the 01:33:00.539 --> 01:33:03.739 process of creating a composition. But I'm not 01:33:03.739 --> 01:33:09.220 somebody who wants to adorn what's written. Embellishments 01:33:09.220 --> 01:33:12.789 and repeats are one thing. But I don't want to 01:33:12.789 --> 01:33:17.909 change something like the Brandenburgs. It's 01:33:17.909 --> 01:33:21.029 been a really fun conversation. Oh, yeah. Yeah. 01:33:21.069 --> 01:33:24.409 So for folks who are listening today, please 01:33:24.409 --> 01:33:28.470 check out Eleanor's wonderful, wonderful transcriptions 01:33:28.470 --> 01:33:31.810 and recordings. You can go to her website at 01:33:31.810 --> 01:33:35.329 eleanorbindman .com. And also you should check 01:33:35.329 --> 01:33:40.279 out her wonderful YouTube channel as well. Also, 01:33:40.399 --> 01:33:44.159 she has her page on Facebook and so on. Then 01:33:44.159 --> 01:33:46.460 I will list all the links in the show notes. 01:33:46.760 --> 01:33:49.579 Now, what's your next project? What's something 01:33:49.579 --> 01:33:52.319 you're cooking up right now? Well, it's actually 01:33:52.319 --> 01:33:55.460 something that has been mostly cooked already. 01:33:55.720 --> 01:33:59.159 And again, it's a byproduct of the past 10 years. 01:33:59.399 --> 01:34:03.159 During my transcriptions of all of these places, 01:34:03.239 --> 01:34:06.500 actually all of these pieces, I also created 01:34:06.500 --> 01:34:09.989 some what I call stray transcriptions of Bach 01:34:09.989 --> 01:34:15.109 for piano solo. For example, I made some slow 01:34:15.109 --> 01:34:18.550 Brandenburg movements that are playable for piano 01:34:18.550 --> 01:34:21.010 solo, because most of the Brandenburgs are impossible 01:34:21.010 --> 01:34:25.170 to do justice with just one piano. So I have 01:34:25.170 --> 01:34:27.789 some slow movements, I have some more arias. 01:34:28.890 --> 01:34:33.109 Like I included one track on the absolute on 01:34:33.109 --> 01:34:36.449 this latest recording of an aria from St. John's 01:34:36.449 --> 01:34:40.310 Passion, Betrachta meiner Seel, which originally 01:34:40.310 --> 01:34:43.750 was scored including a lute. And it's a very 01:34:43.750 --> 01:34:47.670 beautiful, but a more romantic sounding arrangement 01:34:47.670 --> 01:34:51.170 because again, a lot of Bach transcribed on the 01:34:51.170 --> 01:34:55.699 piano. sounds very romantic because of the harmonies. 01:34:55.720 --> 01:34:57.920 And, you know, not written. He didn't write the 01:34:57.920 --> 01:35:01.300 aria for piano. So on piano, it sounds like melody 01:35:01.300 --> 01:35:05.319 with accompaniment. So I have about eight or 01:35:05.319 --> 01:35:08.800 nine of these pieces already done. And my plan 01:35:08.800 --> 01:35:12.359 is to do a few more, which are in the works, 01:35:12.460 --> 01:35:15.800 and then to try to sell it to a record label. 01:35:16.270 --> 01:35:19.470 wow so that and and that could be my last kind 01:35:19.470 --> 01:35:22.510 of Bach compilation because uh people have been 01:35:22.510 --> 01:35:26.170 asking me to do the violin uh suites but for 01:35:26.170 --> 01:35:28.569 some reason I don't find myself interested in 01:35:28.569 --> 01:35:33.630 that okay I don't know why yeah it's okay so 01:35:33.630 --> 01:35:37.869 then then you have maybe you're gonna move on 01:35:37.869 --> 01:35:41.659 to who knows handle I don't know I don't know 01:35:41.659 --> 01:35:43.560 you know I don't know I find that this whole 01:35:43.560 --> 01:35:47.020 boxing came about gradually and it unfolded gradually 01:35:47.020 --> 01:35:51.260 and I didn't plan it certainly when I was done 01:35:51.260 --> 01:35:54.020 with something sooner or later something else 01:35:54.020 --> 01:35:58.060 came so I think as in any artistic process one 01:35:58.060 --> 01:36:01.680 needs to maybe take a little break and just kind 01:36:01.680 --> 01:36:06.020 of tune out and then the new steps will become 01:36:06.020 --> 01:36:10.890 more visible in time. So I don't find that I 01:36:10.890 --> 01:36:13.909 have a concrete plan other than this next set 01:36:13.909 --> 01:36:18.449 of pieces. But I also, you know, I want to travel 01:36:18.449 --> 01:36:20.590 more. I want to experience more different things 01:36:20.590 --> 01:36:23.989 because my second child just moved out of the 01:36:23.989 --> 01:36:28.489 house. So I find myself a lot freer as far as 01:36:28.489 --> 01:36:32.750 my pastimes. Now, I think this would be a perfect. 01:36:33.210 --> 01:36:37.149 question to ask you because you are such a trailblazer 01:36:37.149 --> 01:36:40.649 so how do you think yeah classical music especially 01:36:40.649 --> 01:36:43.489 Bach can remain relevant in today's world how 01:36:43.489 --> 01:36:47.529 can we use as musicians and educators engage 01:36:47.529 --> 01:36:51.170 with broader audiences with such a you know gem 01:36:51.170 --> 01:36:55.890 of beautiful classical music well I think that 01:36:55.890 --> 01:36:58.850 something that we already talked about which 01:36:58.850 --> 01:37:03.939 is streaming and streaming at home is probably 01:37:03.939 --> 01:37:11.260 the most practical thing to do. And, you know, 01:37:11.279 --> 01:37:15.880 that's, I think maybe we need to try to devote 01:37:15.880 --> 01:37:21.640 ourselves more to that question of creating playlist 01:37:21.640 --> 01:37:25.199 listening, somehow engaging educators and just 01:37:25.199 --> 01:37:28.199 kind of pushing the listening part as opposed 01:37:28.199 --> 01:37:31.500 to the You know, music is good for the brain. 01:37:31.560 --> 01:37:35.340 So take a music lesson. I think we just need 01:37:35.340 --> 01:37:39.279 to promote listening and, you know, listening 01:37:39.279 --> 01:37:41.840 is a quality that we're losing a lot anyway, 01:37:41.960 --> 01:37:44.380 because we're so bombarded by different stimuli. 01:37:45.560 --> 01:37:49.800 So I think the fact that Bach is so, it speaks 01:37:49.800 --> 01:37:52.819 so closely to some part of us that pays attention. 01:37:53.380 --> 01:37:57.020 I think it will probably, it will probably go 01:37:57.020 --> 01:38:04.590 on. I think if it hasn't lost its relevance and 01:38:04.590 --> 01:38:07.890 so many people are doing all kinds of manipulations 01:38:07.890 --> 01:38:10.649 with it, I think it will be fine. I certainly 01:38:10.649 --> 01:38:13.449 don't think going to church is going to help 01:38:13.449 --> 01:38:17.789 the young generation to hear Bach. So any crossover, 01:38:18.310 --> 01:38:24.489 anything, any mixed playlists will be useful. 01:38:26.569 --> 01:38:28.810 But especially just listening, just getting used 01:38:28.810 --> 01:38:32.689 to that language and not treating it as some 01:38:32.689 --> 01:38:38.649 special occasion, elitist, you know, class related 01:38:38.649 --> 01:38:43.750 thing. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Now, what would you 01:38:43.750 --> 01:38:46.130 like your legacy to be as an artist educator? 01:38:46.890 --> 01:38:51.369 You know, I like the idea of the reconsideration 01:38:51.369 --> 01:38:56.060 of. who we are as musicians of different levels 01:38:56.060 --> 01:38:59.619 and at different levels of recognition or fame. 01:39:01.699 --> 01:39:06.779 And this going back to the amateurs, and certainly 01:39:06.779 --> 01:39:10.399 for the past few years, I have been trying to 01:39:10.399 --> 01:39:17.439 help adult amateurs feel more empowered, more 01:39:17.439 --> 01:39:25.130 comfortable with being who they are. and being 01:39:25.130 --> 01:39:29.869 an important part of the classical music business 01:39:29.869 --> 01:39:33.949 and the classical music world and being the audiences. 01:39:34.310 --> 01:39:40.270 The stars of the classical music world are wonderful 01:39:40.270 --> 01:39:46.050 people who work extremely hard. who deserve all 01:39:46.050 --> 01:39:48.789 the recognition they get. But there is a kind 01:39:48.789 --> 01:39:51.329 of a corporate feel to everything we're doing. 01:39:51.470 --> 01:39:55.189 And the famous people are such valuable real 01:39:55.189 --> 01:40:00.829 estate that even publicists, everything is invested 01:40:00.829 --> 01:40:04.170 into them. And they're being literally worked 01:40:04.170 --> 01:40:09.229 to a level which they probably find difficult. 01:40:09.449 --> 01:40:11.449 We don't really think about how difficult it 01:40:11.449 --> 01:40:14.800 is to be Yuja Wang. And what is her life really 01:40:14.800 --> 01:40:18.319 like? And, you know, how is the day -to -day 01:40:18.319 --> 01:40:21.439 existence? So I think there's this gap between 01:40:21.439 --> 01:40:23.939 people like that and then people who are not 01:40:23.939 --> 01:40:28.199 famous. And then there are the amateurs. So I 01:40:28.199 --> 01:40:32.640 think what I try to do by now is just to try 01:40:32.640 --> 01:40:37.479 to at least bring some more literature, some 01:40:37.479 --> 01:40:40.600 more works to the amateurs where they can feel 01:40:40.600 --> 01:40:46.850 that they're good. And I'd be very happy if that 01:40:46.850 --> 01:40:49.989 would happen because having taught so many people 01:40:49.989 --> 01:40:53.890 and having sat there and had to assuage them 01:40:53.890 --> 01:40:55.829 and say, it's okay, I know you made a mistake. 01:40:55.909 --> 01:40:59.350 You don't need to explain to me why. Let's just 01:40:59.350 --> 01:41:03.430 get on and enjoy the music. I think that's as 01:41:03.430 --> 01:41:06.310 much as one person can do at the moment. But 01:41:06.310 --> 01:41:08.550 I also would like to, as I know I'm saying for 01:41:08.550 --> 01:41:11.390 the third time, I would like to do something 01:41:11.390 --> 01:41:13.930 more concrete with the streaming and listening 01:41:13.930 --> 01:41:17.770 at home idea. And maybe you and I can talk about 01:41:17.770 --> 01:41:20.810 it later. Sure. Yeah, yeah. I would love to hear 01:41:20.810 --> 01:41:23.189 that. Yeah. And you're doing such an amazing 01:41:23.189 --> 01:41:26.529 job. It's engaging, educational. So that's exactly 01:41:26.529 --> 01:41:29.390 what the channel needs, right? Yeah. Thank you 01:41:29.390 --> 01:41:32.510 very much. I think we all do what we can. Sure. 01:41:33.739 --> 01:41:36.220 Well, this has been such a fun, inspirational 01:41:36.220 --> 01:41:39.600 conversation. But before I let you go, Eleanor, 01:41:39.779 --> 01:41:41.600 we have one more thing to do. It's called the 01:41:41.600 --> 01:41:44.640 rapid fire question. So this is the part of the 01:41:44.640 --> 01:41:46.880 show where I get to ask fun questions to each 01:41:46.880 --> 01:41:49.500 guest. Here's a little twist. As silly as these 01:41:49.500 --> 01:41:51.899 questions may sound, your answers may reveal 01:41:51.899 --> 01:41:55.279 who you truly are. So ready or not, let's do 01:41:55.279 --> 01:41:59.380 it. Okay. All right. Number one, what is your 01:41:59.380 --> 01:42:05.420 comfort food? Potatoes. Oh, yes. Do you like 01:42:05.420 --> 01:42:09.020 mashed potato or a specific? I love roasted potatoes, 01:42:09.399 --> 01:42:13.920 fried potatoes, French fries. How do you like 01:42:13.920 --> 01:42:16.960 your coffee in the morning? I like a regular 01:42:16.960 --> 01:42:20.380 drip brew coffee with a little bit of oat milk. 01:42:20.720 --> 01:42:26.100 Oh, oat milk. Nice. Cats or dogs? Dogs. Sunrise 01:42:26.100 --> 01:42:31.100 or sunset? Oof. I guess sunset just because I'm 01:42:31.100 --> 01:42:35.079 usually awake for that more. Summer or winter? 01:42:35.800 --> 01:42:39.380 Summer. Now, what skill have you always wanted 01:42:39.380 --> 01:42:42.359 to learn but haven't had a chance to? Japanese 01:42:42.359 --> 01:42:46.079 language. Oh, yes. I'll teach you. Oh, yeah? 01:42:46.159 --> 01:42:48.600 Great. That's my first language. I'll teach you 01:42:48.600 --> 01:42:52.800 Russian. Oh, yes. What is your word or words 01:42:52.800 --> 01:42:56.930 to live by? Honesty. Honesty. What is the most 01:42:56.930 --> 01:42:59.670 important quality you look for in other people? 01:43:00.050 --> 01:43:05.529 At this point, I have to say it is a calm disposition. 01:43:06.890 --> 01:43:11.569 I find that it's easier for me to be with people 01:43:11.569 --> 01:43:15.590 who are calm. Name three people who inspire you, 01:43:15.710 --> 01:43:19.130 living or dead. This is hard, I know. Well, I 01:43:19.130 --> 01:43:24.250 have to say Bach, I'm sorry. Krishnamurti. Jiddu 01:43:24.250 --> 01:43:27.970 Krishnamurti. a big influence in my inner life. 01:43:28.710 --> 01:43:33.289 Gosh, there's so many. I have to say Rosalind 01:43:33.289 --> 01:43:39.090 Turek because she's occupational. Wonderful artist. 01:43:39.449 --> 01:43:44.449 Name one piece in your current playlist. Enter 01:43:44.449 --> 01:43:49.189 Those Aguas by Paco de Lucia. I love flamenco. 01:43:49.590 --> 01:43:53.569 Oh, okay. I need to check it out. Okay, great. 01:43:54.399 --> 01:43:57.060 Now, last question. Fill in the blank. Music 01:43:57.060 --> 01:44:02.560 is blank. Music is life. Great. Now that wraps 01:44:02.560 --> 01:44:04.840 up this episode of The Pianobot. A heartfelt 01:44:04.840 --> 01:44:07.800 thanks to you, Eleanor, for joining us today 01:44:07.800 --> 01:44:10.079 and sharing your incredible stories and insights 01:44:10.079 --> 01:44:13.779 and expertise with such... joyful, authentic 01:44:13.779 --> 01:44:17.720 manner. And to our wonderful audience, you can 01:44:17.720 --> 01:44:20.060 learn more about Eleanor and her work by visiting 01:44:20.060 --> 01:44:23.600 her website at eleanorbeinman .com and start 01:44:23.600 --> 01:44:26.560 listening to her wonderful albums on all streaming 01:44:26.560 --> 01:44:29.859 services, especially the latest one. And of course, 01:44:29.859 --> 01:44:32.880 thank you to our wonderful fans and listeners 01:44:32.880 --> 01:44:35.060 for tuning in today. If you enjoyed today's episode, 01:44:35.140 --> 01:44:37.380 please give it a thumbs up and then subscribe 01:44:37.380 --> 01:44:40.300 to The Pianopod on YouTube. And don't forget 01:44:40.300 --> 01:44:43.460 to share and review this episode on social media 01:44:43.460 --> 01:44:46.840 and tag The Pianopod. I will see you for the 01:44:46.840 --> 01:44:48.880 next episode of The Pianopod. Bye, everyone. 01:44:49.039 --> 01:44:52.079 And thank you, Eleanor, once again. Thank you, 01:44:52.079 --> 01:44:54.600 Yukimi. It was wonderful. Thank you.