1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,880 Welcome back to the PianoPod. I'm Clarissa. 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,080 Hi, everyone. I'm Yukimi Song. 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,480 For anyone joining our show as an audience for the very first 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,320 time, so glad you're here. Yukimi and I are both classical 5 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,400 pianists and piano teachers from New York City. This podcast is 6 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,360 for anyone who plays the piano for fun, loves listening to the 7 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,600 piano music, or for someone who is pursuing a career in piano, 8 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,520 or is simply curious about the world of piano music. 9 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,560 In each episode, we interview a guest speaker who has been 10 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,920 breaking exciting new ground in the music industry. Before 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,560 getting started, we want to thank our listeners for tuning 12 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,960 in. Please rate our show or review on Apple podcasts, 13 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,360 because every rating and review will help people find our show. 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,040 That's right. So for this episode, we are about to 15 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,200 interview the sensational Peruvian pianist, bandoneonist, 16 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,000 Mr. Claudio Constantini, who currently resides in Madrid, 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,000 Spain. Yukimi discovered him through social media and shared 18 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,720 with me one of his real posts on Instagram just a few weeks 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:08,200 ago. 20 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:13,640 Oh, yes, the one that he holds and plays the bandoneon on one 21 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:18,440 hand and the other hand he plays the piano, right? And he is 22 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,160 playing his original competition Genesis, I think. 23 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,760 That's right. That is the one. Yeah, I really loved it. And he, 24 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,840 you know, I've never seen anyone do that. And not only that, 25 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,920 his musicianship. Oh my goodness. Wow, it was so electrifying. 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,760 So Yukimi, tell us how more about how you discovered him. 27 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,160 Sure. I mean, so you know, as podcasters, we're always 28 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,400 searching for potential guests on our show. And we'll look for 29 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,080 someone who is bringing new ideas or new ways to reach out 30 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,760 to the audience into the classical music world, either 31 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,840 through hashtags or random Instagram suggestions. When you 32 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,680 tap the search icon on the app, I discovered that particular 33 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:05,080 real post. And Mr. Constantini actually has many posts like 34 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,920 that on his account. Anyway, I just could not help but Google 35 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:12,840 him and find more video clips on YouTube and start listening 36 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:14,360 to his music on Spotify. 37 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,520 So glad you found him and shared a post with me. Just by 38 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,960 watching it, I could tell he was a classically trained pianist. 39 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,400 And when you look at his left hand playing the complete, you 40 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,160 know, arpeggios. And of course, you know, he turned out to be 41 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,280 an international concert pianist who performs in major concert 42 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:36,440 venues around the world. So I can't wait to hear how he 43 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,960 decided to incorporate these two instruments as part of his 44 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:45,320 artistry. Yeah, me too. Well, he is here. So let's get the 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:46,120 show started. 46 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,560 You're listening to the piano part, where we talk to the 47 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,240 brightest minds in the industry about how they're bringing the 48 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,160 piano into the 21st century. 49 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:06,200 We are very excited to introduce our guest of episode 12, Mr. 50 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,120 Claudio Constantini, an internationally acclaimed Malta 51 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,040 instrumentalist, piano and bandoneon, and a composer in 52 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:19,560 demand. Born and raised in Lima, Peru into a musical family, his 53 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,560 unique style is defined by its solid classical roots paired 54 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:27,320 with a passion for popular music genres, among which Latin 55 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,520 American music and improvisation play a key role. 56 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,520 Mr. Constantini has performed worldwide in many of his 57 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,520 masterpieces, such as Amsterdam's Concert Gabou, the 58 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,840 Berlier Philharmonie, the Los Angeles Opera House, among many 59 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,840 others. In the next season, Mr. Constantini will appear as the 60 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,520 soloist with distinguished orchestras such as the WDR 61 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,360 Symphony Orchestra Cologne, and the Robert Schumann Philharmonie. 62 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,680 He will also premiere his own bandoneon concerto, which the 63 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,440 piece was commissioned to commemorate Astor Piazzolla's 64 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,920 centenary of birth, and perform a Rhapsody in Blue with the 65 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,560 Tacoma Symphony in Seattle. Mr. Constantini has released six 66 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:15,320 CD albums, one of them titled America has earned him a 67 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,960 nomination for a Latin Grammy Award in 2019 in the category 68 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:24,200 of best classical album. He has been working on the complete 69 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,680 piano works by Claude Debussy, of which he has already released 70 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,760 two albums, and the first volume was selected among the 71 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:37,960 10 best albums of the year 2015 by Fanfare Magazine USA. 72 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:42,200 So today we're going to cover topics including Mr. 73 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,600 Constantini's upbringing, his career as classical pianist and 74 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,600 bandoneonist, and his latest projects such as his brand new 75 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,680 composition Genesis and recording of complete works by 76 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:59,240 Debussy, and so much more. So Claudio, we're so honored to 77 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:03,160 have you today and welcome to our show and thank you for 78 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:07,000 joining us. Well, same to you. Thank you. It's a big pleasure, 79 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,360 big pleasure to be here and to speak with you. I love your 80 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:15,320 podcast. Thank you so much. Well, we, we love your work. So 81 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,760 thank you. So it's mutual then. Oh, yes, that's very 82 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,000 important. Yeah. Great. So, you know, I, you know, I, I, I 83 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,560 found you on Instagram because, you know, we're always looking 84 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,640 for someone to interview and then I happen to come across 85 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,960 one of your Instagram posts and on your left hand, you were 86 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,840 playing the piano on the right hand side, you're playing the 87 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,800 bandoneon. I think you were playing the, your, your piece 88 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:46,600 Genesis and I was just blown away. So I quickly texted 89 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,360 Clara and shared the clip with her and we were like, oh my 90 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,920 gosh, who is this? So first thing I did was I really wanted 91 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:59,960 to share this music to my audience. So the idea is to put 92 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:03,800 your piece into a playlist. So I asked your permission. You 93 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,560 were like, so kind, you know, of course, please. Sure. So that's 94 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:11,960 how we started our conversation and here we are. Here you are. 95 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:16,760 You're here. So we're very happy now. So for the audience 96 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,600 who are listening, I really highly recommend to start 97 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,440 listening to his pieces, but I suggest that you should start 98 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,200 with Genesis. I mean, it's just a perfect piece. Genesis is, 99 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:34,200 you know, it's a start. So it was just, it's another level of 100 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,960 tango, like, you know, Piazzolla was the new tango, then 101 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,560 there's another level. So later we, we can discuss more about 102 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:45,160 it, but Claudio, so you're tuning in from Spain, right? 103 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:49,000 So you're tuning in from Spain and how is Spain? How is 104 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:54,440 Madrid right now? Well, right now we're in winter, but it's 105 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:59,880 quite, quite warm, quite warm outside. We got 17 degrees 106 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,680 Celsius. I don't know how much that is in Fahrenheit, but it's 107 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,920 very enjoyable. You can go to the street just like this. So 108 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,720 you don't need that much, but it's unusual, highly unusual. 109 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,480 But anyway, so Madrid is a wonderful city to live in. I 110 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:17,880 get very inspired with the friendliness that I have here. I 111 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,720 also live right next to a big park, Parque del Retiro, which 112 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:26,280 is kind of like the central park of Madrid, much smaller, of 113 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:31,320 course, but it's anyway, it's a big park and I love spending 114 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,200 my mornings walking there and getting some fresh air and some 115 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:38,920 inspiration. Wow, wonderful. Yeah, but you're not originally 116 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,120 from there, you know, you're from Peru. So we're very curious 117 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,200 to know your beginnings, how your musical study or musical 118 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,880 journey started. So can we start from there? Yeah, sure. 119 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:54,600 Well, my parents, both musicians, my mom is a conductor 120 00:07:54,600 --> 00:08:02,440 and my father was a pianist. So I was involved with music since 121 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,200 I was a young child, since before I was born, actually. My 122 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,040 mom conducted a concerto once while I was still in her belly. 123 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:15,480 So I listened to music even before I was born. Nevertheless, 124 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,680 I wasn't really interested in music until I was 12 years old. 125 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:23,720 I could play the piano like I took some melodies by ear and I 126 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:28,040 played them with finger, but that's as far as I could. But 127 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:33,080 then when I was 12, I got so in love with, I fell so in love 128 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:38,200 with music that I started playing piano all day long. So I 129 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:43,720 learned really quickly and I woke up at five o'clock in the 130 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,680 morning so that I could practice before going to school. 131 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,040 And then when I came back from school, I was playing till the 132 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:54,040 night. So it was absolutely crazy. And so I learned really 133 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:59,000 quickly. I could enter to the conservatory there in Lima. I 134 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,120 was there till 18. Then I left to Finland. I studied my 135 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,640 bachelor's degree in Finland. Then I did my master's degree in 136 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:12,280 Holland. And then I did a diploma in the Scola Cantorum 137 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:17,000 in Paris. So that was my trajectory. Then I stayed living 138 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,720 in the Netherlands for some years working there. And then I 139 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:26,200 decided to come to Spain. Oh, wow. So you have such an 140 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:30,360 incredible classical solid training, but it just it happened 141 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,080 like almost like all of a sudden, like, you know, before 142 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,840 then was like, you know, music was always there because of 143 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:42,120 your, you know, upbringing, but all of a sudden, the desire 144 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:47,560 just woken up with something and yeah, yeah, suddenly it was I 145 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:52,520 remember exactly the reason. And it was that out of curiosity, 146 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:58,280 I started putting the LP discs of my parents on the long play 147 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,080 player. And I started recognizing the music that my 148 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:04,520 mom conducted and that my father practiced at home. So 149 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,520 Brahms and Chopin and Schumann and everything. And, and 150 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:14,760 suddenly, I just, I saw it, I heard it like with new ears, in 151 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:19,400 a way, and fell in love with it. How was the your schools like, 152 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:24,360 or any particular teachers or events that really spoke to you 153 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:28,200 or influenced you? Yes, I was very lucky with all my 154 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,280 teachers. So my first teacher was my father. He was my teacher 155 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,480 throughout my studies in Peru because he was a teacher at the 156 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,160 conservatory. He was a very, very, very talented pianist. He 157 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,560 actually graduated in Julliard. He was studying with Agustin 158 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:45,480 Ganevas many years ago, and with Oksana Jablonska, also there in 159 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:51,960 Julliard. And afterwards, when I went to Finland, I studied with 160 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,600 with two different pianists, who were fantastic teachers, 161 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,840 really fantastic people as well. They took me really much into 162 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,960 care because, you know, I was a young boy who went to the other 163 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,800 side of the world, and it was not always very easy, of course, 164 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:12,280 it was very different than my culture. And it was also tough 165 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,960 for me because I had to work a lot to be able to sustain my 166 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:19,320 studies. But so they were great human beings, and they were 167 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,080 great teachers as well. And finally, in the Netherlands, I 168 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,200 studied with Aquiles de Levinje, who was a student of Claudia 169 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:33,160 Rao, and he was a fantastic, fantastic master, one of the 170 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:37,080 best teachers I've seen in the world, because I've taken many 171 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:41,400 master classes and I've seen many classes. And he was really a 172 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:51,080 special person. He knew how to nurture the best side of 173 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,720 yourself, you know, how to... He taught you in a way how to find 174 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:58,040 yourself, how to find your own voice, your own personality in 175 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:02,600 the music. So he didn't teach anybody in the same way. His 176 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,880 lessons were always full of people, they were like master 177 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,120 classes, all of them. So when he gave a lesson, there were 178 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:12,280 always like 40, 50, 60 people, even from different disciplines, 179 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,240 you know, violinists and cellists who came to listen to 180 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:19,480 the lessons because they were so intense and so interesting. And 181 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,560 he was so generous. He actually passed away just two weeks ago 182 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:28,280 or three weeks ago. So it's a big loss. Yeah, he was so very, 183 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:35,080 very close to me. But anyways, he was probably the greatest 184 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,760 musical influence I had in such a close relationship. 185 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:43,800 It's always those mentors who change your life, you know? It's 186 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:48,520 in such a way that sometimes it really influence or sometimes 187 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,600 determines your career. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it sounds like 188 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,880 you're very fortunate to have mentors like that. Wonderful. 189 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,120 Yes, I consider myself very lucky. 190 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,520 So, you know, we can't underestimate the power of 191 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:06,600 social media, right? Like, we feel like we are posting it for 192 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:11,560 nothing. But actually, you know, we discover each other here. So 193 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:15,880 yeah, you never know what will catch the attention of whom I 194 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:20,280 mean, it's, it's a really interesting times. It never 195 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:24,760 before. Exactly. And then with this zoom, I mean, hello, we're 196 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,400 in New York, and you're in Madrid, and we're talking 197 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,000 something quite intimate. So it's a very interesting thing. 198 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:36,440 Anyway, so we want to know that your performance career, I 199 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:40,360 realized that you're you have substantial, not only the 200 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:45,400 background, but also career path as a soloist as a solo 201 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:50,200 classical pianist. So and you performed with numerous 202 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:54,760 orchestras and so forth. So can you tell us your brief, let's 203 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:59,400 say history and your career in your musical career as a 204 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:05,560 pianist? Well, my career is always it has always been 205 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:11,000 difficult for me to actually define what I do, because I do 206 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,880 so many different things. I mean, for me, it's really clear 207 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,520 in my head, I like this, and I like that, and I do this, and I 208 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,560 do that. But it's very hard for me to communicate that to 209 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:26,600 people. Because, you know, if you are an Apple distributor, 210 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,160 and you also sell chickens, then it's like, what are you 211 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:32,680 doing? You don't you don't get a clear message. So that's, that 212 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,600 has always been a source of conflict for me when I present 213 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:43,720 myself to the public. So as a pianist, I started with a 214 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:50,200 very, very linear classical, classical path in mind, 215 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:52,840 especially while I was a student when I was studying, of 216 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:57,400 course, I was completely immersed with my studies and 217 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,240 with the classical repertoire. And the real change started 218 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:06,360 when I bought my first bandoneon. I was about 20, 21 219 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:11,560 years old. And then my horizon expanded somehow. Which is 220 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,760 funny, because before, and when I was in Lima, I used to work 221 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:17,880 in a piano bar, and I always played popular music, I always 222 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,680 played a bit of jazz, I always played Latin American music, 223 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,920 but that was kind of like the hidden side of me. And when I 224 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:30,280 brought the bandoneon in, this flourished in a professional 225 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:35,960 way, not just in an amateur way. And it influenced a lot of 226 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,720 my piano playing, of my piano, of the decisions that I would 227 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:45,400 take further as a pianist. And so I tried to mix them up as 228 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:50,600 much as possible. I try to play when I can, I try to play 229 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,880 piano and bandoneon on the same evening, on the same recital. 230 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,840 Even if it's with an orchestra, I often play a piano concerto 231 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,440 and a bandoneon concerto on the same orchestra, because I 232 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:07,960 feel like one instrument only fills one side of me and not 233 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:13,320 the full picture. So I try to offer the full picture. And 234 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:19,480 specifically with piano, I've specialized, I've tried to focus 235 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:25,960 in specific projects, you know, so not really like before I 236 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,840 wanted to play all the repertoire, but then when I 237 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,080 started recording, then I started focusing more. The first 238 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:38,520 classical album I did was with Debussy. And so that was a big 239 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:44,040 focus and it certainly changed and influenced a lot of my 240 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:49,080 playing and of my performing preferences, because there's 241 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,400 actually a phrase by Arthur Rubenstein, who's my favorite 242 00:16:53,400 --> 00:17:00,520 pianist ever. I love him. And he said that you should never 243 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,760 play a piece that you don't feel absolutely comfortable with. 244 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:09,320 So if you don't, of course you can study everything, you 245 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:14,040 should study, you should learn by yourself. But if you have 246 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,400 trouble communicating with a piece, then you should not 247 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,200 concentrate on that one. You should concentrate on what you 248 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:25,640 really feel that is yours. And there's people who can manage 249 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:30,520 that with a vast repertoire, but mostly people feel more 250 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:34,440 comfortable with expressing their, I mean, their 251 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,280 personality is expressed better with a specific composer or 252 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,920 specific type of music. So that's something I've taken to 253 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:43,240 heart. 254 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:50,120 You know, Claudio, honestly, to me, the message you're giving 255 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:55,320 is very clear to us. So I think it's the contrary of what you 256 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,720 think about yourself. But everybody goes through this 257 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,880 phase where, you know, we have this discipline of, let's say 258 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,720 classical music or some other disciplines, and then, you know, 259 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,960 tradition that you inherit from the previous generations, 260 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,400 right? Then all of a sudden you hit the point where, wait a 261 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:20,200 minute, that's who I am too. But I am also, I have this other 262 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,480 side of myself and you feel like there's a disconnect, but 263 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,880 it's actually connected. And so, but that makes you a very 264 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,960 interesting artist and that makes you a unique artist. So 265 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,200 the message is very clear. And so that's why I wanted to know 266 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:40,680 more about you as an artist and as a person. So there's one 267 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,480 thing I wanted to ask. So speaking of that, as a 268 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,680 classical pianist, let's say right now we're going to focus 269 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,760 on you as a classical pianist, and then you're currently 270 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:55,000 working on Debussy works, right? You're trying to record 271 00:18:55,000 --> 00:19:01,320 entire Debussy collection. So, and then I saw on Spotify you 272 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:07,160 produced CD-Alma, first one and the second one. So what's your 273 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:12,760 obsession about Debussy? How do you relate to the pieces, works 274 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:19,240 of Debussy? Well, Debussy is very special to me. I think 275 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:24,280 that he's one of the few composers that when I play his 276 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,560 music or when I hear his music played, it sounds like it's 277 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:31,480 being created on the spot. It's really, it has a spontaneous 278 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:36,440 feel to it, such a spontaneous feel. And it's like really like 279 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:41,400 it would be improvised in the moment. And it speaks from so 280 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,640 deep within. You know, there's a big difference for me between 281 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,280 Ravel and Debussy, who are like the two big representatives of 282 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:55,560 so-called impressionistic music. In my mind, Ravel looks 283 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,760 backwards, kind of like Brahms, you know, Brahms coexisted with 284 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:05,480 Liszt, but his kind of writing was coming from Beethoven or 285 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,600 from, you know, looking back while Liszt was looking 286 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:13,080 forward. And for me, the same thing sort of happens with 287 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:17,880 Ravel and Debussy. Debussy had his imagination was somehow 288 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:24,920 less fixed than Ravel's. Of course, this is not better or 289 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,800 worse. It's just a characteristic of his music. 290 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,120 Ravel's framework somehow, actually, you know, Ravel is the 291 00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:36,280 next composer. I'm going to record the full music once I 292 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:42,920 finish Debussy. And Ravel is, there's a funny thing about 293 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,760 putting oneself limitations. It actually gives, it can give 294 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,600 you more freedom because Ravel puts strict forms in his, 295 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,880 stricter forms, or more or less than Debussy in his music and 296 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:01,560 somehow creates a magnificent piece of music and his 297 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:05,320 imagination flourishes within that framework. Debussy cannot 298 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:09,080 use really a framework. His imagination is free. He does, 299 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,840 cannot have constraints. So it's, it's coming from his child, 300 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:17,320 childish heart in a way. So I feel very identified and 301 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:18,840 connected with this. 302 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,200 We just got to hear the inside scoop about your future 303 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,600 project, which is Ravel. So we can't wait for that. 304 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:31,880 That's wonderful. And then you also have this another album, 305 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:36,520 well, classical music album, which is called America. When I 306 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,240 heard there were, let's say, original pieces composed by 307 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:46,280 Gershwin, but also, is the summertime variations composed 308 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:46,600 by you? 309 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:48,280 It's my composition. 310 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,800 Yeah, they were incredible. I mean, one of the variations 311 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,640 really literally sounded like Debussy. Yeah, there was that. 312 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:57,560 Most probably, yeah. 313 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:00,200 I love. 314 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:01,880 Yeah, go ahead. 315 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,400 While we're here, Claudio, you mentioned earlier before we 316 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,240 started the interview that you were in Paris for a few years 317 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,640 or in France. How long were you there? 318 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:18,040 Well, I was actually, I never lived in Paris. I lived in the 319 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:22,440 Netherlands and I was studying in Paris. So I was going twice 320 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:27,080 a month and staying a few days to study because it was, it's 321 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:31,240 called La Scola Cantorum and it's a school that was founded 322 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:35,640 by Gabriel Foret, Cesar Frank. And actually, I received, it 323 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,680 was such a special place. I received my lessons in the same 324 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:43,080 place where Cesar Frank's organ was. So he was playing and 325 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:48,040 composing there. It was so inspiring. It was amazing. And 326 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:52,360 you know, this year is Cesar Frank's anniversary. He's also 327 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:56,920 a great composer who I love. And anyways, so I didn't really 328 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,160 live there, but I was studying there. So going there back and 329 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:01,480 forth. 330 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,800 Do you think that has a lot of impact on why you're loving 331 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:07,640 French music so much? 332 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:13,160 Yeah, probably. Yeah, probably. So, probably. So I guess I'm 333 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,360 absolutely in love with Paris. I have two favorite cities in 334 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:19,640 the world, Paris and New York, completely different cities. 335 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:20,840 They're my favorite ones. 336 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:21,640 So you're going to come here then soon. 337 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:21,880 Yeah. 338 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,440 Yes. When you're here, we'll take you everywhere. So please 339 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:27,080 let us know. 340 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:28,440 Yes. 341 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,160 Wonderful. 342 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:29,880 Wonderful. 343 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:35,720 Great. So America, so we live in America. So and then you 344 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,760 are originally from Peru, which is Latin America. So let's 345 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,760 talk about your city, back to America. I love the 346 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:49,000 arrangement of Piazzolla pieces on the piano, right? And then 347 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:49,480 Yeah. 348 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:53,320 I particularly love the Verano Porteño because that's one 349 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,680 of my favorite pieces by Piazzolla. So I want to talk 350 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,600 about Astor Piazzolla. I mean, if you talk about Bandoneo, if 351 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:05,160 you talk about tango music, obviously, he's God. So we have 352 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,720 to talk about him. I don't know where to start even. But tell 353 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,320 us your feeling, your influence from. 354 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,160 Well, I discovered Piazzolla in the same way as I discovered 355 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:22,600 classical composers, which is by a city at home, which my 356 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:29,320 parents had. And the music sounded fascinating to me. I 357 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,760 actually had never heard of Bandoneon before. So I had no 358 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,680 idea where the sound came from. I didn't know what the 359 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,160 instrument looked like because the CD didn't have a picture. 360 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:45,480 So I imagined like some kind of weird instruments. So I could 361 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:50,040 only imagine. And years later, there was of course no 362 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,000 internet. There was internet, but at home when I was a child 363 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,880 in Peru, we didn't have any internet. So I couldn't even 364 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:59,640 research on the net. So years later, I discovered what 365 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:03,240 Bandoneon looked like. And I learned that it was absolutely 366 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:07,960 difficult to play because it was a very complicated 367 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,000 instrument. I fell in love with Piazzolla's music from the 368 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:17,160 first minute because it was spoken in such a direct way, 369 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:21,320 passionate way, and honest way with such sincerity. There's 370 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,240 a phrase by Piazzolla that he said that he plays the 371 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:29,560 Bandoneon standing up while the traditional Bandoneonists play 372 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:35,080 sitting down. And he said that he stood up, he played the 373 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,920 Bandoneon standing up because he wanted to have it closer to 374 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,200 his heart. And that's where all his music came from. And 375 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,960 that's how it sounds to me, Piazzolla's music. 376 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,480 So Claudio, I, you know, to prepare for this interview, I 377 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,600 did some research, but I realized I really don't know what 378 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:57,480 this instrument is. I have never seen one in person. So I'm 379 00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:57,960 very curious. 380 00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:58,680 It's over there. 381 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:04,360 Oh, okay. Can you like maybe describe to our audience that 382 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:07,000 might also be a little clueless like me? 383 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:10,520 Yeah, sure. Sure. Well, I'll bring it closer so that you can 384 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:11,080 get a glance. 385 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:11,960 Yeah. 386 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:12,760 Yeah. Yeah. 387 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:16,120 This is a... 388 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,880 It is similar to an accordion. Yes, actually a kind of like a 389 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:23,080 cousin of the accordion. 390 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:23,720 Oh, good. 391 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:28,680 So it has bellows in the middle, open like this, and it 392 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,320 has the keyboard like this. Yeah. And it's a very, very 393 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:34,520 complicated system. 394 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:35,080 Beautiful. 395 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:40,600 Because you know, when you press a button, and you open 396 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:44,360 the bellows, you get a note. And when you close the bellows, 397 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,880 you get another one. So that means the keyboard changes. 398 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:53,160 So for example, if I have C, I open it, and then I press the 399 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:56,040 same one and close it. And it's a D. 400 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:57,660 Wow. 401 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,400 Yeah. And there's no relation whatsoever. I mean, it's not, 402 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:04,600 there's no interval relationship. It can be a fourth, 403 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,520 it can be a second, a third. So it's really, really crazy 404 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:09,320 instrument to learn. 405 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:14,200 That is beautiful. When did you start learning this instrument? 406 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:19,080 When I was about 21 years old, I was living in Finland. 407 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:23,320 I was living in Finland, and I bought one, I asked for a loan, 408 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:27,240 and I bought one. It came from Buenos Aires, all the way from 409 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:31,000 Buenos Aires. I bought it by mail, so I couldn't even get to 410 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,560 see it. But it was good, unfortunately. 411 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,160 Oh, that's so beautiful. Yeah, I always love accordions. 412 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,840 And, you know, I grew up in China, and over there, in the 413 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,600 beginning, I remember I had the choice of learning keyboard or 414 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,680 accordion, but I was so small. And I was like, I can't carry 415 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,040 this. This is so heavy. You know, so it was like a popular 416 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,920 instrument. And fast forward, my teacher, actually, I still 417 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,480 have a teacher, he's Argentinian, and he plays with 418 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:02,040 accordionist very often. So I get to listen to it. I mean, at 419 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:06,120 least pre pandemic. So it's a beautiful, beautiful instrument 420 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:08,680 that I... Yeah, very, very good. 421 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:15,000 Very warm. And so I know you said you started studying it 422 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,800 when you were older, right? 423 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:19,560 21, yeah. 424 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,320 And how were you able to eventually sort of match that 425 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,480 within the piano? And did you have to like, how long did you 426 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,120 have to practice every day to become really good at it? 427 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:35,080 I actually quit playing the piano in order to be able to 428 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:41,080 learn it. When I finished my bachelor degree, I quit playing 429 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:46,360 piano for almost two years. And I dedicated full time to the 430 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,000 bandoneon. And then I came back to the piano and I did... 431 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:50,120 So you were 21 to 23? 432 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:55,240 Yeah, well, not really. I was 22 or something, I was 23. 433 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,160 When I bought the bandoneon, I still had to finish my piano 434 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,280 studies. And so I did that with the bandoneon. I dedicated 435 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,360 fully to that, to learning music, to listening to music, 436 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,520 transcribing music, and getting to learn the instrument on my 437 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,520 own, of course, because there was no teacher there. 438 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:13,480 Wow. 439 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:17,720 So it was a big, big challenge, very big challenge. But I was 440 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,880 so dedicated that within six months of having had my 441 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,880 bandoneon, I had my first concert. 442 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,640 Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I would love to come to your 443 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,440 bandoneon. When you come to New York, you have to bring... 444 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,080 Well, I'm sure you will. I can't help but be sure. 445 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,640 Yeah, I would love to. I would love to go. 446 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:39,000 When did you realize this was part of your identity as a 447 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,800 musician? Because you were starting out as a classical 448 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:43,880 musician, and then you discovered this instrument, 449 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:49,080 then you got obsessed, and then now this is part of you as an 450 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:50,040 identity, right? 451 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:56,360 Yeah, I couldn't say exactly because, you know, when I bought 452 00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,840 it, I thought that I'm never going to be able to play at a 453 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:04,040 professional level because it's such a difficult instrument to 454 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:07,320 play, and I'm actually a pianist. So, you know, I was kind 455 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:11,400 of lying to myself and putting a limit to myself, which I 456 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,720 shouldn't have. But anyways, I said something, but I acted 457 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:18,520 otherwise. I acted as if I'm going to dedicate to this. 458 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:25,080 And I think that the bandoneon was a part of me even before I 459 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,480 started playing it, because I listened to music with bandoneon 460 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:35,080 before I got the instrument, and it was the music I listened 461 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:39,480 to the most, actually. Piazzolla music and other Argentinian 462 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:41,320 tango players as well. 463 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:48,600 You dedicate this one piece to celebrate Piazzolla's 100th 464 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:53,560 birthday, birthday year, which was last year. So you composed 465 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:56,120 a bandoneon concerto, correct? 466 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,880 Yes, yes, that's right. 467 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,840 Can you tell us a little? And you are about to perform this 468 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,360 next year in the United States, so can you tell us more about 469 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:04,840 it, please? 470 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:09,880 Yeah, sure. This was a commission from an orchestra 471 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,880 here in Spain, in Andalusia in the south. So we did the 472 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:19,560 premiere in April of last year, of 2021. We played two 473 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:24,840 concerts, and then I played it also in July with Malaga 474 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:30,920 Philharmonic in Spain also. And I'll perform it, as you said, 475 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:36,040 in Seattle. I can't remember now if it's in March 2023, and 476 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:38,280 that's going to be with the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra. 477 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,960 And it's a great opportunity. So this concerto is about 30 478 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:49,480 minutes long, it's three movements. So it's an attribute 479 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:54,280 to Piazzolla, and in a sense, it has a lot of Piazzolla 480 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:58,680 elements, but it's modeled as a classical concerto. So it has 481 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:02,040 the classical concerto form, especially the first movement, 482 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:05,640 it is quite structured, you know, with the concerto form. 483 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:13,160 I wanted to create a music which is not too contemporary 484 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:20,520 in sound, so that it can reach, so that a wider amount of 485 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:25,560 public, of audience can understand it. So it is kind of 486 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:29,400 modern in a way, it doesn't use traditional harmony all the 487 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:35,880 time. But it's quite simple, if you compare it to modern 488 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,800 academic music. It's not a tonal, it's always in tonality. 489 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:44,600 And it's very melodic as well. So I wanted to make it very 490 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,400 enjoyable, because it's also quite long, 30 minutes long, 491 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:52,520 it's quite a long piece. For full orchestra as well, there's 492 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:57,800 not many bandoneon pieces for orchestra, not even Piazzolla 493 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,880 himself composed such large scale pieces. I mean, he 494 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:07,000 composed concertos, but the orchestration is usually for a 495 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,040 chamber orchestra, so it is either strings or either strings 496 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,880 and winds, so not a full symphonic orchestra. 497 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,280 Is there any way we can listen to this? 498 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,800 Yeah, it's on YouTube, the premiere is on YouTube. 499 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:24,920 Oh wow, really? Okay, so we can just type in, what's the title 500 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:25,720 of the piece? 501 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,440 Bandoneon Concerto, but now I have to look up how it's 502 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,240 actually put on YouTube, so that you can find it. 503 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:31,720 Yes. 504 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,840 Because I don't remember if it's in English or in Spanish, 505 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:38,680 because it also has a subtitle, which is Concerto Porteño. 506 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:44,680 And Concerto Porteño is like, you know, Estaciones Porteños 507 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:49,480 from Piazzolla. Porteño means that it's from Buenos Aires, 508 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,400 because Buenos Aires is the port city, and the people from 509 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,600 Buenos Aires refer to themselves as Porteños. 510 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:59,080 Oh, I see, okay. Wow. 511 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,880 Yeah, so that's why it's named like this. 512 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,960 Just let us know the link later, and then we'll make sure 513 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:09,800 to put that in the description section in this YouTube, 514 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:14,120 and also in that simple cast, so that everybody can watch it. 515 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:17,880 So with this, you know, Piazzolla influence, you have 516 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:23,800 the album called Obstinado, and are they all pieces by Piazzolla? 517 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,360 No, Obstinado are mostly my own pieces. 518 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:28,920 There's just one or two Piazzolla. 519 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:33,000 Oh, I see, wow. And then you have also that album called 520 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,200 20th Century Tango and Piano Cosmos. 521 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:41,480 And so Piano Cosmos are all original, your piano solo 522 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,960 compositions of tango music. And a 20th Century Tango, 523 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,360 was that arrangement or...? 524 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:52,280 20th Century Tango is an album which I recorded with my wife, 525 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:56,920 who's a pianist, and I'm playing the piano, 526 00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:01,000 and I'm performing bandoneon in this album, so it's a piano 527 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:05,240 bandoneon duo. And the idea there was to play tango 528 00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:08,600 compositions of classical composers. So there's tango of 529 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:15,160 Soti, of Stravinsky, of Milot, Schnittke, and they are paired 530 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,200 with some traditional tango composers such as Dino Salusi, 531 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:22,760 or Horacio Stamponi, or Horacio Salgan, or Piazzolla. 532 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:25,320 So you have a contrast there. 533 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:27,720 Stravinsky wrote a tango music? 534 00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:28,920 He wrote one tango, yeah. 535 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:29,320 Really? 536 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:33,480 It's originally for piano solo. It's a very short tango. 537 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:37,240 Very interesting. Just every day I learn something new. 538 00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:39,960 That's why I love what I do with this podcast. 539 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,280 You have worked with a lot of orchestras, right? 540 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,000 As a pianist and also as a bandoneonist. 541 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,880 I'm still learning the language of the bandoneon. 542 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,360 It's hard, yeah. It's hard to play and it's hard to pronounce as well. 543 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:53,640 That's right. I have to learn how to do the pronunciation first. 544 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,880 So how was your experience working with all these different orchestras? 545 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:05,480 Well, fantastic. Last year I played with quite a few, maybe like 30 or something. 546 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:06,120 Oh my goodness. 547 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:09,640 Yeah, in Spain. So practically all the Spanish orchestras. 548 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,000 And it has been great, really, really great. 549 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,200 I've performed my own concerto. I've performed Piazzolla's concerto. 550 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:22,680 I've performed Gershwin. I've performed some piano arrangements of myself, 551 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:28,840 of Latin American pieces. So it's been a lot of different repertoire. 552 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:33,960 I love playing with orchestras. It's one of the things I enjoy the most. 553 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:38,440 Usually you don't get to do that so much, but this year has been quite unusual 554 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:40,840 in the number of orchestras that I've played with. 555 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:45,720 And I think you're really setting up a good example for all the musicians in the world 556 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:50,600 that it's possible. Even during a pandemic, you're able to work with so many different 557 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:55,800 orchestras. It must have been a very exhilarating experience during this time. 558 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,440 But live music is not as present as it used to be. 559 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:08,360 So it's beautiful. And I know that you sometimes play, we talked about this before, 560 00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:15,320 you play on one hand on piano and the other hand on bodonia. How do you even balance that? 561 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:19,080 Well, that's a crazy thing. 562 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:24,120 No, actually, I saw a Finnish bandonianist doing that. 563 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:31,160 Yeah, a Finnish bandonian is called Mikko Helenius. He's a wonderful musician and a friend of mine. 564 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:36,680 And once he tried it out and I thought, oh, that's crazy. That's impossible. 565 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:45,160 He must be a genius. And I told this once to another friend of mine who I often play with, 566 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:50,760 who's Erwin Schrott, he's a world famous baritone opera singer. And he told me, 567 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:54,200 next concert we do together, we're going to play like this. You're going to play piano 568 00:37:54,200 --> 00:38:00,440 and bodonian and I'm going to sing together with you. So he challenged me. And so I took 569 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:07,080 the challenge and we did it. We played in the Munich Opera House, over 2000 people. 570 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:12,360 And I did that there for the first time together with him. 571 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:19,080 Wow, so special. I think these days that we were talking about social media, right? That's like 572 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:24,920 the new age. A lot of things really happen with like these 100 day practice challenges or, you 573 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:29,800 know, like all kinds of different challenges it comes about. And then we kind of force to our 574 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:35,640 limit. Okay, let's do it publicly. And so are you just mostly doing this for fun or do you intend 575 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:43,960 to actually make a recording of that? I was doing it just for fun in the past years, but actually 576 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:51,160 my next show, my next big project, which is my next album, I'm going to perform it in that way. 577 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:57,080 So I'm going to perform on piano and on bandoneon, both separately and together. And I'm busy now 578 00:38:57,080 --> 00:39:01,800 learning all the parts. The first show is going to be in April, the end of April. So I've still got 579 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:06,600 a couple of months to learn it, but it's really probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. 580 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:15,960 So no, no Rachmaninoff or no Ravel is as hard as this. I'm sitting here thinking like, you know, 581 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:20,280 before the show you were sharing that you work out every morning and listen to the podcast. I'm 582 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:25,640 thinking, wow, this has to be like, it's not exactly light, right? It's pretty heavy too. So 583 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:34,360 to be able to balance and that. Yes, but I found a way. I've tried it out quite a lot and I found a 584 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:41,400 way. Actually I use a strap to strap it to my leg, to one of my legs. So then I have a better balance 585 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:47,080 and it doesn't fall out because that was actually the main issue, how to actually get a good sound 586 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:53,240 because if you're not in control of the instrument, then the sound is weak. Wow. So that's such a unique 587 00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:58,520 combination. And you're probably one of the first people to do this in the whole entire world, you 588 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:04,760 know? And so we can't wait to, you know, hear the recording of it eventually. It's so cool. 589 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:11,480 That's right. Was that a pandemic project or like something to do during? Okay. So we have to speak 590 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:18,040 about pandemic. Obviously this has changed all of us, especially particularly musicians, how 591 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:24,600 not only we lost the opportunity of live performance, but, and most of us, that was the 592 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:32,120 livelihood. Now then, you know, we had to shift attention toward more digital world and then maybe 593 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:37,320 that's one of the reasons you started some something silly, something to have fun, but yet now 594 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:42,280 like maybe you're trying to make recordings or something like that. So can you tell us about 595 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:50,600 the effect of pandemic? Sure. Yeah, actually the pandemic, when it hits, suddenly all my concerts 596 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:59,000 got canceled, of course, and I spent most of the year with no performances, no income. So it was a 597 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:05,640 very tough time emotionally and financially, just like for everybody else. But I think it was 598 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:11,080 probably one of the most positive things that has happened to me in my life was to 599 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:19,000 get the opportunity to shut everything off and rethink many things musically, personally. 600 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:26,760 It has been a really new beginning for me as a person, especially as a person. And of course, 601 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:32,840 this affects the music because I don't think that you can separate one from the other. I learned to 602 00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:39,000 be absolutely honest with myself and with the decisions that I make and with the things that I 603 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:47,720 value and the things I stand by. And this affected all the musical decisions and paths that I took. 604 00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:58,920 Piano Cosmos actually is, which is a series of five EP, so five short albums, was the product of the 605 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:08,120 pandemic. So I sat at the piano every day for hours just writing music and playing. And I selected 606 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:14,840 pieces from what I wrote and I decided to go to a studio, record them and publish them without 607 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:20,840 really expecting to do much with that in terms of concerts, because of course there is no possibility 608 00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:28,120 of concerts. But I just wanted the music to exist other than just in my head. And that's why Piano 609 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:36,120 Cosmos exists. And in a kind of sense, which is my upcoming album and project, of which Genesis is 610 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:49,400 the first single, it's actually a conceptual album. I don't really speak about it in a concise or open 611 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:58,600 way, but I planned it from... I did a short story. I imagined a short story, a story of things coming 612 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:07,880 from the subconscious, like the spiritual side of oneself and how many things are not erased, 613 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:16,680 but blocked by all the things that we have to go through in our lives. Even artists tend to 614 00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:23,320 go in straightforward paths. You study, you try to get a job or you try to get concerts or you try 615 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:28,760 to do this or that, because you know the paths of all the people that have come before you. So you try 616 00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:33,800 to imitate the ones that you prefer, the ones you like the most or the ones that you would 617 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:42,600 wish that you would do. And on the way you might forget or you might oversee many things which 618 00:43:43,240 --> 00:43:50,360 could be important to you, which are important actually to you. And one of them is for me the 619 00:43:50,360 --> 00:44:00,520 connection to other people. And this is something that I really concentrate a lot in my music and 620 00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:05,960 in my performances. And that's one of the things I actually love about social media is that I can 621 00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:15,560 directly communicate with people in an open and honest way, and in an immediate way, by a post or 622 00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:22,600 by a live or by a real or by whatever. And I take this in the music that I perform also publicly. 623 00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:29,240 And in kind of sense this project which started in the pandemic has all to do with that. It has to 624 00:44:29,240 --> 00:44:34,840 do with everything that comes from the subconscious and all the possibilities that we don't nourish 625 00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:42,680 because of these blockages. And so it's really the story of the journey of the person from the 626 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:50,440 subconscious towards a sort of enlightenment and connection with everything and with the surroundings 627 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:57,480 and with the people. So yeah, that's kind of like the short version of the story in kind of sense. 628 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:07,000 That's pretty deep. And yeah, but these things you think during a time like pandemic where, you know, 629 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:13,800 everything has stopped and you just have to, I don't know, it's a scary time and it makes us feel so 630 00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:22,280 vulnerable and search or answer. And sometimes you, whether you are religious or not, you just look up 631 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:28,600 and just pray for something, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because there's things that are just bigger 632 00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:37,800 than oneself. And it's very easy to forget if you live a busy life in which you concentrate on just 633 00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:42,200 a few things, even if they're very important things. Once you concentrate on a few things, 634 00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:48,200 you're immediately overlooking others. And everybody is destined to do that, of course, 635 00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:54,280 but there are certain levels, you know. You can overlook a few things or many things. And 636 00:45:54,280 --> 00:46:02,520 and I took a holistic, I don't know if that's the right word, but a holistic approach to life, 637 00:46:02,520 --> 00:46:09,880 concentrating in all of my surroundings. I started to meditate, I started to read a lot 638 00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:17,800 and listen to podcasts a lot and that being more aware of the immediacy of the moment. 639 00:46:18,440 --> 00:46:21,480 Have you started meditating for a long time or is this 640 00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:28,760 a new thing during the pandemic? During the pandemic, I started actually, it's been maybe 641 00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:35,800 a year and a half since I was meditating. And I've been wanting to do it before because I 642 00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:44,040 learned all the benefits it had, but I didn't know how to do it. So I investigated a lot. And 643 00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:54,200 finally I found that transcendental meditation works very well for me. Yes, I'm a TM practitioner. 644 00:46:54,200 --> 00:47:01,560 Yes, wonderful. Yeah, well, that's wonderful. Yeah, so I do it every day and it has changed. 645 00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:06,600 I mean, a lot has changed because of that. Of course, it's not only that, it's an approach to 646 00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:12,520 everything because once you start changing one thing, like you want to have better health, 647 00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:17,560 and so you start eating better, but maybe you also want to go to the next level and you meditate, 648 00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:24,360 then you do exercise and then good things just start piling up. So it's a, I like to 649 00:47:25,720 --> 00:47:33,080 try to get used to good habits. We do this thing where we try to keep ourselves busy all the time 650 00:47:33,080 --> 00:47:38,520 because we don't want to be in that place, you know, because it's such a scary place to be. 651 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:45,560 But this pandemic taught us it's not as scary as you think, and you have to come back to yourself, 652 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:51,800 you know, and meditation, of course, is one of the tools to help you to get there. But 653 00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:57,080 there are so many other ways to connect with yourself. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. 654 00:47:57,960 --> 00:48:04,600 So you mentioned briefly about, you know, Genesis. So let's talk about Genesis, right? So that's, 655 00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:11,960 that's the first thing I heard on Instagram, and I just couldn't help but sharing that to Clara 656 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:19,000 first. And Clara was like, Oh my gosh, who is this? What is this? And then this is a new level of 657 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:27,320 tango. I mean, you know, you talk about Piazzolla is nuevo tango, but what is this Genesis? So tell 658 00:48:27,320 --> 00:48:35,160 us about this, you know, your composition, but also, there is an album, this is one of the 12 659 00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:42,040 pieces of this album coming up. Yes. So can you tell us a little bit more? Yeah, sure. Well, this, 660 00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:50,680 this album is called Imkandescence, as I said, and Genesis is the first piece. It's, I mean, 661 00:48:50,680 --> 00:48:59,720 the album is a mixture of many of my influences as a composer, as a classical composer, as a 662 00:48:59,720 --> 00:49:08,520 tango performer, and as a jazz musician. So it's, I don't like really putting labels, but if I would 663 00:49:08,520 --> 00:49:17,000 have to say what it is, it's kind of like a jazz fusion album, I would say. So when you hear 664 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:22,280 bandoneon, you hear tango. That's kind of, if you know the bandoneon, if you know the tango, 665 00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:28,440 the sound is of the tango. So there's always going to be a little bit of that. But I always, 666 00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:35,880 I always try to take the bandoneon out of the context of tango, because actually its origin 667 00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:41,880 has nothing to do with tango. It's a German instrument, which was invented to play in churches, 668 00:49:41,880 --> 00:49:50,600 you know, church music and salon music as a piano would play. And it got to Argentina to the tango 669 00:49:50,600 --> 00:50:00,760 by accident. So it's really a versatile instrument. And in Genesis, and in the whole of the album 670 00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:06,840 Imkandescence, I, is one of the things I do to show this versatility of the instrument. And of 671 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:12,440 course, in this album, I also play the piano. So I overlap, I overdub myself playing the piano and 672 00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:17,480 playing the bandoneon. And actually sometimes there's even more than one bandoneon or even more 673 00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:23,640 than one piano at the same time. So I play over myself a few times. Of course, the show is going 674 00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:32,440 to be just in quartet format. I have to rearrange the music so that it fits. But the album, I really 675 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:39,960 didn't want to put any limitations to myself. If I thought that a second piano is needed here, I just 676 00:50:39,960 --> 00:50:47,320 put it in. And that's it, because it's such a conceptual album. And Genesis is, I spoke about 677 00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:53,320 the subconscious. So Genesis actually does subconscious, is the piece in which many themes 678 00:50:53,320 --> 00:51:01,720 will reappear in later pieces throughout the album. And this is generating all these ideas 679 00:51:01,720 --> 00:51:07,480 and all these melodies are generating in the subconscious. But they don't really get a proper 680 00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:12,360 development or they don't really get to somewhere. They're just like floating around and then 681 00:51:12,360 --> 00:51:17,000 suddenly they finished and a new one comes. So that was the idea of Genesis. That's why it's such a 682 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:25,240 crazy piece. So you briefly mentioned to me, Astat, so there's a series of pieces. So I think I saw 683 00:51:25,240 --> 00:51:31,880 another piece, but the same design album cover. So Genesis, and what's the second piece that you just, 684 00:51:32,600 --> 00:51:41,160 what's the name of that piece? The second piece is called Alone. And it was released last Friday. 685 00:51:41,160 --> 00:51:48,120 So you can listen to it on Spotify, iTunes, everywhere. And then you are slowly producing 686 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:56,200 each one of these until May. Yeah, so the album is fully produced, but I'm releasing 687 00:51:57,160 --> 00:52:02,200 a single, one single each month, not the whole album. So I'm going to release four singles. 688 00:52:02,200 --> 00:52:06,440 And after the fourth single, then I will release the full album. It will come out in May. 689 00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:14,200 Okay. Listeners and viewers, be sure to check out his Genesis and Alone. They are out right now on 690 00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:23,080 Spotify or also Apple iTunes. Yeah, iTunes, Google Music. These are all of the training platforms. 691 00:52:23,720 --> 00:52:30,360 This is our tradition and we're honored to have so many amazing artists come to our show. So any 692 00:52:30,360 --> 00:52:38,280 last word of advice for young musicians and young piano music learners? Well, there's so many different 693 00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:44,680 valuable advices that I could say. And each case is, each individual case is special. 694 00:52:46,200 --> 00:52:57,080 But I believe that to be a musician or to be, to have any profession, you need to have such deep 695 00:52:57,080 --> 00:53:03,720 love for what you do. It might be a bit difficult or it might not necessarily be the thing for you, 696 00:53:03,720 --> 00:53:10,760 but that's probably one of the biggest pieces of advice I would say. 697 00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:16,120 It's so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that. Yeah. Our audience will benefit from all 698 00:53:16,120 --> 00:53:21,240 these very much, you know, and you're really making yourself as this 21st century musician 699 00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:27,240 through all different media, you know, social media and your different way of presenting 700 00:53:27,240 --> 00:53:32,200 yourself and the music that you're playing and different instruments. That is really cool. So 701 00:53:32,200 --> 00:53:39,560 thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. A big pleasure. Now we are going into fun segment of 702 00:53:39,560 --> 00:53:46,920 this show. So we're going to end on the positive note, very much pun intended here. So let's start. 703 00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:55,080 Claudio, we will ask fun questions and we would like for you to answer them with the shortest 704 00:53:55,080 --> 00:54:02,680 answers possible for each question. I'll try my best. Okay. Nothing to be scared of. Okay. 705 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:11,480 What is your comfort food? Hamburgers. Ooh, American. Cats or dogs? Dogs. 706 00:54:12,680 --> 00:54:21,880 What is your word or words to live by? Passion and purpose. Passion and purpose. Amazing. Excellent. 707 00:54:21,880 --> 00:54:30,360 What is the most important quality you look for in other people? Honesty. What is the worst quality 708 00:54:30,360 --> 00:54:38,600 in people you want to stay away from? Falsehood. Name three people who inspire you, living or dead? 709 00:54:39,160 --> 00:54:46,920 Arthur Rubinstein, Astor Piazzolla, Bill Evans. Bill Evans. Great. Yeah. Great artist. 710 00:54:46,920 --> 00:54:54,680 Oh, yes. All right. So name one piece in your current playlist. Genesis. 711 00:54:56,040 --> 00:55:05,080 Yeah. Yes. And then it's in our playlist as well. So check it out. Excellent choice. Our story is 712 00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:11,560 this week. So tune in and one book title in your library. Oh, how do you say this in English? 713 00:55:11,560 --> 00:55:20,840 You can say it in Spanish. El lobo estepario, which is the wolf, something like the wolf from 714 00:55:20,840 --> 00:55:27,560 Hermann Hesse. Interesting. It's a classic. I just read it. I finished it last week for the second 715 00:55:27,560 --> 00:55:33,560 time. So that's why it's fresh in my mind. Okay. Do they have an English version? For sure. Yeah, 716 00:55:33,560 --> 00:55:42,040 for sure. But I just don't know the English title, but it's one of his top works. So something to do 717 00:55:42,040 --> 00:55:49,880 with the wolf. Something to do with the wolf. You get only one song or piece to listen to for the 718 00:55:49,880 --> 00:55:59,800 rest of your life. What is it? Well, that's very easy. That's the Brunch Wreck in. Yes. Actually, 719 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:05,720 previous guest said the same thing. Yes. Oh, really? You know, I've thought about that question many 720 00:56:05,720 --> 00:56:12,360 times in my life. And actually it is one of my top pieces, but it's not necessarily my top piece. 721 00:56:12,360 --> 00:56:20,520 But the reason why I would choose it is because it's so long that I can't discover more things. 722 00:56:20,520 --> 00:56:25,560 And it also has so much orchestration because otherwise I could also choose a very short piece 723 00:56:25,560 --> 00:56:33,000 like a Brunch Intermezzo. Brunch is my favorite composer, by the way. But it's so short that 724 00:56:33,000 --> 00:56:38,760 then three minutes I would have to listen over and over again. Yeah, yeah, that's right. Absolutely. 725 00:56:38,760 --> 00:56:46,520 So it's kind of a logical based answer. All right. Well, last question, last not least, music is blank. 726 00:56:46,520 --> 00:56:54,120 Fill in the blank. Life. Music is life. Wonderful. Beautiful. Ding ding ding ding ding. You win. 727 00:56:54,120 --> 00:57:02,200 You won. Yay. Thank you so much. That was really fun. Yeah, it was nice. Yeah. Thank you so much. 728 00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:10,120 I was surprised I could answer so briefly. Oh, really good. You're very, very brilliant. 729 00:57:10,680 --> 00:57:16,680 And then thank you so much for this wonderful conversation. Very inspiring. Yeah, I think so. 730 00:57:16,680 --> 00:57:23,960 I'm sure it was the same for our audience as well. So sadly, this concludes this episode of the Piano 731 00:57:23,960 --> 00:57:29,880 Parade. And thank you, Claudio, for joining us today and sharing your wonderful stories, insights 732 00:57:29,880 --> 00:57:37,560 and expertise. And you can find more information about him on his website at ClaudioConstantini.com. 733 00:57:37,560 --> 00:57:46,440 And I want to encourage you, audience, to listen to his latest song, a piece alone and also Genesis 734 00:57:46,440 --> 00:57:54,520 and more, so much more. So all the links are listed in the description. Thank you so much. 735 00:57:54,520 --> 00:57:59,640 Thank you so much. Yes. And the fans for tuning in today. If you enjoyed today's episode, please 736 00:57:59,640 --> 00:58:06,680 read and review on whatever podcasting platform you use. If you're watching us on YouTube, 737 00:58:06,680 --> 00:58:13,000 remember to hit the thumbs up button and be sure to subscribe to our channel. You can also find us 738 00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:19,640 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. The links are in the description below. If you're 739 00:58:19,640 --> 00:58:26,680 interested to be the guest or want to recommend someone to be on our show, or you'd like to sponsor 740 00:58:26,680 --> 00:58:34,200 or collaborate with us, shoot us an email at the pianopodnyc.gmail.com or send us a direct message 741 00:58:34,200 --> 00:58:41,320 via social media. We'll see you for the next episode of the Piano Parade. Bye everyone. And 742 00:58:41,320 --> 00:58:48,360 thank you, Claudio. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's very fun. Big pleasure. Gracias. Thank you. Gracias. 743 00:58:48,360 --> 00:59:15,400 Gracias.