Hello everyone, welcome back to the PianoPod, I'm Clara Zhang.
I'm Yukimi Sang.
For anyone listening or watching our show for the first time, welcome!
Yukimi and I are both classical pianists and piano teachers from New York City, and this
podcast is for anyone who plays the piano for fun, loves listening to piano music, or
for someone who is currently pursuing a career in piano or works in industry professionally,
or anyone who is simply curious about the world of piano music.
In each episode, we interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground
in the music industry.
Before getting started, we want to thank our listeners for tuning in.
Please rate our show and review on Apple Podcasts because every rating review will help people
find our show.
Today I want to start this episode with a fun game with our audience.
Yukimi, what do you think?
Okay, sure.
Alright, so audience, and dear listeners and viewers, when you hear someone who is studying
music intensively to become a professional musician, what is the name of the school that
pops into your head first?
I mean, I can think of a few, you know, but I know this answer.
Okay, alright, let's say it, one, two, three, Julliard.
Okay, well, yeah, ding ding ding, we are winning the urgent fire question already.
We have had so many guests in our previous episodes that, you know, have talked about
Julliard, either have studied there or have taught there, but well, we have today two
very special guests, and they are faculty members at Julliard, also fabulous pianists.
But most importantly, guess what?
They are faculties of Julliard in my hometown in Tianjin, China.
Wow.
You know that?
Wow, that's so cool.
Yeah, I mean, I've heard there is a Julliard school open in Tianjin, but I have never met
anyone who, you know, is affiliated to Tianjin Julliard school.
So I can't wait.
So tell me, because I've never been to China, actually.
So where is Tianjin?
So Tianjin is the city near the coast, it's on the ocean, it's about two hours driving
from Beijing.
And, but with the bullet train right now, it's like a 21 or 23 minutes, it's very fast.
It's considered like the door to Beijing.
So even back in the days, people, you know, during the war or whatever time they come
on the boat and they will come to my city and it's considered the cultural center, you
know, it's a lot of people even in China, it's a, it's really the second biggest city,
you know, near Shanghai and Tianjin, Beijing, but only if you're really into comedies or
food, you know, Tianjin.
Yeah, and the music obviously also was, so I'm very proud that the Julliard came to my
hometown, you know.
So for the purpose of this episode, why don't you tell us a bit about Julliard, the Julliard
school?
Absolutely.
Yes.
So Julliard school is a private performing art conservatory established in 1905 in New
York City.
It is widely regarded as one of the world's leading drama, music and dance schools.
In 2015, the Julliard school announced a major expansion into Tianjin during a visit by China's
first lady Peng Liyuan.
Since then the Tianjin Julliard school TJS is growing.
It became the first performing art institute in China to confer a US accredited master
of music degree in 2021.
They also have different components such as a Saturday pre-college program for students
age 8 to 18, continued education programs for professionals and adult learners, and
public performances and more.
Wow, that is incredible.
You must be so proud of your hometown and the expansion.
It's quite amazing.
I mean, it seems like the world seems to be coming together or coming closer or connected
through music, right?
That is very true.
Yes, and that's why we are so excited to welcome our today's guest, Dr. Qi Wenxiao and Dr.
Konstantinos Valianados, both graduates of the Julliard school and now they are both
faculty members at Julliard Tianjin.
I cannot wait to hear about their stories and experiences.
And for those young musicians, students watching or listening to this episode who dream of
attending Julliard one day, we want to dedicate this episode to you.
We hope this interview will inspire you to practice more and create beautiful music every
single day.
So, Yukimi, let's get the show started, shall we?
Yes.
You are listening to the PianoPod, where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry
about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century.
So, we are very excited to introduce our guests of episode number nine, Dr. Qi Wenxiao and
Dr. Konstantinos Valianados or Mrs. and Mr. Valentinos Xiao Piano Duo, a talented piano
duo as well as wonderful solo pianist and teachers.
So welcome to our show.
Welcome.
Thank you so much for coming.
Thank you for having us.
Thank you, Clara, Yukimi.
Thank you.
Of course.
How is Qianjin?
Everything's good.
It's getting warmer and sunny today.
Right.
I'm sure everybody's preparing for Chinese New Year.
It's coming up soon, right?
Everybody's preparing for Chinese New Year.
Everybody's preparing for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
That's right.
That's very exciting.
Yeah.
We hope to attend, but we will see this.
Oh, you might.
So for our audience, let me start by introducing Dr. Qi Wenxiao, a Taiwanese American pianist,
standby artist.
She has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States,
Europe and Asia in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Recital Hall, David Griffin Hall
at Lincoln Center, Rubenstein Hall at the Munich and Taiwan Concert Hall.
She has made her concerto debut at the age of 16 with Soybo Youth Symphony in the Philippines
with performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.
Dr. Xiao served as assistant professor of piano at West Virginia University and Southwest
Eastern University, and she currently teaches at the Juilliard School.
Now let me introduce Dr. Konstantinos Valianatos.
He is a native of Athens, Greece, founding member of the award-winning Olympus Piano
Trio.
As an advocate for new music, he works with living composers and has premiered their work
such as Christos Hattis' piano work Face to Face.
Dr. Valianatos recorded works by Mendelssohn, Ravel, Hattis and Dmitri Smirnov for LP classics
and naxos.
He has also collaborated with numerous orchestras and performed in venues such as the White
House, Sal Corteau in Paris, Carnegie Halls, Benedict Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall
in Aspen.
He was honored by the President of Greece, Kostas Stephanopoulos, with the highest accolade
from the Academy of Athens in Greece for his work and artistic integrity.
Oh, so great.
Thank you so much.
It's such an honor to have you guys on.
So again, we've been in contact since the summer and we've been waiting for forever.
You know, actually for me, I wanted to introduce you guys around the Chinese New Year time.
So it all worked out perfectly.
And let me just tell our audience a little bit how I met Dr. Xiao.
Several years ago, I think when I first opened the studio and I was putting on some piano
recitals in the Stanley Hall in New York City, and I remember one of my friends was working
with you and I went in one day and, you know, this lovely associate came to greet me and
we kept in touch.
A little before I knew, you know, a few years later, you've moved to my hometown Tianjin
to teach for Juilliard.
Oh my goodness.
And I'm so glad we kept in touch.
And I've been so inspired by both of your work and I've watched all of your videos and
trying to tell my parents to come to your show.
I mean, COVID has changed everything, but they said they are going to go and drive over
there.
Actually, you're in Tanggu District, right?
Near Tanggu.
Near Tanggu, in Binghai.
Binghai, Xinxu.
Binghai, right.
That's where I spent a lot of my summers in the past.
My grandma, grandparents had a house in Tanggu.
So when I was a child, I would, you know, sometimes spend summers there.
It's a really nice area for the Tianjin Juilliard School to be located at.
I think it was a very smart and just the perfect place for the new school, for the new satellite
school, the Juilliard School.
If you want to leave, you just get on a boat, right?
I went to Japan.
We could swim back to our boat.
All the way back.
We are in front of a river that if you take it by its all the way through, you can arrive
right in front of the Juilliard School.
Oh my goodness.
Well, I can't wait to come to visit you guys one day when I'm finally allowed to come back
into China again.
So yeah, so before, when we, you know, as we're starting, we just, we have some questions.
We have a lot of questions, but in the beginning, I would like to know what was your childhood
like as a musician?
Like, you know, were you from musical families?
Were you exposed to music or literature very early on?
And most importantly, how did you guys meet?
The juicy questions.
That's right.
So,
Okay, sure.
Yeah.
Well, I grew up in Athens, Greece, and I started playing the piano probably around
the age of seven.
And my parents just loved music in general.
Not only classical music, actually.
I didn't grow up with classical music listening at home.
Greek, you know, traditional music or art music, rock music.
Classical music was something I was playing a lot of, but I was listening to a different
kind of music when I was growing up.
And my sister had started, this is a year older.
She had started playing the piano before I did, about one year before I did.
And so that's kind of how it all started.
So you were jealous.
You were like, let me practice.
I think I really, really liked the sound of the piano.
So then my parents gave it a shot.
We had the instrument at home.
And one thing led to another, and here we are.
Oh my goodness.
That's amazing.
What about you, Dr. Xiao?
Well, so my mom was a dance and art teacher and she loved music.
So she bought a piano before I was born.
And she was teaching at home.
She had a dance studio.
So I grew up dancing.
And then later on at age four, started piano.
Then just really loved it.
You know, still danced throughout high school.
And then probably at age 12, decided that music is what I want to do for life.
And I focus on music.
And I also went to specialized music school since age six and all the way until I left
for the States.
So it's sort of being immersed in art from a young age.
And the most important questions.
Oh, how do you mean?
Who's going to tell the story?
You tell it better than I do.
I mean, it is so rare really.
But we were going to actually interview another couple that also they both teach at Julliard
and we haven't worked out the time yet, but it's amazing.
But sometimes I also think about this as a musician, we spend so much time in the practice
rooms, right?
Sometimes we have to meet our colleague.
So tell us what was it like?
So we met in a practice room?
No, we didn't.
No, you didn't?
We were just fighting for practice rooms.
No, we actually met at the Aspen Music Festival.
We were both at Julliard at the time, but we didn't meet there.
We met at the festival and I was my teacher, Vada Kemplinski's teaching assistant.
And he was there as a student.
And he somehow we met at the airport.
Just all really nice coincident.
One thing led to the other.
And here we are.
Wow, two years later.
Why it's been that long?
Oh my goodness.
2010.
I saw some lovely photos of your wedding.
I know you guys.
That was a fun evening.
Yes.
Well, Greek wedding, right?
It's like the movie, my Greek wedding.
Lots of people, lots of good food and friendship.
Lots of dancing.
Dancing until 5 a.m.
Oh my goodness.
That's the one.
That's how you do it.
Oh my goodness.
I still have the blisters in my feet to prove the fact that we have the wedding.
You have to today, right?
Wonderful.
So then from there, I just have to turn the clock a little backward, but I am also curious
to know about your Julliard experiences.
Also you went through Julliard from undergraduate till doctorate degree.
That's a big achievement.
We actually interviewed quite a few Julliard graduate artists such as Jeffrey Beagle, Frederick
Chu, Vera Anselmo.
Last night we just released an episode with Lowell Lieberman.
Yes, we saw.
Oh, you did?
Very well done.
Thank you.
Yeah.
But he so in the conversations, like, you know, he was saying there's a Julliard that
he was in back in those days and then now.
So I'm just curious to know, you know, about your experiences as a student at Julliard.
Well, yeah, so I was there for essentially 10 years, for years, for years of actually
11 years, I think four years of my bachelor, two years of my master's and then five years
of my doctoral studies.
So it was a long time at the school and it has been a transformative experience for me.
Of course, when I first came to Julliard, you know, I came straight from Greece.
It was the first time out of the country officially.
I studied in Paris, I studied in other places, but I never truly lived.
I was more, you know, traveling back and forth.
So going abroad to study is just such a it's an experience that you can't really put into
words that, you know, everything about it is new and fresh and challenging and rewarding.
And it's just an incredible experience.
Of course, at Julliard, you know, we had absolutely top notch education, wonderful faculty members,
you know, all of our piano teachers, Jerome Lowenthal, Julia Martin, Veda Kaplinsky.
They all have contributed so much to our growth as musicians, as artists, as persons.
They're more like mentors.
I think I talk about both of ourselves.
They're both more like mentors than just, you know, piano teachers.
And of course, everything else about the Julliard experience, you know, living in New York
and everything that comes with that, you know, you live there.
The cosmopolitan aspects of, you know, meeting everyone from all places around the world,
trying food and cuisines and arts and, you know, being at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan
Opera is there, the New York Ballet.
It's cataclysmic in a way.
You're just so much and you're bombarded from all sides at all times with information and
with, you know.
So it's hard to explain exactly what all of these years meant for me.
But I think I wouldn't be the same if I hadn't gone there and if I hadn't met the people
that I did.
As much of their, you know, we can't deny their struggles to, you know, living in that
tough big city is hard in New York, a place especially like New York.
And it's not always the cleanest place.
You know, sometimes it's like, oh my gosh.
But then there are so many things that are amazing, as you say, there's the really community
of artists and their surrounding.
And also there are, let's see, stimulation, right?
There's always this inspiration and stimulation everywhere.
It's like endless.
Yeah.
That's wonderful.
How about you?
Oh yeah.
I have very, in a way, very similar experience and I love every minute of it at Juilliard.
I really did.
I saw, I know a lot of people describe Juilliard as a very competitive place, negatively.
But I had a complete opposite experience.
I felt being able to be in that environment, being together with extremely talented group
of people, you actually learn and you better yourself because you learn from your colleagues.
You learn from hearing them play.
And it's just interesting.
I remember as freshmen, everybody's like so careful in the piano performance class.
You want to be well prepared.
The second and third year, everybody gets a little relaxed.
People started, you know, stop practicing.
And then the fourth year, your senior year, everyone just, the level of playing just jump
a whole notch.
And because of the auditions are coming up and it was really comforting for me to see
that we all improved together.
Everybody sounded, you know, at a different level.
So I feel in addition to, you know, what my teachers have taught me, Vedaka, Kupinski,
Jerome, Luentho, which were, I'm forever grateful and indebted to them that I learned so much
from my colleagues and friends.
And I was really lucky to have a group of very close friends, my childhood friends from
Taiwan who all entered Juilliard, four of us at the same year.
So I had a strong bond and community of that group of friends.
And we all sort of experienced everything together.
So New York to me is a really special place.
And I really hope to go back one day to, I did live over visit.
So right now you're in Juilliard, Tianjin, right?
The Tianjin Juilliard School.
Yes.
Yeah.
Tianjin Juilliard School.
And so are the students all from China that's from the region or from, well, maybe not from
that region only, but from the continent of Asia, China?
Asia.
So we have two programs where the pre-college program as well as the grad program.
For pre-college is mostly students from within China.
Yeah.
Okay.
So from Tianjin or Shandong nearby province to as far as Guangdong or Tibet.
Oh, wow.
Yes.
We have students from Tibet.
And for the grad program, I say some of them are from China, but a lot of them are from
abroad.
International.
International students.
From America, from Europe, from Hungary, Canada.
So it's a good mix of...
Wow.
That's very nice to know.
So what's like overall culture on campus?
Because we just talked about New York.
So New York, it's an origin, right?
It's the original Juilliard.
Now it's the new campus in Tianjin and with the new people, new campus, and probably you're
experiencing something different from what you've experienced.
Basically the Tianjin Juilliard School as an institution, the way I think it has been
conceived and the way it operates is not meant to be either competitive with the Juilliard
School in New York or really other maybe universities around the world.
It's sort of...
It has created its own community and its own culture.
And the kind of programs that we have, even for the graduate program, it's chamber music
and orchestral studies and collaborative piano.
It all focuses on collaboration.
So even within China, it is not meant to be competitive with all of the other conservatories,
like Central Conservatory or Shanghai Conservatory.
It's meant to be something in addition or a different path, a different experience.
There's this whole system, the fuzhong system here in China, where students can go to one
of the conservatories around China and also be involved in schooling at the same time.
Oh, I see.
This is a different system that we have here.
A pre-college program conceived in the style of pre-college programs in the United States.
So it is a Saturday program.
It doesn't have anything else.
It's not a school Monday through Friday.
Students can still go to regular school, public schools, and have professional music studies
on a Saturday.
I remember reading this article.
I think it was a Forbes.
My friend Sophie, also you guys's colleague, I'm sure she shares some articles.
And then these students were flying in every weekend to study at Tianjin Junior.
Is that how they do it?
It's similar actually in the pre-college in New York.
People from all around the states are flying, even from Canada, if I remember correctly,
were flying for a Saturday lesson, you know, full week of classes and then went back.
The students are very committed to improving themselves and really learning through education.
And I think Tianjin Junior School really tries to bring the essence of Western education
into China.
We teach in English.
Okay.
So they have to learn English.
They have English classes, English for musical purpose.
We focus on collaboration.
So all the students have to take chamber music.
So it's a different concept of education.
And I think it's a quite healthy one for our students.
Yeah, quite progressive in so many ways.
Yeah.
Although, of course, classical music training itself is traditional.
Yeah, that's very exciting.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
There's a lot to be said about the Tianjin Junior School and the way it handles education
in China.
And so I think a lot of our students and our families are starting to see the merit of
being enrolled in a program like this, as opposed to, let's say, the Fujian system or
the other conservatories around China.
Again, it's not meant to be competitive.
It's just a different experience, a different way.
And this system, this pre-college system might not work for everybody because the kids have
a very intense and packed day.
Their day starts at 8.30 in the morning and often ends at 6.30 p.m.
And in fact, during the travel time, they work very hard.
And factoring on top of that, that Monday through Friday, the schooling in China is
absolutely insane.
They start from very early and sometimes they finish at 6, 7, 8 p.m.
They come back from school.
That's when they practice.
That's when they start practicing a lot of our students.
And then after they're done with all of this on a Friday, they start traveling either Friday
night or in the dawn of Saturday just to get to school, have a full day of classes, travel
back to where they come from.
These students, I just can't praise them enough for their commitment and for their perseverance.
I saw some videos of some of these students from your school.
They play so beautifully.
They play so professionally, especially the age group that we teach here in New York.
I mean, it's different.
We don't teach students that are going to professional schools right now.
But sometimes I guilt my students, be like, see, you can be playing like that.
But I'm quite proud for, because actually the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing
also started off in Tianjin.
So I went to the pre-college division in Tianjin.
I'm from there, but I did not fully grew up there.
I actually lived in a different city for a while as well.
And the music training is always, I started as three.
You have to go where your teacher is.
But I remember my friend, she was attending in Tianjin Conservatory and her dad is a policeman
who drives her, this police car, the siren, to Beijing to take a lesson on Sundays.
You guys really remind me of those years.
Now we want to segue to in your performing life.
We know you are such wonderful musicians and performers.
I've watched a lot of your videos.
Well first of all, were you guys, how long have you guys been playing together as a duo?
Did you become husband and wife first or did you start playing first, I assume?
Well maybe five, six years that we've been together, playing together.
Playing together, got it.
We were always, you know, reading stuff together by playing for five, six years.
We get to play more here because we have this Tianjin Julia Ensemble and we all play two
piano or beforehand works.
I saw even Shanghai Quartet was there recently.
Was it recently?
Yes, they are resident quartet here.
They are actually permanently living and working at the Tianjin Julia School at the moment.
Everybody is moving to Tianjin, oh my gosh!
Come visit us!
Now how can it be that the Shanghai string quartet is in Tianjin?
Nobody knows.
Well, you know, they won't say anything.
So how is your experience?
You know, I know you taught in West Virginia and also in Texas, right?
And you know, compared that to Taiwan and obviously to New York, what do you feel from
the audience perspective and from colleagues?
I mean, obviously you have colleagues of top notch from all around the world.
Or even teaching these students that they are Chinese, right?
Most of them are the pre-college students.
I assume they have not been abroad before.
Do they expect you to speak any Chinese sometimes or are they all pretty good with English?
I think very.
Some of them are excellent in English, some of them need to speak in Chinese.
And I'm trying to push them to learn English.
It's such a universal language and it's good for them.
So I'm hoping those who need lessons in Chinese will soon convert to completely English.
But your question of how does it feel to go from higher ed to teaching in pre-college
and in China?
I think in a way it's different.
But on the other hand, it's the same.
It's education.
You know, you're teaching kids or college students to play better and also at the same
time to be their guide and be their mentor in a way.
So to express themselves.
Yes.
And I think in terms of just purely teaching, I don't think it differs that much.
I mean, teaching highly depends on how talented the student is, no matter what age group and
how hard they are willing to work.
Then of course their relationship with the teacher.
So I think any age group, perhaps not adults, because that's a little bit late and they
usually learn for fun, but any other age group, they have good relationship in those three
areas.
I just mentioned, I feel they could advance very far in the higher ed.
You see more students that are interested in other things.
For example, it might be music education, music therapy, music industry.
So their focus is different from the kids we are teaching right now.
The kids we're teaching right now, they want to go into music professionally.
So I think as a teacher, you have to adjust and adapt.
There's no one student that's the same.
And I'm learning.
I always feel I'm learning so much from my student how to be a better teacher and better
player because after so many years of teaching, I still run into teaching questions and teaching
problems and you learn from it.
So I'm growing as a teacher and my students are growing as well.
But I feel no matter where you teach, either privately or in an institution, in a pre-college
or in conservatories, I feel it's important to show them good examples as a person, how
to behave well, how to be a good person.
And I do believe to be a good musician starts being a good person.
That's what I try to instill in my studio.
And I think the biggest challenge about teaching these college students is to convince them
to practice a little bit less and to do other things besides piano.
We ran into an opposite problem from what we had in the United States.
Over practicing and over singular, there's a singular focus.
And I think for a lot of the students, it will be more rewarding if they could broaden
their horizons a bit and further than their piano bands and their piano keys.
But isn't that maybe one of the major cultural differences per se?
So the Chinese, I don't want to stereotype them, but there's a cultural background of
once they determine, they just go all the way sort of thing.
I'm Asian, obviously.
I'm from Japan originally, but I'm Korean.
So we have this sort of determination.
That's how we were taught as a young child.
So as opposed to here in the United States, kids have more choices.
You can take it easy.
If you really like this, then you have the choice of drive yourself and work hard.
But there's a difference.
And do you feel that in teaching?
Yeah.
Sure.
Yes, sure.
The ancient Greeks, I'm going to look back into my heritage.
The ancient Greek said, pan metron ariston.
That's in Greek.
Basically, you have to find the right balance for things, nothing in excess.
In order to lead a healthy life, you have to find the balance between your work, your
study, your friends, your family, or whatever it is, you have to strike the balance.
It's hard to find and it takes a lot of time.
But I think as teachers, we have to guide the students towards finding that balance.
I think there's just so many piano teachers nowadays.
There's so many really great artists and pianists.
And more or less everybody can teach for the piano, crescendo, dibbinoendo, all of this
technical musical jargon.
But I think it's more important that you guide your students towards leading a healthy life.
That's what our teachers at Juilliard, I think, did for us.
And also, without underestimating the importance of dedication.
I think to excel in any field, you must work very hard and you must have passion, especially
for music.
So these kids, they have those already.
And they came in having dedication and passion.
So our job is slightly different.
We have to make sure they're living well-balanced lives.
Yeah, temper them.
Well, especially they have to travel so much over the weekend to come to study, right?
And they stay there the whole entire day.
And because I went to a conservatory there, so I was already viewed as an odd kid because
we had sort of a college level class set up since we were 11.
So you can see me on the street after five o'clock where most other students, they have
to study until like 10, 11, I don't know.
I don't know how these students, especially if they are already, they're also in other
middle school, high school, like general schools.
How can they find the time to even?
It's very hard.
And according to many of our students, according to many sources, pre-college days, they're
highlights.
They're the highlight of their week.
They love it.
They don't want to go back to regular school.
They just want to stay there.
They love watching their friends and their community in there.
It's just, yeah, it's a great day.
It's action packed.
But I can understand the fatigue.
It takes a toll on everybody's health.
And it's a great exposure for them.
But how is dealing with parents?
Or do you get to deal with parents or they just drop the kids off and they go shopping?
Actually, all the parents are very dedicated too.
They are there the whole day together.
Oh my gosh.
Yes.
Yeah.
They are.
I have to say most of the parents in my studio are just wonderful.
Yeah.
Most of them were fantastic.
And of course, there are one or two here and there that are a little bit harder to deal
with, but that's normal.
I think that's normal everywhere.
But I think these parents, I think they have a different goal for their children by sending
them to the Tianjin Junior School.
I think they do want them to be exposed to Western culture, to Western style of teaching,
potentially sending their kids abroad.
And so I think they came in with a different mentality already.
Wow.
That's a different perspective.
I didn't realize that.
I was really thinking of just music school and because it's Juilliard, so the parents
would send those kids to Tianjin Juilliard School.
But yeah, there's that aspect of it too.
And especially on campus, you guys are speaking in English mainly, right?
Yes.
Makes sense.
Professionalism is there.
Don't get us wrong.
Definitely.
Of course.
We ask for excellence.
We ask for a super quality of playing.
But we're talking about the other area that's not usually addressed in a regular school.
No, the level of the students is very, very high and the dedication and the passion and
the excitement about doing music and playing the piano is there.
And I think there is this idea that everybody wants to become a superstar.
I think that's why they also work so hard.
I think Lang Lang as a personality, he has been a prodigious and he has changed everything
about classical music in the world and certainly in China.
So he's a role model for a lot of the students, the piano students.
And there's nothing inherently wrong with that, with wanting to be a star and wanting to,
nothing wrong with that.
But it's not the only way.
And I think that's important also to get across.
Yeah, makes sense.
Makes sense.
That's something also as an educator, it's important, right?
Because music is not about becoming a famous person.
Music is about passion.
Music lives within us.
And so it's free of that.
What do you think of some sort of myth?
It's a completely different, I mean, it just goes off the rail a little bit, but I'm thinking
because you mentioned something about, okay, the music is for anyone to express, right?
But then there's the notion of, especially I hear this among people that I sometimes
deal with, then classical musicians are so trained to become this one thing.
And so are you guys even be creative?
So how do you answer that?
If we can be creative.
Yeah.
Or are we even be creative on using music?
And I always answer, well, actually playing classical music by Chopin or Beethoven, we
are actually be creative of interpreting the phrase, for example, right?
Or expressing, because yes, there is the phrase that we follow.
There's a marking, crescendo, minimendo, piano, all these things, forzando, we follow.
However, there is of course me.
I am playing.
I'm not a machine, so I'm not this machine where you press the button and then robot,
but I'm a person and then there's my interpretation.
So that's my way of being expressive and that's my way of being creative.
I mean, not to erase the piano forte on the score, but what do you think of that notion?
Well, I think musicians, artists in general are inherently creative.
I cannot imagine a person that is not creative that can be a good musician.
Maybe there's a lot of bad musicians that are not creative.
I think anybody half-decent, anybody committed, anybody with a smidge of a talent and the
passion for music, I think it's impossible to say that they are not creative.
I think we find creativity in all aspects of our lives, in fact.
The industry and the job itself is one creative, working with students.
You have to be creative about how to solve problems.
I'm not even talking just about musical problems.
Everybody has their own set of problems about life too.
The way you're going to handle some of these questions and the way you're going to guide
them, the way you're going to resolve technical problems on the piano, moving around the keyboard
is highly, it requires top-notch coordination and reflexes.
How do you build a solid technical foundation so that you can be more creative while you
perform?
That in and of itself is a challenge.
I think educators, I'm going to take it a step further, I think educators in general
are the most creative people that are out there because there are so many challenges
that they have to face every day in the classroom or dealing with a range of students and parents
and colleagues and administration and school and their own art and their own.
I don't know if this answers the question.
Yeah, it does.
Yes, do you need to add anything, Ching-Wen?
No, I think it's very well said.
I absolutely agree.
And I do think musicians are one of the most adaptable people to situations and to life
changes.
I feel they're so focused in a way and that's where the creativity comes in.
They're so focused, they're very skilled and they're creative.
So they usually are excellent in many different areas.
You see many of our colleagues that went into law, went into medicine, went into cooking,
excel in all areas.
And I think that's a proven fact that it's important to learn music and it's good to
be a musician because you have even more options.
Even if you don't want to become a pianist or performer in the future, you can do many,
many things and you'll do well.
You'll excel in life.
In fact, I don't quite think that the pre-college here in Tange and Julia School is exactly
the same as the pre-college in New York.
But I would say that a lot of the students, pre-college students in New York, they are
very, very driven and they have so many different interests.
And they do everything on high level.
And so it is not uncommon for some of the pre-college in New York to go into a different
path when they graduate.
A lot of the students really don't necessarily want to become professional musicians.
And yet they spend all the time that we know, we know how the time commitment that you need
to have to do well, right?
At such a competitive field and that requires so much attention.
And they do it at the highest level.
And that's just one of their interests.
And then they become, they succeed in all these other fields.
Pre-college, I would say specifically, is not necessarily about building the next generations
of musicians, but it's about building the next generation of humans.
Wow.
I think so.
Wow.
But you know, all the musical training will teach anyone to be disciplined about things
and teaches you how to practice, right?
Yeah.
Practicing.
Anything.
Exactly.
You can apply that, but you can start by doing musical training.
You can start from really young about discipline and what practice does to your mind and does
to your life.
I think that's one of the very important lessons of playing the piano and then playing the
piano to the point of really in a much higher level.
And if music is really the child's calling, wonderful, go for it.
Yeah.
It's about encouraging the students to find their voice.
Wow.
Your students are very fortunate to have you.
I mean, yeah, sure.
Then my last, I may ask more, but for now, this would be my last one.
So then right now, well, especially in the United States, I think culture is changing.
And as a classical musician, I'm not sure if you agree or not, but I'm getting this
sort of ideas or sort of opinions a lot because we do obviously podcasting.
So we get some comments.
Do you think we need a little bit more tools in our toolbox?
Twenty-first century musicians are required to be a little bit more than just pianists.
Let's say I have my own piano studio, so somewhat I'm considered entrepreneur.
I have to study a little bit about marketing or business or finance part of, I mean, anybody
should learn about finance.
But what do you think of that, about this notion of, let's say, as a musician, should
we have many different skills?
I think it is what you're describing is, you know, we are musicians and we always think
everything in line of music.
But I think what you're describing is a 21st century problem in anything you do.
If you're a dentist, you still have to market yourself because there's so many other dentists
out there.
You know, we live in an era where there's just so much over-specialization and everybody's
educated, everybody goes to college, everybody has degrees, everybody.
It is pretty much impossible to find students nowadays, graduates of conservatories or universities
that don't have at least a master's, most of them even a PhD.
You know, that didn't used to be the case.
But now we live in this era of over-specialization.
You need to have A and B and C and maybe D and then you can start thinking about building
your career and your life.
And so it's just very, very competitive.
There's too many people in all fields and it's a matter of, you know, demand and it's
a matter of, you know.
So I think, is it maybe more for music?
Does it pertain a little bit more to music?
Possibly.
Possibly I don't have the necessary data to say for sure.
Possibly it is maybe a little bit more challenging for music.
So does it hurt to be invested in different things and to know a thing or two about finances
and business?
And of course not.
I think it's a healthy thing to do.
It's not necessary always though.
Not everybody has to be an entrepreneur.
You see, I am against the idea that it is absolutely necessary.
If somebody does not want to be an entrepreneur and just wants to play the piano and teach
the piano, I think that's okay.
If you want to create something of your own, a festival, a podcast, a competition, great.
Go ahead and do it.
You live in a time where you can do this fairly comfortably and easily.
But I don't think, I don't want to pass on to my students that if they don't want to
do something, they have to do it in order to succeed, you know, just to get there.
More flexible in that way.
And just to add, I think it has always been this case, but even more so now in the 21st
century, that it's important for artists to be well-rounded.
It's not enough just to play the piano well.
The golden age of winning one competition and you get a lifetime concert career, it's
done already.
It's long gone.
There are so many more competitions out there, amazing players.
So that forces the current musicians to think outside of the box and to equip themselves
with more tools, more skills, people skill, marketing skill, business, all sorts of things
that you think of that could further advance your career.
I think it has become more so now in the current era.
And I think that's what we're trying to instill in our kids here at pre-college.
Do not just sit in the practice room for 12 hours a day.
That's not how you become successful.
Not now.
Yeah.
And maybe we go through a cycle, you know, history always cycle itself.
Maybe in 10, 20 years, you know, the golden era of winning competition and have a career
will come back.
But for now, they need to think outside the box.
They need to be well-rounded.
And that ties to the previous question about creativity.
You have to be creative about how you're going to present yourself.
The bottom line is you have to be excellent in what you do.
You have to be an excellent player in order to be successful.
Everything is built on top of that.
Yeah, it's important to strive for excellence in everything you do.
And it's important that you're genuine about what you want to do and what you do and that
you wake up every day and you do the things that you want to do.
You know, that's what's going to make you a successful person in what you do.
If you enjoy to the maximum, you know, what you do.
Well, so now I want to bring the elephant in.
How was the pandemic affecting you guys or maybe I don't know how it's like in Tianjin.
I became an American citizen right before the lockdown.
So now I cannot even go back to visit my parents.
But I see obviously what they are doing every day.
And it seems like my mother is very involved in the local community that she is a model
at 62 years old.
So she does all these concerts and my dad is very musical as well.
They are not musicians.
So I see it's almost like they're not even that affected until this recent time.
So I want to hear from you guys.
What was it like for you guys being foreigners in China?
Well, we moved here in September 2020.
You know, it's basically right at the peak of pandemic in the state.
So we felt really, really lucky to be coming to China at this time.
We have lots of concerts we were able to teach in person.
So we have fairly normal musical life last year.
This year, I feel due to the Olympics that they're trying to make sure the country is
in good shape.
They're even more stringent this year.
So currently we're teaching online and we hope the Chinese New Year you opened up again.
And overall, you know, if you compare the number of cases in China with other countries,
this is day and night.
You know, just recently they found two cases in Tianjin and they locked the whole city
down and that's how effective they are.
So we're really in awe with the efficiency of the government.
The mechanisms in place to ensure the health, you know, the public health.
It is just I don't think it's conceivable by a lot of the Western countries.
The idea that, you know, you find a couple of cases and immediately you lock down.
Well, it's not lockdown, but immediately, you know, city-wide testing.
We're talking about the city of 14 million people.
14 million people and they were all tested within a weekend and then they were tested
another three times.
Eight, nine times, right?
Some of them were tested from the certain districts that were in close proximity with
the cases.
They had 10 tests.
I mean, this is inconceivable.
Nobody can fathom something like this happening anywhere else.
To that fast, that efficiently and, you know, with the results.
So I think it's that kind of urgency that has allowed us to live fairly normal lives
during the past two years.
We walk out and, you know, we wear our masks when, you know, especially when, you know,
when you go into malls or, you know, the train station or some public spaces.
But overall, you can walk out freely.
You can go shopping.
You can eat.
It hasn't, nothing has been closed.
We can travel fairly okay even within the country, you know.
A lot of our colleagues travel to Sanya or, you know, some other places all around.
We went to Shanghai for, you know, for, you know, New Year's and, you know, Christmas.
So it's, you know, it has been normal and we, you know, in Greece it has been challenging.
We have many cases.
Pretty much by now all of my family has caught COVID at one time.
Oh really?
Yeah.
Even right now my nephew and my sister and here my brother-in-law, they all had COVID.
And it's impossible to avoid because it's just 10,000 cases every day, you know.
But they had lockdown, severe lockdowns for a long time.
So they were very desperate to reopen the country.
Well here it's so far.
I mean the funny thing is that I see, you know, sometimes, you know, I'm a little westernized,
but when it comes to this, you know, situation, I kind of juggle my, you know, good thing
is I work for myself and I, all of my students are online so I don't really have to.
But you know, most of my friends up to this new year have caught it.
And you know, luckily nobody is super, super sick and, you know, most of us have had the
three shots.
But you know, when I'm seeing what China is doing, where my parents, my relatives,
my friends, even my 11 year old niece, she's not even complaining, you know.
It's kind of shocking to me how everybody just kind of, you know, okay, this is it.
Let's all go downstairs.
And you know, they were doing some testing like three or four o'clock in the morning
and it's fine.
Nobody is like, so that's the shocking part.
I wonder, you know, is that a discipline of, you know, these people where maybe they just
cannot complain?
I don't know.
You know, it's something I guess we will find out years, you know, in the future.
Right.
There is a willingness, I think, from the community to take care of one another in that
regard, in that regard.
To cooperate willingly, not, you know, in any...
Especially in Tianjin, right?
Sophie sent me quite a few videos of like all these kui ban, you know, people are playing
kui ban to the Chinese rap music to get people tested.
So you know, you can be as you know, Vesity is like a famous for comedian, like comedies
and you know, so it's quite interesting.
Well, we are, you know, getting to the last bit of the show, you know, we really enjoy
talking with you guys and this is just such a wonderful episode.
But you know, we have a couple more questions before we go to the fun part.
And for me, I'm curious, like, are you guys thinking of staying in China indefinitely?
Are you planning to move back anytime or?
We have no plans so far.
We are happy here.
Yeah.
As long as we're living happy lives, joyful lives here, there's no plan to go back.
But yeah.
But we will be visiting this summer for sure.
We'll be visiting.
Okay.
Let us know.
Yeah, for sure.
We will definitely visit New York.
Yes, definitely.
Come back to New York.
Yes.
Friends and family there.
My brother is still there.
So we'll be back.
Okay.
How is it living in like Tianjin feels like?
Do you feel comfortable, you know, in the city or, you know, it's been so many years
for me.
So I don't even really remember.
Very comfortable.
And it's so advanced, you know, the high speed railroad and the subway system.
The things are so clean.
And when I first landed and came to Tianjin, I said, this is like Chicago.
To me, you have the river, you have high rise building and but still very open.
So it's a beautiful city.
Tianjin is a very nice city.
It's not Shanghai.
Right.
A little bit different.
Right.
Shanghai is my top destination in the world so far.
I just really love it.
It's as cosmopolitan as New York.
You know, I'm a fan of culinary experiences.
I love going to restaurants and trying, you know, different things.
And Shanghai is top.
You love Shanghai.
I love Shanghai.
Yes.
It's a great place.
It's a lot of fun.
But compared to New York, it's clean and quiet.
Ours are not allowed to honk.
It's part of the rules.
And then, you know, you walk in the streets and you don't see garbage or, you know, New
York, you started with this, has that distinct New York smell.
Which I love.
Well, it's a true New Yorker.
Well, not during the summer though.
The summer.
The New York perfume.
That's true.
Well, especially the subway, you know, lately.
That's been such a nightmare.
And so that's, you know, but.
All right.
Well, maybe we will end with this last question we always ask everybody.
What is your advice for young musicians?
You may have already answered some, but yeah, we have.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
But any last advice?
I would say keep doing what you love and work hard.
And, but, you know, expand your horizon at the same time.
Expand your horizons.
I think, I think that's very, very important for the students.
Don't feel competitive.
Just do what you love.
That is really beautiful.
Constantino, are you learning Chinese now?
Especially, are you learning Tianjin Chinese now?
A little bit.
Oh, very good.
Very good.
Next time when I come back, you guys have to be my tour guide.
Clueless, clueless, clueless here.
As a matter of fact, as soon as we're finished with the podcast, I have my Chinese lesson.
Oh, very important.
I'm getting ready mentally.
I'm preparing.
Great.
Well, we're going to end with some fun stuff so you can go into your lesson, you know,
high energy.
So are we all ready?
The rapid fire question.
All right.
I will go to start.
What is your comfort food?
Burger, pizza, both.
All right.
Pizza burger.
Cheese.
That's kind of true.
It is a block of cheese.
Now you're in Tianjin, you have to have some mahua, right?
Or goblibao, which I have never had.
Nice.
Oh, bubble tea.
Tianjinites.
Oh, that's right.
All right.
My question.
I may already know this answer, but cats or dogs, cats or dogs?
Dogs.
All right.
I'm going to bring tofu.
OK, great.
Yes.
All right.
Chivin, you can continue.
What is your word or words to live by?
Be happy.
And you can be happy with this.
Oh, hi, tofu.
So cute.
This tofu is seven months old.
Oh, my God.
It's a baby.
Oh, my gosh.
I have to take some photos.
It's super sweet.
Tofu, say, Tianjin.
He just woke up.
So cute.
Yes, super sweet.
OK.
So my question.
All right.
What is the most important quality you look for in other people?
Honesty.
Sincerity.
What is the worst quality you stay away from people?
Gossiping.
Bad mouthing.
Fake.
Fakeness.
Dishonesty.
All right.
My question.
Name one composer, living or dead, whom you want to hang out at the bar.
Brahms.
Oh, Brahms.
Rachmaninoff.
Great.
He was on the Upper West Side before, right?
How many floors?
That's right.
Name someone who truly inspires you.
There's many.
So many.
It's so hard.
I know.
Hard to choose.
I have to say my teacher, Veda Koplinski.
Somebody.
Julia Martin, my teacher in New York.
You guess.
I mean, all of my teachers.
I don't want to put one name in my head all the time.
It's hard.
My family is Julia in New York.
OK.
Sounds good.
All right.
What is your desert island piece?
Oh, man.
Name one.
OK.
Brahms Requiem.
Oh, beautiful.
Beautiful.
I would say Schubert's E-flat Trio.
Beautiful.
And name one book title in your library.
Oh, the Bible.
Great.
Beautiful.
All of the Harry Potter series.
I mean, Harry Potter.
All of the Harry Potter series.
Lord of the Rings.
We got it.
The last one.
Last one.
Are you ready?
Fill in the blank.
Music is blank.
Peace.
Music is food for soul.
Food for soul.
Great answers.
Wow.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Who won?
You guys have won.
Did I win?
Total.
Total won.
Of course.
OK.
Well, thank you so much for joining us.
And that concludes this episode of the PianoPod.
Thank you, Chi-wen.
And because the T knows.
Perfection.
Thank you for having us.
Share your stories.
It's been a pleasure.
Your insights and expertise and more information about them, we are going to link in the description
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And I would like to remind our viewers that you can also use the link in the description
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And I would like to remind our audience to check out there.
You have a double piano work in the making, right?
That you guys are working on.
It's called the stained glasses.
Again, we are ready to list everything below.
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Fantastic.
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Thank you, Capsantino.
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Thank you, too.
Bye.