1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,520 You're listening to the piano part, where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry 2 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:18,500 about how they're bringing the piano into the 21st century. 3 00:00:18,500 --> 00:00:23,120 Last time we spoke to Frederick Chu about his experiences as a young pianist, collaborations 4 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,960 with other artists, and what it's like to be a cultural ambassador. 5 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,040 Check out our podcast channel if you missed it. 6 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:34,640 And now, the conclusion. 7 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:40,960 So Frederick, you have so many things that you're offering, you know, just to visit 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:42,200 your website. 9 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,460 We were like so blown away. 10 00:00:44,460 --> 00:00:47,480 We didn't know where to start. 11 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:54,720 All the events that you're creating, it's more like almost like a play or show, you 12 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:00,320 know, where you have one event and you can just use that to go to travel to different 13 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,240 places, it seems like. 14 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,560 Each has a different theme. 15 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,640 So can you just a little bit tell us about that? 16 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:14,560 Maybe it seems like you have several different events that you created, the Evolution of 17 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:19,520 Piano, Monument to Beethoven, Carnival of Animals, and then the classical Smackdown. 18 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:24,240 Yeah, I mean, you all can empathize or you've experienced this. 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,800 I mean, we put so much work into putting a program together. 20 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:35,920 And very often it's a one time opportunity to play that program and we work so hard. 21 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:43,200 And I really feel like the more a program can have its own message, then the more it 22 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:48,440 deserves to be played as a package. 23 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:55,160 And so I've always crafted my programs with that in mind, that there's some reason to 24 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,740 put these pieces together in this order. 25 00:01:58,740 --> 00:02:04,800 And there's some storyline that can unfold from that, that can engage people. 26 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,300 Like I have my Monument to Beethoven. 27 00:02:09,300 --> 00:02:15,520 We talk about the actual monument to Beethoven and Bonn and the fundraising that went into 28 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:22,800 that in the early 1800s and how all these composers just kind of dropped the ball. 29 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:29,000 Nobody gave money and nobody did very much to raise money. 30 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,640 And Liszt came in and said, hey, this is not acceptable. 31 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:38,240 And I'm just going to give the equivalent of I think it was like $100,000 or whatever. 32 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:39,240 Let's get this done. 33 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:44,840 And I have a great sculptor in mind and let's just do it. 34 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:53,080 Mr. Schumann contributed the fantasy to the effort and said, I will donate, I forget how 35 00:02:53,080 --> 00:03:00,560 many scores, the sales of those first 100 scores, let's say, will go towards the monument 36 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,200 fund. 37 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:07,120 And then when he saw that it wasn't going well, I think he just kind of said, well, 38 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,120 oh, did I promise that? 39 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,000 Oh, I forgot. 40 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,000 And then he turned it into a love story for Clara. 41 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,280 So he used what he had, which is great. 42 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:22,520 And there's no criticizing Schumann's fantasy. 43 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:27,120 But that was inspired by the Beethoven monument effort. 44 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,680 And then Liszt, of course, transcribed all of Beethoven's symphonies. 45 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:33,800 That in and of itself is a monument. 46 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,760 I put one of the symphonies with the Schumann fantasy and you have these two monumental 47 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:42,520 pieces that are so different from each other. 48 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:47,920 And yet they are tied together by this external event. 49 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:54,480 And I think that story really says something to a listener who may love one or both works 50 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:56,480 and who may love that in general. 51 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:02,840 But then, hey, these are real people and they did things and the music was a result of that 52 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:08,640 and the music was impetus for those kinds of things. 53 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:15,200 I do another series of programs I call Classical Smackdown, which is inspired by The Voice 54 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:22,680 and America's Got Talent, where people basically vote for their favorite. 55 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:23,680 And I love this series. 56 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,680 I have three programs in it now. 57 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,240 And I'm presenting the program online in a few months. 58 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:35,800 So people who are interested can go to Frederick Chu.com and sign up and they'll get notification 59 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:37,360 of that. 60 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:43,560 Basically two composers and I play pieces that I've chosen that really show the contrast 61 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:48,480 or the similarity between them and put them out there in different rounds for people to 62 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:53,600 listen, basically to taste and say, I like this taste better. 63 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:58,200 I like this taste better and to vote and then to see how their vote compares with others, 64 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:03,840 other votes and then to discuss, to debate, to fight with each other about why did you 65 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:05,520 vote for that? 66 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:13,400 I love playing those programs in person, in concert, because at the end of the program, 67 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,480 the lights go on and usually half the people are already out of their seats and trying 68 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,560 to get out of the parking lot. 69 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,840 At a Classical Smackdown concert, they turn on the lights and everybody's in their seat 70 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,440 and they're talking with their neighbors and they're like, hey, I don't know, I don't know. 71 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,320 And old people are talking to young people and people who don't know each other are talking 72 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:37,040 and everybody's discussing and debating and there's a huge ruckus. 73 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,600 I just love that afterlife of the concert. 74 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:45,040 That's how it should be, I feel. 75 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:46,040 Very audience engaging. 76 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:53,400 If there's something that can make the audience engage and somehow feel like they're relevant, 77 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,200 then that makes classical music relevant. 78 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,280 That makes this great music relevant today. 79 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:01,560 But that just shows who you are. 80 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,960 You're trying to integrate music into our lives. 81 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:11,800 With these kinds of events, it's more meaningful and the music becomes part of life and that's 82 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,520 just very innovative and amazing. 83 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:21,540 So then I'm thinking you're coming from a very traditional path, as you said, until 84 00:06:21,540 --> 00:06:26,160 you hit the twenties and things happened in France and so forth. 85 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:34,120 But in my impression is that you have this kind of, I don't want to say rebel, but being 86 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,920 original, it was within you. 87 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:39,920 But where does this really come from? 88 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,760 Where does this drive and force come from? 89 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,760 I'm just curious. 90 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,480 That's a very interesting question. 91 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:54,760 I think there were some random things that happened like this residency that offered 92 00:06:54,760 --> 00:07:01,560 its the opportunity offered itself when I finished school to stay in Paris for a year. 93 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,000 And who wouldn't do that? 94 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:10,040 And I think that going through those seven months without a bathroom and a kitchen and 95 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,900 a piano, that was certainly not planned. 96 00:07:12,900 --> 00:07:20,000 That was not part of the grand scheme of things and yet it was one of the key elements for 97 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:26,040 my whole personal development and therefore my career development. 98 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:32,800 And I would say along the way there were of course things that I regret. 99 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:41,240 I regret having gone to school and not having this idea that, oh, here are my colleagues. 100 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:46,640 I need to develop relationships with them because this is our support network. 101 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:52,920 As we get older and become professionals, we draw on this group of people and their 102 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,120 ideas and their connections and their energy. 103 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,480 I didn't know that as a pianist, very isolated. 104 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:07,240 So I think that's something that definitely I regret and has pushed my career in certain 105 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,580 directions. 106 00:08:09,580 --> 00:08:18,400 But I don't know, just the different approach to things really I think kicked off when I've 107 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,280 discovered myself in the 20s. 108 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:30,120 And I think that when one discovers oneself, interesting things start to happen. 109 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:37,560 And I think especially these days with all of the technology and all the incredibly fast 110 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:45,080 changes that are happening, the more you can reveal yourself to yourself and take advantage 111 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:51,720 of all the tools there, it's going to be incredibly rich and diverse and unique, all these career 112 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:52,720 paths. 113 00:08:52,720 --> 00:09:00,760 I just read something that I'm doing some work with my wife on education and the statistic 114 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:09,480 is that a child entering school age years now, this year, is going to graduate and work 115 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:16,880 in a job, 65% will be working in jobs that don't even exist today. 116 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,760 That's exciting and that's scary. 117 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:26,360 So it really puts perspective on something that we're doing, which is piano, which has 118 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:36,760 been around at least 350 years, 400 years, building slowly note by note, piece by piece. 119 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:44,680 It really does put into perspective, if not put into question, what are we doing? 120 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:45,680 Why are we doing this? 121 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,800 Is this really a tradition that we want to preserve? 122 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:57,160 There are things in it that are so important that all these hundreds of millions of people 123 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,800 are devoting their lives to it. 124 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:06,720 But in order for this tradition to survive, we have to evolve, keep evolving, keep discovering 125 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:07,960 the possibility. 126 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,820 And that's exactly what you're doing and which is very inspiring. 127 00:10:11,820 --> 00:10:18,680 But this is something that we really are interested as a team of the piano part. 128 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:22,480 And you're really a great example of that. 129 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:24,720 So yeah, really true. 130 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:33,160 So speaking of, so you have so many things to offer to the next generations to come. 131 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:41,400 And you started teaching in higher educational institution as a full-time faculty member, 132 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,280 Carnegie Mellon University and the Hart School. 133 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:45,640 So we want to know. 134 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,960 Yeah, that started a year ago. 135 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:48,960 Oh, wow. 136 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,480 How's it going? 137 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:52,920 It's been very interesting. 138 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:59,880 My whole life I've taught, but not in an academic setting. 139 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:05,920 Mostly I've organized my DPS workshops and taken some private students here and there, 140 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:11,160 but for very specific periods of time and for very specific projects. 141 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:17,400 And I was excited about the idea of doing academic teaching and having kind of a longer 142 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:24,080 picture and a longer trajectory for my teaching and for students' experience. 143 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:28,560 And I was so excited that Carnegie Mellon offered me this position. 144 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:32,820 And that's a school that one of our kids went to and graduated from. 145 00:11:32,820 --> 00:11:34,160 So we knew the school already. 146 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:40,320 And my wife and I were like, if they don't accept him, then we're going to enroll in 147 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:41,320 the school. 148 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:50,760 And unfortunately, he graduated with high distinction and has a great career ahead of 149 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:52,800 him because of that. 150 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,880 And then to now be on the faculty is so exciting. 151 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:56,880 Wow. 152 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:58,160 And there's so much potential. 153 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:04,520 And at the Hart School, which is a great school with a long tradition and great reputation, 154 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:13,840 I'm a senior artist teacher there and having a great time with a very diverse student makeup. 155 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,880 And all of this in pandemic conditions. 156 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:25,280 I think it was a very strange coincidence that my academic career has started with the 157 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,520 pandemic and remote teaching. 158 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:35,820 In some ways, it's made it extremely easy because all of a sudden I wasn't traveling 159 00:12:35,820 --> 00:12:37,560 anymore at all. 160 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:41,520 And I could say to my students, okay, these are my teaching days. 161 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,560 Here are my teaching hours. 162 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:48,240 And we're just going to meet every week at the same day, same time. 163 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:54,760 That's something that I couldn't do in normal circumstances. 164 00:12:54,760 --> 00:13:00,480 And the fact that I can teach a student in Pittsburgh and then the next hour teach a 165 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:05,240 student in Hartford, the next hour teach a student in China with a 12-hour time zone 166 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:12,260 difference and then do a coaching in California and just be here and to be able to string 167 00:13:12,260 --> 00:13:16,700 those things one after another is amazing. 168 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:21,880 And so I feel like in some ways, I don't know how good I have it. 169 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:28,400 Because I've never experienced any other way of teaching. 170 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:33,760 And so I think for me, I love using the online tools. 171 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:41,160 I love thinking about how to organize group activities, bringing people together from 172 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:47,480 all of these different geographic places to work together in kind of a studio class. 173 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,240 I love being able to jump around. 174 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:51,920 I love being accessible. 175 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:59,480 It's really so interesting that I don't have this experience, which in some ways could 176 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,200 be considered baggage. 177 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:07,280 And I'm just starting this fresh and bringing as much as I can to the thinking and to the 178 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,880 tools and to whatever I can do. 179 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:10,880 Amazing. 180 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:11,880 I'm wonderful. 181 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:13,160 Thank you so much. 182 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:17,680 And I wish you the best of luck of teaching. 183 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:23,240 It's a different setting because you have to raise these people for four, six years. 184 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,720 So it's different from teaching just privately. 185 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,520 Yes, absolutely. 186 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:40,480 In some ways, I feel it's a great, this long line of influence that I can have across their 187 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:41,480 education career. 188 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,360 At the same time, it's only a few points along that line. 189 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,720 And 50 minutes here, an hour there, and like, wow, really? 190 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:54,600 Can I get anything across in that little amount of time? 191 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,960 But Eric, to your point, I was going to say, you did the masterclass. 192 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,800 And so I try to keep that in mind as well. 193 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:09,680 And it's making me go back to my own lessons with my great teachers. 194 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:16,480 And both of them, unfortunately, passed last year, coincidentally, right when I was getting 195 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:24,440 my positions and starting this and started to have questions that I never had before, 196 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:29,280 they're not available to ask and to learn their experience directly. 197 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:36,720 So I'm reliving a lot of stuff, trying to remember my student life and trying to remember, 198 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:44,440 like, wow, did my lessons with Abby Simon, were they really like just one, like three 199 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:45,760 lessons in this week? 200 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,200 And then I'd go for like a month and a half without lessons? 201 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:49,680 Did that really happen? 202 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:54,800 And it did, you know, because he was traveling and performing during that time. 203 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,560 And I didn't find anything wrong with that. 204 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:05,380 So it puts into, it just gives me a lot of things to think about and to see how I was 205 00:16:05,380 --> 00:16:09,080 influenced and try to try to imbue that as much as I can. 206 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:10,080 Yeah. 207 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:17,920 Well, I can say that speaking as a student, a son, a parent and a teacher, you know, you 208 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,780 never know what's going to stick with somebody. 209 00:16:20,780 --> 00:16:27,120 You know, we give everything we can of ourselves, you know, all our best stuff. 210 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,960 And sometimes it doesn't resurface for a long time. 211 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:36,360 You know, when I went to Banff to do my long-term residencies after graduate school, and I didn't 212 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,800 have a full-time teacher, I realized that was when I really started listening to my 213 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:41,800 teachers. 214 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:46,440 And like, all the stuff that they said to me while I was doing my master's would come 215 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,960 back and I was like, oh, now I see why that's relevant. 216 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:50,960 Right. 217 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,320 And then that's when you really pay attention. 218 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:57,320 So as teachers and also parents raising kids, it's the same thing. 219 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:03,680 All you can do is try your best and it's ultimately it's up to the student to decide what they're 220 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:05,680 going to take from it. 221 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:11,520 Well, Frederick, of course, we could talk to you all day, but we don't have unlimited 222 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:12,520 time. 223 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:17,880 So I'm going to ask you two last related questions and then we're going to move on to our rapid 224 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,320 fire round. 225 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:27,980 So those two questions are, first of all, what's your biggest piece of advice for younger 226 00:17:27,980 --> 00:17:30,240 pianists coming up in the world today? 227 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:35,600 And related to that, what do you see the role of concert pianists in this modern world and 228 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,440 the future to come? 229 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:46,120 A piece of advice to young students, really, at this point, it's so hard to find the time 230 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:48,760 to do daily practicing. 231 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:53,880 It's so difficult with all the things that are calling to us, all the things that are 232 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:58,280 available with a click, with a tap. 233 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:07,240 It's really a luxury to be able to focus on one activity. 234 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:11,640 But it's an emotional struggle. 235 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:13,200 Discipline for me is an emotional struggle. 236 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:17,400 Delayed gratification is a very unnatural thing. 237 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:22,040 It's a very human thing as well. 238 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:26,880 Animals are not very good at delayed gratification. 239 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:32,680 But we can do that and we can train ourselves to do that more and more. 240 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:40,720 And the gratification just builds exponentially when it does happen. 241 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:47,720 Sometimes, often, we don't want to practice. 242 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:52,600 The pandemic going for weeks and weeks without touching the piano because I just don't find 243 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:53,960 the motivation to go there. 244 00:18:53,960 --> 00:19:01,400 So really, we need to train ourselves to find any little scrap of motivation to practice 245 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:05,920 because in the end, it definitely shows itself. 246 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:13,880 So that's my advice to young pianists, please don't despair and really see this as an emotional 247 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:14,880 discipline training. 248 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:19,600 I love that you said that delayed gratification is one of the fundamental things that makes 249 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:21,220 us human. 250 00:19:21,220 --> 00:19:25,920 So everybody practice the piano because it's going to make you a better human being. 251 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:30,440 And there's a limited time to when physical practicing is going to actually make a big 252 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:31,440 difference. 253 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:32,440 Yeah. 254 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:39,960 I don't know how old your average age is, but unfortunately, that age comes at 15, 16, 255 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,600 17 years old. 256 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:47,760 It's not that you can't make physical progress after that, but it's a lot harder. 257 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:53,520 And I can say from my own experience, I've had to go back to doing technical exercises 258 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:58,000 and technical training, practicing just to keep in shape. 259 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:04,520 And I was fortunate that I did, in fact, I can show you one of the tools that I have. 260 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,800 Oh, wonderful. 261 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,080 This is cast iron piping. 262 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,360 Oh my goodness. 263 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:19,280 My teacher, when I was 10 years old, recommended, my parents went to a hardware store and got 264 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:20,280 this. 265 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:21,280 This is about five pounds. 266 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:22,280 Oh my gosh. 267 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,480 And these are my dad's old socks. 268 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,200 My mother sewed onto these. 269 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:29,200 There's a little bit of cotton padding. 270 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:31,000 I can't even get my hand through it anymore. 271 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,840 But 10 years old, I was a small 10 year old and I could get my hands through and I would 272 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:43,760 wear these on my wrist and do all of my practicing scales, exercises, etudes, regular repertoire, 273 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,880 an hour, two hours with these five pound weights on each arm. 274 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:47,920 Oh my goodness. 275 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:53,760 And a special relaxation technique that allowed that to happen longer than a minute. 276 00:20:53,760 --> 00:21:01,120 And I didn't get tendonitis and I didn't mess up my muscle system. 277 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:02,960 In fact, it helped me build muscle. 278 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:08,120 And I was fortunate to have done that, to have had that combination. 279 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:14,680 And I feel like if we get that early enough, it really does stay with you. 280 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:19,880 And so there's a time for physical practice before 18 is definitely that time. 281 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:25,680 If you're 18 years old or under, just play the piano, just play, play, play, play, play, 282 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,440 move those fingers as much as you can. 283 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,480 After that, just be prepared to not play as much. 284 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:37,360 Literally your piano playing will improve by not playing as much after 18 than before 285 00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:38,360 18. 286 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:43,080 And then you start thinking, you start looking at yourself, you start revealing these emotional 287 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,820 and mental things that you've built up from that super intense practicing. 288 00:21:48,820 --> 00:21:55,040 And then you reveal what you really have inside of you as a unique, as a unique person. 289 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:59,440 I am definitely making this a clip and sending it to all my students under 18. 290 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:05,160 Yes, me too. 291 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:14,160 In terms of relevance of pianists today, I, you know, one thing that pianists do that 292 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:21,100 almost nobody else trains themselves to do consciously is multitasking. 293 00:22:21,100 --> 00:22:26,360 The pianist at the very first lesson before we even know what the notes are named and, 294 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:27,720 you know, what's going on. 295 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:32,200 The teacher will say, okay, play these notes with this finger, play these notes with this 296 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:33,200 finger. 297 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:34,200 This is the melody. 298 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:35,200 This is the accompaniment. 299 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:36,200 Boom, we're multitasking. 300 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:37,200 Yeah. 301 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,040 Everybody multitask. 302 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:45,080 But pianists multitask consciously and we train from the very beginning. 303 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:50,060 It's ingrained in the idea of playing the piano is multitasking. 304 00:22:50,060 --> 00:22:59,560 And so we have the societal need for group activity, for collaboration. 305 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:04,160 And this I call all for one, all of us in to do one thing. 306 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:05,760 That's incredibly important. 307 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:13,600 It's a very human thing, although higher animals do that, you know, hives and swarms, they 308 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,140 do that. 309 00:23:15,140 --> 00:23:16,480 And we do that as humans. 310 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:17,480 We come together. 311 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:27,480 We kind of, we self-efface enough to be able to contribute to a greater whole. 312 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,120 And piano playing is the flip side to that, which is the one for all. 313 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:36,080 One person training themselves to be able to do more than one thing at a time, to be 314 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:40,240 able to keep attention on the melody and on the accompaniment and possibly on a middle 315 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:48,960 voice, to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time and even more complicated things. 316 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:54,360 And not just for practical reasons, but for an aesthetically satisfying, emotionally 317 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:58,200 gratifying, intense communication reason. 318 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:06,560 There's no greater need for those kinds of skills than today. 319 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:08,160 And this is an exercise I do. 320 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:14,200 I think about, you know, all the jobs, all the careers that people have, all the different 321 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:15,440 professions. 322 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,440 And you really think about it like they don't need to multitask. 323 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:24,400 Of course, if they do, they're better at their job, but their training doesn't really bring 324 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,160 that out as a conscious thing. 325 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:32,760 It doesn't bring out the physical, the mental, the emotional depth that playing the piano 326 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:34,200 does. 327 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:42,600 There's almost no other activity that does body, mind, heart, multitasking training than 328 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,560 playing the piano. 329 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:54,600 And I would put it out as a challenge to your listeners, like, you know, what other profession 330 00:24:54,600 --> 00:25:01,680 needs and requires the training to the depth that piano playing does in those areas, body, 331 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,840 mind, heart. 332 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:10,600 And of course, having the training in any area will make you a better whatever you are. 333 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:15,600 But being a pianist, you just have it and then you have to reveal it. 334 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:22,320 And I think that if people knew that, then we would make all of our school kids play 335 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:23,320 the piano. 336 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,120 Yeah, I agree. 337 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:34,320 It's one of the most all encompassing, deep, intense trainings that one can have. 338 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:38,160 And I really don't think there's anything quite like it. 339 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,720 And it doesn't mean that you have to be a pianist after you've done that training. 340 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:51,840 In fact, I would love to have a whole company, employees all train pianists, but not doing 341 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:53,600 any piano. 342 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,480 I think it would be a great business. 343 00:25:55,480 --> 00:26:02,400 I would love to have a government where all the appointees are pianists. 344 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:03,400 That would be amazing. 345 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,400 And certainly artists and musicians, performers who have piano training. 346 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:08,400 Of course. 347 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:16,000 So for me, it might be biased, but that seems to me kind of a deep, deep function of what 348 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,920 piano and pianists can do. 349 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:19,920 Yeah. 350 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:26,480 I think more and more these days, we see increasing number of studies that show that multitasking 351 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:30,120 is actually extremely difficult for humans to do. 352 00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:31,440 It's actually not natural. 353 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,960 And so the more you train at multitasking, the more you really increase your capability 354 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,080 to excel in any area. 355 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,360 Piano certainly does require that more than most other things. 356 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:45,960 Okay, so before the rapid fire, first of all, we want to make sure that we promote your 357 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:51,680 Smackdown concert series, which you can find out more about at FrederickChu.com, correct? 358 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:52,680 Correct. 359 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:57,560 There's a signup sheet there and then I'll be emailing. 360 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,160 These are going to happen. 361 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:05,440 There are three of them, one a month, probably March, April, May, possibly April, May, June 362 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,800 dates to be determined very soon. 363 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,160 And you're also launching a Patreon to go along with that. 364 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:11,160 That's right. 365 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:17,360 It's going to be time to open up probably March in preparation for the Smackdown series. 366 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:18,360 Great. 367 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:20,480 This is rather a new segment. 368 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,840 It's called the PianoPod rapid fire questions. 369 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,360 So I would like for you to answer each question with short answers. 370 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:29,360 Okay. 371 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:30,360 So are we ready? 372 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:31,360 Yes. 373 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:32,360 All right. 374 00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:35,140 So question number one. 375 00:27:35,140 --> 00:27:38,120 So you have really diverse background. 376 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:44,240 You know, you lived in France and your parents are Chinese and you're born, raised in the 377 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:45,240 United States. 378 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,360 So what do you consider a comfort food for you? 379 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:51,360 What is it? 380 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:52,640 Dumplings. 381 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:58,320 I held the world record for my family and dumpling eating for 40 years. 382 00:27:58,320 --> 00:27:59,320 Oh, wow. 383 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:00,320 Oh my goodness. 384 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:01,320 Okay. 385 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:02,320 Great. 386 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:07,160 So now are you a cat or dog person? 387 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:08,160 Yes. 388 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:09,160 Okay. 389 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:10,540 Next question. 390 00:28:10,540 --> 00:28:13,960 What is your word to live by? 391 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:14,960 Multitasking. 392 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:22,240 What is the most important quality you look for in people? 393 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:23,720 Honesty. 394 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:25,160 Honesty. 395 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:33,280 What is the worst quality in people you want to stay away from? 396 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,400 I would say bragging. 397 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,400 Great. 398 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:38,400 All right. 399 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,400 Eric, you want to go next? 400 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:41,600 Yeah, sure. 401 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:46,120 Can you name three people who inspire you, living or dead? 402 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:47,800 Three people who inspire me. 403 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,400 Can I do four piano related? 404 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:51,400 Sure. 405 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:52,400 Sure. 406 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:58,880 Richter, Horowitz, Glenn Gould, and then above that, triumvirate Alfred Courtaud. 407 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,000 Oh, okay. 408 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,000 Wonderful. 409 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,520 Okay, well, related to that, which historical figure, composer, pianist, would you want 410 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,720 to take lessons from if he or she were alive? 411 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:15,440 Oh, that's a hard one between Liszt and Courtaud. 412 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:16,440 Okay. 413 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:23,160 I would say Liszt because that's less accessible and we actually have Courtaud teaching master 414 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:24,640 classes recorded. 415 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,600 Yeah, we can only imagine how Liszt played, right? 416 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:29,600 Yes. 417 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:34,640 Okay, and then which historical figure or composer would you want to hang out at the 418 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:35,640 bar with? 419 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,640 Oh, Liszt for sure. 420 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:41,000 Oh, okay. 421 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,680 Name one piece in your current playlist. 422 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:49,840 Oh, in my current playlist? 423 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,600 I would say Cars from Mars, Robert Ian. 424 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:55,200 Good one. 425 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,000 All right. 426 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,960 Name a book title you're currently reading. 427 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:07,720 I'm currently reading A Short Swim in a Pond by George Saunders. 428 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,120 Just came out, one of my favorite writers and a friend of mine. 429 00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:16,840 You get only one song or piece to listen to for the rest of your life. 430 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,040 What is it? 431 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:21,600 Prokofiev Second Concerto. 432 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,960 All right, very cool. 433 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:27,800 Last question, last, not least, fill in the blank. 434 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,040 Music is blank. 435 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:31,040 What is music? 436 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:32,040 Music is life. 437 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:33,040 Music is life. 438 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:34,040 Ding ding ding. 439 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:35,040 We heartily agree. 440 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:43,520 Well, my friends, I'm afraid we're going to have to end here for today. 441 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,480 That concludes this episode of the Piano Pod. 442 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:51,360 Thank you, Frederick Chu, for joining our show today and thank you to the audience for 443 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:52,920 tuning in as always. 444 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:58,040 We want to remind you guys that his classical Smackdown series will be available at Frederick 445 00:30:58,040 --> 00:30:59,160 Chu dot com. 446 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,640 The link will be in the description as always. 447 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:08,040 If you enjoyed today's episode, please read and review on whatever podcasting platform 448 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,120 you use. 449 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:14,280 If you are watching it from YouTube, please hit the thumbs up button and be sure to subscribe 450 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:15,780 to our channel. 451 00:31:15,780 --> 00:31:20,260 You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 452 00:31:20,260 --> 00:31:23,040 The links are in the description below. 453 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:26,600 Alright everyone, hope to see you for the next episode of the Piano Pod. 454 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:27,600 Bye everyone. 455 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:28,600 Thank you so much. 456 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:29,600 Thank you so much, Frederick. 457 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:30,600 Thank you so much. 458 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:59,720 Bye bye.