1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,680 A stretto piano is any instrument with keyboards that has keys that are narrower than the conventional 2 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:15,400 size of piano keyboard, which can be calculated different ways. 3 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,440 Most piano keyboards with 88 keys are 48 inches. 4 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:25,800 My reduced width keyboard is 44 inches with 88 keys, but my colleagues around the world 5 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:31,400 and other people have established a new way of measuring, and that is with an octave span. 6 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:36,600 So the octave span of the conventional keys is 6.5 inches. 7 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:45,960 Stretto pianos are different dimensions, but 6.0 or 5.9 or 5.5, and there are even some 8 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,320 people making smaller ones. 9 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:54,420 They can be in any kind of keyboard instruments, electronic instruments, wood and metal pianos. 10 00:00:54,420 --> 00:00:58,280 They don't have to have 88 keys. 11 00:00:58,280 --> 00:00:59,800 Welcome back to the PianoPod. 12 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,120 I am your host, Yukimi Song. 13 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,880 Thanks for tuning in for the second half of Season 3, Episode 17, with a guest, Hannah 14 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:12,840 Ryman, pioneer and advocate of stretto pianos and creator of the International Stretto Piano 15 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,960 Festival and stretto piano concerts. 16 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:23,360 In part 2, I asked Hannah more specific questions about stretto pianos, such as how easy or 17 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:30,480 hard it is to adjust from a regular piano to stretto, and where can we have access to 18 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:31,480 stretto. 19 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,840 You will also hear about the exciting Stretto Piano Festival she is hosting in New York 20 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,360 City during the summer. 21 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,920 Don't forget to listen to part 1 of this episode on your favorite podcasting platform 22 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:43,440 if you missed it. 23 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,800 Before continuing the show, I want to welcome everyone listening to the PianoPod for the 24 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:48,800 first time. 25 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,440 I am a classical pianist and educator from New York City, passionate about creating a 26 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:58,640 thriving and meaningful community of the classical music industry through this podcast. 27 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:03,480 Please visit Yukimisongsio.com to find out more about my work. 28 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,380 In each episode of the PianoPod, I interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting 29 00:02:08,380 --> 00:02:10,680 new ground in the industry. 30 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,960 Please rate the show and review it on your favorite podcasting platform because every 31 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,320 rating review will help people find my show. 32 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:25,560 So my friends, here is part 2 of the PianoPod's season 3 episode 17 with Hannah Ryman. 33 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:31,120 Please enjoy the show. 34 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,400 You are listening to the PianoPod where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry 35 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:41,760 about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century. 36 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:49,480 I wondered what it's like to adjust from the regular sized piano to the stretto in terms 37 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,400 of playing wise. 38 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:57,840 I mean, you know, for someone like us with smaller hands, it feels easier. 39 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:04,800 But however, we were trained in such a way that we have this muscular sort of memory 40 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:10,940 of let's say I can sort of feel the octaves now without touching the keys, right? 41 00:03:10,940 --> 00:03:16,080 So how is it to adjust from especially you can go back and forth between a conventional 42 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,760 sized piano to stretto piano. 43 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:20,480 What's like to adjust? 44 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,600 It's much easier than most people would imagine. 45 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,040 That's like the biggest argument. 46 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:30,280 I mean, I studied with Hermann Diaz, who was the pupil of Claudio Rau. 47 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:35,280 And I remember Mr. Diaz always used to tell me, you know, when you get the right technique, 48 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:36,280 it's natural. 49 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,400 And what's natural is easier to adjust to than what's unnatural. 50 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:42,720 To play the natural way. 51 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,400 And you know, it's when you're doing something that really fits you. 52 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:51,360 I mean, actually, what you're when you have something that's too big for you, you're adjusting. 53 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,120 You're adjusting and adjusting and adjusting. 54 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,520 Have you played harpsichord or forte piano ever? 55 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,800 So you know, you play like, you know, Goldberg variations or some Bach. 56 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,080 It's not that hard to go from the harpsichord to the piano. 57 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,200 I also studied with Ben Cooper, who was, you know, this big tall man. 58 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,920 He was a great pianist, but harpsichord was his instrument. 59 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,040 He played, he changed all the time and he was big. 60 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,400 So I think it's a much smaller deal than most people think. 61 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:26,880 I mean, if you're playing virtuoso material, of course, you've got to spend some time 62 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:28,040 practicing. 63 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:29,080 It should be memorized. 64 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:30,760 You should use your eyes. 65 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,920 You know, every now and then when I'm playing Claire de Lune, I really like the big keys 66 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:36,920 because I got started. 67 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:41,440 You know, it was just like, it feels good actually to move that way. 68 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,880 It feels smaller, but it is easier. 69 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:51,880 I think everybody who has one of these pianos will attest that it's not difficult. 70 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,680 We can ask all of them at some point. 71 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:54,680 Yeah. 72 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:59,200 And then I was watching some of the videos that was posted on the organization, what 73 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:00,200 is it? 74 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:06,680 Pascpiano.org and some of the pianists, like when they first experienced the Stretto pianos, 75 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:13,680 they were in tears because just the sensation that they felt, they didn't have to make 76 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:15,600 their hands bigger. 77 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:17,080 They felt natural. 78 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:23,920 They felt like, and then one of the pianists was like crying and she says, wow, my hands 79 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:24,920 look bigger. 80 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:25,920 Yeah, they do. 81 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:26,920 They do. 82 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,280 You think, wow, this is what it feels like to be a big man. 83 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:32,440 This is really interesting. 84 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:37,440 Now let's talk about the International Stretto Piano Festival. 85 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,560 So what's the mission? 86 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:44,320 Where does this festival take place and when does that happen? 87 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:49,840 Well, I decided to create this festival after a composer from Germany gave me a piece of 88 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:52,560 music that I could not play the first chord. 89 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,560 And I thought, I want to play all the notes in this chord. 90 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,960 If I'm going to play this piece, I'm going to premiere this work. 91 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:03,840 So I decided I would only play it on my piano with little keys. 92 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,320 And I said, you know, I'm going to invite other people. 93 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:07,840 Let's have an event in New York. 94 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,240 It was, everything was shut down in 2021. 95 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,760 This was pre-vaccine. 96 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,880 And I decided that I would have an online festival. 97 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:21,300 Actually, I think it was like Ron Losby and I were talking about this. 98 00:06:21,300 --> 00:06:28,440 He was the one who said, let's put your piano in a public space and see what happens. 99 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:34,760 So the pandemic was actually had a lot of silver linings for the Stretto Piano because 100 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,880 the church where the piano was, the gallery space was pretty crowded before the pandemic. 101 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,880 And then suddenly I could practice there every day. 102 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,840 And I brainstormed and I was like, yeah, let's have an online festival. 103 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:49,520 I've been playing all these online concerts. 104 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:54,360 There's a company that was doing online streaming concerts. 105 00:06:54,360 --> 00:07:00,720 And that was what led me to contact Rhonda and Carol, Rhonda Boyle of PASS Piano. 106 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:06,800 She and Rhonda and Carol and Erica Booker created PASS and Carol Leone, as I told you, 107 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,840 is this wonderful professor and pianist. 108 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,400 They've got the worldwide network. 109 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:17,920 I had the idea and I had a location and the Stretto Festival was originally completely 110 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,600 online because we couldn't have live audiences. 111 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:26,680 And we had 18 concerts, people from four different continents. 112 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:27,680 We grossed $8,600. 113 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,120 There were 400 people in attendance. 114 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,880 We did not market anything. 115 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,080 This movement is so powerful. 116 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:40,080 And when I told Ron that, I mean, I could hear the silence on the phone when I said, 117 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,480 we made $8,600, Ron. 118 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:48,840 I think he was, didn't know what to do because he didn't think we would have success. 119 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:49,840 That was year one. 120 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:57,840 And then the second year we had 32 pianists on five continents and I had many more live 121 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,360 concerts with live audiences. 122 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:05,240 I switched locations because we outgrew the first location. 123 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:11,120 And at that point, the world was opening up more in 2022 and people didn't want to be 124 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,620 online quite as much. 125 00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:19,080 So I tried to tap into, with my friends in the entertainment industry, what's happening 126 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:25,480 online and what's happening live in person, people want to go out and hear concerts. 127 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:32,280 So my intention is to, for the next two years, is to make the festival more and more in person, 128 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:37,320 definitely in New York and wherever else we can do it around the world. 129 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:41,920 And hopefully have some solidarity with whatever those spaces are. 130 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:46,000 I'm, you know, I'm hoping I would like to propose that to the community. 131 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:52,280 But meanwhile, this year we have in-person concerts in New York and then we have uploaded 132 00:08:52,280 --> 00:09:01,000 virtual concerts during the festival period, which is July 15 to 23, 2023. 133 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:05,160 And you know, we are working very hard at it now in between all the other things that 134 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:06,680 we all do in our careers. 135 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:10,920 I have a fantastic new assistant whose name is Julia Furlan. 136 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:16,440 She graduated with her master's having, you know, playing a strato piano for years. 137 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,000 So she's part of this community. 138 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,360 She now lives in New York and I really enjoy working on this with her. 139 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,640 In fact, I'm hoping that we can have a few minutes with her on this podcast and she can 140 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:31,280 talk about her experience in university. 141 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:35,960 Here we have Julia Furlan, pianist and editor of the Violin Channel. 142 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:41,400 And she is actually a fellow Brooklynite and we're very close to each other. 143 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,560 And also she is Hanna's assistant. 144 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:47,160 So Julia, thanks for being here today. 145 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:48,160 Thank you for having me. 146 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:49,160 I'm so excited. 147 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:50,160 Yeah. 148 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,680 And then the reason I wanted to include you in this episode is that you do use strato 149 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:58,680 piano and actually received your master's degree in piano studies. 150 00:09:58,680 --> 00:09:59,680 Yeah. 151 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:01,520 With, yeah, with strato pianos. 152 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:02,520 That's amazing. 153 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:04,360 So tell me your journey as a pianist. 154 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:10,040 How did you discover strato pianos and end up getting a degree with strato? 155 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,480 My story started out a little sad in a way. 156 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:21,040 I was in college and playing around six or seven hours a day and the overuse and the 157 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,320 constant, you know, it's a piano performance degree. 158 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:24,920 You're playing a lot. 159 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:30,760 And by my junior year, I started getting some really bad tendonitis in my forearms. 160 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,320 And I think part of it and what doctors were telling me, they basically said, you should 161 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,480 just stop playing. 162 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,180 After dedicating your whole life to playing an instrument and your whole college degree, 163 00:10:41,180 --> 00:10:42,520 that wasn't really an option. 164 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:48,320 I think I remember vividly playing Rachmaninoff's prelude and B flat major and just thinking, 165 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,640 I wish I had a bigger hand. 166 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:51,880 It would be so much easier. 167 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:57,640 Those loud octaves and chords were so uncomfortable and was creating so much tension. 168 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:02,400 So I got through the degree with quite a lot of painkillers and physical therapy and you 169 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:04,120 know, all of that. 170 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:09,400 And by the end of it, I heard from a friend that the school in North Carolina called Salem 171 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:16,360 College was offering a degree in piano performance that specializes in injury preventive technique, 172 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,880 which isn't very often offered in many places. 173 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,320 So I got on the phone with the director. 174 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,800 Her name is Dr. Barbara Listercink and she was walking me through, you know, they do 175 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:31,280 a lot of retraining for injured pianists and you do an overhaul of your piano technique, 176 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:32,280 basically. 177 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:38,360 And she mentioned during this phone call, oh, we have these small narrow keyboards that 178 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,480 we allow our students to play on. 179 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:41,480 And I was shocked. 180 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,760 I said, what is this small narrow keyboard you're talking about? 181 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:50,360 And when I went down to North Carolina to try it, it was one of the most emotional experiences 182 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:51,880 I have ever had. 183 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:57,680 It was a combination of so much happiness because it felt so much more comfortable. 184 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:02,240 The forearm tension was barely there after years of dealing with it. 185 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:06,520 And then the other emotion was a little bit of anger, if I'm being honest, because I had 186 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,720 never heard of these and I couldn't help but think, oh gosh, you know, what could I have 187 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,560 avoided if I had known these existed? 188 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,460 And I had come from a pretty top notch musical education. 189 00:12:16,460 --> 00:12:21,520 So I was just shocked that no one had known about these or, you know, educated myself 190 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:22,520 and my colleagues in it. 191 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:26,440 So yeah, it was quite an emotional journey. 192 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,880 But once I found the narrow keys, I kind of haven't gone back since. 193 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,160 So Salem College seems to be really open to this idea. 194 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:40,280 But did you have a hard time convincing them in terms of getting your master's degree with 195 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:41,280 Stretto? 196 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:45,780 Actually, no, it was pretty encouraged because there are all of these studies that show the 197 00:12:45,780 --> 00:12:48,400 benefits of playing on a smaller keyboard. 198 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:50,880 So my teacher actually quite encouraged it. 199 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,400 And it's important to note we played on both. 200 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,720 So I would practice maybe like half my time on the Stretto piano and then my other half 201 00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:59,400 on the conventional keyboard. 202 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:03,280 And I even did my master's recital on the conventional. 203 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:08,440 But I practiced for it basically on the Stretto most of the time. 204 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,600 And you would be quite surprised how easy it is to switch in between. 205 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:13,600 It's really not. 206 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,520 Yeah, I was going to ask. 207 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:20,160 I'm very curious, like switching from, you know, Stretto. 208 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:24,360 I think that's one of the number one questions that people probably would ask, right? 209 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,600 I'm sure you have a similar question. 210 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:32,280 That's why probably a lot of people will have a little doubt about Stretto. 211 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,080 But that's my next question. 212 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:39,580 What's like from switching initially from standard conventional pianos to Stretto? 213 00:13:39,580 --> 00:13:44,680 So we actually in our practice room had the conventional right next to the Stretto. 214 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:48,600 And I would use the Stretto, especially if I was like feeling a little tightness in my 215 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:50,920 arms that day and everything would go great. 216 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:56,520 And then when I wanted to switch to the bigger key, I would say it would take me 15 to 20 217 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:58,640 minutes to recalibrate. 218 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:00,200 It's way quicker than you think. 219 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:05,320 Your hands and your body know what to do. 220 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,600 I think people have the conception that, oh, gosh, it'll mess me up. 221 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:10,920 It really took me. 222 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:11,920 It's very quick. 223 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,120 The hardest thing for me was the jumps and the leaps. 224 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:21,200 That's the main thing that you have to practice getting again because that's such an exact 225 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,440 movement that you have to do with your arm and hand. 226 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:28,400 So I have the master's recital to prove that you can practice on a Stretto piano most of 227 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,960 your days and then two weeks prior, start working on the conventional one and play a 228 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:34,880 recital on the conventional keyboards. 229 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:42,000 So lastly, what's the message for our listeners who most of my listeners probably do not know 230 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:49,840 the existence of Stretto pianos and plus probably while listening, just like when I first heard, 231 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,760 it's like a little bit of a doubt in my mind. 232 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:57,920 How is this possible and how I didn't hear about this till now? 233 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:02,720 Yeah, I think the message is that when you think about all of the other instruments that 234 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:07,820 people play, most of them can have different sizes, especially for children. 235 00:15:07,820 --> 00:15:10,720 They have children's size violins and so on. 236 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:16,000 And piano is really one of the few that don't have a different size and don't accommodate 237 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:17,440 other small hands. 238 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:23,600 When you think about it, the narrow key can really benefit not just children, but college 239 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:27,520 students that are playing big standard rep with small hands. 240 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:29,520 It could benefit a professional pianist. 241 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:35,420 It could really open up a whole new world of repertoire for pianists that didn't otherwise 242 00:15:35,420 --> 00:15:36,920 think they could do it. 243 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:41,800 Yeah, the main message is that they should be more accepted and should be more known 244 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:47,160 about and the beautiful work that Hannah's doing with Stretto piano concerts and the 245 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:48,160 festival. 246 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,280 Our main mission is just to get more awareness. 247 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:54,760 And when people see professional pianists performing on these instruments, it'll be 248 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:55,760 a no brainer. 249 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,440 They're like, oh, one of my favorite pianists performed on that. 250 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,040 That should be an accepted instrument. 251 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:06,720 And we're just working on the steps to make it not as niche and just more commonplace. 252 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:07,720 That's wonderful. 253 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:13,840 And then I'm glad that you're part of this movement of Stretto pianos. 254 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,600 You can see it from the musician wellness standpoint. 255 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:22,400 So many schools and universities these days are focusing on musician health and they'll 256 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,560 have a month or they'll have resources for their students. 257 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:31,180 And I do think having Stretto pianos in your piano department can help with that and would 258 00:16:31,180 --> 00:16:35,800 be a part of that and would be a really great idea to include that option for your smaller 259 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,160 handed pianist. 260 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:46,840 We have universities all over the world now that have these pianos people don't know 261 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,920 about and they're getting degrees and they're playing repertoire that they would never be 262 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,320 able to play without these pianos. 263 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:57,360 So I brought the PASC website up. 264 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,700 PASC stands for Pianist for Alternately sized keys. 265 00:17:01,700 --> 00:17:03,580 And it's a great resource. 266 00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:08,520 There's one page that tells you where you can play these pianos and I'll just whip up 267 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,320 a few names. 268 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:14,400 Universities and music schools in North America at the top of the list SMU Meadow School of 269 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,640 the Arts in Dallas, Texas where Dr. Caroleone teaches. 270 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,880 She has many pianos with narrow keys. 271 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:26,360 University of North Texas, Denton, Texas Tech University in Lubach, Texas, Salem College, 272 00:17:26,360 --> 00:17:32,640 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, St. Olaf College in 273 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,560 Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 274 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:40,640 Oh yeah, the professor there, Jess Johnson, she's a fantastic pianist. 275 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,140 She's had been part of our festival for two years. 276 00:17:44,140 --> 00:17:49,960 University of Central Oklahoma, San Diego State University, Tina Chung, fantastic pianist. 277 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,720 She's also going to be playing with us for the second time this year. 278 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,720 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, piano preparatory department of Southern Methodist University 279 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:04,440 in Dallas, Grace School of Music Dallas, and then in Europe, in Stuttgart, in Manchester, 280 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:09,120 England, in Nuremberg, Germany, Australia, in Melbourne. 281 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:11,800 You know, it just goes on and on. 282 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,400 And Cape Town, South Africa. 283 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:19,560 Every time we have a meeting I hear about another location, another university that 284 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:23,120 has narrow keys and I hear about students who are benefiting. 285 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:28,840 And if anybody wants to hear the testimonials, you saw a short clip of our sizzle reel, you 286 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,520 can go to the StrettoPianoConcerts.org and hear what people have to say. 287 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:39,880 And studios, universities, homes, yeah, it's arrived. 288 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:40,880 Thank you so much. 289 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:47,240 So StrettoPianoConcerts.org where you can find all these wonderful information if you're 290 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:53,640 curious and I would love for everybody to be actually on it on this, on her project. 291 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:58,900 And importantly, PASCpiano.org because there are a lot more statistics and years and years 292 00:18:58,900 --> 00:19:01,680 of research and the graphs and the articles. 293 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:07,120 We are really focused on performance, but we dovetail with PASC piano a bit. 294 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:11,600 Yeah, I just, I want to focus on the performance and getting people to come to things live 295 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:17,960 and PASC piano can give you even more information about electronic keyboards that have smaller 296 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,320 keys, the universities, many, many things, much more information. 297 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,240 And we'll be collaborating in the future. 298 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:26,240 Great. 299 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,120 Hannah, where does this passion come from? 300 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:36,520 I mean, with this StrettoPiano, I mean, it comes from your own experience as a pianist, 301 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:37,520 I'm sure. 302 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:44,160 Well, it does, but oddly I was a very happy pianist, you know, from being a small child 303 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:46,400 until I grew up. 304 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:52,600 I just loved playing the piano and I didn't consider my size a problem. 305 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:58,360 I think that kind of confidence has served me because I don't really feel discouraged, 306 00:19:58,360 --> 00:19:59,360 you know. 307 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:04,500 I'm also a singer and I have all kinds of different outlets for my music making. 308 00:20:04,500 --> 00:20:09,200 If anybody ever told me that my hands were too small to be a pianist, I just didn't believe 309 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:10,200 them. 310 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:11,200 I loved making music. 311 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,920 My father taught me my first Bach in Beethoven when I was a small child and I just loved 312 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:16,920 playing. 313 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,400 So your dad was a pianist? 314 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,040 My dad was a doctor. 315 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,720 He was a very good amateur pianist. 316 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:22,720 He had a harpsichord. 317 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,400 He played the organ. 318 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:31,440 His friend in university in Heidelberg, Rainer Schütze, was a harpsichord maker. 319 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:35,600 So he had a kit and he built a harpsichord that I grew up with. 320 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,200 He had this Steinway, Homburg Steinway piano that I inherited. 321 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:41,920 My father passed in 2014. 322 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,640 So my dad was really a big influence on me. 323 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:50,240 He taught me to love the great German and Austrian composers and I wanted to play like 324 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:51,240 him. 325 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,200 And, you know, I'm also a multi-genre artist. 326 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,280 I've never been only in the classical world. 327 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:02,560 I sang in rock bands when I was a preteen and I sang in a punk band and I write music. 328 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,040 I do all kinds of different things. 329 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:08,400 I started making films when I became an actor and I don't know. 330 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:13,120 I think maybe the freedom that I've had not being boxed in, even though it limited me 331 00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:19,100 to not like going for the classical career, I really feel like I've seen the entertainment 332 00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:21,840 industry in a slightly bigger way. 333 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,640 And I love classical piano and I will always play. 334 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:30,280 But we have to realize that an innovation like changing the size of piano keys, the 335 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:35,000 classical world, you know, that's a very small part of entertainment. 336 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:41,160 And for this to be embraced by the world, we have to include everybody, all the amateurs, 337 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,040 all the children, all the people who play pop, all the people who could care less about 338 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:46,520 classical music. 339 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:48,960 It's a world of invention. 340 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:55,000 So I don't know, seeing that, I don't get discouraged easily by anything. 341 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,320 I never wanted to quit doing this. 342 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:03,360 I mean, I get tired of spending all this money and time and effort, but I knew that I knew 343 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:09,240 from playing and from, you know, more testimonials that I heard and things that popped up on 344 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,600 my radar over 30 years that this was not a waste of time. 345 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:22,240 But with all the time and effort you spent and also money too, eventually you'll have 346 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,880 a piano named after you. 347 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:29,280 Oh no, you keep me. 348 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:34,280 When I was in my 20s, I told my mom that I was like, you think there can be a Ryman piano? 349 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,940 And she was like, Anna, just forget about that. 350 00:22:37,940 --> 00:22:41,160 Just go on your path and just do whatever you can. 351 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:42,160 So I forgot about it. 352 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:46,200 I can really see that that happened. 353 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:52,520 I was married to a man named Paul Coletti, who is a fabulous violist and a famous violist. 354 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,480 And I remember when I had to consider taking his name or not. 355 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:00,200 I was like, well, if I make a piano called Ryman, it's going to sound like it's going 356 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:01,200 to last forever. 357 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,840 But if I make a Coletti, it sounds very artistic, but a little delicate. 358 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:06,760 I want the German name. 359 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,360 That actually crossed my mind when I got married. 360 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:11,360 And now we're not married. 361 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,400 So, you know, I have my name. 362 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:15,400 We're still good friends. 363 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,040 He's still a very important person in my life. 364 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:19,040 Wonderful. 365 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:20,040 Wow. 366 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,520 So I want to talk a little bit about your career. 367 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:27,840 You have this interesting, as you mentioned, you have you are an actor, you do filmmaking, 368 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:28,840 you do compose. 369 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:30,760 You're also a teacher. 370 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:31,760 Right. 371 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:39,960 So especially I'm very curious about your project about Joni Mitchell, the famous Canadian 372 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,320 songwriter, singer songwriter. 373 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,920 And actually, you resemble her a little bit. 374 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:53,840 Yeah, like from her like in 1970s around that time of the picture, especially when she has 375 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:54,840 the bangs. 376 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,200 And I think I've seen your photos with the bangs. 377 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,400 And then I was like, oh, yeah, you look like Joni Mitchell. 378 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:07,560 Anyway, so you devoted your part of your career, interpreting, you know, her music, Joni's 379 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:14,480 music, and I think you created the show called Both Sides Now, which is actually the title 380 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:16,760 of her very famous song. 381 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:24,480 And as I was researching, Joni Mitchell actually, like, is encouraging you or advocating you, 382 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,960 like giving you like a lot of praise. 383 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:27,960 Right. 384 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,840 Or maybe it's a website. 385 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:35,600 I don't know if she herself is aware of my interpretations. 386 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:42,080 I'm, you know, I'm a very careful I don't want to approach her in a pushy way. 387 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:47,560 I the quickest way for me to express this is Joni Mitchell is a wonderful composer whose 388 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:48,560 music I love. 389 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:53,720 I think of her the same way I think of Beethoven or, you know, I specialized in Astor Piazzolla 390 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,040 when I was in my 20s and early 30s. 391 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,360 She's I love her music. 392 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:04,280 And the same way I want to honor those composers, I want to honor her work. 393 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:07,560 She's very famous in the pop music world. 394 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,180 You know, there's a lot of guard dogs. 395 00:25:10,180 --> 00:25:12,520 It's a different world than classical music. 396 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,840 There's like all this music publishing and millions of dollars involved with, you know, 397 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:17,840 people of that stature. 398 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,760 I mean, some famous classical composers the same. 399 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:27,080 But you know, if if the opportunity arises that she hears our interpretations, me and 400 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:30,640 my band or, you know, me and my colleagues, I would love that. 401 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:34,160 The best I can do is just, you know, continuing to play her music. 402 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:39,400 I started that project for very deeply personal reasons when my dad was extremely sick with 403 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:44,480 dementia and like from around 2010 to 2014. 404 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:49,240 I mean, it's just and like as a musician, can you imagine if you didn't have a memory 405 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,920 anymore, if you just lost your memory? 406 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:56,000 I remember when my father, you know, he played the accordion, he played the piano. 407 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,800 Eventually, he just refused because he started to forget what to do. 408 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:05,320 And it made him so angry that he just quit playing everything. 409 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,560 But he would sing when I would accompany him. 410 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:13,280 And we you know, my movie has some him singing a song by Schubert. 411 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,760 I made a movie about him and the last three years of his life. 412 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,280 And the Joni Mitchell project is related with all of that. 413 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:25,960 I turned to a record called Blue that she wrote in the late 60s and 70s. 414 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:32,200 These were really special songs to help me heal from this terrible pain that I was feeling. 415 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:33,880 And that was how the project started. 416 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,320 But it was it was not as easy as I thought it would be. 417 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:42,260 And with so much work that the guitar player I work with, Michelle Temple, we decided to 418 00:26:42,260 --> 00:26:44,480 continue performing her music. 419 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:49,020 And then I would hire more people to do the larger ensembles for birthday shows and bigger 420 00:26:49,020 --> 00:26:51,840 shows to celebrate her birthday. 421 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,560 And it's been really very rewarding to play this music. 422 00:26:54,560 --> 00:27:00,320 It really, it's really taught me a lot as a songwriter, as a musician, as an arranger. 423 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:05,600 I'm very grateful to her for all the amazing amount of work that she's produced over the 424 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:07,600 you know, she'll be 80 this year. 425 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:09,600 And it's quite amazing. 426 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,280 You also have made independent films. 427 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,440 You appeared in over 20 independent films and everything. 428 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:19,600 I mean, do you have like 27 hours a day or something? 429 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:25,560 And that you know, my acting career was also interrupted by my father's illness. 430 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:29,560 I had this dream too, that I wanted to play in movies. 431 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:34,520 I wanted to play piano in movies because I kept seeing all these actors, you know, pretending 432 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:36,760 to play or they have a body double. 433 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,800 I thought, you know, maybe I could do both. 434 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,920 So I went to acting school and then I fell in love with acting and I started playing 435 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:45,080 all kinds of roles. 436 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:49,600 And I realized that like, you know, this whole thing about playing to camera, there's like 437 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:51,640 this many roles with that. 438 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,880 There's like, there's, it's very hard to create that role. 439 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:57,840 Maybe I'll create my own film one day. 440 00:27:57,840 --> 00:27:58,840 Who knows? 441 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:04,600 It was also, I think, I think it's important for singers to study acting because it changes 442 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,600 the performance, you know, of presentation of song lyrics. 443 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:13,560 A lot of opera singers have dramatic coaches, you know. 444 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:15,800 Yeah, I'm an artist. 445 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:21,280 I don't really fit into a box, but that was, it was a gift to me to become an actor and 446 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:25,680 to work in those films because when my father got sick, I thought, you know, I want to make 447 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,660 a documentary about my dad and his illness. 448 00:28:28,660 --> 00:28:32,360 And it gave me the courage, you know, from working on these very small productions to 449 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:35,080 just do it myself in an inexpensive way. 450 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:38,400 Just, you know, work with cinematographers and get a camera myself. 451 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,560 So my film is for sale. 452 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,400 It's called My Father's House, a Journey of Love and Memory. 453 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:47,880 I have a distributor and I learned a lot from that experience. 454 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,200 But that's, you know, it kind of dovetails with the Joanie project. 455 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,200 Wow, incredible. 456 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:59,600 Hey, TPP friends and listeners, the PianoPod is in its third season. 457 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:05,320 Thanks to all of you for watching or listening to every episode since its launch in 2020. 458 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:11,040 I started this show with a simple question I had in mind for quite some time, which is 459 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:15,520 how can we as classical pianists and music educators present the beautiful classical 460 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:20,840 music tradition to the 21st century audience in a fun, contemporary and engaging way? 461 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,880 It's been an incredible journey for the last three years. 462 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:30,720 I love what I do through this podcast, providing a platform for pianists and educators to reflect 463 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:36,280 and discuss freely how we can keep the classical music industry thriving and relevant in this 464 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,600 rapidly changing world. 465 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:43,480 Now more than ever, I need your support so that I can continue my work by bringing you 466 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:49,600 highly valuable content bi-weekly by interviewing groundbreakers in the industry. 467 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:55,720 Your support will go directly to all the costs of the PianoPod, such as a yearly subscription 468 00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:02,280 to the podcast hosting platform, the software I use for high quality recording sessions 469 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:09,640 and tech gear, as well as all the hours I spend researching and audio and video editing. 470 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:14,340 You can make a one-time donation or monthly pledge by clicking the PayPal link in the 471 00:30:14,340 --> 00:30:20,000 show notes or going to TPP's website at thepianopod.com. 472 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,880 As a thank you, you will receive the PianoPod's fun logo sticker in the mail. 473 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:31,080 So please support my show today and don't forget to subscribe, continue listening and 474 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,360 tell your friends and colleagues about the PianoPod. 475 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:36,560 Let's continue with the episode. 476 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:40,680 So now I kind of want to more go toward the philosophical questions. 477 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:44,200 I want to know your vision of the classical music industry. 478 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:50,960 So what's your thought on keeping this classical music itself relevant and then thriving in 479 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:56,600 this fast-paced society, especially in this post-pandemic era? 480 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,000 You know, that's such a great question, Yukimi. 481 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:04,480 And I haven't thought about it for years, but when I saw it on the list of questions 482 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:09,920 you sent me, I was like, wow, what a wonderful thing that you're doing asking people about 483 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:17,080 this now, because life does race ahead and classical music was built on this foundation 484 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:24,240 of being in the moment, creating notes on pages that we didn't use iPads for. 485 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:26,880 I still use a pencil and staff paper. 486 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:32,240 I think that's part of the beauty of great classical music. 487 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:37,600 When I started this project with Narrow Keys, what kept ringing in my mind was I want to 488 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,280 meet the next Mozart. 489 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:45,820 I want to put as many young kids in front of a piano that fits them and see who improvises 490 00:31:45,820 --> 00:31:48,600 and writes great music. 491 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,800 That is, you know, okay, so it's going to be protected by copyright. 492 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,880 They didn't have copyright back in the 1700s and 1800s. 493 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,240 People shared ideas constantly. 494 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:05,120 You know, being married to Paul and playing all over the world with Paul, we didn't steal 495 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:06,640 from each other. 496 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:10,720 We didn't, you know, we weren't possessive about a phrase of music. 497 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:12,640 We wrote together. 498 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:18,000 And like, I mean, I'm not going to compare myself with Mozart and Haydn, but, you know, 499 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:19,480 they shared music. 500 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:20,720 They learned from each other. 501 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:24,600 They didn't have to pay each other fees to do this. 502 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:31,840 I truly believe that compositions that come forth from improvisation and from the activity 503 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:38,200 of playing is the most beautiful and pure expression of music. 504 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:43,680 I'm not against academic music that's, you know, like we used to call it plink plonk music. 505 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:48,840 That's just very mathematic and doesn't necessarily have recognizable melodies or harmonies or 506 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,200 rhythm, which is what I thought music was. 507 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:57,680 But whatever, the expression of passion and emotion that all the great composers, that 508 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:05,640 we continue to play and memorize thousands of hours, where that came from, those kids, 509 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,960 those young composers, I know they're out there. 510 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:14,700 I know that there's beautiful music that can continue to be flowing from people's hearts 511 00:33:14,700 --> 00:33:16,300 and minds and hands. 512 00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:20,700 And I guess I would like to see that celebrated in whatever way is possible. 513 00:33:20,700 --> 00:33:25,320 And that was what changed the development of musical instruments. 514 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:31,440 Let's see if we can just have a little bit more fun with that and look into innovation 515 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,040 and new practices. 516 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:41,960 I don't think we're ever going to change the harmonies and the scales from Western and 517 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:43,120 Eastern music. 518 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:47,000 They're mixing together the Indian scales. 519 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,680 We both have East Asian blood. 520 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,960 I have Korean in case anybody doesn't know out there. 521 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,560 Everything will continue to mix together, but we're not going to reinvent the wheel 522 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,400 to an unrecognizable place. 523 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:09,780 Then also you do a lot of multidisciplinary project or creation when it comes to music. 524 00:34:09,780 --> 00:34:13,560 But also you have this multidisciplinary career anyway. 525 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:17,560 You have your actor, filmmaker, composer, musician. 526 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:24,000 So under the umbrella of classical music, quote unquote, how far can we push in terms 527 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:29,040 of multidisciplinary works and performances, you think? 528 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:34,880 I know more and more musicians like myself who switch genres. 529 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:37,720 I think it's just much more accepted now. 530 00:34:37,720 --> 00:34:45,960 There are people like Steve Sandberg, Chris O'Reilly, David Amram, who's in his 90s. 531 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:50,560 They're all going to be in the Strato Festival this year. 532 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:52,520 Some of them have been in the past. 533 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:58,880 I know more and more pianists who switch from jazz to classical and to playing pop, accompanying. 534 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:04,360 I think it's a much more flexible world today than it was when I was a student. 535 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,600 There are an enormous number of prejudices against me. 536 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:09,160 You can't be a Renaissance person. 537 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:11,960 You can't do all of these things well. 538 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:15,320 Again, I just didn't let it discourage me. 539 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:16,840 I listened to Joni Mitchell. 540 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:17,960 She doesn't have a genre. 541 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,520 She has dozens of records and they're all different. 542 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:22,160 They couldn't be put in boxes. 543 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,080 Now suddenly she's getting all this acclaim for that. 544 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:32,120 So, you know, I mean, business, creativity, those are the things that is the problem, 545 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,760 that those things butt heads against each other and putting people in boxes. 546 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:42,400 I think people are beginning to realize that they don't really care about that anymore. 547 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,440 You know, OK, so there's copyright. 548 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:47,920 You can't make money off of CDs or albums anymore. 549 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:48,920 Right. 550 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:52,400 What do you get like 0.0017 cents for every stream? 551 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:57,800 Like maybe after 20 years you might make 10 or 20 or 30 thousand dollars on Spotify. 552 00:35:57,800 --> 00:35:59,640 It depends on who you are. 553 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:04,840 But I think in a way that has opened things up a little bit. 554 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:10,380 That business broke down a bit and is really disappointing for musicians. 555 00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:15,160 But it's opened something up, it's allowed people to be a little bit more multidisciplinary. 556 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:20,080 I mean, there are many, don't you think there are many more multidisciplinary artists now 557 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:21,560 than when we were a lot younger? 558 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:24,120 Yeah, I've interviewed so many of them. 559 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:29,000 Even they have this really straightforward classical career, classical music career. 560 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:33,640 But then on the side, for example, they do a lot of multidisciplinary things and that 561 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:35,520 I did not know about. 562 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:39,880 You know, after teaching for 30 years, the other thing is, it's like, I think it's just 563 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:42,800 good not to have prejudices against each other. 564 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,660 Some of my students will only be classical musicians. 565 00:36:45,660 --> 00:36:47,960 Some of them will only be improvisers. 566 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,320 Some of them will only, you know, sing a certain style. 567 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:56,440 You know, I don't think anybody should attack anybody else for being this or being that. 568 00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:59,760 I think it's, you know, it's like you were talking in the beginning of our conversations 569 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:00,760 about equity. 570 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:06,200 People choose, they can make discoveries, have experiences and choose what suits them. 571 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:09,600 And if you can do more than one thing, there's nothing wrong with that. 572 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:18,920 What's the next step for you, for your career, especially with the stretto? 573 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:25,320 I had to face that if I really wanted to devote myself to this concert series and, you know, 574 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:30,840 put my pianos in a public space, I would have to make that the biggest thing in my life. 575 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:35,560 Even if it's, you know, like I have to humble myself and put it before other parts of my 576 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:37,160 career. 577 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,440 But I need to balance that with the fact that I am a performer and that I'm a creator and 578 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:43,680 that is part of my identity. 579 00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:45,280 So I'm, you know, it's a balancing act. 580 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:49,320 I'm trying to find ways to progress with all of those things. 581 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:53,840 But I feel like the time has really come to offer people a choice of key size. 582 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:58,040 And since my piano is the only one in New York that's been in a public space, I don't 583 00:37:58,040 --> 00:38:03,280 really know in New York City where the other pianos with small keys are or if there are 584 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:07,000 any like my piano that we could have concerts on. 585 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:10,080 So I feel like, you know, it's time for me to devote myself to that. 586 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:14,680 It's very difficult in New York City with the price of real estate, challenges of real 587 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:15,680 estate. 588 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:17,800 That's really the biggest challenge in my life. 589 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,260 But I'm confident that it will happen. 590 00:38:21,260 --> 00:38:25,480 And I encourage everybody to donate to our cause. 591 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:31,880 Come and play the piano, help us put it in a place and play with us, you know, have fun. 592 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,120 Let's do something enjoyable together. 593 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:35,760 That's what I'm devoted to right now. 594 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:36,760 Sounds great. 595 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:42,800 If you want to find more about Stretto Pianos and then the International Stretto Piano Festival, 596 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,420 please go to StrettoPianoConcerts.org. 597 00:38:46,420 --> 00:38:54,800 But also you can check out Pascpiano.org to learn more about pianos of alternatively sized 598 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:55,800 keyboards. 599 00:38:55,800 --> 00:39:02,520 And as a side note, because I know my producer would kill me if I didn't say this, StrettoPianoConcerts.org 600 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:03,840 is really important. 601 00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:06,960 However, I am coming out with an EP this year. 602 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:10,360 You know, it's been put off for years because of the pandemic. 603 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:11,880 I'll have a new record this year. 604 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:13,160 I just released a single. 605 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,000 If you want to hear it, it's on my website. 606 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,400 There's a little teaser music video. 607 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:19,560 I'll be working on some music videos. 608 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:25,440 I plan to go to Los Angeles to do my Joanie show and we'll have more shows in New York. 609 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:29,200 And I'll be, you know, making a solo piano record as well. 610 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,000 I've been very quiet about that. 611 00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:35,920 But that's something that I have been wanting to do for many years. 612 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:39,040 And it's time to do that too with my StrettoPiano. 613 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:43,840 So there's a recording that I made back in the 1990s that I never released. 614 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:48,480 And I'm excited about, you know, getting that music out too and just having the courage 615 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:50,640 to be seen as a classical player as well. 616 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:52,600 Wow, you are amazing. 617 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:55,400 Not a lot of people even can accomplish half of what you're doing. 618 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:56,400 So that's amazing. 619 00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:57,400 That's great. 620 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:01,800 I hope that you'll come and try the piano when it's in the right place. 621 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:03,200 I know I would love to. 622 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:07,000 I would love to really attend one of the concerts or festival. 623 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:11,800 Get it in a space before then I'll invite you as soon as possible. 624 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:17,160 Right now the piano is in storage and I'm anxiously hoping to move it, you know, by 625 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,760 and have it in a place where people can come and try it. 626 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:21,520 Yes, please, please invite me. 627 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:22,960 I would love to try it. 628 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:29,720 So this has been such a fun and really inspirational conversation, Hannah. 629 00:40:29,720 --> 00:40:34,640 And before I let you go, we have one more thing to do, which is the piano part rapid 630 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:35,640 fire questions. 631 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:40,200 And this is a part of the show where I get to ask fun questions to each guest. 632 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:45,640 So here's a little warning as silly as these questions may sound, your answers may reveal 633 00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:47,640 who you truly are. 634 00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:50,000 So ready or not. 635 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:51,000 Okay. 636 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:52,000 All right. 637 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:55,360 So question number one, what is your comfort food? 638 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:56,360 Bibimbap. 639 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:57,360 Amen. 640 00:40:57,360 --> 00:40:58,360 Yes. 641 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:02,280 How do you like your coffee? 642 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:07,760 I drank a black this morning, but I'm usually I'm usually an oat latte or a half and half 643 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:09,800 person depends on the day. 644 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:10,800 Castle dogs. 645 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:14,120 Oh my God. 646 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:15,600 That one I can't answer. 647 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:16,600 I love both. 648 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:17,600 Sorry. 649 00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:18,600 It's okay. 650 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:19,600 No. 651 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:20,600 Okay. 652 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:23,640 But Solomon, my cat, you know, whatever. 653 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:24,960 He's my roommate. 654 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,920 What is your word or words to live by? 655 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:29,320 Carpe Diem. 656 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,160 Live in the moment. 657 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:32,160 Presence now. 658 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:33,160 Yeah. 659 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:37,920 What is the most important quality you look for in other people? 660 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:39,680 Authenticity. 661 00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:43,680 Name three people who inspire you living or dead. 662 00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:47,620 Joseph Hoffman, Marie Curie. 663 00:41:47,620 --> 00:41:50,920 And then the last person is going to be Elliott Sharp because I just met him. 664 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:53,400 I have many people, but I just met him. 665 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:55,400 He's a really cool composer. 666 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:56,560 Totally out of the box. 667 00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:57,800 Just heard him play. 668 00:41:57,800 --> 00:41:58,800 Really interesting. 669 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:02,240 So name one piece in your current playlist. 670 00:42:02,240 --> 00:42:06,320 The Boho Dance by Joni Mitchell. 671 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:08,000 Now this is the last one. 672 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:09,960 So fill in a blank. 673 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:11,960 Music is blank. 674 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:12,960 My life. 675 00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:15,200 Thank you for answering all these questions. 676 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:18,240 So this concludes this episode of the Piano Fault. 677 00:42:18,240 --> 00:42:22,920 Thank you, Hannah, for joining my show today and then sharing your stories and insights 678 00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:24,420 and expertise. 679 00:42:24,420 --> 00:42:32,240 You can learn more about Hannah and her amazing work through her website at hannahraven.com. 680 00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:38,160 And you can find more information about Stretto Pianos at strettopianoconcerts.org. 681 00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:40,600 All the links are in the show notes. 682 00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:43,240 And thank you to my wonderful audience and fans for tuning in. 683 00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:48,080 If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review it on whatever podcasting platform 684 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:49,080 you use. 685 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:54,240 Remember to hit the thumbs up button and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you're watching from 686 00:42:54,240 --> 00:43:00,800 YouTube and follow the Piano Paz social media to get the latest piano news via Facebook, 687 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:02,880 Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 688 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:05,880 I will see you for the next episode of the Piano Fault. 689 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:06,880 Bye everyone. 690 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:07,880 And thank you, Hannah. 691 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:08,880 Thank you so much. 692 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:09,880 Thank you. 693 00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:10,880 What a pleasure. 694 00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:11,880 Thank you for the opportunity. 695 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:12,880 Thank you. 696 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:13,380 Thank you.