WEBVTT 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:31.280 That was the opening of Schumann's Arbeck Variations 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.539 and it was performed by Anna Genuchenya. I'm 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:38.000 Erica Wirth and welcome to this Pianist Podcast. 00:00:38.579 --> 00:00:41.840 Today I am speaking to Anna about her new album, 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:47.439 Opus One and lots more. Anna, it's so lovely 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:50.600 to have you on the Pianist Podcast today. Thank 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:53.200 you so much, Erica. Thank you. You're very welcome. 00:00:53.259 --> 00:00:55.079 And I think what we're going to do is kick off 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:57.630 by talking about your... new album, which is 00:00:57.630 --> 00:01:00.149 called Opus One, which I think is a wonderful 00:01:00.149 --> 00:01:03.469 title. And in your illuminating booklet notes, 00:01:03.789 --> 00:01:06.530 you say that all the composers on the album share 00:01:06.530 --> 00:01:09.469 a common thread, the experience of the beginning. 00:01:09.870 --> 00:01:13.790 So if you can expand on this. Absolutely. Absolutely. 00:01:13.989 --> 00:01:16.989 With great pleasure. First of all, I'm kind of 00:01:16.989 --> 00:01:19.890 an Opus One myself because I was born on a... 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:23.379 1st of January, 1991. So I'm actually opening 00:01:23.379 --> 00:01:29.280 and launching the year with my birthday. So actually, 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:32.659 that's how this crazy idea appeared on my mind. 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:36.280 But of course, the idea felt quite essential 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:40.459 to me because each of these works that are listed 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:45.239 in this album is a first word from different 00:01:45.239 --> 00:01:47.319 composers coming from different parts of the 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:51.950 world. filled with both uncertainty and courage, 00:01:52.349 --> 00:01:57.069 right? And I just wanted to capture that sense 00:01:57.069 --> 00:02:03.370 of discovery, vulnerability, role, youthful energy, 00:02:03.590 --> 00:02:06.829 and all this. So that was it. I think you're 00:02:06.829 --> 00:02:08.629 right. I mean, they were all obviously pretty 00:02:08.629 --> 00:02:12.240 young. Absolutely. yeah when they did their opus 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.280 once and obviously you know the schumann's are 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:19.099 bag variations and the berg sonata are very well 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:23.120 known but the others on the album are lesser 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.219 known especially they're not performed so much 00:02:25.219 --> 00:02:27.159 so maybe you could tell us a bit about the other 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:30.460 works absolutely uh of course you know they're 00:02:30.460 --> 00:02:37.300 lesser known pieces that were written by, for 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:41.699 example, Clementi, or even Ronda Opus One written 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:46.860 by Frederic Chopin is also on a lesser known 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:50.180 site, which is quite fascinating because I think, 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:56.180 you know, living in our era, it's extremely hard 00:02:56.180 --> 00:03:02.300 to find something which which can remain undiscovered. 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:08.340 And when I stumbled across this fascinating piece 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:12.340 written by 15 years old Chopin, I realized, okay, 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:15.699 so this is one of my favorite works and I would 00:03:15.699 --> 00:03:20.780 love to record it. But of course, they're rarely 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:23.419 programmed, but that's what drew me to them. 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:28.699 And they show the composers in their raw searching 00:03:28.699 --> 00:03:35.699 states rather than before they were defined by 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:39.280 style, I would say so. And of course, you know, 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:44.199 when it comes to Baird, this absolutely majestic 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:49.060 sonata. it contains so much vulnerability because 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:51.580 you know he was you know in in quite unconscious 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:54.840 state of mind i mean he was uh suffering from 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:57.840 finding enough level of self -confidence while 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:01.840 he was writing this piece and uh this particular 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:05.639 music reflects on this on this subject so we 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:10.439 can actually feel uh this uncertainty coming 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:16.360 from each musical line it really It's fascinating. 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:19.819 But what's interesting about Alban Beg, for example, 00:04:19.819 --> 00:04:25.379 is this opus one has become so revered. He obviously 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:29.240 wrote other piano pieces, Klavierstück, and they're 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:32.699 way less known. It's amazing that an opus one 00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:36.199 has stood out like that, isn't it? You know, 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:40.060 my impression is that maybe those early Klavierstücken, 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:45.660 they are more experimental, I would say so. But 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:49.660 this sonata, despite of the fact that it's just 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:55.699 Opus 1, already holds so much of Berg's mature 00:04:55.699 --> 00:05:00.360 world, which we will experience afterwards in 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:04.779 his more popular works like Wozzeck or whatever. 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:13.779 It is amazing to see how he could predict his 00:05:13.779 --> 00:05:16.699 own musical language, starting literally from 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:20.579 scratch, starting from the very beginning. That's 00:05:20.579 --> 00:05:22.579 quite interesting, because then you look at somebody, 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:25.199 you look at a composer like Scriabin, who started 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:29.500 off very, very classically romantic -y, totally 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:32.199 different, didn't he? Absolutely, absolutely. 00:05:32.540 --> 00:05:37.060 And actually, Scriabin was also in my list, but 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:39.339 unfortunately, due to the time limitation, we're 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:43.410 still limited in 80 minutes. for each CD. And 00:05:43.410 --> 00:05:46.050 unfortunately, I could not record Scriabin's 00:05:46.050 --> 00:05:50.709 wonderful pieces, but probably next time. Which 00:05:50.709 --> 00:05:53.970 is the opus one Scriabin? If I'm not missing, 00:05:54.069 --> 00:05:59.310 they're like preludes or some like album leaves 00:05:59.310 --> 00:06:01.589 or something like that. I might be wrong, though. 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:04.949 We love Scriabin. Scriabin is amazing. Oh, yes. 00:06:05.189 --> 00:06:10.649 Oh, yes. And the Brahms sonata opus one, sonata 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:13.810 number one, opus one. that's not played much 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:17.810 today is it? Absolutely and it's very true to 00:06:17.810 --> 00:06:22.629 say that it's not his most performed piece but 00:06:22.629 --> 00:06:29.290 I find it incredibly honest and useful and of 00:06:29.290 --> 00:06:32.029 course you know you can hear him wrestling with 00:06:32.029 --> 00:06:36.009 Beethoven and trying to find his own language. 00:06:36.389 --> 00:06:39.430 And of course, probably, you know, that he's 00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:44.230 been struck by this idea. He was obsessed with 00:06:44.230 --> 00:06:49.329 an idea of what should I... write in order to 00:06:49.329 --> 00:06:53.649 conquer Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata and 00:06:53.649 --> 00:06:59.709 then he wrote this Sonata opus one number one 00:06:59.709 --> 00:07:06.209 in C major which does not last 40 minutes definitely 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:11.709 but it's so bombastic it's so pompous and so 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:16.240 so grander right and It really fascinates me 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:20.060 every time when I, you know, I actually, of course, 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:23.620 it's not possible to compare these particular 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:28.160 pieces, but at least you can trace the evidence 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:36.240 of youthful abundancy of creativity and energy 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:42.040 that he was trying to put into this music. Fascinating. 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:45.279 Yeah, because I think a lot of... pianists feel 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:51.459 that it is slightly too bombastic. You just need 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:56.800 to find the middle between being super emotional 00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:04.019 and super energetic and still finding this fragility. 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:07.259 especially when it comes to the third movement, 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:12.100 because it's one of his most tender and almost 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:16.240 whispering melodies that he would pick for his 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:18.959 music. Wonderful. And then I think the only one 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:21.519 we haven't touched on is Tchaikovsky, his two 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:26.879 pieces, Opus One. I must say the impromptu is 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:31.420 just gorgeous. Oh, absolutely. Actually, impromptu 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:36.029 was the starting point of this, album because 00:08:36.029 --> 00:08:40.330 I think I discovered this piece almost seven 00:08:40.330 --> 00:08:47.110 or eight years ago and I was driven by its creativity 00:08:47.110 --> 00:08:56.370 and also its fragility and tenderness I think 00:08:56.370 --> 00:08:59.870 I mean I might be wrong though that it actually 00:08:59.870 --> 00:09:02.970 reminded me about some of the tunes that have 00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:10.889 been used by Red Deerhead in their albums. I'm 00:09:10.889 --> 00:09:16.350 obsessed, I'm a biggest fan of Red Deerhead group 00:09:16.350 --> 00:09:20.750 so I was like oh my god this is absolutely incredible 00:09:20.750 --> 00:09:25.350 and of course having a musical background it 00:09:25.350 --> 00:09:32.389 always strikes you how these melodies could be 00:09:32.389 --> 00:09:35.629 picked and used in different circumstances, in 00:09:35.629 --> 00:09:40.389 different fields of music. So after that, I realized, 00:09:40.570 --> 00:09:45.490 okay, so I should try to think about this idea 00:09:45.490 --> 00:09:49.029 of Opus 1 more precisely, more carefully. So 00:09:49.029 --> 00:09:52.750 that's how it all started. Yeah, but regarding 00:09:52.750 --> 00:09:57.440 the Tchaikovsky pieces, it's a kind of a revelation 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:02.240 because of course you know that music has become 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.320 the second degree for Tchaikovsky and he started 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:11.519 composing music at the age of 23 -24 and but 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.200 before that he graduated as a lawyer so he got 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:19.000 a degree as a lawyer from the university. But 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:22.220 then he decided that probably he's just doing 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:26.340 something wrong or maybe this particular field 00:10:26.340 --> 00:10:30.019 is not something that he would really would like 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:34.159 to dedicate his life to. That's how it all turned 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:42.240 out. And these particular two pieces were written 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:49.230 at the age of 24. I think these pieces are the 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:54.730 oldest, the most matured ones, I would say. Yes, 00:10:54.730 --> 00:10:57.210 exactly. Wow, that's so interesting. Absolutely 00:10:57.210 --> 00:11:01.350 interesting. And what I like about you, I mean... 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:05.940 I really like the idea behind, the concept behind 00:11:05.940 --> 00:11:08.679 this album. And the one that you've done previously, 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:11.679 the solo album, is one that's called Berceuse, 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:17.519 Lullaby. Inventive programming as well. How did 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.340 that idea come about? Well, of course, that was 00:11:20.340 --> 00:11:25.179 a very personal project and music connected to 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:30.200 tenderness, comfort, motherhood. And by the time 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:33.279 that I realized that I have this opportunity 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:37.320 to record something, I became a mother of second 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:41.200 child, like Cleburne guy, we would call him like 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:46.360 that. Because, you know, he was actively participating 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:52.720 in the Clyburn competition in 2022. So this particular 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:57.970 album. just grew very naturally out of my life 00:11:57.970 --> 00:12:04.809 at that moment and so we picked these 18 composers 00:12:04.809 --> 00:12:08.049 again coming from different parts of the world 00:12:08.049 --> 00:12:12.730 just to see and to make kind of an assessment 00:12:12.730 --> 00:12:20.049 what do we have, what kind of works have been 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.720 dedicated to this theme, to this particular theme. 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:29.019 And I was absolutely amazed by the amount of 00:12:29.019 --> 00:12:32.220 the music that I've never heard in my life. And 00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:37.259 that's how it went. I know. I mean, the Bursers, 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:39.840 I mean, you could have volume after volume of 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:43.799 Bursers, couldn't you? Absolutely. But unfortunately, 00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:52.409 I was hold to make recordings only of lesser 00:12:52.409 --> 00:12:57.629 known pieces so that's why unfortunately I had 00:12:57.629 --> 00:13:06.490 to to omit for example very popular verses written 00:13:06.490 --> 00:13:09.190 by Frederic Chopin even though I would love to 00:13:09.190 --> 00:13:13.009 play this music but it was actually the the regulations 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:17.610 the conditions that we agreed on before the recording 00:13:17.610 --> 00:13:20.789 session oh my goodness that's so lovely though 00:13:20.789 --> 00:13:23.649 that you were of course you were pregnant at 00:13:23.649 --> 00:13:27.389 the van cliburn how how many months did you know 00:13:27.389 --> 00:13:33.129 you were i think it was uh uh by the uh the end 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:38.250 of this uh of this competition i was already 00:13:38.250 --> 00:13:42.620 seven months pregnant yeah My goodness, my goodness. 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:46.879 I mean, talking of the competition, I know that 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.440 these international competitions aren't for everyone 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:52.179 and you never know who's going to win. It's potluck. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:55.360 Well, it's not potluck, but sometimes you just 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:56.940 don't know who the judges are going to choose. 00:13:57.059 --> 00:14:00.559 But by you having been awarded silver at the 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.139 Van Cliburn, it seems to have really, the recognition 00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:06.419 and everything behind that seems to have catapulted 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:09.440 your career even more. Would you say that? Absolutely. 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:15.799 It would be probably fair to say that it was 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:19.019 kind of a turning point for me, both professionally 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:24.559 and personally, because it not only opens so 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:28.139 many doors and opportunities, but it also gave 00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:32.759 me the... enough level of confidence in my artistic 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:36.740 voice. Because I think, you know, of course, 00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:40.120 I've been to so many different competitions before 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:48.759 this one. And even though I had quite a success 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:55.860 during the previous editions, that would be probably 00:14:55.860 --> 00:15:02.769 the milestone of my career as a competitor you 00:15:02.769 --> 00:15:06.590 won't be doing it again no definitely not i'm 00:15:06.590 --> 00:15:09.730 too old i'm too old for this i know and you were 00:15:09.730 --> 00:15:13.029 you were 31 weren't you at the time because of 00:15:13.029 --> 00:15:16.509 covid um exactly yes they they made a special 00:15:16.509 --> 00:15:20.529 exception so uh i was i was lucky enough to be 00:15:20.529 --> 00:15:23.789 admitted for the um from for the preliminary 00:15:23.789 --> 00:15:28.029 and then um the main face of the competition 00:15:28.429 --> 00:15:31.409 because of the COVID. It's really, it's incredible 00:15:31.409 --> 00:15:36.409 thing to say that COVID actually helped me. Yes, 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:41.169 yes. Oh my goodness. Suddenly enough, yeah. I 00:15:41.169 --> 00:15:45.429 was there in Texas. It was fantastic. And what 00:15:45.429 --> 00:15:48.870 a year it was. And what I thought was so special 00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:52.070 was that the three of you who got the top prizes 00:15:52.070 --> 00:15:55.269 seemed to really be so happy with one another. 00:15:55.429 --> 00:15:59.700 It felt like such a joyous. finals you know absolutely 00:15:59.700 --> 00:16:04.419 and i would i would probably say that we Starting 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:07.100 from the beginning of this competition, we never 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:10.720 felt like we are rivals or we're competing against 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:14.019 each other or we just need to, I don't know, 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:20.960 like conquer the final rounds and kick off our 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:26.139 highly proclaimed established career and solo 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:32.100 performer. No, nothing related to that. And I 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:36.080 think we were... all staying there as family 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.980 members and we treated each other as family members 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:47.700 or friends and during these hard times when we 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:52.200 had to face the results announcement we were 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.220 sharing these emotions and of course it was so 00:16:55.220 --> 00:17:02.500 hard to see that some of your great friends um 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:06.099 they're they're unfortunately you know they have 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:10.720 to leave this battle battlefield but then in 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.500 the in in the end during the final round i think 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:16.460 we all were rooting for for each other and actually 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:21.839 during the competition um I watched so many live 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:25.359 streaming videos because I was really curious 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:29.480 about some people, some dear friends of mine 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:31.599 who were also taking part in that competition. 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:37.660 And of course, we're not here to judge. And I 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:42.779 was super, super grateful for that opportunity 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:49.150 to be ranked. amongst the you know the top top 00:17:49.150 --> 00:17:53.109 three uh finalists but of course it's it's it 00:17:53.109 --> 00:17:55.890 you know it's it's been really intense moment 00:17:55.890 --> 00:18:00.650 that we all got through and um it taught us you 00:18:00.650 --> 00:18:03.549 know both of us you know resilience and probably 00:18:03.549 --> 00:18:09.849 perspective but also that the Real artistry begins 00:18:09.849 --> 00:18:14.849 after the competition ends. Absolutely. And most 00:18:14.849 --> 00:18:17.549 probably having won silver rather than gold, 00:18:17.650 --> 00:18:21.809 you maybe were a little bit more able to prepare 00:18:21.809 --> 00:18:25.309 for that. Absolutely, absolutely. And of course, 00:18:25.309 --> 00:18:30.339 Yunshan Lim, I have such... such grimly memories 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:34.339 from from his performances live and actually 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:37.119 that was the only one chance that I could hear 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:40.119 him live because after that you know we were 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:46.460 we were all busy with our you know own solo careers 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:51.339 yes yes of course and but you know the the only 00:18:51.339 --> 00:18:55.140 one thing is still is still quite quite funny 00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:59.940 that's During the, if I'm not mistaken, there 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:04.339 was like a results announcement between the second 00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:09.059 round and the semi -final. And I was there on 00:19:09.059 --> 00:19:11.960 the stage waiting until the results are being 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:17.509 introduced to us. And then there was Jacques 00:19:17.509 --> 00:19:20.910 Marquis who was just getting through the list 00:19:20.910 --> 00:19:24.289 of successful candidates. And then when he announced 00:19:24.289 --> 00:19:29.190 my name, I was trying to calculate in my head 00:19:29.190 --> 00:19:35.589 in which day should I play. And it suddenly turned 00:19:35.589 --> 00:19:40.150 out that I should play the next day, the following 00:19:40.150 --> 00:19:45.539 morning, 10 a .m. session. But the results were 00:19:45.539 --> 00:19:48.940 announced around 1 a .m. in the night. So I had 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:52.799 less than eight hours to actually get ready and 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:56.539 play the semifinal round. So it was one of the 00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:59.680 scariest moments. And I still remember that after 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:03.160 finishing this round, there were so many people 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:07.099 who were actually rooting for us backstage. And 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:10.119 they all, you know, came to support me saying 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:14.349 that, Anna. You are not smiling. That's not a 00:20:14.349 --> 00:20:18.069 great sign. You should smile no matter how exhausted 00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:20.890 you are. Yes. That's, that's the lesson that 00:20:20.890 --> 00:20:24.230 I have to learn. Wow. Well, you see, and you 00:20:24.230 --> 00:20:26.490 obviously have so much adrenaline that you were 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:29.069 able to do your next round. Absolutely fine. 00:20:29.269 --> 00:20:32.309 You know? Yes, yes, yes. Oh, what a wonderful 00:20:32.309 --> 00:20:35.390 story. Absolutely wonderful. Now your husband, 00:20:35.609 --> 00:20:41.000 Lukasz? Yes. is also a pianist and a very well 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:45.880 -known pianist. How did you meet? We met during 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:51.680 our school years. It was all happening in a college, 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.720 a musical college named after Frederic Chopin 00:20:55.720 --> 00:21:02.019 in Moscow. I think he was two years older and 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:10.309 we actually started our our romance with music, 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:14.210 definitely. So music united us. Because, you 00:21:14.210 --> 00:21:17.490 know, I was looking for a pianist who could accompany 00:21:17.490 --> 00:21:22.490 me the orchestral part of Liszt's Second Piano 00:21:22.490 --> 00:21:26.029 Concerto. And that was Lucas who decided to help 00:21:26.029 --> 00:21:29.609 me out. And that's how it turned out. That is 00:21:29.609 --> 00:21:34.990 terribly romantic. Oh, how wonderful. And I mean, 00:21:35.009 --> 00:21:38.190 you must... You know, he went on to win or, you 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:42.109 know, got placed high in the Moscow in 2015. 00:21:42.269 --> 00:21:46.730 And you were a finalist in Leeds in 2018. It's 00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:49.710 amazing how, you know, you went on this journey 00:21:49.710 --> 00:21:53.589 together. And recently you made a two piano album. 00:21:53.869 --> 00:21:57.849 Oh, yeah. Hallelujah Junction. Hallelujah Junction. 00:21:57.869 --> 00:22:02.029 Yes, this is that was our beloved third child. 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:08.500 But that album was a joy to make. And it's all 00:22:08.500 --> 00:22:12.160 about pure rhythm, like adrenaline and energy. 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:15.220 And of course, you know, sometimes playing together 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:19.779 feels like a very intensive conversation, full 00:22:19.779 --> 00:22:23.700 of freedom, but also trust. Because, you know, 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:28.640 without trust, you can do nothing. I do admire 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:31.319 that the two of you, you're married, you play 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:34.430 together. I mean, it's like you're joined at 00:22:34.430 --> 00:22:37.849 the hip. I mean, are you both, do you both think 00:22:37.849 --> 00:22:40.390 along the same lines musically or do you go, 00:22:40.490 --> 00:22:44.210 or do you have arguments? Well, of course we, 00:22:44.269 --> 00:22:48.589 we do argue sometimes, of course. But it's, you 00:22:48.589 --> 00:22:52.589 know, like a creative kind of argument. It pushes 00:22:52.589 --> 00:22:55.670 us both to, you know, to listen more deeply. 00:22:56.970 --> 00:23:00.250 And what is really important that we know each 00:23:00.250 --> 00:23:04.779 other's strengths. uh and it's more about you 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:09.099 know complimenting than competing and of course 00:23:09.099 --> 00:23:12.700 when it comes to like a proper preparation for 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:15.400 recording session or for dual project like for 00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:21.480 performance we always discuss okay so what from 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:24.819 different perspective from different angles we 00:23:24.819 --> 00:23:28.539 just need to make an assessment whether this 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:34.680 particular work would fit us both greatly or 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:40.490 it would be like a bloody hell battle even during 00:23:40.490 --> 00:23:43.890 the performance. But of course, throughout these 00:23:43.890 --> 00:23:51.269 hard times, I think we always reach the final 00:23:51.269 --> 00:23:55.250 spot, which will definitely be greatly appreciated 00:23:55.250 --> 00:24:01.420 by us as a duo. At least, you know, this is our 00:24:01.420 --> 00:24:04.420 main goal, main aim. I don't know whether it's 00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:06.799 successful or not every time, but, you know, 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:10.460 we're trying to do our best. It's lovely. It's 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:13.759 lovely. And there's no competitiveness between 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:16.880 the two of you? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:21.660 Because, you know, sometimes... I learned so 00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:24.599 much from Lucas because he is much more into, 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:27.980 for example, contemporary music. He knows so 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:31.200 much about this. And I mean, of course, I had 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:34.740 also my own experience, but I think I just I'm 00:24:34.740 --> 00:24:40.640 lacking confidence exactly when it comes to preparing 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:45.500 something like which. was written like not so 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:50.960 long time ago. I think, you know, my stronger 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:56.799 side are still, you know, like emotion or, you 00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.240 know, building up this scenario or at least, 00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:02.960 you know, the texture or combining, you know, 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:11.559 some musical ideas into one creature and one 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:15.609 space and, you know, putting it together so we're 00:25:15.609 --> 00:25:19.269 just you know i think we we all work together 00:25:19.269 --> 00:25:23.309 we we work from from different perspectives and 00:25:23.309 --> 00:25:26.609 it makes our collaboration even more fruitful 00:25:26.609 --> 00:25:30.509 and interesting because we always are you know 00:25:30.509 --> 00:25:35.970 getting deeper throughout our own similar efforts 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:39.960 That's amazing. I mean, there must be music constantly 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:42.819 in the house, in the home. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. 00:25:42.900 --> 00:25:46.240 I think our neighbors are cursing us. How many 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:49.880 pianos do you have? One or two? Two and plus 00:25:49.880 --> 00:25:52.759 electric keyboards, you know, just for overnight 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:58.519 practicing. And you live in Berlin. You live 00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:01.460 in Berlin. Yes, we recently moved to Berlin. 00:26:01.619 --> 00:26:04.920 And yeah, we're still newcomers. I don't know 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.480 whether it would be our final stop or not. But 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:12.799 at least for now, Berlin is being called our 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:15.440 home. Where were you before? Where were you living 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:18.740 before? We've been living in Vilnius. And before 00:26:18.740 --> 00:26:21.359 that, actually London, because I was studying 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:25.059 at Royal Academy of Music. Yes, I know. For entire 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:28.279 three and a half years. Yeah, and you were studying 00:26:28.279 --> 00:26:32.559 with Christopher Elton. Yes, yes. Dear Christopher 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:37.480 Elton. He is still one of my probably best friends. 00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:42.819 And, you know, he is so dedicated to music. And 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:51.119 I learned so much from his own experience. being 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:55.599 not only a professional pianist but also a professional 00:26:55.599 --> 00:27:01.700 cellist so he got two degrees simultaneously 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:09.680 and I think it is one of the most influential 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:14.500 things that I discovered throughout our relations 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:21.519 because he was always adjudicating my my playing 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:26.259 not from the perspective of solo pianist but 00:27:26.259 --> 00:27:30.640 also you know thinking more deeply into details 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:34.339 getting more into the details thinking about 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:38.880 the orchestration rather than you know dealing 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:43.799 with all these pianistic problems and it really 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:49.829 gave me an extra boost for my own self -reflection 00:27:49.829 --> 00:27:53.490 afterwards. So I'm still learning from what I 00:27:53.490 --> 00:27:57.609 inherited throughout this wonderful three years 00:27:57.609 --> 00:27:59.869 that I spent with him. And do you still play 00:27:59.869 --> 00:28:03.690 for him? Unfortunately, due to visa restrictions, 00:28:03.910 --> 00:28:10.549 I'm not a regular visitor to the UK because, 00:28:10.609 --> 00:28:15.140 you know, nowadays it becomes such, such... Such 00:28:15.140 --> 00:28:19.680 an ordeal to get a visa. So I wish I could travel 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:24.779 more actively, but yeah, I'm not allowed. Oh 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:28.619 my goodness. That's shocking. Oh, dear. Oh, well, 00:28:28.660 --> 00:28:30.039 let's get away from that. Let's get away from 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:33.579 that. I think now, actually, I'd like to ask 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:39.299 you some rather lighthearted questions. And if 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:41.279 you could just answer them off the cuff, you 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:43.579 know how you feel, you might it might not be 00:28:43.579 --> 00:28:47.299 so simple. Sure. One more one answer might not 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:50.880 be just one answer. But anyway, here we go. If 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.960 you could play only one composer from now on, 00:28:54.059 --> 00:29:00.579 who would it be? Probably prefer Maurice Ravel. 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:08.019 No. Absolutely. Because I find so many incredible 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:16.089 things embroidered in his musical lines. that 00:29:16.089 --> 00:29:20.210 probably I would love to spend the rest of my 00:29:20.210 --> 00:29:25.009 days living with this music and using this fuel 00:29:25.009 --> 00:29:31.710 until I peacefully die. My goodness. That's quite 00:29:31.710 --> 00:29:34.930 phenomenally, that's such an unusual answer. 00:29:35.970 --> 00:29:40.250 Wonderful. Gosh, okay. I'll try and absorb that. 00:29:41.690 --> 00:29:46.960 Why not? Next one. One pianist, dead or alive, 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:52.019 you would travel long and far to hear? Radu Lupu, 00:29:52.019 --> 00:29:56.700 definitely. And Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. 00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:02.880 Both very different. Yes. These two giants were 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:09.299 my role models since my childhood. And unfortunately, 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:12.619 I did not have this opportunity to hear them 00:30:12.619 --> 00:30:19.180 live. But if we can stage it, I would love to 00:30:19.180 --> 00:30:22.440 be present in the audience, at least to experience 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:30.720 it live. Because if I can rely on some of my 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.819 friends' expertise who were able, who were so 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:41.180 lucky to hear them live, these moments were divine. 00:30:41.900 --> 00:30:46.259 They were absolutely impossible even to express 00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:51.279 it in words. That was the level of geniality 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:54.900 that they could produce during their live performances. 00:30:55.299 --> 00:30:58.539 I heard Lupu. I mean, he was remarkable. But 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:02.259 yeah, yeah. Good choices there. Good choices. 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:07.880 Thank you. One person, dead or alive, you'd love 00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:18.089 to play for? I think probably it would be... 00:31:18.089 --> 00:31:24.750 Oh, actually, I would love to play to the Queen 00:31:24.750 --> 00:31:28.789 Elizabeth II, definitely. Because, you know, 00:31:28.849 --> 00:31:35.589 I admired her remarkable artistry and the genuinity 00:31:35.589 --> 00:31:40.430 of her personality. Because what I... you know, 00:31:40.470 --> 00:31:46.309 what I read about her, I just realized that she 00:31:46.309 --> 00:31:49.910 was very sincere and honest with each of the 00:31:49.910 --> 00:31:54.710 human beings that she was interacting with. And 00:31:54.710 --> 00:31:59.630 what I really liked about her is that, to my 00:31:59.630 --> 00:32:09.089 taste, she was always giving her... her honest 00:32:09.089 --> 00:32:13.630 feedback then you know if i had this opportunity 00:32:13.630 --> 00:32:16.670 i would definitely play something to her and 00:32:16.670 --> 00:32:21.890 see what would be uh the reaction oh my goodness 00:32:21.890 --> 00:32:25.150 yes and i would i would definitely love to experience 00:32:25.150 --> 00:32:27.750 that but yeah maybe we just need to wait until 00:32:27.750 --> 00:32:35.910 it comes on to the next do you have any technical 00:32:35.910 --> 00:32:39.680 struggles on the piano Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:44.480 I think, you know, you can dedicate all your 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:50.099 entire life getting through all these, you know, 00:32:50.119 --> 00:32:54.519 horrible passages and struggling with finding 00:32:54.519 --> 00:32:59.859 the right fingerings or, you know, resolving 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:05.140 all these puzzles and troubleshooting the problems. 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:08.670 And you can... You can definitely spend the rest 00:33:08.670 --> 00:33:11.589 of your days while dealing with all this. But 00:33:11.589 --> 00:33:15.589 in this case, you would just, you know, lack 00:33:15.589 --> 00:33:25.309 the pure love towards music making. So I'm just 00:33:25.309 --> 00:33:28.069 trying to stay on a positive side because, you 00:33:28.069 --> 00:33:33.349 know, you will never definitely reach the level 00:33:33.349 --> 00:33:37.640 of excellency. which which would uh guarantee 00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:41.259 you an absolutely nice and smooth journey so 00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:45.319 you just need to accept your imperfection and 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:50.160 live with all this uh and just you know continue 00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:53.380 enjoying what you are doing because you know 00:33:53.380 --> 00:33:57.500 otherwise you know uh the music will be performed 00:33:57.500 --> 00:34:05.180 by chat gpt yes Oh my goodness. Okay. So what 00:34:05.180 --> 00:34:07.680 would be your advice to an amateur pianist about 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:13.280 how to improve? Also, I think what is really 00:34:13.280 --> 00:34:23.519 important is dedication and determination. Don't 00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:28.420 lose your... interest when you're facing some 00:34:28.420 --> 00:34:33.420 challenges. This is very hard but once you kick 00:34:33.420 --> 00:34:38.659 off you just need to keep going until you see 00:34:38.659 --> 00:34:42.559 the visible results. It may take some time though 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:52.099 but never wait for immediate change because it's 00:34:52.099 --> 00:34:57.079 not how things should be doing. I mean, every 00:34:57.079 --> 00:35:01.380 time we put a seed into a soil, we just need 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:05.199 to keep patient and wait until, you know, it 00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:09.980 starts blooming or it gets fruitful progress. 00:35:10.460 --> 00:35:14.320 And the same applies to the music. You just need 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:19.400 to wait on compassion until you definitely, you 00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:24.980 know, get to the point. Very wise words. Okay, 00:35:25.019 --> 00:35:27.739 if you weren't a pianist, what would you be? 00:35:30.019 --> 00:35:33.739 Oh, that's a very good question. I don't know, 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:39.750 because actually at the age of 14... I decided, 00:35:39.909 --> 00:35:42.510 I made a final decision that I would love to 00:35:42.510 --> 00:35:47.369 start my professional career as a pianist. But 00:35:47.369 --> 00:35:52.690 before that, my mother really wanted me to become 00:35:52.690 --> 00:35:57.050 a translator and just to get a degree in international 00:35:57.050 --> 00:36:00.590 law. So, you know, I actually was not so far 00:36:00.590 --> 00:36:06.469 away from Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky's first degree. 00:36:06.829 --> 00:36:14.349 That's how things were supposed to be. But I 00:36:14.349 --> 00:36:18.489 think with my temperament, it would not have 00:36:18.489 --> 00:36:24.389 been possible because I cannot really make something 00:36:24.389 --> 00:36:29.309 constantly without any delays, without any interruptions. 00:36:29.389 --> 00:36:34.530 I'm more energetic and more... um more creative 00:36:34.530 --> 00:36:38.150 but I would probably you know now if we're talking 00:36:38.150 --> 00:36:41.610 about you know current times if I need to stop 00:36:41.610 --> 00:36:44.630 playing I would probably become a stage director 00:36:44.630 --> 00:36:48.409 because I'm very very into this these things 00:36:48.409 --> 00:36:52.949 I like this do you go to a lot of opera uh quite 00:36:52.949 --> 00:36:55.389 quite a lot quite a lot of course you know I 00:36:55.389 --> 00:36:57.630 cannot really say that I'm an expert but I would 00:36:57.630 --> 00:37:00.289 I would love to you know to get more into detail 00:37:00.289 --> 00:37:04.750 so such things and finally the last question 00:37:04.750 --> 00:37:07.309 one composer you're not quite ready to tackle 00:37:07.309 --> 00:37:16.409 oh well um probably Bach still Johann Sebastian 00:37:16.409 --> 00:37:21.329 Bach because it was actually uh definitely starting 00:37:21.329 --> 00:37:26.769 point for me uh but I think you just need to 00:37:26.769 --> 00:37:33.519 you know to get more matured in order to deliver 00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:39.960 his music at its best and also because of the 00:37:39.960 --> 00:37:47.090 reason that I mean his works were published quite 00:37:47.090 --> 00:37:52.630 a long time ago so we have like a huge huge age 00:37:52.630 --> 00:37:57.230 gap between the music that was written and you 00:37:57.230 --> 00:37:59.969 know the current times so I would say you know 00:37:59.969 --> 00:38:03.670 probably for me it is still really hard to adjust 00:38:03.670 --> 00:38:07.030 myself, to convert myself into a completely different 00:38:07.030 --> 00:38:11.269 creature in order to bring these musical ideas. 00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:17.340 to the certain point which could be discoverable 00:38:17.340 --> 00:38:22.000 or recognized by the larger audience. But that's 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:25.760 my personal opinion. Every time I have to play 00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:29.059 Bach, I'm getting so nervous. I'm getting so 00:38:29.059 --> 00:38:34.280 nervous because so many things were being put. 00:38:35.260 --> 00:38:39.059 and into musical lines so many so many things 00:38:39.059 --> 00:38:44.340 were and ideas were uh decoded so it's it's a 00:38:44.340 --> 00:38:49.719 never -ending process of uh discovery and uh 00:38:49.719 --> 00:38:55.159 um and actually learning learning experience 00:38:55.159 --> 00:38:58.579 so you could you could definitely uh dedicate 00:38:58.579 --> 00:39:05.950 all your life while uh trying to absorb his legacy 00:39:05.950 --> 00:39:09.530 and it's still not enough you know like lifetime 00:39:09.530 --> 00:39:13.230 is not enough to discover all those things well 00:39:13.230 --> 00:39:15.630 you might wake up one day and think now's the 00:39:15.630 --> 00:39:21.070 time yeah maybe maybe it happens who knows oh 00:39:21.070 --> 00:39:23.670 anna listen it's been absolutely wonderful here 00:39:23.670 --> 00:39:25.969 but i think we've come to the end absolutely 00:39:25.969 --> 00:39:28.750 thank you so much erica thank you i know you're 00:39:28.750 --> 00:39:32.010 so so great yeah you're busy you're off to spain 00:39:32.010 --> 00:39:36.599 aren't you off to seville Yes, I'm hopefully 00:39:36.599 --> 00:39:40.219 getting there without any further delays because 00:39:40.219 --> 00:39:43.280 we're now experiencing some problems with Berlin 00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:47.360 Airport, as always. I mean, it's our, you know, 00:39:47.420 --> 00:39:52.420 traditional things, you know. Usual life, busy 00:39:52.420 --> 00:39:56.000 life over an artist. Of course, of course. Well, 00:39:56.019 --> 00:39:58.559 I wish you well on your travels and your performances. 00:39:59.099 --> 00:40:01.619 Thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining 00:40:01.619 --> 00:40:04.039 me. thank you thank you it's been a pleasure 00:40:36.230 --> 00:40:38.929 That was the last movement of Brahms's Piano 00:40:38.929 --> 00:40:43.269 Sonata No. 1 and it was performed by Anna Genuchenya. 00:40:43.949 --> 00:40:46.630 Pianist podcasts are free and a really good way 00:40:46.630 --> 00:40:49.570 to support what we do is by subscribing to Pianist. 00:40:49.730 --> 00:40:53.610 Visit our website at pianistmagazine .com and 00:40:53.610 --> 00:40:56.530 listen to us on YouTube by searching Pianist 00:40:56.530 --> 00:40:59.510 Magazine. 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