WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:27.960 you That was the third movement of Ravel's Ma 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.440 Mère Loire and it was played by Alessio Bax and 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:34.939 Lucille Chung. I'm Erica Wirth and welcome to 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:38.299 this Pianist Podcast. Today I will be chatting 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.479 with the Italian -born pianist Alessio Bax about 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.359 his passion for chamber music, his exciting life 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:50.039 in New York City and much more. Alessio, it's 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:52.380 great to have you on the Pianist Podcast today. 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:57.219 Thank you, Erica. Very welcome. I'd like to kick 00:00:57.219 --> 00:01:00.140 off by asking you about the inaugural London 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:03.219 Festival of Chamber Music, which takes place 00:01:03.219 --> 00:01:07.019 at the end of March at Smith Square Hall in London, 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:10.659 and of which you are artistic director. How did 00:01:10.659 --> 00:01:15.379 this come about? Well, as you know, I've been 00:01:15.379 --> 00:01:20.120 interested in organising festivals as a way to 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:24.159 really get friends and musicians together. And 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:25.859 there are many reasons for this. I mean, as I 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:29.400 get older, of course, I still love playing concerti 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.980 every week and I still do. But I really cherish 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:35.799 these opportunities of collaborating with great 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:37.780 musicians that happen to be great people and 00:01:37.780 --> 00:01:40.519 great friends. First of all, it's so much fun. 00:01:40.939 --> 00:01:43.659 And I think at this stage in my life, it's where 00:01:43.659 --> 00:01:46.000 I learned the most. you know sharing the stage 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.719 with with amazing musicians especially playing 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:50.560 different instruments and different repertoire 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:54.060 being challenged every year with a new repertoire 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:57.500 um in different type of conditions i mean it's 00:01:57.500 --> 00:01:59.840 something that i really um i think it's been 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.680 um uh enlightening to me in the last years that's 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:06.480 very very interesting yeah because i mean you 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.300 obviously love chamber music it's become has 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:14.569 it become the focus of your Playing? I'm still 00:02:14.569 --> 00:02:17.210 doing mostly concerti almost. I mean, this year, 00:02:17.270 --> 00:02:21.250 almost every week. So this is a labor of love 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:24.819 in a way. And normally chamber music is reserved 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:28.580 for the summer. There are a few summer festivals, 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:31.599 you know, the one I've been directing in Italy 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:33.900 for 10 years now. It'll be my last year in Italy 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:39.620 as artistic director. And then James Haines Festival 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:43.419 in Seattle, for example. And there are a few 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:47.659 others, but very few. And during the year, the 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:50.060 occasional tour with... you know, long -time 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:52.699 collaborators. And other than that, there's not 00:02:52.699 --> 00:02:55.039 much chamber music. And of course, playing two 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:57.360 pianos with my wife, Lucille Chung. Of course. 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:03.060 But this opportunity came about because I've 00:03:03.060 --> 00:03:05.900 known, it's now called Sinfonia Smith Square. 00:03:06.669 --> 00:03:11.650 And they took over what was formerly called, 00:03:11.750 --> 00:03:13.469 I have to keep this straight, there's so many 00:03:13.469 --> 00:03:18.310 name changes, St. John's Smith Square, and now 00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:20.930 Smith Square Hall, and Sinfonia Smith Square, 00:03:21.069 --> 00:03:23.270 the orchestra itself, the organization, used 00:03:23.270 --> 00:03:26.669 to be the South Bank Sinfonia, with whom I first 00:03:26.669 --> 00:03:31.039 collaborated 22 years ago. So after winning the 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:33.240 Leeds competition, I had the opportunity to play 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:34.900 with them. I also played with them with their 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:37.740 patron, Vladimir Ashkenazy, conducting me in 00:03:37.740 --> 00:03:40.139 Rachmaninoff, which was a dream. We've made a 00:03:40.139 --> 00:03:42.860 couple of recordings together, but it's an organization 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:45.900 that's just run so well. And over the years, 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:48.580 it's grown in such beautiful ways. They have 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:53.560 a great team of doers and problem solvers, you 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.280 know, as it were. And, you know, once they got 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:01.039 a hold of St. John Smith Square, they had to 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:03.280 fill it, you know, in different ways. And I thought, 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:05.520 you know, this space is so special. First of 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.620 all, the history of it is incredible, you know. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:13.000 And the facility itself, I mean, it's a medium 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:15.879 -sized hall. This sounds fantastic. It's incredibly 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:19.160 flexible. You can have concerts on stage. You 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:22.160 can have concerts on the floor, lengthwise or 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:28.060 in its width. And it always sounds good. It's 00:04:28.060 --> 00:04:29.980 not too small. It's not too big. So you can have 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:32.800 orchestra. They have a resonant orchestra, obviously, 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:36.600 Sinfonia Smith Square. And I thought, you know, 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.899 London is so many great concerts. So much, actually, 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:43.019 as you know, great chamber music, but not really 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:47.720 a real festival where people get together, they 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:50.589 work. a specific repertoire maybe things they've 00:04:50.589 --> 00:04:53.629 never done before in the hall where they're going 00:04:53.629 --> 00:04:56.389 to play and and they spend time together eat 00:04:56.389 --> 00:04:59.629 meals together um and i thought there was an 00:04:59.629 --> 00:05:01.589 opportunity to create something really special 00:05:01.589 --> 00:05:04.990 uh given the flexibility of the space and of 00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:08.949 the organization as well um how long have you 00:05:08.949 --> 00:05:11.550 been preparing for this how long it's been a 00:05:11.550 --> 00:05:17.060 couple of years uh really um But we have an opportunity, 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:19.300 which is very rare nowadays for many reasons, 00:05:19.459 --> 00:05:22.180 to mix chamber music with orchestral pieces, 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:26.139 with concerti, and I've been blessed to know 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:29.350 really wonderful instrumentalists they also are 00:05:29.350 --> 00:05:32.069 great conductors so so the orchestra and the 00:05:32.069 --> 00:05:35.470 audience will see them in different uh with different 00:05:35.470 --> 00:05:37.970 hats on you know they'll play chamber music then 00:05:37.970 --> 00:05:40.490 they'll lead the orchestra they'll coach um the 00:05:40.490 --> 00:05:43.850 orchestral players in the chamber music um the 00:05:43.850 --> 00:05:47.660 the The bursaries, they're actually bursaries 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:50.279 in the orchestra. They stay there for a year 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:53.759 and then they go on to different professional 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.439 jobs. They have access to all the musicians all 00:05:56.439 --> 00:06:00.740 the time, which it would be very, very fun, I 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:02.720 think, for everyone involved. That's fantastic. 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:04.860 So it takes place over a weekend, does it? I 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:08.439 mean, I see 25 to 29 in March. It's very busy. 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:14.949 You know, we have seven events. between the 25th 00:06:14.949 --> 00:06:18.889 and 29th so there are evening concerts there's 00:06:18.889 --> 00:06:22.290 late night concerts lunchtime concerts as well 00:06:22.290 --> 00:06:25.569 and there's a chamber music session of coaching 00:06:25.569 --> 00:06:28.370 with all the musicians together pitching in so 00:06:28.370 --> 00:06:31.490 there's a lot a lot going on oh it sounds absolutely 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:34.550 fantastic Anything utterly unique that you'd 00:06:34.550 --> 00:06:37.389 like to tell me about during that weekend? I 00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:41.129 mean, you said there was coaching, which I really 00:06:41.129 --> 00:06:43.970 liked, you know. Yes, yes. And also to have these 00:06:43.970 --> 00:06:46.910 amazing musicians all together. You know, everyone 00:06:46.910 --> 00:06:49.490 will have a different outlook. And the fact that 00:06:49.490 --> 00:06:51.910 we have an orchestra available, which is really 00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:56.550 vibrant, young and great. And so the type of 00:06:56.550 --> 00:06:59.209 repertoire we can do is incredible. You know, 00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:03.019 we'll have... the programs are mixed with concerti, 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:05.240 symphonies, and chamber music. That's something 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:08.379 that no other place can do for whatever reason, 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:11.620 you know. Then the late night concerts were very 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:17.439 adventurous programs as well. There is, you know, 00:07:17.459 --> 00:07:21.500 a folk element to it with the wonderful French 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:25.399 Cypriot singer Sarah Restidou, who will sing. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:28.579 from anywhere from Cypriot's false songs through 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:32.560 Ravel, Kurt Weill and Ligeti with orchestra. 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:36.660 It is really like, I think there's, I felt really 00:07:36.660 --> 00:07:39.740 like a kid in a candy store, you know? Yes, that's 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:41.620 amazing. I mean, what's great about you, I've 00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:44.019 noticed, you play all types of repertoire. As 00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:46.079 you say, you've played, you know, you do the 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:49.259 rack two, the rack three, and then you like to 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:51.779 really branch out and discover new repertoire. 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:53.339 Is that something important to you to always 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:56.139 discover? I mean, we're so lucky as pianists 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.300 to have so much great repertoire. There's still 00:07:58.300 --> 00:08:00.660 things I haven't done and, you know, I have less 00:08:00.660 --> 00:08:04.300 and less time. But yeah, but I'm, you know, there's 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:08.120 some type of pianist that... love to do one two 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:10.600 concerti a year i like to keep it more varied 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:13.579 maybe to a fault i mean this year between january 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:16.720 and may i calculated 11 different concerti which 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:21.139 i think it's a bit a bit much but um it's hard 00:08:21.139 --> 00:08:26.060 to to pass opportunities that that that you know 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:29.699 that's something you can learn from i find and 00:08:30.889 --> 00:08:34.049 How do you juggle 11 concerti? How do you juggle 00:08:34.049 --> 00:08:38.769 that? One at a time. Sorry? One at a time. I'm 00:08:38.769 --> 00:08:43.350 through four now, so I still have a few more 00:08:43.350 --> 00:08:46.429 to go. Oh, my goodness. Well, they're obviously 00:08:46.429 --> 00:08:48.889 all pieces that you've played many, many times, 00:08:48.970 --> 00:08:51.570 but you still have to brush them up to whatever 00:08:51.570 --> 00:08:54.750 again, don't you? Yeah, some are, but it's still, 00:08:54.850 --> 00:08:58.110 you know, being on stage to me. And it's not 00:08:58.110 --> 00:09:00.950 getting any easier. I mean, it still feels like 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:04.250 a life or death situation, you know, where you 00:09:04.250 --> 00:09:08.330 give it all and you never know what's going to 00:09:08.330 --> 00:09:11.269 happen. So you can prepare as much as you want 00:09:11.269 --> 00:09:14.730 and then still not know what's going to happen. 00:09:14.789 --> 00:09:16.970 But you learn from these experiences and sometimes, 00:09:17.230 --> 00:09:21.070 you know, you don't want it to feel so comfortable 00:09:21.070 --> 00:09:25.330 that it's not special anymore. So there's a fine 00:09:25.330 --> 00:09:32.000 line. It's exciting. My teacher used to say this 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.679 all the time, and it's so true. There's never 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:37.879 been one concert where at one point, it could 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:39.740 be when you first hear about the concert, it 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:41.120 could be as you're preparing, it could be the 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:43.340 day of the concert, hopefully not during the 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:46.240 concert, where there hasn't been a moment of 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:49.440 panic. It's like, oh my God, I have to play Rack 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:53.019 3. Sometimes I wake up from a nap and it's like... 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.379 oh what's tonight and have this like few seconds 00:09:56.379 --> 00:10:01.039 where okay it's it's it's we rehearsed it this 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:03.120 morning it's fine oh my goodness isn't that funny 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.679 because you always people always think you get 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:06.740 nervous just before you walk on the stage or 00:10:06.740 --> 00:10:10.259 or during a performance but you're just saying 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:12.200 you i mean during the performance is the worst 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:15.320 time to get nervous obviously and and and that 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:17.440 doesn't thankfully if you prepare well enough 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.539 doesn't happen too often But right before going 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:23.840 on stage or the morning or sometimes before a 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:26.419 huge... I remember a few years ago I was touring 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:30.980 with Hammerklavier Sonata. And I had this feeling 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:33.440 every morning I had to play that, that this is 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:35.519 going to be a different day. You know, you wake 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:38.909 up in the morning with... And it's not nervousness. 00:10:39.049 --> 00:10:41.350 It's just a responsibility that you feel, like 00:10:41.350 --> 00:10:43.450 a heaviness that you feel. Oh, wow, I have to 00:10:43.450 --> 00:10:46.610 go through Hammer Clavier today. Let's see. You 00:10:46.610 --> 00:10:48.230 know, and then once you start, it's a beautiful 00:10:48.230 --> 00:10:51.590 journey. Oh, my goodness. Hopefully you get people 00:10:51.590 --> 00:10:55.049 on board. I mean, what's really, yeah. No, what's 00:10:55.049 --> 00:10:56.429 really interesting when you're playing a piece 00:10:56.429 --> 00:10:59.669 like that, you've got to be so immersed in it, 00:10:59.750 --> 00:11:01.570 haven't you? But then again, you've got to almost 00:11:01.570 --> 00:11:06.990 be above it. Right. Yeah. Yeah, that's the goal. 00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:10.529 I mean, the best experiences I've ever had is 00:11:10.529 --> 00:11:12.649 when you're at the piano and you feel like you're 00:11:12.649 --> 00:11:17.570 in control of what you're doing, yet you're basically 00:11:17.570 --> 00:11:20.330 like a conductor, you know, and you're observing 00:11:20.330 --> 00:11:22.950 this, you're hearing the sound in the space, 00:11:23.070 --> 00:11:26.750 not at the piano. But that's a very, very hard 00:11:26.750 --> 00:11:29.649 thing to achieve. You know, and you need also 00:11:29.649 --> 00:11:31.669 a lot of experience. And the more people you 00:11:31.669 --> 00:11:34.909 have on stage, the more problematic that is, 00:11:35.029 --> 00:11:37.610 you know, because everybody has to be in tune. 00:11:37.769 --> 00:11:39.830 So that's why I think chamber music is so important, 00:11:39.950 --> 00:11:43.250 because you learn to be flexible. I mean, very 00:11:43.250 --> 00:11:46.169 often, whether it's a collaboration, a concerto 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:48.309 or chamber music, I think of them as basically 00:11:48.309 --> 00:11:52.409 the same experience. And I mean, the way to get 00:11:52.409 --> 00:11:53.769 there are a bit different. You know, if you're 00:11:53.769 --> 00:11:55.960 playing rack three, you need... you know different 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:59.440 type of sound and so on but the at the end it's 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:01.799 all the same and and you know often people think 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.899 of a collaboration as finding middle ground or 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:07.539 a common something in common and i don't think 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:09.759 of it that way i think that's chamber music i 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.500 bring everything i have to bring my colleagues 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:14.559 to the same and the results should be better 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:18.419 than than any of us by ourselves that's the idea 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:22.240 also with orchestra you know if you have to compromise 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:25.460 then it's not so much fun anymore That's interesting. 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:28.799 Don't you feel more, I don't know what to say, 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:32.519 nervous, lonely when you're playing a recital? 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:34.379 Isn't there more of a burden on you when there's 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:37.259 just yourself on the stage? Yes and no. I mean, 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.240 recital is still, I think to this day, is one 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.980 of the hardest experiences for pianists because, 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:45.759 you know, it's a large program by yourself. If 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:47.740 you're a violinist, it's already chamber music, 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:52.019 you know. unless you're playing solo Bach. You 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:53.759 ask any violinist, that's the most terrifying 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:58.240 thing to do. But we have to do that quite often 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.480 as pianists, you know, and there's this added 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.759 pressure of having to play, recital the memory 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:08.340 as well. So it is somewhat terrifying, yet you're 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:12.600 in control of the journey, 100%, you know. you 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:14.659 take all the glory and you take all the blame. 00:13:15.779 --> 00:13:18.720 Yes, I mean, goodness. But it's something I have 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:22.440 to say. I mean, unfortunately, especially, you 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:24.139 know, my career brings me in different places 00:13:24.139 --> 00:13:26.559 and I come to Europe every couple of months or 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.960 so, but it's mostly in the US now. And that's 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:32.659 something that's unfortunately is disappearing. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:36.639 There are very few recital series. And I mean, 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:40.279 when I was younger, I was mostly playing. playing 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:43.000 recitals and having, you know, before the Leeds 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:45.799 competition, especially, and having some orchestral 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:48.379 experience, dreaming, you know, one day I would 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:51.379 play with orchestras all the time. And now that's 00:13:51.379 --> 00:13:54.539 mostly what I'm doing on the orchestras and recitals 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:56.700 are disappearing. And it's very, very tricky. 00:13:58.179 --> 00:14:01.100 And that's in America or you feel all over the 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:03.080 world in general? I think all over the world 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:05.259 in America is more obvious because there were 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:07.580 never that many recital series. I mean, you can 00:14:07.580 --> 00:14:09.960 count them now on one hand. good recital series 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:12.620 and if you appear there one year you're not going 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:16.700 to go back for in for a few years so um and there's 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:19.519 so many wonderful pianists young pianists and 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:22.899 up and coming that should be playing as well 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:28.259 so goodness yes you're right now you you were 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:32.139 born in barry in julia the pulia region of italy 00:14:32.139 --> 00:14:37.700 um not an obvious i mean you that you took your 00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:40.399 first lessons there in barry you had a oh yeah 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.720 i was very lucky that i mean there's a very good 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:46.840 um conservatory quite large and uh especially 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.080 for piano you know there are many great pianists 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:53.019 that came from barry or from their um they detached 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:56.860 the monopoly it was like next next door town 00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:59.919 um that's part of the same conservatory like 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:03.039 benedetto lupo beatrice rana you know and it's 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:05.940 all that the coming going back to the neapolitan 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:09.940 school of vincenzo vitale and then all that and 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:14.000 the the children and grandchildren musical grandchildren 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.240 nino rota was was the director of the conservatory 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:21.960 before my time and and godfather to everyone 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:23.940 that went through that conservatory so it was 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:26.580 a very good tradition and i always had very good 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:31.269 teachers i have to say so that um Then I think 00:15:31.269 --> 00:15:35.190 the Southern Utah in general and the city of 00:15:35.190 --> 00:15:37.809 Bari had a few years when I was growing up that 00:15:37.809 --> 00:15:41.350 didn't do so well. The theater, beautiful Petruzzelli 00:15:41.350 --> 00:15:43.669 Theater burned down and was not rebuilt for 20 00:15:43.669 --> 00:15:48.129 years. And now there's a renaissance in the arts 00:15:48.129 --> 00:15:50.909 and music. The Berlin Philharmonic played their 00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:53.250 Europa concert. you know, their biggest concert 00:15:53.250 --> 00:15:58.070 of the year in Bari last year. So it's a dream 00:15:58.070 --> 00:16:02.110 come true, you know. Is it a lovely theatre? 00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:05.009 It is, it's a beautiful, beautiful opera theatre, 00:16:05.090 --> 00:16:07.769 of course. I mean, next to San Carlo in Naples, 00:16:07.830 --> 00:16:12.110 probably, you know, the best in the South. Interesting. 00:16:12.370 --> 00:16:15.570 And so after that, where did you go and study? 00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:18.730 Or, yes, I mean, where did you move away from 00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:21.840 Bari? Well, I finished the conservatory quite 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.120 young. I was 14 instead of, you know, the regular 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:28.500 age was 20. And it's my parents that realized 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:33.909 there was... much more outside body um i always 00:16:33.909 --> 00:16:36.429 since the age of eight i've been going to master 00:16:36.429 --> 00:16:38.950 classes first with paul badura skoda for many 00:16:38.950 --> 00:16:43.149 years and then joaquin achucaro and then eventually 00:16:43.149 --> 00:16:46.909 i decided to come to america to study with joaquin 00:16:46.909 --> 00:16:49.750 achucaro who's been a great mentor of mine wonderful 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:53.799 He's 93, still practicing five, six hours a day. 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:59.039 I just saw him last month in Bilbao and I was 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.360 playing there and he gave me a two -hour lesson, 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:06.460 which was really fantastic. And so, yeah, that's 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:09.200 how I moved. I've been in the States ever since. 00:17:09.500 --> 00:17:11.279 That's great that you're telling me you're still 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:14.180 having a lesson. Oh, yeah. It's been a while. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:20.000 It was just as demanding as ever. That is fantastic. 00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:23.470 Fantastic. That is fantastic. So and then, of 00:17:23.470 --> 00:17:27.089 course, you won the Leeds, didn't you, in 2000. 00:17:27.490 --> 00:17:30.089 So how old were you then in your 20s? I was 22, 00:17:30.549 --> 00:17:33.769 yeah. So young. And you won the Leeds. I mean, 00:17:33.769 --> 00:17:36.230 nowadays, it's not that young anymore. But back 00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:39.349 then, it was. Yeah, you're right. You're right. 00:17:39.430 --> 00:17:41.890 And you'd won the Hamamatsu three years earlier. 00:17:43.230 --> 00:17:48.450 Are these competition wins, did they launch your 00:17:48.450 --> 00:17:51.329 career, really? Absolutely. I mean, I think I 00:17:51.329 --> 00:17:53.589 absolutely have to say that, like, you know, 00:17:53.589 --> 00:17:57.529 nobody knew my name before that. Although, you 00:17:57.529 --> 00:18:00.309 know, I have to say back in those years, late 00:18:00.309 --> 00:18:04.450 90s and 2000, competitions, as you may remember, 00:18:04.890 --> 00:18:10.150 were not seen, were seen with a little bit of 00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:13.789 a suspicious attitude. You know, there were this 00:18:13.789 --> 00:18:17.150 thing like. competition winners, which was not 00:18:17.150 --> 00:18:19.450 necessarily seen as a good thing. And you had 00:18:19.450 --> 00:18:24.109 to prove yourself in the real world. I'm glad 00:18:24.109 --> 00:18:27.920 that in the old days. um in the days of radu 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:30.339 lupo murray pariah they both won the leads it 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:33.279 was it was you know you've absolutely started 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:36.759 a career unless you messed it up by yourself 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:41.059 and and then now i think they they um it's a 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:43.119 very positive thing you know everyone is looking 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:47.039 for the next winner of bank library or or or 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:50.980 or a chopin competition especially um and there's 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:53.500 a focus on youth but i think i was really in 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:56.859 the years where where okay, there's a competition 00:18:56.859 --> 00:19:00.779 winner. How good is this person really? Which 00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:03.740 in a way was very healthy way to start. Yes. 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:07.720 I kind of started a little slower. I didn't have, 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:10.059 you know, 100 concerts on my first year after 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:13.200 winning the leads. And then I had a chance to 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:16.039 focus at the same time more on chamber music 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:19.279 as well, especially after moving to New York 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:24.990 and grow kind of organically. Yet people... knew 00:19:24.990 --> 00:19:26.950 that I had won those competitions. So there was 00:19:26.950 --> 00:19:29.690 a level of trust that, you know, at least I would 00:19:29.690 --> 00:19:32.769 have had the chops or the musicianship to be 00:19:32.769 --> 00:19:34.750 on stage. Who was the conductor at the time? 00:19:34.789 --> 00:19:36.890 Was it Simon Rattle? Simon Rattle was his last 00:19:36.890 --> 00:19:42.109 year. And, you know, my dream getting into the 00:19:42.109 --> 00:19:44.930 leads. But before in the Hamamatsu, my dream 00:19:44.930 --> 00:19:47.210 was to play the Brahms first concerto with a... 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:49.940 what they would call a proper orchestra, and 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:53.839 they did. They ended up winning. And in Leeds, 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:58.680 my dream was to play with Sir Simon and CBSO. 00:19:59.420 --> 00:20:02.259 And did you play the Brahms again there? I played 00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:04.339 the Brahms, yeah. And it was really, I mean, 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:07.519 we had, I think, a 30 -minute rehearsal for a 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:09.960 45 -minute concerto. This is number one or two? 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:12.619 Number one or two? Number one, number one. And 00:20:12.619 --> 00:20:15.480 there were three very different Brahms. first 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:19.380 concert in the finals out of 60. There were three 00:20:19.380 --> 00:20:22.440 bronze ones in the finals. It was really a dream. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:26.599 Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Wow. And now you're in 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:28.619 New York. How come you've chosen to live in New 00:20:28.619 --> 00:20:32.279 York? Well, I was, as I said, I'd been in the 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:36.339 States for a long time studying. And, you know, 00:20:36.380 --> 00:20:40.279 they've lived in Dallas, that's where Quakina 00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:43.640 Chukarot taught, and in Bari before that. I was 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:45.880 coming to New York very often for concerts and 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:50.640 rehearsals, but I had never lived in a big music 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:53.559 center. So I thought it was about time to do 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:58.299 that. And it did change my life. I think it was 00:20:58.299 --> 00:21:00.359 very important to come to New York at that time, 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.740 just to be in the middle of things and know people 00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:08.700 and play very high level chamber music. And it 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:11.460 was a very, very good decision. when did you 00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:14.980 move to new york how many years ago um about 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:19.700 15 years so it changed your life because you 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:22.660 were so much surrounded by the best and so uh 00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:27.220 in a way in a way yes and kind of i think at 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:29.420 some point in your in your life you have to live 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:31.460 in a major music center you know when you have 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:33.420 touring orchestra coming in and you can hear 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:38.200 great concerts you can you can spend time with 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.740 people like that I mean to this day uh if I'm 00:21:41.740 --> 00:21:44.859 home and and we have friends visiting playing 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:47.400 Carnegie Hall or New York Philharmonic or whatever 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:51.160 um you know I would organize dinners at home 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:54.960 and and and just be with people I think it's 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:57.859 very important to to cultivate these friendships 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:01.319 with people that you like and admire absolutely 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:04.130 I presume you live on the Upper West Side Upper 00:22:04.130 --> 00:22:08.509 East now. We have a daughter that's 11 years 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:11.109 old and she goes to school here. So it just makes 00:22:11.109 --> 00:22:14.250 things a little bit easier. Yeah, because I always 00:22:14.250 --> 00:22:16.250 think of the Upper West Side as being like the 00:22:16.250 --> 00:22:19.309 artisty area. I mean, right now, honestly, I 00:22:19.309 --> 00:22:21.150 love New York. There's so much to offer, especially 00:22:21.150 --> 00:22:24.410 to a child, actually. She sings in the children's 00:22:24.410 --> 00:22:27.880 chorus at the Met Opera. There's about 35 performances 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:30.220 every year and it's a very rigorous program. 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:33.500 But it's at the highest possible level. I mean, 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:35.920 and that's because we live here. So that's just 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:40.180 one example how many things the city can offer. 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:43.039 I don't know. And now I think it's very exciting. 00:22:43.220 --> 00:22:46.519 I don't know nowadays how important for me it 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:50.589 is. you know to live in new york as opposed to 00:22:50.589 --> 00:22:56.769 a much more livable place you know but so we 00:22:56.769 --> 00:22:59.390 i don't know where we'll end up eventually but 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:02.650 for now this is home yeah it's a great city i 00:23:02.650 --> 00:23:04.349 mean honestly for what you're doing it really 00:23:04.349 --> 00:23:08.809 is and your wife of course is lucille chung she's 00:23:08.809 --> 00:23:11.549 a wonderful pianist and you've even made recordings 00:23:11.549 --> 00:23:16.079 with her haven't you So next week we'll be in 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:19.880 Florida with Jacksonville Symphony and we're 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:21.599 playing three concerti in the same programme, 00:23:21.700 --> 00:23:25.779 three times. So it will be our show. It will 00:23:25.779 --> 00:23:28.640 be fun. Oh my goodness, so you'll play one... 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:33.440 Well, we're doing the Mozart double, the Poulenc 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:36.079 concerto and Saint -Saëns Carnival of the Animals 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:39.740 on the same programme. That is fantastic. It 00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:41.920 will be a big party. Three days in a row, so 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.650 that will be fun. Oh, my goodness. I think it's 00:23:44.650 --> 00:23:47.269 great. And did you ever kind of like fall out 00:23:47.269 --> 00:23:51.029 about ideas or, you know? No, I mean, this is 00:23:51.029 --> 00:23:54.589 really like we've been playing together for such 00:23:54.589 --> 00:23:59.309 a long time. We don't even need to speak in rehearsals. 00:23:59.309 --> 00:24:01.750 You know, we just get. and get together if we 00:24:01.750 --> 00:24:04.269 have to learn new repertoire of course they take 00:24:04.269 --> 00:24:07.569 time and learn it but otherwise it's something 00:24:07.569 --> 00:24:09.990 that just somehow happens you know I do so much 00:24:09.990 --> 00:24:12.069 chamber music with so many people and I think 00:24:12.069 --> 00:24:15.450 it's great but when it comes to two pianos or 00:24:15.450 --> 00:24:18.089 piano for hands it's a very different beast altogether 00:24:18.089 --> 00:24:21.029 you know the result has to be the same but when 00:24:21.029 --> 00:24:23.430 you're sharing the same instrument yes it's much 00:24:23.430 --> 00:24:26.329 more complicated it's not I mean it rarely works 00:24:26.329 --> 00:24:29.109 no matter how great the talents are that you 00:24:29.109 --> 00:24:33.410 get two people randomly together and on two pianos 00:24:33.410 --> 00:24:36.289 or one piano for hand and it works. It's very 00:24:36.289 --> 00:24:39.690 difficult. That is very interesting. My goodness. 00:24:39.809 --> 00:24:41.650 I'm sure listeners would love to know how you 00:24:41.650 --> 00:24:44.690 met Lucille. We met at the Hamamatsu competition 00:24:44.690 --> 00:24:49.049 in 97. But she was, it was very complicated. 00:24:49.150 --> 00:24:52.789 We just met as friends for many years, but she 00:24:52.789 --> 00:24:55.269 was about to move to Italy and I was already 00:24:55.269 --> 00:24:59.079 in America. So it took a few years to get together 00:24:59.079 --> 00:25:01.799 after that. But that's when we first met. And 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:04.500 because she was studying in Imola at the Piano 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:08.039 Academy, we had many friends in common, Italian 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:11.119 friends in common. So they introduced us. That's 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:14.200 amazing. You had the whole Italy thing in common. 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:18.819 Did you always know you wanted to be a pianist? 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:20.680 I mean, obviously you were great from a very 00:25:20.680 --> 00:25:24.490 young age. Yeah, I mean, I started at seven, 00:25:24.609 --> 00:25:27.509 so I wasn't that young. If I were not musicians, 00:25:27.710 --> 00:25:31.009 it was not the thing to do. But as a southern 00:25:31.009 --> 00:25:33.049 Italian boy, of course, I wanted to be a soccer 00:25:33.049 --> 00:25:36.170 star first, like everybody else. But very quickly, 00:25:36.210 --> 00:25:39.430 I saw that the neighborhood kids were so much 00:25:39.430 --> 00:25:43.710 better than me. I mean, I love the idea of soccer, 00:25:43.769 --> 00:25:47.730 but football, but it was not. There was not much 00:25:47.730 --> 00:25:52.029 talent, you know? So the next thing was music, 00:25:52.109 --> 00:25:56.549 just because I got as a Christmas gift, a little 00:25:56.549 --> 00:25:59.190 keyboard. And I loved it. I remember getting 00:25:59.190 --> 00:26:02.809 it first. And as I was growing older, the keyboard 00:26:02.809 --> 00:26:06.410 grew bigger. Eventually it became a piano. And 00:26:06.410 --> 00:26:10.029 my mindset never changed. There was never a moment 00:26:10.029 --> 00:26:13.490 where I thought, should I really be doing this? 00:26:13.569 --> 00:26:19.119 You know? Yeah. Yeah. And what piano do you play 00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:22.680 on? What piano do you have at home right now? 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:27.240 We have a Steinway B and a Yamaha as well. Yes. 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:31.700 And do you have enough room so that you can both 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:33.759 practice at the same time? We could, because 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.240 it doesn't happen often, honestly. Unfortunately, 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:41.259 that's one difficult, challenging side of this 00:26:41.259 --> 00:26:45.200 profession. I'm rarely home. So I have to rely 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:49.059 on practice on the road and a lot of scheduling 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:52.039 and organization. I mean, you have to be absolutely 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:56.920 professionally organized in this venture, you 00:26:56.920 --> 00:27:00.200 know. But at home, I mean, it doesn't really 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.339 happen that often that we're both practicing 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:05.680 all day. Do you ever get problems with the neighbors? 00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:09.940 Thankfully not. You're very lucky. I think it's 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:13.380 because we're gone so much. But most of them, 00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:15.619 you know, when we meet them in the elevator, 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:20.059 we try not to be too friendly just in case. And 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:22.779 are you the one playing the piano? And it's like, 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:26.960 yeah, yes. Why? Oh, it sounds so beautiful. Usually 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:29.559 we get that. So that's nice. Oh, that's wonderful. 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:31.559 They don't say you're playing that C major scale 00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:33.539 again and again and again. You know, the same 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:36.119 passage again and again. Oh, yeah. I wouldn't 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.279 want me as a neighbor, you know, that's for sure. 00:27:39.369 --> 00:27:42.490 I get it, I get it. And you have a really good 00:27:42.490 --> 00:27:45.769 partnership with Signum record label as well. 00:27:45.849 --> 00:27:47.990 Yes, they've been amazing. I mean, you know, 00:27:48.009 --> 00:27:52.269 my debut recording was for Warner Classics ages 00:27:52.269 --> 00:27:57.750 ago, 2004, I think. And the production team was 00:27:57.750 --> 00:28:03.210 called Floating Earth. It was run by Steve Long. 00:28:03.869 --> 00:28:07.430 And it was incredible. Mike Hatch was engineer 00:28:07.430 --> 00:28:12.910 and Steve's and Anna Barry became my producer 00:28:12.910 --> 00:28:15.950 for every single recording. And then I found 00:28:15.950 --> 00:28:18.910 out after I think the Warner Classic of that 00:28:18.910 --> 00:28:23.549 time kind of collapsed and that was rebuilt later 00:28:23.549 --> 00:28:29.750 that Steve owned a label, Signum. Same production 00:28:29.750 --> 00:28:34.710 team, same quality. And so I pitched a Bach transcription 00:28:34.710 --> 00:28:39.710 CD. And then, I mean, I think we probably have 00:28:39.710 --> 00:28:43.529 11, 12 recordings now together. Everything I 00:28:43.529 --> 00:28:45.829 pitched, he said, yes, he made it happen. It's 00:28:45.829 --> 00:28:48.829 really incredible. Oh, wonderful. And every single 00:28:48.829 --> 00:28:50.990 recording, I think, they just outdo themselves 00:28:50.990 --> 00:28:54.349 in terms of quality, sound, beauty. And it's 00:28:54.349 --> 00:28:59.650 such a joy. to do any projects. I mean, one time 00:28:59.650 --> 00:29:01.890 I think was a Russian album with pictures and 00:29:01.890 --> 00:29:04.490 exhibition and some scribing. It told me, it's 00:29:04.490 --> 00:29:06.750 like, we just released the pictures. Can we wait 00:29:06.750 --> 00:29:10.509 a few months? But other than that, we always 00:29:10.509 --> 00:29:12.769 said yes to every project. And there's one now 00:29:12.769 --> 00:29:17.680 coming out on May 1st. Oh, yes. um that's uh 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:20.960 the complete beethoven cello sonatas with paul 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:24.180 watkins was one of my really favorite collaborators 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:27.779 and friends and something i'm really proud of 00:29:27.779 --> 00:29:30.519 because it's a complete set and the cello sonata 00:29:30.519 --> 00:29:35.119 is also the it is perfect vehicle to show beethoven's 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:39.099 from in every stage of his life okay the project 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:43.299 that that uh really um has so much love in it. 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:46.259 So I love this music so much. Oh, great. Look 00:29:46.259 --> 00:29:48.559 forward to listening to that. As we're getting 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:51.119 towards the end of our discussions, I thought 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:54.420 I'd post some light -hearted questions to you 00:29:54.420 --> 00:29:57.559 and see how you answer them. So let's go a bit 00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:01.720 casual. I'm sure you'll enjoy answering. So let's 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:04.920 see. The first one. If you could play only one 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:10.190 composer from now on, who would it be? That would 00:30:10.190 --> 00:30:15.829 be sad for me. Probably, I would say Beethoven, 00:30:16.069 --> 00:30:20.299 for what I just said, you know, the range. is 00:30:20.299 --> 00:30:23.980 so so huge i mean i could spend a lifetime of 00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:27.279 on one president fugue you know and still still 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:30.200 not get it but a bit of it would be just so fulfilling 00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:32.059 because there's so much in it i mean i could 00:30:32.059 --> 00:30:35.299 say schubert because there's so much beauty and 00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:39.640 emotions but but beethoven has it all somehow 00:30:40.140 --> 00:30:44.059 you know going from early Beethoven to late and 00:30:44.059 --> 00:30:47.259 and he's written so much for piano so it would 00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:49.380 be really great I know you're right there's no 00:30:49.380 --> 00:30:52.460 stopping you're changing ideas on one sonata 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:56.200 I mean every sonata is it's if it creates its 00:30:56.200 --> 00:30:58.880 own universe it's incredible they're not as they're 00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:02.720 alike same structure same idea but but somehow 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:07.029 yeah and there's so much in it really yeah I 00:31:07.029 --> 00:31:10.910 agree. One pianist, dead or alive, you travel 00:31:10.910 --> 00:31:16.710 long and far to hear. Oh, wait, if they're dead, 00:31:16.809 --> 00:31:19.750 how far are we talking? Oh, I don't know, down 00:31:19.750 --> 00:31:22.750 the road. Somebody, you know, you would if you 00:31:22.750 --> 00:31:25.289 had to. Yeah, I'm a Rachmaninoff, absolutely. 00:31:25.650 --> 00:31:28.509 Like, I wish I could have heard him live. Apparently, 00:31:28.529 --> 00:31:32.329 by all accounts, his live concerts were 10 times 00:31:32.329 --> 00:31:35.049 better than his recordings, which are really... 00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:39.200 inhuman in a way it's incredible incredible playing 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:43.279 and musicianship understanding and hear everything 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:48.579 yeah of everything yeah okay one person dead 00:31:48.579 --> 00:31:54.000 or alive you'd love to play for I'd have to say 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.640 Rachmaninoff because also he um I mean I could 00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:00.579 say Franz Liszt but I have a feeling that a lot 00:32:00.579 --> 00:32:03.630 of what Liszt was doing I mean pianistically 00:32:03.630 --> 00:32:06.049 at least, was very natural somehow. I don't know 00:32:06.049 --> 00:32:09.509 why I think so. In composition, of course, it's 00:32:09.509 --> 00:32:12.230 genius in so many ways and groundbreaking much 00:32:12.230 --> 00:32:15.130 more than people realize. But Rachmaninoff knew 00:32:15.130 --> 00:32:19.319 that he worked very hard as well. So he would 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:21.859 know exactly how to do things. Of course, I wouldn't 00:32:21.859 --> 00:32:26.059 have his hands, but that would be great to play 00:32:26.059 --> 00:32:29.980 for him. And I wanted to be, I would love to 00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:31.839 be his friend though, because apparently he was 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:35.539 quite guarded in a way, but with his friends, 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:38.559 he would have this incredible generosity of spirit 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:41.160 and warmth, which of course we get with his music. 00:32:42.339 --> 00:32:46.319 Wonderful. Okay. Do you have any technical struggles 00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:49.759 at the piano? Yeah, I mean, I think everything 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:53.400 is really technique in a way. Like how to create 00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:56.400 a specific sound or color. And it's something 00:32:56.400 --> 00:32:58.859 that I've learned a lot with my teacher, with 00:32:58.859 --> 00:33:03.680 Joaquina Chucaro. You know, many people say sound 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:06.019 starts in the head. You have to imagine a sound, 00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:09.640 but you have to know how to do it. Just because... 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:12.259 the piano more than other instruments it's really 00:33:12.259 --> 00:33:16.859 like a very complicated machine so there is a 00:33:16.859 --> 00:33:21.000 certain way of using your body to get certain 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:25.000 results which i think is is really reliable and 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:27.559 and over the years you you discover new things 00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:31.599 so everything is technique and um there's nothing 00:33:31.599 --> 00:33:33.839 specific i mean there are things that come easier 00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:38.329 to me at this point but i i I think, yeah, figuring 00:33:38.329 --> 00:33:41.750 out how the instrument works, how your body works 00:33:41.750 --> 00:33:43.990 and not fighting against it is the most important 00:33:43.990 --> 00:33:48.369 part. Lovely. Okay. What would your advice be 00:33:48.369 --> 00:33:51.730 to an amateur pianist on how to improve? How 00:33:51.730 --> 00:33:53.849 to improve? That's very good. I mean, this is 00:33:53.849 --> 00:33:56.130 not only for an amateur pianist, actually, but 00:33:56.130 --> 00:33:59.569 I think it's, again, what I was saying, not fight 00:33:59.569 --> 00:34:02.549 against your body. and use it to make things 00:34:02.549 --> 00:34:05.029 easier if something if a passage doesn't sound 00:34:05.029 --> 00:34:08.309 right or doesn't feel right stop and figure out 00:34:08.309 --> 00:34:13.630 why and and and try to find a way to work it 00:34:13.630 --> 00:34:15.750 especially because i think music piano music 00:34:15.750 --> 00:34:18.469 most of it was written by composers that really 00:34:18.469 --> 00:34:21.630 understood the instrument and even you know Rachmaninoff 00:34:21.630 --> 00:34:24.230 is very difficult but he knew better than anybody 00:34:24.230 --> 00:34:27.409 else how to play the piano so there has to be 00:34:27.409 --> 00:34:30.090 a way to make things easier and not fight against 00:34:30.090 --> 00:34:33.889 your own body and not fight against against gravity 00:34:33.889 --> 00:34:36.849 you know because you're going to lose use gravity 00:34:36.849 --> 00:34:39.969 rather than fight against it because at the end 00:34:39.969 --> 00:34:44.610 of the day we're pressing keys down so very often 00:34:44.610 --> 00:34:48.210 people and that's something natural if you have 00:34:48.210 --> 00:34:50.510 a little bit of musicality in you and you want 00:34:50.510 --> 00:34:54.300 to create tension music it translates into tension 00:34:54.300 --> 00:34:56.719 in your body and that's the one thing that's 00:34:56.719 --> 00:35:00.519 counterintuitive you know you have to you know 00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:02.400 if you want to create tension in music you have 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:08.139 to be more relaxed and that's yeah very interesting 00:35:08.139 --> 00:35:11.360 if you I think I know this answer but if you 00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:15.619 weren't a pianist What would you be? What's your 00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:21.139 guess? A soccer star. Oh, no, no. Well, no, I 00:35:21.139 --> 00:35:24.920 don't think I have to be realistic in my dreams. 00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:28.760 No, but also I would want to have a career that's 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:34.699 long lived. You know, I love to cook. So I don't 00:35:34.699 --> 00:35:36.639 think I could do it professionally because the 00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:39.599 reality of being a professional chef in the kitchen 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:42.980 is very difficult. But cooking for friends and 00:35:42.980 --> 00:35:47.840 for small parties, that's really one of my passions. 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:50.199 So it would have to be that. How wonderful. How 00:35:50.199 --> 00:35:53.780 do you find the time? Well, we've got to eat. 00:35:56.199 --> 00:35:59.840 That's wonderful. There are stories of... I had 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:02.159 an article years ago in the dining section of 00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:04.059 the New York Times where they interviewed me 00:36:04.059 --> 00:36:06.280 about my passion. And that little, little tiny 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:08.820 article with a tiny picture got more attention 00:36:08.820 --> 00:36:12.059 than any half -page reviews in the classical 00:36:12.059 --> 00:36:15.380 music section that I ever got. Well, I know you're 00:36:15.380 --> 00:36:17.400 a foodie because I remember once when I was going 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:19.380 to New York, you gave me a list of restaurants. 00:36:19.659 --> 00:36:24.079 That's right. But yeah, I know you are. On a 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:27.130 weekly basis, I get... messages from friends 00:36:27.130 --> 00:36:32.389 touring that asking me where should I go eat 00:36:32.389 --> 00:36:36.269 in this town or in that town and by now I have 00:36:36.269 --> 00:36:39.769 a very big map in fact I'm thinking about starting 00:36:39.769 --> 00:36:44.889 a side career suggesting places to eat for musicians 00:36:44.889 --> 00:36:47.809 you know after concerts or near concert halls 00:36:47.809 --> 00:36:49.750 and things like that that's a really good idea 00:36:49.750 --> 00:36:54.889 I just have to find the time brilliant Final 00:36:54.889 --> 00:36:57.630 question. One composer you're not quite ready 00:36:57.630 --> 00:37:01.570 to tackle. Oh, wow. There's, oh, there are many. 00:37:02.650 --> 00:37:06.349 Somehow, and it's probably because I didn't do 00:37:06.349 --> 00:37:09.769 much growing up and it's something that you probably 00:37:09.769 --> 00:37:13.530 have to start quite young. Prokofiev. I've never 00:37:13.530 --> 00:37:17.030 played the piano concerti and a lot of people 00:37:17.030 --> 00:37:22.119 do. I can't imagine. learning one now like when 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:24.340 you have something every single week of the year 00:37:24.340 --> 00:37:28.880 so I hope I hope at some point I can take some 00:37:28.880 --> 00:37:31.619 time off to delve into it but it's it's just 00:37:31.619 --> 00:37:34.019 the kind of pieces there's so many notes so demanding 00:37:34.019 --> 00:37:37.260 that that I think they're much easier to learn 00:37:37.260 --> 00:37:40.079 when you're younger yes I'm so glad I learned 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:42.639 the Rachmaninoffs when I was young and you know 00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:47.059 this because yeah I think in a way I'm much more 00:37:47.059 --> 00:37:50.619 efficient with my practice time now than I was 00:37:50.619 --> 00:37:54.599 when I was studying. I think I've wasted a lot 00:37:54.599 --> 00:37:56.360 of time, but I think that's part of the process. 00:37:57.380 --> 00:37:59.619 Yet you do need a lot of time to learn those. 00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:03.300 So I'm not quite ready just for lack of time. 00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:06.639 I love the music. Yes, you've got to prioritise, 00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:10.150 haven't you? um okay alessio i think we've come 00:38:10.150 --> 00:38:12.929 to the end of our wonderful discussion you know 00:38:12.929 --> 00:38:14.349 i don't want to keep you so long because you're 00:38:14.349 --> 00:38:16.909 so busy you're on concerto number whatever when's 00:38:16.909 --> 00:38:19.469 your next thing when's your next concerto appearance 00:38:19.469 --> 00:38:22.489 well it's uh in florida now there are with these 00:38:22.489 --> 00:38:24.969 three pieces with uh with lucille oh at the weekend 00:38:24.969 --> 00:38:30.050 yeah And then I have to check my schedule, but 00:38:30.050 --> 00:38:32.869 there's a lot. I mean, I have both Brahms in 00:38:32.869 --> 00:38:37.070 this few months, Rachmaninoff 2 and 3, Beethoven 00:38:37.070 --> 00:38:43.050 3, I did 5 and 3, MacDowell 2nd, I think the 00:38:43.050 --> 00:38:45.630 Faya, Nights in the Garden, Spain. I mean, there's 00:38:45.630 --> 00:38:48.230 really a lot. It's all beautiful. They're like, 00:38:48.309 --> 00:38:51.409 some of them I've played a lot, some others less 00:38:51.409 --> 00:38:54.869 so, but they're all... friends somehow fantastic 00:38:54.869 --> 00:38:57.889 oh golly well i hope your weekend goes well in 00:38:57.889 --> 00:39:00.929 florida and i look forward to coming to hear 00:39:00.929 --> 00:39:05.230 you in london at the end of it'll be like a big 00:39:05.230 --> 00:39:08.349 musical feast there's so much different music 00:39:08.349 --> 00:39:12.130 and and and you know i'm so lucky after so many 00:39:12.130 --> 00:39:14.170 years all these great musicians kind of trust 00:39:14.170 --> 00:39:16.650 what they put together and they send up without 00:39:16.650 --> 00:39:18.570 knowing what this festival was at all because 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:22.500 there it's the first one and i'm so glad they 00:39:22.500 --> 00:39:25.019 will be all there together fantastic well i hope 00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:27.219 it's a great success i'll see you there and thank 00:39:27.219 --> 00:39:30.119 you so much for joining me on this podcast today 00:39:30.119 --> 00:39:32.840 thank you what a pleasure erica thank you bye 00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:12.480 That was Rachmaninoff's arrangement of the Gavotte 00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:15.599 from Bach's Violin Partita No. 3 in A Major, 00:40:15.739 --> 00:40:20.179 and it was played by Alessio Bax. 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