Five stories about Vancouver

After my May 2013 Omsk recital (part 1 & part 2) I was asked about life in Vancouver and the interview is now available -in Russian- on the "Business Course" magazine website.

Bravo Beatrice!

In what will undoubtedly turn out to be a blessing in disguise, the Cliburn jury awarded only a Silver Medal to exceptional Italian pianist Beatrice Rana!

Her receiving the "Audience Award" at least did not lie...

Play Me!

Coming back from my hometown Omsk via London Heathrow, I sacrificed to the rite of spring PR and played the white piano, coming up with my most moving performance yet. Thanks to a maintenance agent's kindness, this Lebrecht's Slipped Disc worthy moment was recorded for posterity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlhCHPFiQbU&feature=youtu.be

However, nobody recognized me... Except an old guy, who thought I was Daniel Barenboim playing Chopin.

Post Scriptum May 27, 2013:

Case in point: an ironic video borne out of a minor blogging spat got full treatment that playing Bach in style, releasing Schnittke piano sonatas or playing inspired Rachmaninov “live” could not, QED.


Post Scriptum May 28, 2013:

Aside from Joplin' in an airport, I play a recital about every 6 months... From my May 20, 2013 recital in Omsk

Post Scriptum May 31, 2013:

And the story has legs of its own...

No Concerto for You!

 

On April 9, 2013, it will be ten years since my Omsk performance of Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano & Strings with maestro Yuri Nikolaevsky (see photos), a colleague and friend of the composer, who sadly passed away in November 2003.

This concert was recorded despite the professional crew not showing up and during all these years, over 30,000 hits and supportive comments from strangers have made this performance of the Concerto the most viewed on YouTube!

Optimistic, we were expecting that at home in Canada, at least some organization would have been eager to introduce this repertoire to its audience.

In 2004, we submitted the idea to our friend maestro Eri Klas, a personal friend of Schnittke who also premiered some of his most emblematic works, who agreed to conduct the reputable local Radio Orchestra in a Russian program including the Concerto. As details were being ironed out, we invited the CBC producer to a little gathering at home with our representative. A jubilant mention of Khrennikov around a glass of wine should have made us suspicious! A week later, we were informed that the producer was going after the maestro, behind our back, looking at bringing a better known Canadian pianist... Honest people withdrew and the concert never happened. Welcome to Vancouver: so much politics for 30 minutes of music!

A few years later, my first Schnittke CD in hand to back up our proposal, we suggested to the defender of contemporary repertoire, Grammy Award winner and VSO Music Director, Bramwell Tovey to play the concerto for the tenth anniversary of Schnittke’s passing in 2008.

Silence. Not a piece by Schnittke that year and since.

So we decided to record our own tribute through the Schnittke/Bach CD, never played on CBC Radio 2 to this day.

Finally, following a 2010 success in Omsk, we sent the live recording CD of my Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 performance to the VSO Artistic Director. After a few months waiting for an answer, we sought to at least receive what we deemed a minimum courtesy, which is a written reply; at last, we were sent packing, officially! On the positive side, I am glad to report we do not get evening phone calls enticing us to renew subscription anymore.

So now you do understand why I am particularly happy to announce that in May 2014 I’ll be flying to Russia and performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Omsk Academic Symphony Orchestra, in their brand new concert hall!

P.S.: On May 4, 2013, Denise Ball CBC producer of Radio 2 program "In Concert" quite predictably awarded a "disc of the week" to Valentina Lisitsa's Rachmaninov Concerti Decca CD set, especially now that "Lisitsa now has it all — legions of fans and a legitimate concert career. She's also a true trailblazer for classical music. The only question is whether others will follow her lead."

Well let's take her to her word and see how long it will take for the recently uploaded 2010 live Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2 on my CBC Music artist page to make it on the CBC Radio 2 waves... (I'm not holding my breath)

My Carnegie Hall experience

Since 5 y old kids playing at Carnegie Hall are all the rage these days, I decided to share my experience making a debut there in 2004!

New York, New York!


At last: Carnegie Hall and my face on Weill Recital Hall's billboard

Practicing at Steinway in the Rachmaninov Room, courtesy of Peter Goodrich

Finally entering the temple...

Yep, shopping too

Reading the score again

Walking to the Hall

Yes it isn't a dream

Backstage

Celebrating with friends at Trattoria Dell'Arte

Back to work!

Nice Inspiration Ms Cheng!

The March 10 edition of CBC Radio 2 "In Concert" featured Canadian pianist Angela Cheng playing a selection of Bach music, recorded recently in the National Gallery in Ottawa.

A familiar pair of Prelude & Fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier started the recital: the WTC book 1 C sharp Minor BWV 849. So, out of curiosity, we listened.

Nice inspiration Ms. Cheng, in particular, the dynamic contrast at bar 84 of the Fugue... Let me guess?

Here is a YouTube link to the extract from my Schnittke/Bach CD, of course never played on CBC Radio 2 (despite them having received copies when it was released in the fall 2008).

Imitation is a form of flattery, at least when it is informed.

During Bach's time, the harpsichord did not have the dynamic of a modern piano, therefore any change in dynamic would have to be "terrasse-like" (step by step) and not wavy crescendos and diminuendos.

Then, music was not looked at as art but belonged to mathematics and religion (Dictionary, Walther J.G., 1708); thus, the prelude cannot be a serenade, a romance as preludes were used to set the stage, usually a religious scene: it was about God first.

Finally, supreme irony, the musician who followed her on stage, Pinchas Zukerman, has had my CD since the NAC 2008 visit in Vancouver:
"...Just wanted to let you know that Pinchas and I both very much enjoyed [Svetlana's] playing. Thanks for forwarding it to us..."Amanda Forsyth, NAC Principal Cello, Ottawa, Canada on the Schnittke/Bach CD, January 2009.

Ah friends...

P.S.: That "In Concert" program was repeated on July 21, 2013. To this day, since 2008, CBC Radio 2 never played the Schnittke/Bach CD including these Prelude and Fugue.

Rules of Articulation vs 6 y old pianist

Playing Bach clavier music in style should not only be an adult affair but indeed a gift that pedagogues owe to their students.

This is why we have made available S. Gordeevtseva's essay "Touching a Mystery" about rules of articulation in J.S. Bach's clavier music in English and in Russian for free downloads on my website.

As an illustration, here is the video of a 6 y old student tackling J.S. Bach Little Prelude in C Minor, in style after working on it for about a month. When not distracted... his playing shows clarity of texture and rhythmic accuracy that reveal the Minuet like nature of the piece; even some stars could benefit from this foundation!