Music As Witness feat. Concert Pianist, Anna Shelest

WEBVTT
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This episode of the PianoPod is proudly sponsored
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by the Alexander M. Buono Foundation, an organization
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dedicated to supporting classical musicians through
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performance opportunities, recordings, and artistic
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development. Welcome back to The Pianopod, everyone.
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This season, we are exploring creativity and
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connection, highlighting artists who are reimagining
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what musical purpose can look like in today's
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world. As we move toward the final stretch of
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season six, we are excited to share that after
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today's episode, only three more conversations
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remain before we close this remarkable season.
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I also want to take a moment to thank you for
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your support. This season has been a real season
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of growth for The Pianopod. One major highlight
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was presenting our live event at the Stiefel
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Hall in collaboration with Manus, which marked
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an important step forward for the platform. We
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are grateful to all of you who continue to listen,
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watch, share, and believe in what we are building.
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And there is much more to come. Season 7 begins
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in September 2026 with a new theme, Culture and
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Courage. I'll share more soon about why I chose
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that theme, but in the meantime, start thinking
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about... Who would make a great guest for the
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new season? If someone comes to mind, please
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fill out the guest recommendation form. You can
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find the link in the show notes. Now, back to
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today's episode. This conversation is proudly
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sponsored by the Alexander and Buono Foundation,
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an organization dedicated to supporting classical
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musicians through concerts, recordings, and artistic
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development. Earlier this season, the Foundation
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reached out to the show, and today we are pleased
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to bring you this special collaboration featuring
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one of their distinguished artists, pianist Anna
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Schellest. Known for championing extraordinary
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repertoire rarely heard by audiences, Anna's
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work spans major orchestral collaborations, recording
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projects that revive the work of forgotten composers,
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and initiatives that expand the voices represented
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in the classical canon. She has drawn international
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attention for her collaboration with conductor
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Niamh Yarvey, including recordings of Anton Rubinstein's
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piano concertos and bringing renewed life to
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music once celebrated but rarely performed today.
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Another important thread in Anna's artistic work
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is her ongoing project, Donna Voce, which highlights
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music by women composers across several centuries
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through recordings, performances, and educational
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work. Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and later continuing
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her studies at the Julliard School in New York,
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Anna has built an international career rooted
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in discovery, curiosity, and artistic conviction.
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This is Season 6, Episode 17 of The Pianopod
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with pianist Anna Shellist. Please enjoy the
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show. You are listening to The Piano Pod, where
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we talk to the brightest minds in the industry
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about how they are bringing the piano into the
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future and thriving in a complex, ever -evolving
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world. Ana, welcome to The Piano Pod, and thank
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you so much for being here today. Thank you so
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much. I'm very happy to be with you. Thank you,
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and truly a pleasure. And where are you joining
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us from today? Well, I'm joining from my apartment
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in New York City. And it's quiet right now, so
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I hope it's going to stay like this. We're not
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going to have too many sirens. That's like a
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typical soundtrack of New York City. Do you live
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in Manhattan? Yes, I live in Washington Heights.
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I lived there since I was a student when I came
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to New York. I think it's one of those very popular
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neighborhoods for musicians. It was really for
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students. So we've been here almost 18 years.
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really love our neighborhood. So I feel very
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much at home here. Oh, great. I used to live
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in Washington Heights as well. Oh, okay. Yeah,
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168 and I don't remember. Okay, I went at 170,
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between 77 and 178. Oh. Right. It's a very, very
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lively neighborhood. Yes. And lots of musicians,
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sometimes when it's nice weather, people open
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their windows. You hear people practicing. It's
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a little bit like being a student again, you
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know. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You hear rehearsals
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and lots of jazz musicians, I think. in our neighborhood.
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So I, it has a vibe of creative people around
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you. There are a lot of musicians on the West
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side. Yeah, that's for sure. Yeah. So I've been
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following your work for some time, especially
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your album, Romantic from Kharkiv and your efforts
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to bring composers like Sergei Borkovich back
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into the conversation. So I have really been
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looking forward to our interview session today.
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I also know your husband, Dmitry, through the
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piano world and his work with a piano company
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in New York. And because of that connection,
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I also have been listening to your duo recording,
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Ukrainian Rhapsody as a cellist. piano duo. It
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is always such a joy to hear your forehand playing,
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and we will definitely talk more about that later
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in the episode. But to begin, I'd like to start
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with this question. Your career spans a wide
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range of artistic directions, performing traditional
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repertoire, championing lesser -known composers,
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building projects like Donna Voce, and collaborating
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with living composers. At the center of all you
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do, what is the driving artistic force, meaning
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mission or passion that connects everything you
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do. Well, I think essentially it's really my
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love for the piano and my curiosity about it.
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I think there is something maybe from childhood
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that stays with you when you think about how
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we get interested in things. It's a certain spark
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that I think you can relate to people of other
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professions as well. They hear something, they
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see something. It could be engineering, math.
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For me, it was piano. So I think this is really
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at the heart of it. And then... It kind of takes
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you on this journey. I think my, like many musicians,
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when you are in this profession for several decades,
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you're kind of surprised at how different stages
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of your lives are. And piano kind of takes you,
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like it was only for me, took me to many interesting
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places. It kind of defined the circle of people,
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of my friends. Also, my husband is a pianist.
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much affected my personal life so I think it's
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just this initial curiosity and I was fortunate
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that my parents supported me and then it gave
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my my life great meaning and I'm just still I
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want to always stay surprised by the music that
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I'm finding. So it's never getting to be old
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and boring and like, you know what to expect.
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So I think this is something that I'm grateful
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for, how the piano enriched my life. Wonderful.
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You're known for championing repertoire that
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audiences do not often hear, you know? So what
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frustrated you two toward exploring? repertoire
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beyond the traditional canon. You know, this
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also was a very organic journey because you notice
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that you're curious about different things. I
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had very traditional education. I played a lot
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of very traditional repertoire. I did piano competitions.
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So you really get to know kind of the canon.
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But I think what attracted me first to things
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that maybe I've never heard this piece before,
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or maybe there is not a recording of this piece
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before. I think at first it was kind of sense
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of freedom and that you could sort of make your
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own interpretation. Because as you know, there
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are lots of rules in our profession. And tradition
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is certainly, it's a very valuable thing. But
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sometimes it could... put limits on your creativity.
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And I think I felt maybe intuitively that, you
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know, playing something, maybe it will be pieced
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by a very famous composer, but not so well known.
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It just made me see a different side of even
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my approach. to interpretation so this is kind
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of how it started and then you know as you get
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more mature you become more confident and just
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choosing things that you really want to play
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if you're really drawn to the program you know
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that, you know, I can make it work and I hopefully
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will convince the audience that this is a worthy
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piece of music. And then, of course, as an artist,
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I think we all react to the world around us about,
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you react to conversations in society, different
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political movements, Ukrainian war certainly
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had a deep effect on me. My work with women composers,
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I think also, the conversation about women in
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society, their roles, you know, what historically
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the struggles they had. I think all of these
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things, they affect you. And then I feel you
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choose repertoires that sort of reflect your
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state of mind and what you care about. So I think
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it's been kind of organic process of... reacting
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to the world around you and finding your way
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and I think through music we can really contribute
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something constructive because music usually
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it's so beautiful it's so there is this attempt
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by composers to create a harmonic world so I
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think we can as artists really be very constructive
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when we contribute to any type of narrative.
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Last year, you released the album Romantic from
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Kharkiv, and the album is devoted to the music
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of Sergei Bokevich. I'm sorry if I'm mispronouncing.
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I was just corrected, and I'm trying to pronounce
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it. No, it's great. And as we were talking just
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before I started to record, I do think that...
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with composers, just when you become globally
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known, each accent brings kind of a different
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dimension to your name. So I think it's just
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fine. I say it's Sergei Bartkevich, but everybody
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has said it was a little bit different, the accent
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or stressing different letters. Yeah, but the
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album was incredible. I just discovered so many
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unknown pieces. by him too but you know to be
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honest my favorite piece by him is the piano
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concerto number one well i'm so thrilled to hear
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your reaction to the concerto i think it's just
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such a fantastic romantic concerto so uh my initial
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idea for this album was uh of course kind of
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my reaction to the russian war in ukraine um
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i For me, playing Ukrainian music in general,
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this is something that I try to include in all
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of my programs. Now it's a way that I feel like
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I can stay in solidarity with Ukrainians by playing
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music from Ukraine. And I've known that it's
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something that makes me feel, kind of eases my
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heart. I was so surprised how when I even like
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post a piece by Ukrainian music or, you know,
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make like a little social media post about it,
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oftentimes people from Ukraine would say, oh,
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this is so beautiful. Thank you for like it's
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something that means a lot, I think, to Ukrainians
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when people in other parts of the world present
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their culture. So this was, I think, kind of
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my initial first. step in this process. And then
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just discovering music that I think as music
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itself has tremendous value and I think can enrich
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the piano repertoire. But for me, Bartkevich,
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the first connection was, of course, that he
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comes from the same cities as I do, from Kharkiv.
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We were born a little over 100 years apart. And
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his house was actually in the center of Kharkiv,
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near what now is Opera Theater. I walked that
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street so many times, but I did not know about
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him and his music until very recently. Even though
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I grew up in Ukraine, I went to school there,
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his music was not kind of part of my upbringing.
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And because of his life, because he essentially
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became a refugee after the Russian Revolution,
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he had a lot of obstacles. in just living at
00:14:54.009 --> 00:14:58.049
the time for his music to become more well -known.
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In Ukraine, we did not know about just this fantastic
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composer. But this first piano concerto was a
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work that was actually so well received when
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it was first composed. But I think the timing
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of it was just very unfortunate. He published
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his first concerto in... 1913, just a year before
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First World War. Up to that point, his career
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was going quite well. In fact, most of his work
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was published, and you can actually find a lot
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of it in public domain in sources like IMSLP.
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So if you're curious about his work, it's very
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easy to find. So when I downloaded all this music
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and I was going through all these pieces, I was
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just overwhelmed with, first of all, there's
00:15:49.049 --> 00:15:51.909
a lot of very difficult music, things that will
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take you a long time to play, and there are etudes
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that are quite demanding. And, of course, each
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composer, with him, again, being, I think he
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was a tremendously talented pianist, they're
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bringing something new. to the piano, to your
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skill as a pianist when you're playing their
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music. So my initial idea was to do a recording
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of his solo music, and the very first work I
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learned was Thousand and One Nights, because
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I thought that cycle has so many, first of all,
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beautiful movements. It's a 10 -movement piece.
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You could... like portions of it it's just very
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easy type of work to program so that was the
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first one that i played and i was thinking about
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just doing solo pieces and then um naomi yarvi
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was whom i worked for a few years already he
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was asking me about what are the ukrainian concertos
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because he's somebody who championed esoteric
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repertoire all his life so this is when i was
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oh my god there's this first piano concerto it's
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so fantastic And, you know, working on it with
00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:42.190
him, just having his kind of power as interpreter
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on this record was just absolutely a dream come
00:17:47.470 --> 00:17:50.710
true. And the recording of First Piano Concerto
00:17:50.710 --> 00:17:55.490
is a live recording from Estonia, from Tallinn.
00:17:56.299 --> 00:17:58.980
with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and
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that was also a very special concert. We combined
00:18:02.900 --> 00:18:07.900
Ukrainian and Estonian concertos on the program.
00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:12.480
So Bartkevich was one, and I played Artur Lemba,
00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:17.299
concerto number two. Estonia has been an amazing
00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:21.640
friend to Ukraine through these last four years.
00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:27.230
They actually start each concert with Ukrainian
00:18:27.230 --> 00:18:29.849
national anthem because they really understand
00:18:29.849 --> 00:18:35.069
the struggles and the threat Ukraine is facing.
00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:42.109
So they are really so supportive. I'm so grateful
00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:47.509
to this country for being such a loyal friend.
00:18:57.650 --> 00:19:39.589
Thank you. So this was a very special performance
00:19:39.589 --> 00:19:42.430
for that reason as well. It kind of had several
00:19:42.430 --> 00:19:46.430
levels of meaning to me. So have this on the
00:19:46.430 --> 00:19:48.809
record. I mean, I certainly, like when I heard
00:19:48.809 --> 00:19:51.450
it, I, you know, it takes me back into that kind
00:19:51.450 --> 00:19:56.890
of a concert environment and excitement. So it's
00:19:56.890 --> 00:20:00.890
one of those, this really projects where many
00:20:00.890 --> 00:20:03.589
things came together. My interest, my passion,
00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:06.630
a lot of my kind of heartache. and just heartbreak
00:20:06.630 --> 00:20:12.329
about what's happening. But we were able to work
00:20:12.329 --> 00:20:14.849
around this and actually create something beautiful.
00:20:15.150 --> 00:20:20.289
And this is also something that I think indicative
00:20:20.289 --> 00:20:23.450
of Bartkevich's life. tremendously difficult
00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:27.289
life. He found himself kind of in the midst of
00:20:27.289 --> 00:20:32.750
all of the tragedies in Europe. And when you
00:20:32.750 --> 00:20:36.029
read about this, you think, oh gosh, how can
00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:40.150
a person survive this and create something beautiful
00:20:40.150 --> 00:20:42.769
and harmonious? But when you listen to his music,
00:20:42.910 --> 00:20:47.009
there is really none of that. I think he stayed
00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:50.269
a true romantic at heart. For him, I feel strongly
00:20:50.269 --> 00:20:56.619
that music was a way to escape the world, to
00:20:56.619 --> 00:21:00.099
create. This was the only place of harmony and
00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:04.460
some kind of order and beauty that he had. And
00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:11.240
it comes to me with just, it's very strong aspect
00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:14.299
of his music that I think when people hear it,
00:21:14.339 --> 00:21:18.329
this is what they react to. So music is... fantastic,
00:21:18.390 --> 00:21:22.289
it's beautiful, it's lyrical, there is a lot
00:21:22.289 --> 00:21:26.769
of very fun virtuosic moments, but I think that
00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:32.130
very deep feeling of loss and dealing with just
00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:36.089
tragedies he had to deal with in his life, this
00:21:36.089 --> 00:21:40.029
gives it certain depth that I think you really
00:21:40.029 --> 00:21:45.309
connect to. layers upon layers of uh feelings
00:21:45.309 --> 00:21:49.250
that he expresses was just so incredible and
00:21:49.250 --> 00:21:52.349
as you mentioned that uh a thousand and one nights
00:21:52.349 --> 00:21:57.529
uh ten i guess movements uh that are also included
00:21:57.529 --> 00:22:01.470
into this album and plus two other solo pieces
00:22:01.470 --> 00:22:06.769
lamentations and consolations that's one and
00:22:06.769 --> 00:22:10.210
then also nocturne from three pieces right yeah
00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:16.579
Yes, yes. Yeah, so my idea was to show his range
00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:19.980
because I just recently learned about him. I
00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:22.759
kind of thought many people might, this might
00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:25.160
be the first record of Berkevich and how do you
00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:28.640
introduce him in a way that really show his range
00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:33.150
as a... orchestrator as a master of large form
00:22:33.150 --> 00:22:38.569
but also in miniatures and just emotions and
00:22:38.569 --> 00:22:42.789
colors that he draws from the piano I think are
00:22:42.789 --> 00:22:46.750
very unique and really very worthy to play and
00:22:46.750 --> 00:22:50.950
to listen to. Wow I really thoroughly enjoyed
00:22:50.950 --> 00:22:54.509
and I wish I knew more of his pieces before but
00:22:54.509 --> 00:22:57.680
I think From now on, I want to listen to his
00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:01.279
piano music now. Another thing I would add is
00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:04.759
that he also has a few cycles of music for children.
00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:09.640
that are really wonderful. One is based on Anderson
00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:14.220
fairy tales. So he really masters this medium
00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:18.779
of like program music. And especially when it's
00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:21.220
done for children, because, you know, you can
00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:24.000
only move, you know, there are certain limits.
00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:28.240
It's really brilliant cycle. And then another
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:32.440
one of like this young adventurer. So those are
00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:36.519
wonderful teaching pieces as well. to introduce
00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:39.059
if you're looking for something a little bit,
00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:42.220
you know. Wow, definitely. And they're all available
00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:48.039
online. Yes, IMSLP is, yes, it has most of his
00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:50.740
things. It just, there is a lot to choose from.
00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:47.039
Are there any particular Ukrainian composers
00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:50.259
whose music you feel audiences should know more
00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:54.380
about? Certainly. You know, one thing I would
00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:59.559
say just about Ukrainian culture in general,
00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:06.619
because we're talking about it in 2026, the Russian
00:25:06.619 --> 00:25:09.559
war in Ukraine is ongoing, and most people learn
00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:12.279
about Ukraine or think about Ukraine in context
00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:18.019
of... kind of that reality today um so sometimes
00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:20.940
there is this perspective that ukrainian culture
00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:24.660
ukrainian music it's it's like a derivative from
00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:28.619
the russian culture uh something that linked
00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:31.240
so closely that you know it's impossible to separate
00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:35.220
them and i always like to if I have a chance
00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:37.839
to speak about it, to offer a different perspective,
00:25:38.140 --> 00:25:40.920
a little bit more kind of Ukrainian -centric,
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:47.299
and stress how old Ukraine actually is, especially
00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:51.380
if you travel to Ukraine, you really feel it.
00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:56.400
For example, in Kiev, the Sofia Cathedral, it's
00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:59.839
over a thousand years old. You can go inside
00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:02.960
and see it's actually like mosaics. They are
00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:08.660
that old. On our last trip to Ukraine, we visited
00:26:08.660 --> 00:26:14.220
France in the city of Izum. And we went for a
00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:17.839
hike. And they have these little mountains, hills,
00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:21.599
where there are these statues. They're called
00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:25.240
babas. And these are statues of stone women.
00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:30.700
They're about 1 ,200 years old. These were statues
00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:34.079
that... kind of nomadic tribes who lived in that
00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:40.480
area at the time. They were most likely for some
00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:43.400
kind of worship. They used these figures. And
00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:45.660
this was not in some kind of museum. This was
00:26:45.660 --> 00:26:48.339
basically you go on a hike and you see these
00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:53.019
ancient things. Ukraine is also a place of some
00:26:53.019 --> 00:26:57.079
of the oldest human settlements in Europe that
00:26:57.079 --> 00:27:05.039
archaeologists discover. These types of things
00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:07.599
they affect the music as well because you feel
00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:12.319
something very old and ancient and the main way
00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:15.059
you can actually trace those things is through
00:27:15.059 --> 00:27:19.259
song. like with many cultures, right? The songs,
00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:21.940
songs of the people. And again, where those songs
00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:24.680
come from? There is a lot of influence from like
00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:28.079
pagan times. And then when Christianity came
00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:30.680
to Ukraine, how those two things blended together.
00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:35.279
Ukraine has very unique traditions around Christmas
00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:38.769
time, for example. when you have these special
00:27:38.769 --> 00:27:42.269
songs, they're called Kalyatka, Shedrivka, where
00:27:42.269 --> 00:27:47.269
it was a kind of fusion of the birth of Christ,
00:27:47.410 --> 00:27:50.529
but also, you know, the New Year, the things
00:27:50.529 --> 00:27:53.609
that are associated with kind of renewal of nature.
00:27:54.089 --> 00:27:57.990
And, you know, looking forward to kind of the
00:27:57.990 --> 00:28:03.660
new work starting on the harvest. All of these
00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:09.339
things are very much, I think. create certain
00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:14.119
depth in Ukrainian music. Then a little bit later
00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:18.000
on, there is a tradition of kabzars, and these
00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:21.519
were traveling musicians who, through song, they
00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:25.059
kept kind of Ukrainian history alive and tell
00:28:25.059 --> 00:28:29.480
these stories. So when composers went and kind
00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:33.380
of mined material for their works, so one important
00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:38.089
composer for Ukraine, is Mykola Lysenko. So he
00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:42.670
was the first one in Ukrainian musical history
00:28:42.670 --> 00:28:46.089
in the 19th century when there was this movement
00:28:46.089 --> 00:28:50.690
in Europe of national music when composers used
00:28:52.009 --> 00:28:54.650
materials from their land, from their people.
00:28:54.769 --> 00:28:59.869
He was the first one to sort of codify Ukrainian
00:28:59.869 --> 00:29:04.809
folklore, became a kind of DNA of his musical
00:29:04.809 --> 00:29:07.369
language. So he is a very interesting composer
00:29:07.369 --> 00:29:13.630
to go and look at and see how this very real,
00:29:13.769 --> 00:29:17.849
he was a scholar, he studied these songs, how
00:29:17.849 --> 00:29:21.519
he used them in his piano writing. I actually
00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:26.720
have his suite on Ukrainian themes, Opus 2 on
00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:30.500
my record, Ukrainian Rhapsody. And this is something
00:29:30.500 --> 00:29:38.319
that I really found so, it was so original how
00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:42.839
he used the dance suite that we most associate
00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:47.859
with Bach, but he used Ukrainian themes to create.
00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:51.460
all of these European dances, kind of the fusion
00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:55.539
of the two. So his piano music has a lot of it.
00:29:55.599 --> 00:30:02.319
So if you want to kind of get this... very genuine
00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:07.019
Ukrainian language in music. I would start there.
00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:11.400
So Bartkevich, of course, has been my great love
00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:14.839
for the last two years. Another composer that
00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:17.619
I just recently discovered, we just played his
00:30:17.619 --> 00:30:22.660
piece for piano for hands, is Theodora Kiminka,
00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:26.779
also from Kharkiv. really such an interesting
00:30:26.779 --> 00:30:29.680
composer. I'm just beginning to discovering his
00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:33.279
music, so I'm sharing this, but this year has
00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:35.779
been 150 since his birth, so lots of Ukrainian
00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:40.359
musicians are doing programs of his music. But
00:30:40.359 --> 00:30:45.299
when we're talking about modernist era, I would
00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:50.420
say Boris Latoshinsky, he was a composer who
00:30:51.069 --> 00:30:54.210
created kind of the modern language. And I would
00:30:54.210 --> 00:30:57.109
look at his preludes just to get a sense exactly
00:30:57.109 --> 00:31:01.049
what he did, because it's really, it's modern,
00:31:01.190 --> 00:31:04.170
it's original, but there is still this idea of
00:31:04.170 --> 00:31:08.730
a narrative, I think, and song that kind of shines
00:31:08.730 --> 00:31:10.750
through, even though it's done in the modern
00:31:10.750 --> 00:31:15.509
language. But it's very original and just a very
00:31:15.509 --> 00:31:23.569
strongly made musical language. And now, a brief
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00:33:27.019 --> 00:33:30.039
I would love to go back a little bit. You grew
00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:34.380
up, obviously, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, a city with
00:33:34.380 --> 00:33:38.180
a remarkable pianistic legacy connected to the
00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:41.119
Horvitz family. Right, tradition. So particularly
00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:44.619
through the teaching legacy of Vladimir Horowitz's
00:33:44.619 --> 00:33:49.460
sister, Regina Horowitz. So I think she was teaching
00:33:49.460 --> 00:33:55.759
there, no? Yes. So I think this is such an incredible
00:33:55.759 --> 00:34:00.480
story because Regina Horowitz really created
00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:04.960
the legacy in our city. But this legacy, it's
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:08.159
sort of known to everyone from Kharkiv, but I
00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:12.420
wish more people know about her and her contribution.
00:34:13.659 --> 00:34:17.500
and just her life because, of course, Vladimir
00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:19.519
Horowitz is one of the most important artists
00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:23.739
of the 20th century. He and Regina were born
00:34:23.739 --> 00:34:29.179
in Kiev. They were educated there. And then Horowitz
00:34:29.179 --> 00:34:36.900
and her, they had a wonderful career until Horowitz
00:34:36.900 --> 00:34:40.420
went, he went first to kind of study and concentrate.
00:34:40.889 --> 00:34:44.389
died abroad but then he did not return to soviet
00:34:44.389 --> 00:34:48.190
union and the fact that he did not return for
00:34:48.190 --> 00:34:51.469
him it meant a great career and very prosperous
00:34:51.469 --> 00:34:55.150
and life of the legend but for his family his
00:34:55.150 --> 00:34:59.369
family was really punished for this fact and
00:34:59.369 --> 00:35:02.590
this is not to kind of guilt him in any way but
00:35:02.590 --> 00:35:04.789
this was just a reality for for actually many
00:35:04.789 --> 00:35:08.949
families if one of of you left and didn't come
00:35:08.949 --> 00:35:11.639
back the family was punished. His father was
00:35:11.639 --> 00:35:18.980
actually arrested and he died in Gulag. But with
00:35:18.980 --> 00:35:21.840
Regina, what happened to her, her artistic life
00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:26.760
was really hindered by that. She wasn't allowed
00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:31.400
to ever leave Soviet Union. And there were just
00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:36.320
lots of obstacles in her way to have professionally
00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:41.730
life. free and as successful as it could have
00:35:41.730 --> 00:35:45.630
been. But nonetheless, her talent is not something
00:35:45.630 --> 00:35:48.889
that could have been hidden. So for most of her
00:35:48.889 --> 00:35:53.429
life, she taught in Kharkiv, in Kharkiv Conservatory,
00:35:53.570 --> 00:35:57.110
in Kharkiv Special Music School that I later
00:35:57.110 --> 00:36:04.449
attended. And she taught generations of pianists
00:36:04.449 --> 00:36:08.449
from Kharkiv. aura of Horowitz, this was something
00:36:08.449 --> 00:36:11.730
I was always aware of as a child, that Regina
00:36:11.730 --> 00:36:15.949
Horowitz, Vladimir Horowitz, what made it so
00:36:15.949 --> 00:36:18.610
special also at the time that Horowitz recordings
00:36:18.610 --> 00:36:22.610
in Soviet Union, it was very difficult to get
00:36:22.610 --> 00:36:24.769
them, almost impossible, and he went through
00:36:24.769 --> 00:36:28.670
kind of great length to make sure she gets his
00:36:28.670 --> 00:36:32.380
recordings, and these were real treasures. for
00:36:32.380 --> 00:36:36.539
Regina to share with her students. So by the
00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:39.920
time, of course, I was in school, it was available.
00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:45.719
We could be free to listen to them. But when
00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:49.579
she was teaching in the 60s, 70s, this was just
00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:54.500
a very unique resource to have, to have a pianist
00:36:54.500 --> 00:37:00.340
of such originality. you know, absolutely unique
00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:04.119
approach to the instrument. Regina actually resembles
00:37:04.119 --> 00:37:08.119
Vladimir very much in the pictures. She actually
00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:12.639
looks like his female version. And also, I was
00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:15.960
told by my teachers that her posture at the piano,
00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:18.820
like, is a very similar way that Horvitz said.
00:37:20.699 --> 00:37:23.800
It was very much how... So it seemed like they
00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:27.199
had this talent, this incredible relationship
00:37:27.199 --> 00:37:30.079
to the piano, something that they shared. But
00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:34.420
of course, the main thing I think that she imparted
00:37:34.420 --> 00:37:38.219
to her students was the ear for color, for that
00:37:38.219 --> 00:37:41.659
singing tone, and this incredible imagination
00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:49.579
that I think also gave... opportunity for people
00:37:49.579 --> 00:37:53.039
to be a little bit more original, because education
00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:56.179
in Soviet Union, music education, it was certainly
00:37:56.179 --> 00:38:00.420
very structured, but I think there were maybe
00:38:00.420 --> 00:38:04.639
certain limitations on how things should be done.
00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:06.559
You know, like, Gorovis was somebody who broke
00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:12.659
all the rules, and I think this was such a tremendous...
00:38:15.860 --> 00:38:21.519
thing to have like this freedom in his recordings
00:38:21.519 --> 00:38:26.760
to take. And one of my teachers in Kharkiv, Sergei
00:38:26.760 --> 00:38:29.920
Polusmak, he was her student. But many teachers
00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:34.889
in our school were her former students. Horowitz
00:38:34.889 --> 00:38:37.630
and his legacy, he was the first pianist that
00:38:37.630 --> 00:38:40.110
really understood what it meant to be a concert
00:38:40.110 --> 00:38:42.730
pianist, to be not just a person playing the
00:38:42.730 --> 00:38:48.130
piano. So this was very important, those early
00:38:48.130 --> 00:38:51.369
influences. But I know for anyone who is from
00:38:51.369 --> 00:38:54.849
Kharkiv, when you start talking to them, it's
00:38:54.849 --> 00:38:57.530
inevitable there will be some kind of connection
00:38:57.530 --> 00:39:00.550
to Regina if they have connections to the piano
00:39:00.550 --> 00:39:06.119
world. Wow. So what was it like growing up there,
00:39:06.179 --> 00:39:09.239
like, you know, in that musical environment and
00:39:09.239 --> 00:39:13.159
being, you know, sort of having to have the lineage
00:39:13.159 --> 00:39:18.329
in training? Well, you know, when you were a
00:39:18.329 --> 00:39:20.349
kid, I don't think you think about things like
00:39:20.349 --> 00:39:22.610
that, you know, like lineage. It's something
00:39:22.610 --> 00:39:25.110
that you're just aware because when adults talking
00:39:25.110 --> 00:39:28.829
to you about things that you think, oh, this
00:39:28.829 --> 00:39:31.510
sounds important. It sounds like it could be
00:39:31.510 --> 00:39:34.929
important. I think just with age, like when you
00:39:34.929 --> 00:39:38.469
actually try to understand deeply like what it
00:39:38.469 --> 00:39:43.690
meant for her, you know, like to live at the
00:39:43.690 --> 00:39:48.119
time, you know, to have the... kind of things
00:39:48.119 --> 00:39:50.599
happening through the family that did, you have
00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:53.960
a different appreciation of it. But I don't come
00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:56.460
from a musical family. My parents were musicians,
00:39:56.699 --> 00:40:02.039
so music was always something that... It was
00:40:02.039 --> 00:40:04.900
kind of this magical world, you know. It was
00:40:04.900 --> 00:40:08.719
certainly like for my mom, she wanted me to be
00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:11.559
in the arts because it's just something that's
00:40:11.559 --> 00:40:17.320
so beautiful, which it is. But I think perhaps
00:40:17.320 --> 00:40:20.019
sometimes if you grow up in a musical environment,
00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:22.739
just like with my children, I think to them it's
00:40:22.739 --> 00:40:26.840
just something that is very regular and just
00:40:26.840 --> 00:40:31.159
everyday occurrence. But for me it wasn't. I
00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:34.559
think just music to me as a child, it kind of
00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:39.019
had this aura of something very otherworldly
00:40:39.019 --> 00:40:43.519
about it. Any memorable teachers or mentors you
00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:50.119
had while in Kharkiv? Yes, so I had a pretty...
00:40:52.539 --> 00:40:56.500
conventional education. I also, I'm not always
00:40:56.500 --> 00:40:59.840
sure if I should tell the story, but maybe since
00:40:59.840 --> 00:41:02.099
we have a little bit more time, I actually failed
00:41:02.099 --> 00:41:06.860
my first piano lesson. But maybe it's a little
00:41:06.860 --> 00:41:09.119
bit indicative of that it was a very strict education.
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:15.650
So I was five years old, and my mom... She wanted
00:41:15.650 --> 00:41:17.710
me to take piano lessons, so she found out who
00:41:17.710 --> 00:41:20.130
would be very respected. So this was a teacher
00:41:20.130 --> 00:41:27.289
who had a good reputation. And we were preparing
00:41:27.289 --> 00:41:30.369
to come to the first piano lesson. And one of
00:41:30.369 --> 00:41:33.530
the things that was requested is that we bring
00:41:33.530 --> 00:41:36.750
a grading book. So I don't think I had to bring
00:41:36.750 --> 00:41:39.869
any book, music books yet, but I had to bring
00:41:39.869 --> 00:41:43.599
a grading book. So this is something that really
00:41:43.599 --> 00:41:48.420
stuck in my memory. So I remember the piano and
00:41:48.420 --> 00:41:50.840
the keys, like black and white. I haven't played
00:41:50.840 --> 00:41:53.400
piano yet. And the first thing that happened
00:41:53.400 --> 00:41:57.079
is that the piano lid was closed. So the teacher
00:41:57.079 --> 00:41:59.980
closed the piano lid, and I was like, what's
00:41:59.980 --> 00:42:02.699
going on? And the first exercise we had to do
00:42:02.699 --> 00:42:06.139
was to, I remember it was called the rainbow.
00:42:06.340 --> 00:42:11.500
You move your hand from left to right. So apparently
00:42:11.500 --> 00:42:14.940
I was terrible at this. So she failed me. So
00:42:14.940 --> 00:42:18.320
at the end of the lesson, she gave me one. So
00:42:18.320 --> 00:42:22.860
at the time we had like five number system, one,
00:42:22.960 --> 00:42:26.139
two, three, four, five, five. And I remember
00:42:26.139 --> 00:42:28.300
I did not think much of it because I don't think
00:42:28.300 --> 00:42:31.719
I understood. But my mom was so upset. And when
00:42:31.719 --> 00:42:35.199
we came home, we lived with my grandparents and
00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:37.719
my grandpa. They were all so excited. Oh, your
00:42:37.719 --> 00:42:40.510
first piano lesson. And I was telling him, grandma,
00:42:40.630 --> 00:42:43.530
guess what? It was great I got. And of course
00:42:43.530 --> 00:42:46.030
he thought, oh, you got the excellent five plus.
00:42:46.969 --> 00:42:49.489
So I was like, no, this is not what happened.
00:42:49.630 --> 00:42:51.849
So he actually couldn't guess that I got one.
00:42:52.369 --> 00:42:56.949
And I remember shock on his face. But I'm telling
00:42:56.949 --> 00:42:59.849
you this story because I actually often have
00:42:59.849 --> 00:43:03.659
conversations with... people who play piano not
00:43:03.659 --> 00:43:06.340
playing piano anymore or love music and they
00:43:06.340 --> 00:43:08.860
would say something like oh you know I had piano
00:43:08.860 --> 00:43:12.019
lessons as a kid but my teacher said I had no
00:43:12.019 --> 00:43:16.079
talent or like I had my ears I had no hearing
00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:20.260
and I like to share the story saying that you
00:43:20.260 --> 00:43:23.300
know don't this might not be true because I failed
00:43:23.300 --> 00:43:25.840
my lesson and look you know I'm still playing
00:43:25.840 --> 00:43:31.090
the piano but I think this sort of attitude,
00:43:31.389 --> 00:43:36.250
it was... quite common because it was about children
00:43:36.250 --> 00:43:39.329
following rules and there were rules in place
00:43:39.329 --> 00:43:42.190
and they certainly gave some results. But I think
00:43:42.190 --> 00:43:45.630
this is something that perhaps intuitively I
00:43:45.630 --> 00:43:50.510
was always not rebelling, but I wasn't a rebel
00:43:50.510 --> 00:43:52.170
by any means. I was a very obedient student.
00:43:52.369 --> 00:43:55.670
But some things that I questioned a lot of times
00:43:55.670 --> 00:43:57.889
in my childhood, do you think, why is it this
00:43:57.889 --> 00:44:03.559
way? And you do it because you sort of want to
00:44:03.559 --> 00:44:08.579
do well. But this is something that I think can
00:44:08.579 --> 00:44:12.710
have a negative effect as well. But, you know,
00:44:12.730 --> 00:44:16.690
I don't want to just share something, you know,
00:44:16.730 --> 00:44:20.329
not so rosy. I certainly had wonderful experiences
00:44:20.329 --> 00:44:24.289
as a child. I went to special music school in
00:44:24.289 --> 00:44:28.130
Kharkiv, which is like a boarding school for
00:44:28.130 --> 00:44:33.150
students where music and academics, they were
00:44:33.150 --> 00:44:36.789
in the same place. And essentially all your friends
00:44:36.789 --> 00:44:40.909
were... studying music seriously so it would
00:44:40.909 --> 00:44:43.369
be your friend studied piano or they played an
00:44:43.369 --> 00:44:47.869
orchestra so music was built into the routine
00:44:47.869 --> 00:44:52.230
of the day we had times during the day where
00:44:52.230 --> 00:44:56.380
it was designated for practicing piano And then
00:44:56.380 --> 00:44:59.400
you take academic, and then in the middle of
00:44:59.400 --> 00:45:01.659
the day you have music theory, and then you go
00:45:01.659 --> 00:45:03.960
to math. So it was a really wonderful system
00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:09.420
to kind of make music a very organic part of
00:45:09.420 --> 00:45:13.119
learning and give kids comprehensive education.
00:45:14.460 --> 00:45:19.699
But I don't think that at the time I would...
00:45:20.139 --> 00:45:22.840
play some something not traditional repertoire
00:45:22.840 --> 00:45:26.119
it was like very much about learning the tropes
00:45:26.119 --> 00:45:30.880
and and just staying in in this lane of things
00:45:30.880 --> 00:45:37.739
that have been tried and work so yeah well but
00:45:37.739 --> 00:45:40.920
thank you for sharing the your first lesson sort
00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:45.110
of anecdote that's actually I hear a lot of stories
00:45:45.110 --> 00:45:48.289
like that, but later on became this concert pianist
00:45:48.289 --> 00:45:53.409
like you. And you ended up going to Juilliard,
00:45:53.429 --> 00:45:57.750
which is like the most prestigious music schools
00:45:57.750 --> 00:46:00.789
in the United States. So, you know, coming to
00:46:00.789 --> 00:46:02.849
the United States, well, what's it like, you
00:46:02.849 --> 00:46:06.369
know, from transitioning from, you know, Ukraine
00:46:06.369 --> 00:46:13.000
and came to Juilliard? Well, I first, when we
00:46:13.000 --> 00:46:16.619
came to United States, when my family immigrated,
00:46:16.639 --> 00:46:20.079
we did not come to New York. We came to Kentucky.
00:46:21.300 --> 00:46:27.679
Wow. Yes, which was really a big culture shock
00:46:27.679 --> 00:46:31.659
because there are very few immigrants, especially
00:46:31.659 --> 00:46:37.619
at the time. So it was kind of a... learning
00:46:37.619 --> 00:46:41.179
through like shock because you you had to assimilate
00:46:41.179 --> 00:46:45.099
you had to learn like the language the culture
00:46:45.099 --> 00:46:51.460
so this was a very kind of important experience
00:46:51.460 --> 00:46:54.960
for me I think in the way you get to know like
00:46:55.320 --> 00:46:57.639
real united states because i live in new york
00:46:57.639 --> 00:47:00.019
now and i think new york it's it's its own place
00:47:00.019 --> 00:47:03.400
it's like unlike any other place but uh living
00:47:03.400 --> 00:47:09.059
kind of in a more suburban um place uh and i
00:47:09.059 --> 00:47:12.960
went to school northern kentucky university which
00:47:12.960 --> 00:47:15.260
is you know like mid -sized it's a university
00:47:15.260 --> 00:47:18.420
not not not just a conservatory so it gave me
00:47:18.420 --> 00:47:25.199
um opportunity just to to experience life among...
00:47:25.199 --> 00:47:27.480
Because before that, I was always around musicians.
00:47:27.840 --> 00:47:31.559
My school was small. Music was sort of the common
00:47:31.559 --> 00:47:34.619
thread that connected us. And this was something
00:47:34.619 --> 00:47:38.840
else. You're in a new country. You have... Yes,
00:47:38.860 --> 00:47:41.780
I was kind of in the music department, but it's
00:47:41.780 --> 00:47:44.860
a huge school, and there's so many people that
00:47:44.860 --> 00:47:48.679
really... Music is not something that will connect
00:47:48.679 --> 00:47:55.110
you. So it was... really very difficult, I think,
00:47:55.110 --> 00:47:58.989
at first, but I learned a lot. And at the school
00:47:58.989 --> 00:48:03.010
where I was, we had a lot of opportunity to perform.
00:48:03.349 --> 00:48:07.849
It was a school I received my bachelor's. It's
00:48:07.849 --> 00:48:11.469
called Northern Kentucky University. And that
00:48:11.469 --> 00:48:15.050
was a place was actually, I had a lot of opportunity
00:48:15.050 --> 00:48:19.769
to perform. And where I started to... Be a little
00:48:19.769 --> 00:48:21.969
bit more kind of adventurous with the repertoire
00:48:21.969 --> 00:48:27.130
And then of course coming to New York and that
00:48:27.130 --> 00:48:31.599
was just wonderful experience. I worked with
00:48:31.599 --> 00:48:37.000
Jerome Loventel. I received my master's degree
00:48:37.000 --> 00:48:40.260
at Juilliard. It was only two years, but I think
00:48:40.260 --> 00:48:44.880
his way of working with students is so different
00:48:44.880 --> 00:48:47.940
from anything else I experienced in my life.
00:48:48.039 --> 00:48:53.699
And it's really about sharing his wisdom and
00:48:53.699 --> 00:48:57.880
he's absolutely... his horizons in music and
00:48:57.880 --> 00:49:03.239
how he can find parallels and connections to
00:49:03.239 --> 00:49:07.940
different composers, different pieces from literature,
00:49:08.099 --> 00:49:12.820
and just showing you and sharing with you a very
00:49:12.820 --> 00:49:16.679
broad way you can think about music. And you
00:49:16.679 --> 00:49:20.239
sort of, the way I now think about it, you take
00:49:20.239 --> 00:49:27.469
it in and then you try to see how you can use
00:49:27.469 --> 00:49:32.510
your instinct as a musician, that you work with
00:49:32.510 --> 00:49:35.610
these ideas to come up with something of your
00:49:35.610 --> 00:49:38.369
own. And I remember in his studio, everybody
00:49:38.369 --> 00:49:41.590
played so differently. Like with one particular
00:49:41.590 --> 00:49:44.269
thing about his students is that I don't think
00:49:44.269 --> 00:49:47.789
you can tell that this is his students. There's
00:49:47.789 --> 00:49:51.619
not like something that we all... He was really
00:49:51.619 --> 00:49:56.559
encouraging that exploration of what makes your
00:49:56.559 --> 00:49:59.320
approach to the instrument unique. And he would
00:49:59.320 --> 00:50:03.019
give suggestions to you, but it was sort of,
00:50:03.019 --> 00:50:06.719
in a way, consider this way. What will happen
00:50:06.719 --> 00:50:12.449
if you do it this way? just for me it was kind
00:50:12.449 --> 00:50:17.710
of loosening some of the frames that I had around
00:50:17.710 --> 00:50:20.590
my creativity and approach to interpretation
00:50:20.590 --> 00:50:25.690
and it was incredibly important and I just admire
00:50:25.690 --> 00:50:30.889
him endlessly and it was just a very inspiring
00:50:30.889 --> 00:51:11.219
time. Dona Voce project so I was listening to
00:51:11.219 --> 00:51:15.300
the Dona Voce volume number three so you've been
00:51:15.300 --> 00:51:19.699
producing the albums for like over the last few
00:51:19.699 --> 00:51:25.900
years so tell us about this project So, Dona
00:51:25.900 --> 00:51:30.099
Voce, I'm really so happy that it kind of already
00:51:30.099 --> 00:51:34.519
has three volumes, because when I was first thinking
00:51:34.519 --> 00:51:37.719
about it, it really came together as an idea
00:51:37.719 --> 00:51:41.699
for a program. So I thought it would be interesting
00:51:41.699 --> 00:51:44.360
to do a program of women composers. So at the
00:51:44.360 --> 00:51:47.619
time, I really knew nothing about the subject.
00:51:47.659 --> 00:51:51.130
I just thought, okay. That's interesting. Let's
00:51:51.130 --> 00:51:56.269
see what I'll find. And one of the first things
00:51:56.269 --> 00:51:59.190
I did, I went to the Library of Performing Arts
00:51:59.190 --> 00:52:03.710
in New York at the Lincoln Center. And I actually,
00:52:03.769 --> 00:52:05.469
I think I just Googled like women composers,
00:52:05.650 --> 00:52:08.170
what are the names? And then I went and I saw
00:52:08.170 --> 00:52:11.969
what they have. So I took a few scores. My first
00:52:11.969 --> 00:52:15.849
trip, there were lots of music by Cecile Cheminade.
00:52:16.210 --> 00:52:19.199
So I never heard of her. But there were a few
00:52:19.199 --> 00:52:21.900
volumes, and when I was flipping through it,
00:52:21.920 --> 00:52:25.500
I was like, oh, it looks interesting. How come
00:52:25.500 --> 00:52:29.360
I never heard about this composer? So it really
00:52:29.360 --> 00:52:31.840
started just like I thought it was an interesting
00:52:31.840 --> 00:52:35.440
idea. Let's see where it leads me. And I was
00:52:35.440 --> 00:52:40.019
just so shocked. that there's so much music and
00:52:40.019 --> 00:52:43.699
I don't know it. I think speaking about it today,
00:52:43.920 --> 00:52:46.820
because I think things have really been changing.
00:52:47.340 --> 00:52:52.260
It sounds a little bit strange. But again, thinking
00:52:52.260 --> 00:52:56.639
back to my education, I never played like a serious
00:52:56.639 --> 00:53:00.739
work by women composers. And even when you imagine
00:53:00.739 --> 00:53:04.380
the school where I was as a kid, we had in the
00:53:04.380 --> 00:53:07.840
main concert hall. portraits of composers, right?
00:53:07.920 --> 00:53:10.619
So it was all men composers. So I didn't even
00:53:10.619 --> 00:53:13.900
associate like the woman, like I knew that there
00:53:13.900 --> 00:53:15.400
were women composers to dance, they're writing
00:53:15.400 --> 00:53:17.980
music, but sort of what would happen in the past,
00:53:18.099 --> 00:53:22.960
it was like complete blind spot. You don't think
00:53:22.960 --> 00:53:25.199
about it. You don't know it's there. It's just
00:53:25.199 --> 00:53:29.079
completely unknown. So I was actually very shocked
00:53:29.079 --> 00:53:32.179
that I'm a pianist. I played piano for all these
00:53:32.179 --> 00:53:35.920
years. How come I know nothing about this? So
00:53:35.920 --> 00:53:37.860
this is really what sparked my interest. And
00:53:37.860 --> 00:53:42.980
one conscious choice I made, maybe because of
00:53:42.980 --> 00:53:48.440
my own... not high expectations honestly for
00:53:48.440 --> 00:53:50.219
forcing music, I thought it would not be very
00:53:50.219 --> 00:53:53.179
difficult. Like that was like, you know, if we
00:53:53.179 --> 00:53:55.340
don't know it, why, you know, how hard could
00:53:55.340 --> 00:53:59.360
it be? And when I started looking and I saw there's
00:53:59.360 --> 00:54:02.440
so much virtuosic piano music written for women,
00:54:02.500 --> 00:54:05.019
my first album, Donna Watcher, that's kind of
00:54:05.019 --> 00:54:07.900
a very conscious decision I made. Like the first
00:54:07.900 --> 00:54:10.980
sonata on that album is a Fanny Mendelssohn.
00:54:11.019 --> 00:54:14.219
It has really very strong, very dramatic opening
00:54:14.219 --> 00:54:17.500
because this is something that for myself, I
00:54:17.500 --> 00:54:20.219
was almost like angry, like why? I did not know
00:54:20.219 --> 00:54:22.690
about. this stuff so i wanted to have like a
00:54:22.690 --> 00:54:26.610
big impact but um kind of stressing that element
00:54:26.610 --> 00:54:30.409
uh in in eventually in this uh journey of mine
00:54:30.409 --> 00:54:35.530
is is important to me because uh i think uh the
00:54:35.530 --> 00:54:40.670
when this music presents a challenge for me pianistically
00:54:40.670 --> 00:54:43.650
it's very interesting uh but i think another
00:54:43.650 --> 00:54:46.960
thing that you're dealing with When you're presenting
00:54:46.960 --> 00:54:49.500
works by women composers, especially if it's
00:54:49.500 --> 00:54:54.039
in more traditional environments, they're sort
00:54:54.039 --> 00:54:57.280
of... again like low expectations and like people
00:54:57.280 --> 00:55:01.000
don't expect much from it so it's always uh fun
00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:04.320
when you play and then they're like wow it's
00:55:04.320 --> 00:55:07.440
really so great like this music is it's wonderful
00:55:07.440 --> 00:55:12.519
um so uh the way i kind of went about that i
00:55:12.519 --> 00:55:15.039
played the the first tone of what your program
00:55:15.039 --> 00:55:18.619
then i recorded the first record but in the process
00:55:18.619 --> 00:55:22.099
i found so much music that i thought You know,
00:55:22.099 --> 00:55:24.940
I definitely want to make another one. But in
00:55:24.940 --> 00:55:29.800
the meantime, YouTube was my way of sort of collecting
00:55:29.800 --> 00:55:34.059
the pieces that I thought were interesting. This
00:55:34.059 --> 00:55:37.559
is how the second volume of Dona Voce came about.
00:55:37.719 --> 00:55:40.840
I learned Fanny Mendelssohn does Yarr during
00:55:40.840 --> 00:55:45.719
pandemic. So this is this work that when I came
00:55:45.719 --> 00:55:50.030
across her music, right away i thought this is
00:55:50.030 --> 00:55:53.250
tremendous piece it's like almost 100 pages long
00:55:53.250 --> 00:55:59.289
it's a cycle uh what it's there's so much you
00:55:59.289 --> 00:56:02.909
needed to invest so much time in that so during
00:56:02.909 --> 00:56:08.150
pandemic i took each month i would learn a movement
00:56:08.940 --> 00:56:11.340
And I would record it. So this was a way for
00:56:11.340 --> 00:56:14.619
me to keep, you know, remember the time it was
00:56:14.619 --> 00:56:18.940
really. So we never knew we would replay again.
00:56:19.119 --> 00:56:22.059
So it was a good way to like motivate and set
00:56:22.059 --> 00:56:25.719
goals, at least for like making a video. And
00:56:25.719 --> 00:56:29.300
then when I completed that cycle and I was just
00:56:29.300 --> 00:56:34.199
so overwhelmed with it's such an incredible piece.
00:57:11.090 --> 00:57:14.510
So maybe I'll, since I began talking about it,
00:57:14.550 --> 00:57:16.449
just to give you just a little bit more of a
00:57:16.449 --> 00:57:19.849
historical context. So Fanny Mendelssohn, she
00:57:19.849 --> 00:57:24.710
wrote a lot of work for piano. I think her cycle
00:57:24.710 --> 00:57:28.650
does Yara, which has 13 movements, 12 movements
00:57:28.650 --> 00:57:31.809
that depict the year, and 13th movement is like
00:57:31.809 --> 00:57:35.730
a postlude. To me, it's her... strongest piece
00:57:35.730 --> 00:57:38.789
um i i think i played through most of her things
00:57:38.789 --> 00:57:42.489
that are available i know new things being discovered
00:57:42.489 --> 00:57:45.670
all the time but to me this is her masterpiece
00:57:45.670 --> 00:57:48.349
for the piano because it's so ahead of its time
00:57:48.349 --> 00:57:52.650
it's um has just all the elements of the great
00:57:52.650 --> 00:57:57.159
romantic cycle and it has programmatic element,
00:57:57.440 --> 00:58:03.599
it has so many novel things in technique. The
00:58:03.599 --> 00:58:07.420
emotional range is incredible in this music.
00:58:07.800 --> 00:58:18.409
But also just thinking about how she's sort of
00:58:18.409 --> 00:58:21.210
presented in music history like it was like a
00:58:21.210 --> 00:58:23.750
little bit like a footnote yes the sister of
00:58:23.750 --> 00:58:28.610
Felix Mendelssohn talented sister and this is
00:58:28.610 --> 00:58:31.820
kind of completely goes against this narrative
00:58:31.820 --> 00:58:35.800
because this is the biggest work that came from
00:58:35.800 --> 00:58:37.760
Mendelssohn household it's certainly bigger than
00:58:37.760 --> 00:58:41.960
anything that he wrote and the relationship between
00:58:41.960 --> 00:58:44.820
Fanny and Felix is also very interesting because
00:58:44.820 --> 00:58:48.039
they were very close they had very close bond
00:58:48.039 --> 00:58:51.139
as siblings also as musicians they shared a lot
00:58:51.139 --> 00:58:55.969
of ideas musically But the mystery about this
00:58:55.969 --> 00:58:59.510
jar is that we do not know if Felix knew anything
00:58:59.510 --> 00:59:02.269
about this piece because in none of the letters.
00:59:03.619 --> 00:59:06.559
it's not mentioned because he would also, he
00:59:06.559 --> 00:59:09.300
would mention it in letters to her or somebody
00:59:09.300 --> 00:59:12.079
else. He heard her piece. He looked like he would
00:59:12.079 --> 00:59:15.480
always compliment her or often compliment her
00:59:15.480 --> 00:59:19.519
on her work. So I think it's almost like she
00:59:19.519 --> 00:59:22.699
wrote this incredible work for the future because
00:59:22.699 --> 00:59:25.619
she didn't even want to share it with her brother.
00:59:26.860 --> 00:59:32.130
Her husband, William Hansel. later contributed
00:59:32.130 --> 00:59:35.489
little paintings, these vignettes for each movement.
00:59:35.670 --> 00:59:40.630
So Daziar, it's really a collection of, it's
00:59:40.630 --> 00:59:42.769
a representation of things that were so important
00:59:42.769 --> 00:59:47.010
to her and her husband. It was art, poetry, and
00:59:47.010 --> 00:59:54.010
music. So this is a cycle that I think should
00:59:54.010 --> 00:59:58.289
stand along all the great romantic cycles. I
00:59:58.289 --> 01:00:01.250
played it several times in concert. It's just
01:00:01.250 --> 01:00:05.030
a tremendous experience for the pianist. It's
01:00:05.030 --> 01:00:09.809
challenging. It's incredibly rewarding. But it
01:00:09.809 --> 01:00:13.929
really pushes your limits. So for me, when you're
01:00:13.929 --> 01:00:16.309
confronted with a work like this, and then you...
01:00:16.719 --> 01:00:19.239
read somewhere that oh she was kind of talented
01:00:19.239 --> 01:00:22.400
sister you know it's it's makes you a little
01:00:22.400 --> 01:00:25.880
bit like no this is not you know not who she
01:00:25.880 --> 01:00:28.219
was and yeah certainly she had a lot of limitations
01:00:28.219 --> 01:00:32.659
placed on her by just leaving in at the times
01:00:32.659 --> 01:00:35.440
that she did and she was very intelligent woman
01:00:35.440 --> 01:00:39.980
uh i think she knew where she could maybe push
01:00:39.980 --> 01:00:43.320
a little bit, but she was not a rebel who would
01:00:43.320 --> 01:00:47.179
just go against the norm. But still, in her music,
01:00:47.199 --> 01:00:50.039
she created something that I think it's almost
01:00:50.039 --> 01:00:52.460
like would be considered inappropriate for a
01:00:52.460 --> 01:00:57.679
woman to try to step kind of into that realm,
01:00:57.820 --> 01:01:00.840
to create something kind of of that statue. So
01:01:00.840 --> 01:01:06.960
one thing that I also think about... just how
01:01:06.960 --> 01:01:09.860
to present this music and for me sometimes just
01:01:09.860 --> 01:01:12.920
finding there are so many women composers but
01:01:12.920 --> 01:01:15.699
if you're able to find like this one work to
01:01:15.699 --> 01:01:19.699
tell people about for me from the piano solo
01:01:19.699 --> 01:01:22.780
repertoire this is one of those really highlights
01:01:22.780 --> 01:01:27.130
that I think we like anyone who's interested
01:01:27.130 --> 01:01:31.989
in repertoire of women composers could point
01:01:31.989 --> 01:01:34.949
to and say okay this is very special this is
01:01:34.949 --> 01:01:38.030
very unique it's just it's as deserving as any
01:01:38.030 --> 01:01:42.250
other piece from that considered great piano
01:01:42.250 --> 01:01:46.030
work yeah they are amazing piano pieces but you
01:01:46.030 --> 01:01:49.530
know what made it more amazing or incredible
01:01:49.530 --> 01:01:52.719
was your playing i think made it Well, thank
01:01:52.719 --> 01:01:56.820
you. Special. Well, thank you. One thing that
01:01:56.820 --> 01:02:02.460
I also found so interesting working with the
01:02:02.460 --> 01:02:06.039
repertoire of women composers, you sort of have
01:02:06.039 --> 01:02:11.159
to... think a lot about creating a unique approach
01:02:11.159 --> 01:02:13.480
to each composer because this is sort of something
01:02:13.480 --> 01:02:16.179
you're learning when you think about like a piano
01:02:16.179 --> 01:02:18.980
education you learn you play Bach this way you
01:02:18.980 --> 01:02:21.039
play Mozart this way there are certain things
01:02:21.039 --> 01:02:24.559
about each composer and the older you get the
01:02:24.559 --> 01:02:27.000
more experience you have I think it's almost
01:02:27.000 --> 01:02:29.800
like you have like the sound profile you know
01:02:29.800 --> 01:02:33.239
like that for each of the composers and you build
01:02:33.239 --> 01:02:37.929
it by absorbing a lot of tradition as well. Now,
01:02:37.989 --> 01:02:39.969
with women composers, there's no tradition, right?
01:02:40.090 --> 01:02:42.949
Like, we don't have any great recordings of Horowitz
01:02:42.949 --> 01:02:47.170
or Michelangelo playing this work. So you really
01:02:47.170 --> 01:02:50.090
have to think hard about how do you extract the
01:02:50.090 --> 01:02:52.469
most meaning from the score? Like, what makes
01:02:52.469 --> 01:02:55.889
her special? And it's certainly something that
01:02:55.889 --> 01:02:58.489
revolves with you. I understand that it takes
01:02:58.489 --> 01:03:03.599
time. And the more I play the music that... type
01:03:03.599 --> 01:03:06.320
of approach is going to be more refined and clear.
01:03:06.920 --> 01:03:09.239
But this is one of the most interesting thing
01:03:09.239 --> 01:03:12.480
about, I remember playing that first recital
01:03:12.480 --> 01:03:14.760
of Dona Voce and just trying to think, okay,
01:03:14.820 --> 01:03:17.099
how am I approaching like Fanny Mendelssohn,
01:03:17.159 --> 01:03:20.119
Clara Schumann, Lily Boulanger, like, yes, it's
01:03:20.119 --> 01:03:24.320
different eras, but you cannot just, it's something
01:03:24.320 --> 01:03:28.820
has to be unique about that particular composer.
01:03:28.940 --> 01:03:33.849
So it pushes you to reevaluate a lot of things
01:03:33.849 --> 01:03:38.090
and just come up with things that um maybe you've
01:03:38.090 --> 01:03:40.690
never tried before but then when you do and especially
01:03:40.690 --> 01:03:44.230
if you find like a good idea that works um it's
01:03:44.230 --> 01:03:47.269
it makes you really happy when these things happen
01:03:47.269 --> 01:03:50.530
but we are i think what made that music alive
01:03:50.530 --> 01:03:53.789
was your playing and interpretation so congratulations
01:03:53.789 --> 01:03:57.530
and i thank you so much so that came up also
01:03:57.530 --> 01:04:04.039
last year no yes So Daziar was in volume two.
01:04:04.119 --> 01:04:08.980
And the volume three, that was really incredible.
01:04:09.880 --> 01:04:15.360
Just many events had to happen because it was
01:04:15.360 --> 01:04:19.880
my dream to do a work of concertos in Dona Voce
01:04:19.880 --> 01:04:28.329
chapters. And Nemi Yarvi, he wanted to. jump
01:04:28.329 --> 01:04:32.889
into kind of that idea as well. He is someone
01:04:32.889 --> 01:04:38.690
who has tremendous repertoire and it's very unusual
01:04:38.690 --> 01:04:40.570
that there is work that he hasn't conducted.
01:04:40.949 --> 01:04:44.170
So when I told him, you know, these are really
01:04:44.170 --> 01:04:47.409
great pieces. It's a Clara Schumann piano concerto
01:04:47.409 --> 01:04:53.769
and Cecil Cheminat concerto. He really was...
01:04:54.909 --> 01:04:58.030
He agreed that, yes, I haven't done these works
01:04:58.030 --> 01:05:02.670
before, let's do them. And to have now, like
01:05:02.670 --> 01:05:06.329
in the third volume, it's a much more collaborative
01:05:06.329 --> 01:05:09.610
project because we have piano and orchestra for
01:05:09.610 --> 01:05:11.809
Clara Schumann and Cecil Cheminat, and I'm playing
01:05:11.809 --> 01:05:14.710
some of the solo works, and then I'm playing
01:05:14.710 --> 01:05:19.070
piano for Hans, music with Dmitri. So I almost
01:05:19.070 --> 01:05:21.949
think it's kind of symbolic of... Hopefully,
01:05:22.190 --> 01:05:24.869
the Dona Voce project is covering more ground
01:05:24.869 --> 01:05:28.989
and more people are aware of it. But this is
01:05:28.989 --> 01:05:33.969
kind of our, so far, the grand version of what
01:05:33.969 --> 01:05:37.789
I envision this program to be. Then is there
01:05:37.789 --> 01:05:41.789
a volume four coming, maybe? Yes, absolutely.
01:05:41.889 --> 01:05:44.610
I'm working. I have a few ideas. I'm not ready
01:05:44.610 --> 01:05:49.550
to. Actually, I have an idea, but it will probably
01:05:49.550 --> 01:05:53.579
be. some time, but I'm kind of lining. I don't
01:05:53.579 --> 01:05:56.699
want to give it away yet because it's still in
01:05:56.699 --> 01:05:59.380
the process. But one of the ways that I also
01:05:59.380 --> 01:06:03.619
found a great resource as a pianist working today
01:06:03.619 --> 01:06:07.179
is YouTube because a lot of repertoire that I
01:06:07.179 --> 01:06:10.159
first try, like I learn it, I will play it in
01:06:10.159 --> 01:06:13.579
concerts and you record it and you put it on
01:06:13.579 --> 01:06:17.659
YouTube. And this is sort of like my lab, you
01:06:17.659 --> 01:06:23.809
know, where you try things. One thing that I
01:06:23.809 --> 01:06:26.389
think is important before you do recording, like
01:06:26.389 --> 01:06:29.170
to play the piece, sometimes like leave it and
01:06:29.170 --> 01:06:31.150
then come back to it. So it has a little bit
01:06:31.150 --> 01:06:36.090
of time to kind of brew and improve. Yeah, it's
01:06:36.090 --> 01:06:38.530
a process. So this has been kind of a great fun
01:06:38.530 --> 01:06:42.289
way of sharing the music, which I think eventually
01:06:42.289 --> 01:06:47.550
will find its way onto CD. But there's just,
01:06:47.610 --> 01:06:52.429
it's not as much pressure as. kind of releasing
01:06:52.429 --> 01:06:54.570
a whole record, you could just do piece at a
01:06:54.570 --> 01:06:57.909
time and see how this puzzle come together eventually
01:06:57.909 --> 01:07:02.150
for the record. Well, keep us posted. We'll be
01:07:02.150 --> 01:07:05.570
listening to volume for sure. Thank you. So you've
01:07:05.570 --> 01:07:09.639
been, you know, you mentioned of Nehme. Jarvi,
01:07:09.800 --> 01:07:13.219
the legendary conductor, many times you've collaborated
01:07:13.219 --> 01:07:17.440
with him for a number of occasions. And this
01:07:17.440 --> 01:07:22.340
album, Dona Voce, Volume 3. Also, you performed
01:07:22.340 --> 01:07:26.219
with him Anton Rubinstein concert recordings
01:07:26.219 --> 01:07:30.860
as well, as well as others. So tell us about
01:07:30.860 --> 01:07:33.840
the experience with a collaboration with this
01:07:33.840 --> 01:07:38.210
legendary conductor. So Nehemiah Yarvey, working
01:07:38.210 --> 01:07:41.769
with him, it's really became one of the most
01:07:41.769 --> 01:07:45.050
consequential musical experiences for me because
01:07:45.050 --> 01:07:49.869
when you have a chance to play with somebody
01:07:49.869 --> 01:07:54.369
kind of of that caliber of musicianship and also
01:07:54.369 --> 01:07:59.349
experience and charisma, it really again pushes.
01:08:00.119 --> 01:08:04.139
your boundaries and in what's possible. So our
01:08:04.139 --> 01:08:07.920
first collaboration was on the project of piano
01:08:07.920 --> 01:08:11.460
concertos by Anton Rubinstein, who is a very
01:08:11.460 --> 01:08:14.840
interesting figure because we know a lot about
01:08:14.840 --> 01:08:18.439
his pianism because it was sort of legendary.
01:08:20.600 --> 01:08:23.079
witnesses who would say that this is like the
01:08:23.079 --> 01:08:26.779
best pianist they ever heard he he had just something
01:08:26.779 --> 01:08:30.560
so unique and magnetic about uh his playing he
01:08:30.560 --> 01:08:33.939
was like the second list um so this is something
01:08:33.939 --> 01:08:37.939
you you know is that yes he was this legend but
01:08:37.939 --> 01:08:40.579
we don't know so much about him as a composer
01:08:40.579 --> 01:08:44.079
and uh one of the interesting things for me was
01:08:44.079 --> 01:08:47.699
to uh yes we know all these legendary stories
01:08:47.699 --> 01:08:52.119
about him But when you get to play his music,
01:08:52.140 --> 01:08:54.939
then you really understand his approach to the
01:08:54.939 --> 01:09:00.340
piano and kind of his romantic spirit and his
01:09:00.340 --> 01:09:05.489
respect for the romantic tradition. Um, and,
01:09:05.609 --> 01:09:08.210
uh, he was really like consequentially romantic
01:09:08.210 --> 01:09:11.829
artist. Um, and he just wrote so much music.
01:09:12.010 --> 01:09:15.090
Uh, he was just so in love with just process
01:09:15.090 --> 01:09:18.130
of being a musician. This is all that matters
01:09:18.130 --> 01:09:24.569
to him. Um, and, uh, it again, uh, playing, uh,
01:09:24.609 --> 01:09:29.390
his, uh, concertos, just, I learned a lot. kind
01:09:29.390 --> 01:09:31.689
of like as a practical things as a pianist about
01:09:31.689 --> 01:09:36.609
a different facet of the romantic approach to
01:09:36.609 --> 01:09:41.329
the piano and then of course working with Maestro
01:09:41.329 --> 01:09:47.329
Jarvi one thing that He possesses this magical
01:09:47.329 --> 01:09:51.829
talent that makes you hear. It doesn't matter
01:09:51.829 --> 01:09:54.409
what he conducts. It could be a very familiar
01:09:54.409 --> 01:09:57.310
piece. It could be something new, new work, or
01:09:57.310 --> 01:10:02.029
something a little bit obscure. You just completely...
01:10:02.699 --> 01:10:05.420
engrossed in in in the drama of the music he
01:10:05.420 --> 01:10:08.880
kind of takes you on this journey and you also
01:10:08.880 --> 01:10:11.640
have this feeling that this is interpretation
01:10:11.640 --> 01:10:14.420
is inevitable like this is how this piece should
01:10:14.420 --> 01:10:18.300
go there's such a conviction in interpretation
01:10:18.300 --> 01:10:20.640
but at the same time it feels completely natural
01:10:20.640 --> 01:10:25.100
that it's not that it's forced or it's there's
01:10:25.100 --> 01:10:27.220
some kind of agenda behind it this is just music
01:10:27.220 --> 01:10:30.680
just unfolds so beautifully Um, and naturally,
01:10:30.859 --> 01:10:34.140
and, um, I think, you know, I'm trying to analyze
01:10:34.140 --> 01:10:37.260
why, like, what are the things that make it possible?
01:10:37.640 --> 01:10:39.960
Uh, and of course you can explain it for just,
01:10:39.979 --> 01:10:42.300
okay, it's just a talent that, you know, it cannot
01:10:42.300 --> 01:10:44.439
be explained, but I think that there are other
01:10:44.439 --> 01:10:47.539
things that contribute to that. Uh, one thing
01:10:47.539 --> 01:10:50.380
is that, um, the way he makes musicians feel.
01:10:53.090 --> 01:10:56.369
you remember like the very first time we played
01:10:56.369 --> 01:10:59.649
I felt like very intimidated just you know knowing
01:10:59.649 --> 01:11:03.170
that he conducted gills and like now I'm playing
01:11:03.170 --> 01:11:07.170
like whoa it's just ridiculous but he doesn't
01:11:07.170 --> 01:11:12.060
really have that kind of authoritative way that
01:11:12.060 --> 01:11:16.359
it's very collaborative and he tries to put musicians
01:11:16.359 --> 01:11:21.319
at the most comfortable place with kind word
01:11:21.319 --> 01:11:23.819
or kind glance and when you're doing something
01:11:23.819 --> 01:11:27.319
well like I know when observing kind of how he
01:11:27.319 --> 01:11:29.920
interacts with the orchestra he just like he
01:11:29.920 --> 01:11:32.399
encourages you like oh this is like the phrase
01:11:32.399 --> 01:11:35.039
it's things are just it's things are blooming
01:11:35.039 --> 01:11:37.659
and like let's all enjoy it so there is such
01:11:37.659 --> 01:11:42.350
a beautiful um aura and just atmosphere he creates
01:11:42.350 --> 01:11:47.170
that musicians we all want to uh give our best
01:11:47.170 --> 01:11:50.710
because this is where most magical things are
01:11:50.710 --> 01:11:55.189
happening and one thing uh that really changed
01:11:55.189 --> 01:12:00.409
for me uh if if i were to point pinpoint um my
01:12:00.409 --> 01:12:03.569
approach to concerto to the piano concerto uh
01:12:03.569 --> 01:12:09.369
because again um the idea that piano is such
01:12:09.369 --> 01:12:12.189
an integral, it's part of the orchestra. Yes,
01:12:12.229 --> 01:12:16.750
you have your solo role, but one kind of interesting
01:12:16.750 --> 01:12:21.069
observation I made about kind of my own process
01:12:21.069 --> 01:12:24.909
is that, you know, when you're playing like any
01:12:24.909 --> 01:12:26.590
piano concerto, you're practicing your part.
01:12:26.670 --> 01:12:28.979
Of course, you spend most time... by yourself
01:12:28.979 --> 01:12:31.800
and you will have all these moments in a piece
01:12:31.800 --> 01:12:34.479
and you usually have quite a few like several
01:12:34.479 --> 01:12:36.880
that you really love this particular passage
01:12:36.880 --> 01:12:41.500
or like a particular chord progression that you
01:12:41.500 --> 01:12:43.840
think oh it's so beautiful like I just want everybody
01:12:43.840 --> 01:12:47.409
to hear it And then you get to rehearsal, and
01:12:47.409 --> 01:12:49.789
then it's like, wow, this is actually not the
01:12:49.789 --> 01:12:52.050
important part because then there is a solo,
01:12:52.250 --> 01:12:54.770
like French horn has a solo, and you're just
01:12:54.770 --> 01:12:59.449
doing accompaniment. It made me aware that...
01:13:00.520 --> 01:13:05.380
And sometimes as pianists, we think a little
01:13:05.380 --> 01:13:09.159
bit just about, you know, our part. But as a
01:13:09.159 --> 01:13:11.520
conductor, and because we worked on many projects
01:13:11.520 --> 01:13:14.699
together, and I also was able sometimes to send
01:13:14.699 --> 01:13:17.439
him kind of my, just the piano parts, and he
01:13:17.439 --> 01:13:19.920
would give me some notes. And I think it was
01:13:19.920 --> 01:13:23.000
always this structural things that you understand
01:13:23.000 --> 01:13:25.800
that what is your role in the piano concerto?
01:13:25.800 --> 01:13:28.439
Yes, absolutely. There are moments when you are...
01:13:28.909 --> 01:13:31.810
the soloist, you're playing the theme, but then
01:13:31.810 --> 01:13:35.250
there are moments where actually you are providing
01:13:35.250 --> 01:13:39.489
the color, you're doing something that is important,
01:13:39.710 --> 01:13:43.510
but it's not the primary role. And one thing
01:13:43.510 --> 01:13:47.630
that I think affected my thinking before working
01:13:47.630 --> 01:13:51.670
with him is how piano recordings are, because
01:13:51.670 --> 01:13:55.050
when you listen to piano concertos on a recording,
01:13:55.189 --> 01:13:58.260
it's not the same as it is in the whole. Because
01:13:58.260 --> 01:14:00.260
the piano is always, like, we mic the piano,
01:14:00.380 --> 01:14:03.739
and we sort of have these expectations of how
01:14:03.739 --> 01:14:06.819
things sound. But it's not really, if you, I
01:14:06.819 --> 01:14:09.659
really started paying attention to it, it's completely
01:14:09.659 --> 01:14:12.619
different. Like, even any standard concerto,
01:14:12.619 --> 01:14:16.000
when you're listening in a concert hall, it's
01:14:16.000 --> 01:14:21.100
a very different experience. So I really started
01:14:21.100 --> 01:14:24.670
thinking. more kind of symphonically and like
01:14:24.670 --> 01:14:27.329
try to think like how does conductor think about
01:14:27.329 --> 01:14:33.029
piano concerto. And then when it opens up this
01:14:33.029 --> 01:14:36.949
approach to you, I think it also affected how
01:14:36.949 --> 01:14:44.069
I approach piano, solo piano works, because of
01:14:44.069 --> 01:14:47.949
this idea of building, like thinking of a larger
01:14:47.949 --> 01:14:53.039
structure and planning it. it became much more
01:14:53.039 --> 01:14:57.779
concrete to me. It's the importance of it. And
01:14:57.779 --> 01:15:01.560
I think it's just through my work with Maestro
01:15:01.560 --> 01:15:08.220
Jarvi. So it's definitely been such a gift to
01:15:08.220 --> 01:15:12.659
me. So I'm very happy and proud of that work,
01:15:12.779 --> 01:15:16.750
but also very grateful. Yeah, and then also the
01:15:16.750 --> 01:15:20.329
extensive amount of piano concerto you have under
01:15:20.329 --> 01:15:24.630
your belt. That's quite amazing. Yeah. So congratulations
01:15:24.630 --> 01:16:22.300
with all the amazing work that you've done. I'd
01:16:22.300 --> 01:16:26.060
like to also talk about another collaboration,
01:16:26.239 --> 01:16:29.199
very important collaboration, which is the cellist
01:16:29.199 --> 01:16:34.760
piano duo. So your husband and you are this amazing
01:16:34.760 --> 01:16:38.560
forehand. Do you guys also do two pianos or mainly
01:16:38.560 --> 01:16:43.579
four? We do. So we have this cellist piano duo,
01:16:43.680 --> 01:16:48.380
which is me and my husband, Dimitri. Most of
01:16:48.380 --> 01:16:51.039
our repertoire is piano for hands for a very
01:16:51.039 --> 01:16:54.420
practical reason. We have one piano at home,
01:16:54.520 --> 01:16:59.199
and most concert halls have one piano. So, yes,
01:16:59.239 --> 01:17:01.520
we have pieces, and if there is an opportunity
01:17:01.520 --> 01:17:05.880
to do a piano program, we would absolutely take
01:17:05.880 --> 01:17:09.899
it. But it's just something that we found that
01:17:09.899 --> 01:17:15.159
works for us, and we kind of worked in that direction.
01:17:16.829 --> 01:17:21.430
Let's talk about Dmitry. So he is also from Ukraine,
01:17:21.590 --> 01:17:26.569
correct? Yes. So I met Dmitry in fifth grade.
01:17:26.750 --> 01:17:29.310
So we were in the same school in Ukraine. How
01:17:29.310 --> 01:17:37.510
cute. So that's what everybody say. But it's,
01:17:37.510 --> 01:17:40.630
you know, just for us, it's just that's how kind
01:17:40.630 --> 01:17:43.890
of how things happened. So we were in the same
01:17:43.890 --> 01:17:48.319
class. We were in the same grade, different classes.
01:17:48.460 --> 01:17:53.460
We had class A, class B. He was in A, I was in
01:17:53.460 --> 01:17:56.340
B. But we were in the same grade. At different
01:17:56.340 --> 01:17:58.880
points of time, we shared piano teachers. We
01:17:58.880 --> 01:18:02.579
had the same piano teachers. And then he also
01:18:02.579 --> 01:18:06.939
came to Northern Kentucky University. This is
01:18:06.939 --> 01:18:10.359
how we reconnected. Really? Over all places?
01:18:10.560 --> 01:18:16.220
Oh, my goodness. So this is kind of how we reconnected
01:18:16.220 --> 01:18:18.000
in the United States. So then we were already
01:18:18.000 --> 01:18:23.439
older and then things, our relationship took
01:18:23.439 --> 01:18:30.659
a different turn. But yes, music, again, like
01:18:30.659 --> 01:18:34.220
what I said at the beginning, piano kind of determined
01:18:34.220 --> 01:18:38.239
so much of my life. And again, for both of us.
01:18:38.619 --> 01:18:41.420
We met each other through piano, so it meant
01:18:41.420 --> 01:18:46.020
more than just a profession. It kind of trickled
01:18:46.020 --> 01:18:49.739
into your personal life in a very significant
01:18:49.739 --> 01:18:54.819
way. So we started playing together, I think,
01:18:54.840 --> 01:18:59.600
once we got married. At first, it was actually
01:18:59.600 --> 01:19:04.159
just a question from our friends and just audience
01:19:04.159 --> 01:19:06.100
that, oh, you're married, do you guys play together?
01:19:06.840 --> 01:19:10.829
And then... we thought I guess maybe we should
01:19:10.829 --> 01:19:14.810
start. It was just something again that happened
01:19:14.810 --> 01:19:19.409
not like just this one particular one. We gradually
01:19:19.409 --> 01:19:23.789
started experimenting and we found that it's
01:19:23.789 --> 01:19:28.510
a really fun activity to do together and also
01:19:28.510 --> 01:19:31.369
it opens up a different type of repertoire for
01:19:31.369 --> 01:19:35.970
you and different way to approach the instrument.
01:19:36.680 --> 01:19:39.420
Because from all of the ensembles, this is the
01:19:39.420 --> 01:19:42.180
only one where you share instrument with another
01:19:42.180 --> 01:19:47.119
person. That's right. So it makes for, in a way,
01:19:47.220 --> 01:19:50.979
when you're always by yourself, and then it's
01:19:50.979 --> 01:19:53.579
like, who's that other person? Why is he covering
01:19:53.579 --> 01:19:59.520
my keys that I want to push on? So it was just
01:19:59.520 --> 01:20:03.479
something we... Maybe like we could say stumbled
01:20:03.479 --> 01:20:08.760
into but we've been playing for I guess over
01:20:08.760 --> 01:20:13.180
15 years together and I think the thing about
01:20:13.180 --> 01:20:16.520
the piano duo is the most interesting work happened
01:20:16.520 --> 01:20:19.159
and the most important work happened is when
01:20:19.159 --> 01:20:21.640
you're playing together like you really it's
01:20:21.640 --> 01:20:25.140
a type of ensemble that your like your part on
01:20:25.140 --> 01:20:28.520
its own is really So incomplete, right? It doesn't
01:20:28.520 --> 01:20:31.859
make sense. So you really rely on the other person
01:20:31.859 --> 01:20:37.760
to make, you know, that whole experience. And
01:20:37.760 --> 01:20:43.640
one thing that's been also wonderful is I think
01:20:43.640 --> 01:20:45.680
being a pianist sometimes can be kind of a lonely
01:20:45.680 --> 01:20:48.279
experience. You know, when you travel for concerts,
01:20:48.380 --> 01:20:53.289
it's like just you. So to travel and... play
01:20:53.289 --> 01:20:55.949
concerts together, it's really wonderful because
01:20:55.949 --> 01:20:59.090
you have this other person that, you know, you
01:20:59.090 --> 01:21:03.050
love, that you get to make music together. You
01:21:03.050 --> 01:21:05.689
know, so far you've played many Ukrainian composer
01:21:05.689 --> 01:21:09.750
pieces for Bohemian Rhapsody, the album, and
01:21:09.750 --> 01:21:12.090
then the title is coming from one of the tracks
01:21:12.090 --> 01:21:16.729
as well. So, but I understand that there's an
01:21:16.729 --> 01:21:20.270
upcoming Carnegie Hall concert with Bohemian.
01:21:20.760 --> 01:21:27.479
Yes. So I am the first person we are sharing
01:21:27.479 --> 01:21:36.199
this with. Yes. So in October, October 18, 2026,
01:21:36.600 --> 01:21:39.659
at Weill Concert Hall, we will have a very special
01:21:39.659 --> 01:21:44.079
program, which is presented by Alessandro Buona
01:21:44.079 --> 01:21:48.869
Foundation. They're presenting myself, Dmitry,
01:21:49.050 --> 01:21:53.010
Brandy Wine Valley Symphony Orchestra in a program
01:21:53.010 --> 01:21:56.289
of Ukrainian and American music, which is also
01:21:56.289 --> 01:21:58.890
going to be part of Ukrainian Cultural Festival
01:21:58.890 --> 01:22:01.109
in New York as it's taking place in October.
01:22:02.250 --> 01:22:05.310
So this is a very special program that sort of
01:22:05.310 --> 01:22:13.210
has many of these elements that became very important
01:22:13.210 --> 01:22:19.579
to me artistically. music that is probably could
01:22:19.579 --> 01:22:22.579
be new to many listeners, but I think it's so
01:22:22.579 --> 01:22:26.020
worthy. It speaks to our times. I think it addresses
01:22:26.020 --> 01:22:30.180
things that are happening in the world today,
01:22:30.319 --> 01:22:37.939
and hopefully it helps us to process and make
01:22:37.939 --> 01:22:44.710
sense of what's happening and also... have a
01:22:44.710 --> 01:22:49.930
moment of kind of remembrance so the program
01:22:49.930 --> 01:22:56.210
is built about around idea of Ukrainian and American
01:22:56.210 --> 01:22:59.609
composers so in the first half we're going to
01:22:59.609 --> 01:23:03.949
have established modern composers Valentin Silvestrov
01:23:03.949 --> 01:23:09.770
and Philip Glass They happen to be actually born
01:23:09.770 --> 01:23:15.149
in the same year. Oh, really? Yeah, 1937. And
01:23:15.149 --> 01:23:21.340
these are composers who really... created their
01:23:21.340 --> 01:23:25.979
own original language, which I think is so remarkable.
01:23:26.279 --> 01:23:30.539
It's a remarkable achievement. And this is why
01:23:30.539 --> 01:23:36.720
they speak so deeply to the audiences, and we
01:23:36.720 --> 01:23:40.539
can connect with them. One thing about, I think,
01:23:40.560 --> 01:23:44.960
contemporary music, which is very special, and
01:23:44.960 --> 01:23:47.800
I think a lot when I perform music by leading
01:23:47.800 --> 01:23:51.640
composers, is that it's really music about us,
01:23:51.739 --> 01:23:55.300
you know, because when you're learning pieces
01:23:55.300 --> 01:23:57.899
from centuries ago, yes, of course you can connect,
01:23:58.060 --> 01:24:00.560
and they're beautiful things, we all appreciate
01:24:00.560 --> 01:24:03.579
them, but there is something about the static
01:24:03.579 --> 01:24:06.979
of the time when composers are working that you
01:24:06.979 --> 01:24:09.619
feel closer to, and maybe some things that are
01:24:09.619 --> 01:24:14.560
missing from our lives, a composer can kind of
01:24:14.560 --> 01:24:16.500
substitute in their music, and when you listen
01:24:16.500 --> 01:24:19.640
to it, you feel... Like, this is what you need.
01:24:19.800 --> 01:24:23.079
This is what makes you at peace. And with Sylvastrov,
01:24:23.100 --> 01:24:28.020
it's just tremendous beauty and lyricism of his
01:24:28.020 --> 01:24:32.399
work. And in Philip Glass, it's this idea of
01:24:32.399 --> 01:24:35.800
music that grounds you, you know, somehow giving
01:24:35.800 --> 01:24:38.560
you center in our world. It's kind of spinning
01:24:38.560 --> 01:24:42.039
around us. So this is going to be the first half.
01:24:42.840 --> 01:24:46.479
And in the second half, we will have Adagio for
01:24:46.479 --> 01:24:49.920
Strings by Barburn. And it's a piece of great
01:24:49.920 --> 01:24:54.380
comfort. It's just that comforts the listener,
01:24:54.520 --> 01:24:59.319
comforts the player. And the reason we are opening
01:24:59.319 --> 01:25:02.539
second half with that is that the second work
01:25:02.539 --> 01:25:06.819
is that we'll close the program. It will be a
01:25:06.819 --> 01:25:11.260
new piece, a new concerto. by Ukrainian composer
01:25:11.260 --> 01:25:17.119
Oleh Bezborodka for string orchestra and piano
01:25:17.119 --> 01:25:20.420
for hands. It's a very unique combination. I
01:25:20.420 --> 01:25:22.420
don't think there is another piece in the repertoire
01:25:22.420 --> 01:25:29.579
for this particular group of musicians. And this
01:25:29.579 --> 01:25:33.979
piece, to me, it's like a musical monument to
01:25:33.979 --> 01:25:37.220
a very tragic event that is still unfolding.
01:25:37.420 --> 01:25:41.930
And that is... The piece is dedicated to other
01:25:41.930 --> 01:25:45.350
style defenders of the city of Mariupol. That's
01:25:45.350 --> 01:25:47.770
a city that is a big... beginning of the war
01:25:47.770 --> 01:25:52.550
was besieged by the Russian army and today it
01:25:52.550 --> 01:25:56.310
is occupied. So for Ukrainians, it's a place
01:25:56.310 --> 01:26:02.250
of great pain and tragedy. Last year, there was
01:26:02.250 --> 01:26:07.449
a movie that won an Oscar. It was called 20 Days
01:26:07.449 --> 01:26:13.060
in Mariupol. So this music, it's... about that
01:26:13.060 --> 01:26:17.579
city. It's about that event that is unresolved.
01:26:17.760 --> 01:26:21.079
You know, it's a tragedy that keeps unfolding.
01:26:21.479 --> 01:26:26.079
So I think to create a musical score that speaks
01:26:26.079 --> 01:26:31.989
to that event is incredibly powerful. And for
01:26:31.989 --> 01:26:35.270
us to give the American premiere of this work,
01:26:35.329 --> 01:26:38.810
this work was premiered in Kyiv this fall in
01:26:38.810 --> 01:26:45.609
2025. And we have this very historic opportunity.
01:26:46.109 --> 01:26:50.590
It's kind of awesome responsibility to do something
01:26:50.590 --> 01:26:55.909
like this. to present this work to American audience.
01:26:56.250 --> 01:27:02.069
So this is something that I think was a lot of
01:27:02.069 --> 01:27:08.689
just anticipation and repudiation because I think
01:27:08.689 --> 01:27:11.270
it's certainly extremely meaningful program to
01:27:11.270 --> 01:27:15.510
me and I'm just grateful that other musicians
01:27:15.510 --> 01:27:19.270
and organizations responded in this way to program.
01:27:20.389 --> 01:27:24.569
this music in this way wonderful because forehand
01:27:24.569 --> 01:27:29.090
duet concerto that's so unique and I yes I would
01:27:29.090 --> 01:27:32.689
love that and I'm coming so wow and then but
01:27:32.689 --> 01:27:35.649
also I've been looking for actually forehand
01:27:35.649 --> 01:27:39.029
duet by Philip Glass and only thing I knew was
01:27:39.029 --> 01:27:41.609
from the movie but it's not really the written
01:27:41.609 --> 01:27:47.090
score so how do you so I have to specify in the
01:27:47.090 --> 01:27:51.539
first half so I'm playing a solo with the chamber
01:27:51.539 --> 01:27:54.960
orchestra. So it's going to be Sylvester of Messenger
01:27:54.960 --> 01:27:58.439
for piano and string orchestra, and then Philip
01:27:58.439 --> 01:28:02.300
Glass Concerto No. 1 for piano and string orchestra.
01:28:02.579 --> 01:28:05.920
So it's a very unusual program where it has a
01:28:05.920 --> 01:28:09.100
lot of piano and in kind of different configurations
01:28:09.100 --> 01:28:15.319
and different styles. But the piece for piano
01:28:15.319 --> 01:28:19.449
for hands also has very new ways of approaching
01:28:19.449 --> 01:28:25.670
the piano and making these effects that of course
01:28:25.670 --> 01:28:28.729
remind you make you make you think of the very
01:28:28.729 --> 01:28:34.289
violent very um the sounds of of what what is
01:28:34.289 --> 01:28:39.170
war sounding like um and uh there is going to
01:28:39.170 --> 01:28:44.770
be just a lot of new sounds that I think you're
01:28:44.770 --> 01:28:48.789
going to hear at this program. So it's something
01:28:48.789 --> 01:28:54.390
that really will be occupying my whole mind and
01:28:54.390 --> 01:28:57.670
heart when I will prepare for this program. Oh,
01:28:57.750 --> 01:29:02.869
yeah, it's wonderful. So are the tickets available
01:29:02.869 --> 01:29:09.229
now? I think that they should be available soon.
01:29:10.560 --> 01:29:14.060
This is something I think... Maybe during the
01:29:14.060 --> 01:29:16.380
summer, usually like three months ahead or something
01:29:16.380 --> 01:29:20.539
like that, a concept like this, no? Yeah. But,
01:29:20.680 --> 01:29:24.199
you know, I'm one of those things that it's so
01:29:24.199 --> 01:29:27.420
wonderful to have presenters because you don't
01:29:27.420 --> 01:29:30.500
have to worry about these things. And I know
01:29:30.500 --> 01:29:35.029
Alexander Buona Foundation, they are... the mastermind
01:29:35.029 --> 01:29:40.090
behind the organizational part of it. So I'm
01:29:40.090 --> 01:29:44.289
just trusting that they know exactly what to
01:29:44.289 --> 01:29:49.310
do and how to get the word out about this concert.
01:29:49.569 --> 01:29:52.869
And in fact, they are sponsoring for this episode
01:29:52.869 --> 01:30:10.819
and we're very grateful for. I just want to go
01:30:10.819 --> 01:30:13.960
back to the conversation of Ukraine. And, you
01:30:13.960 --> 01:30:17.439
know, we both are immigrants and we always carry
01:30:17.439 --> 01:30:21.680
that part of ourselves. So the heritage. But
01:30:21.680 --> 01:30:24.020
what do you think? Like, you know, you're in
01:30:24.020 --> 01:30:27.319
America now for many, many years, decades. And
01:30:27.319 --> 01:30:33.399
but you come back to your roots. Yes, I think
01:30:33.399 --> 01:30:36.600
this is something that becomes. very important
01:30:36.600 --> 01:30:40.000
to you was time. I certainly didn't think about
01:30:40.000 --> 01:30:44.819
it maybe in my 20s. But then I think as you find
01:30:44.819 --> 01:30:48.039
your place in the world, also I have children,
01:30:48.239 --> 01:30:54.840
you think about how you find yourself and certainly
01:30:54.840 --> 01:30:57.340
thinking about your roots, where you come from,
01:30:57.399 --> 01:31:02.720
it becomes increasingly important. So for me,
01:31:03.840 --> 01:31:06.140
the connection to ukraine was you know certainly
01:31:06.140 --> 01:31:09.640
through at first out of curiosity i wanted about
01:31:09.640 --> 01:31:12.659
10 years ago i started researching more ukrainian
01:31:12.659 --> 01:31:20.460
composers but today i find really a great significance
01:31:20.460 --> 01:31:27.300
in performing works by living composers and have
01:31:27.300 --> 01:31:32.420
connections with composers who write and who
01:31:32.420 --> 01:31:34.359
live in Ukraine today and who write in Ukraine
01:31:34.359 --> 01:31:38.760
today because they are sort of witnessing history
01:31:38.760 --> 01:31:45.159
in sound. And some composers, I really connect
01:31:45.159 --> 01:31:50.619
so strongly with one of the composers that I
01:31:50.619 --> 01:31:53.079
absolutely fell in love with her music. Her name
01:31:53.079 --> 01:31:56.819
is Victoria Polyva, and she's a composer from
01:31:56.819 --> 01:32:01.199
Kiev. And to me, her music, it just has such
01:32:01.199 --> 01:32:05.729
a... tremendous depth and strength. And there
01:32:05.729 --> 01:32:10.149
is one work, it's called How Much Longer, that
01:32:10.149 --> 01:32:13.729
she wrote at the beginning of the Russian invasion
01:32:13.729 --> 01:32:19.010
that I play as an encore. It's a piece that's
01:32:19.010 --> 01:32:22.649
a little bit over two minutes long. When I saw
01:32:22.649 --> 01:32:25.069
the score for it, I played through it. It didn't
01:32:25.069 --> 01:32:30.619
really have the date on the sheet music. But
01:32:30.619 --> 01:32:33.300
when I played through this, I just was so shocked
01:32:33.300 --> 01:32:36.699
because it was music that expressed the feeling,
01:32:36.920 --> 01:32:42.020
that question that I was asking, and I'm still
01:32:42.020 --> 01:32:44.800
asking every day, how much longer is this going
01:32:44.800 --> 01:32:49.239
to continue? And I asked her, I had the opportunity
01:32:49.239 --> 01:32:53.319
to meet her in New York two years ago, when did
01:32:53.319 --> 01:32:55.420
you write this? And she said, oh, it was the
01:32:55.420 --> 01:32:59.760
spring of 2022. And this is just one of the...
01:32:59.760 --> 01:33:05.380
instances when you really see kind of the magic
01:33:05.380 --> 01:33:10.079
of what writing music is you know that she wrote
01:33:10.079 --> 01:33:14.100
this short piece that it would take me hours
01:33:14.100 --> 01:33:16.859
or like hundreds of pages to maybe describe but
01:33:16.859 --> 01:33:20.239
it's all in this very concentrated form so there's
01:33:20.239 --> 01:33:25.319
been a work that I plays encore very often, and
01:33:25.319 --> 01:33:27.960
immediately people understand what it's about.
01:33:28.180 --> 01:33:32.119
You don't need any words to really go to the
01:33:32.119 --> 01:33:37.060
heart and communicate something that is very
01:33:37.060 --> 01:33:41.199
personal, it's very painful, but it's good to
01:33:41.199 --> 01:33:46.739
share it because it sort of makes, I think when
01:33:46.739 --> 01:33:51.479
humans share these things, it makes it easier.
01:33:51.899 --> 01:33:59.380
deal with. So this is something that with Ukrainian
01:33:59.380 --> 01:34:05.359
culture, to me, I try to do as much as possible.
01:34:05.600 --> 01:34:09.640
And another wonderful thing is that it's so easy
01:34:09.640 --> 01:34:14.039
to connect today. so many talented young Ukrainian
01:34:14.039 --> 01:34:16.920
composers who you can just send them a message
01:34:16.920 --> 01:34:20.000
on Facebook or Instagram. You can ask for the
01:34:20.000 --> 01:34:22.619
score. You can ask, like if you already have
01:34:22.619 --> 01:34:26.000
the score, you can have conversations and have
01:34:26.000 --> 01:34:28.760
like deeper understanding of what the piece is.
01:34:29.140 --> 01:34:34.180
So this has been tremendously important work
01:34:34.180 --> 01:35:06.340
and I just found great satisfaction in it. Classical
01:35:06.340 --> 01:35:09.939
music has endured for centuries, but its relevance
01:35:09.939 --> 01:35:12.899
is something every generation has to reclaim
01:35:12.899 --> 01:35:16.619
for itself. And we saw this debate resurface
01:35:16.619 --> 01:35:19.979
recently when a prominent actor, someone who
01:35:19.979 --> 01:35:22.739
actually grew up in the New York City art scene,
01:35:22.880 --> 01:35:26.579
suggested that no one cares about forms like
01:35:26.579 --> 01:35:29.899
opera and ballet anymore. But, well, I have a
01:35:29.899 --> 01:35:32.380
lot to say about that comment, but rather focusing
01:35:32.380 --> 01:35:36.069
on the negativity. on i would like to you know
01:35:36.069 --> 01:35:38.649
focus on a vital question so how do we bridge
01:35:38.649 --> 01:35:41.510
the gap for a modern audience right so in your
01:35:41.510 --> 01:35:46.010
view what is the key to maintaining the you know
01:35:46.010 --> 01:35:48.710
vitality of classical music so that it doesn't
01:35:48.710 --> 01:35:52.710
just survive but truly thrives in this modern
01:35:52.710 --> 01:35:57.189
world um yes of course this is question we all
01:35:57.189 --> 01:35:59.789
all thinking about it because of course it's
01:35:59.789 --> 01:36:03.909
a great fear like if you start with thinking
01:36:03.909 --> 01:36:05.949
about it too much like what what if there is
01:36:05.949 --> 01:36:10.430
no music in the future but um seriously i i don't
01:36:10.430 --> 01:36:14.630
think that we in um any danger of being irrelevant
01:36:14.630 --> 01:36:19.170
i just think that um classical music it has its
01:36:19.170 --> 01:36:23.409
place uh i think realistically we cannot have
01:36:23.409 --> 01:36:27.640
the same role we had like pianist in 19th century,
01:36:27.779 --> 01:36:31.220
where this was the most popular way, one of the
01:36:31.220 --> 01:36:36.279
most popular way to make music. But I think there
01:36:36.279 --> 01:36:40.220
are some things in the process of making music
01:36:40.220 --> 01:36:43.800
which will become, in my opinion, more valuable
01:36:43.800 --> 01:36:48.399
as technology invades our lives more and more.
01:36:48.560 --> 01:36:53.899
Because I think what makes classical music sometimes
01:36:53.899 --> 01:36:57.060
seem unapproachable I think, to people is that
01:36:57.060 --> 01:37:02.020
it can be seen as complex, which I think is true,
01:37:02.220 --> 01:37:05.680
but it also requires a lot of time. You know,
01:37:05.720 --> 01:37:09.479
it requires time just not even learning it, just
01:37:09.479 --> 01:37:13.640
listening to it, just taking time to listen to
01:37:13.640 --> 01:37:16.560
a piece of music which is longer than, like,
01:37:16.560 --> 01:37:20.500
your typical... popular song, it's something
01:37:20.500 --> 01:37:25.500
of kind of a luxury today when world is so, the
01:37:25.500 --> 01:37:29.779
information is so abundant and we're just being
01:37:29.779 --> 01:37:34.460
bombarded with all these different contrasting
01:37:34.460 --> 01:37:42.500
stories and memes. So I think people increasingly
01:37:42.500 --> 01:37:44.939
are searching for something that can ground them.
01:37:45.100 --> 01:37:49.819
And I think the experience of making music, it's
01:37:49.819 --> 01:37:55.060
almost, I think, will soon have this meditative
01:37:55.060 --> 01:37:59.720
value. Like even conversations about mental health,
01:37:59.739 --> 01:38:03.880
right, with young people because they're so reliant
01:38:03.880 --> 01:38:06.760
on screens. Music was one of the few things.
01:38:07.439 --> 01:38:10.600
where you have to be completely present for a
01:38:10.600 --> 01:38:14.220
long time. And also, once you get into the process,
01:38:14.319 --> 01:38:16.739
it's so incredibly complicated, it's interesting.
01:38:17.439 --> 01:38:20.699
To memorize a piece of music, you cannot be thinking
01:38:20.699 --> 01:38:27.380
about anything else. You have to be so in the
01:38:27.380 --> 01:38:31.350
moment, and all the distractions have to... Leave
01:38:31.350 --> 01:38:36.909
your headspace. So I think there are some qualities
01:38:36.909 --> 01:38:39.869
that we take for granted as classical musicians
01:38:39.869 --> 01:38:41.829
because we understand this is what necessary
01:38:41.829 --> 01:38:45.829
for us to do. But perhaps if we can communicate
01:38:45.829 --> 01:38:51.989
them more effectively and also show general audiences
01:38:51.989 --> 01:38:56.029
that there are so many elements of playing an
01:38:56.029 --> 01:39:00.109
instrument, listening to music, doing some things
01:39:00.109 --> 01:39:04.430
that... maybe out from the outside could seem
01:39:04.430 --> 01:39:08.289
kind of it doesn't make any sense how like people
01:39:08.289 --> 01:39:11.270
sitting in the hole listening to pianist for
01:39:11.270 --> 01:39:14.510
two hours right you know it's like absurd like
01:39:14.510 --> 01:39:18.430
absurd like why would you do this but once you
01:39:18.430 --> 01:39:23.810
have that you take the time It gives you sort
01:39:23.810 --> 01:39:27.789
of experience that you cannot find in our technologically
01:39:27.789 --> 01:39:33.689
sophisticated world. So, yes, it cannot be immediately
01:39:33.689 --> 01:39:36.449
popular or it will never be like the trendiest
01:39:36.449 --> 01:39:41.210
thing. But with time, everybody, I think, is
01:39:41.210 --> 01:39:44.670
looking for things to ground them, to give them
01:39:44.670 --> 01:39:48.430
sort of peace of mind and just let you breathe
01:39:48.430 --> 01:39:54.979
and just... be in a different world than ours.
01:39:55.199 --> 01:39:59.100
So, actually, I'm quite optimistic about this.
01:40:00.100 --> 01:40:04.479
And when people make comments about, you know,
01:40:04.500 --> 01:40:09.500
who is this famous actor? I think that I wouldn't
01:40:09.500 --> 01:40:12.979
be surprised if in 10, 15 years he becomes a
01:40:12.979 --> 01:40:16.979
fan who will love Mahler symphonies and he will
01:40:16.979 --> 01:40:20.560
go and hear Ring Cycle, maybe make a movie about
01:40:20.560 --> 01:40:23.819
it. Perhaps it's not the time of his life where
01:40:23.819 --> 01:40:30.119
it's valuable to him, but we can all speak from
01:40:30.119 --> 01:40:32.000
experience. Things that you liked when you were
01:40:32.000 --> 01:40:34.800
10 and 20, they're very different. So it's a
01:40:34.800 --> 01:40:38.550
journey, but I do think that... We have many
01:40:38.550 --> 01:40:42.489
tools at our disposal to kind of bring more people
01:40:42.489 --> 01:40:45.710
in and just shows that this is something that's
01:40:45.710 --> 01:40:51.949
worthy to pursue and gives you lots of emotions
01:40:51.949 --> 01:42:10.699
and enriches your life in a real way. the Carnegie
01:42:10.699 --> 01:42:14.140
Hall concert this October, October 18th, 2026,
01:42:14.380 --> 01:42:18.079
Wild Recital Hall at Carnegie. And besides that,
01:42:18.220 --> 01:42:22.520
what other projects or performances coming up
01:42:22.520 --> 01:42:27.359
for you? Well, we're working on a repertoire
01:42:27.359 --> 01:42:32.380
the next year. It's also going to be a big year
01:42:32.380 --> 01:42:38.310
for Beethoven. So we're working on the repertoire
01:42:38.310 --> 01:42:41.710
of piano for hands, movements of symphonies,
01:42:41.710 --> 01:42:45.829
and how Beethoven affected, you know, everyone,
01:42:46.310 --> 01:42:50.470
right, living after him. So this is a wonderful
01:42:50.470 --> 01:42:53.229
project. We're starting lining up pieces for
01:42:53.229 --> 01:42:57.250
that. Also, our recording with Naomi Yarby of
01:42:57.250 --> 01:43:01.090
Poulenc Piano Concertos for two pianos is going
01:43:01.090 --> 01:43:05.300
to be... It's going to be our next release. So
01:43:05.300 --> 01:43:11.039
we are working on that. And again, the search
01:43:11.039 --> 01:43:13.380
for the interesting repertoire, it never ends.
01:43:13.640 --> 01:43:16.119
So this is, you know, I have always tons of scores
01:43:16.119 --> 01:43:22.880
on my piano. And there is never a year that's
01:43:22.880 --> 01:43:24.899
the same as the one before, because there is
01:43:24.899 --> 01:43:28.960
always new music that's waiting for you to be
01:43:28.960 --> 01:43:33.569
uncovered, discovered, or... Just reinterpret
01:43:33.569 --> 01:43:36.470
even if they're things that you played a long
01:43:36.470 --> 01:43:40.989
time ago. I'm in awe of your dedication and curiosity
01:43:40.989 --> 01:43:45.949
and passion. So, well, thank you for really sharing
01:43:45.949 --> 01:43:49.350
your story. Now, where can our audience follow
01:43:49.350 --> 01:43:51.710
your work and stay connected? Through your website
01:43:51.710 --> 01:43:55.229
at anashelez .com? Yes, there is my website.
01:43:55.470 --> 01:44:00.890
Then our social media platforms as well as YouTube.
01:44:02.029 --> 01:44:05.250
The name is Shellist and the Piano. This is the
01:44:05.250 --> 01:44:10.010
way we try to connect my work as a soloist with
01:44:10.010 --> 01:44:13.310
our work as a duo. So our YouTube channel has
01:44:13.310 --> 01:44:17.250
over 100 episodes of different repertoire, and
01:44:17.250 --> 01:44:20.770
there's some videos, kind of like a presentation
01:44:20.770 --> 01:44:26.670
format about composers, about just some works.
01:44:28.400 --> 01:44:32.100
And all of the streaming platforms, Spotify or
01:44:32.100 --> 01:44:36.420
iTunes, you could find all of the recordings
01:44:36.420 --> 01:44:40.979
there and take a listen. So before I let you
01:44:40.979 --> 01:44:43.300
go, we have one more thing. The Piano Thought
01:44:43.300 --> 01:44:45.920
Rapid Fire questions. Now we take this segment
01:44:45.920 --> 01:44:48.840
very seriously. You shared, you know, your stories
01:44:48.840 --> 01:44:51.380
and expertise today, but these questions, they
01:44:51.380 --> 01:44:55.439
may reveal who you truly are. So let's do this.
01:44:55.560 --> 01:44:58.420
Now I want you to answer each question with shortest
01:44:58.420 --> 01:45:01.739
response as possible. No explanation is necessary.
01:45:02.180 --> 01:45:06.020
Okay. Question number one. What is your comfort
01:45:06.020 --> 01:45:10.680
food? Chocolate. How do you like your coffee
01:45:10.680 --> 01:45:15.899
in the morning? Just with milk, no sugar. Cats
01:45:15.899 --> 01:45:20.319
or dogs? Dogs. Do you have dogs? Do you have
01:45:20.319 --> 01:45:24.500
a dog? No, I don't have either. But if I did,
01:45:24.600 --> 01:45:28.760
I would choose a dog. Sunrise or sunset? Sunset.
01:45:28.979 --> 01:45:34.979
Summer or winter? Summer. Now, level two. What
01:45:34.979 --> 01:45:37.819
skill have you always wanted to learn but haven't
01:45:37.819 --> 01:45:43.270
had a chance to? Math. Math? Yes, I'm not good
01:45:43.270 --> 01:45:47.550
at math. What is your word or words to live by?
01:45:48.130 --> 01:45:51.949
Be true to yourself. Favorite venue you have
01:45:51.949 --> 01:45:58.689
ever performed in? I think it was... I want to
01:45:58.689 --> 01:46:01.350
take longer time because to explain it, it was
01:46:01.350 --> 01:46:05.069
the first time I played at a huge venue because
01:46:05.069 --> 01:46:08.670
I do not know actually what it was. It was in
01:46:08.670 --> 01:46:12.529
Paris. I was in this competition. I was one of
01:46:12.529 --> 01:46:15.470
the prize winners. And I know this venue is associated
01:46:15.470 --> 01:46:19.409
with UNESCO, something to do with United Nations.
01:46:19.489 --> 01:46:22.729
And it was a huge concert hall. I think it was
01:46:22.729 --> 01:46:25.909
the most, it was a shocking experience because
01:46:25.909 --> 01:46:29.810
I came out. and it looked like a stadium. And
01:46:29.810 --> 01:46:32.270
I've never had this experience before because
01:46:32.270 --> 01:46:34.850
you have rehearsal, like you kind of know what
01:46:34.850 --> 01:46:38.989
to expect. But I was about 11 and I don't even
01:46:38.989 --> 01:46:41.329
know the name of the concert hall, but I think
01:46:41.329 --> 01:46:45.289
it was the most overwhelming I felt ever because
01:46:45.289 --> 01:46:48.050
I just did not expect and I did not anticipate
01:46:48.050 --> 01:46:52.909
that myself as a child, I could be in a space
01:46:52.909 --> 01:46:55.439
like that. So it's just immediately I thought
01:46:55.439 --> 01:46:57.420
of this when you asked me this question. Must
01:46:57.420 --> 01:47:00.640
be very, very big and special. Yeah. I need to
01:47:00.640 --> 01:47:04.819
look it up. All right. And next question. What
01:47:04.819 --> 01:47:08.359
is the most important quality you look for in
01:47:08.359 --> 01:47:13.439
other people? Honesty. Name a composer you wish
01:47:13.439 --> 01:47:17.439
more people knew about. Sergei Bartkevich. Good
01:47:17.439 --> 01:47:21.439
one. Yes, of course. Name one piece in your current
01:47:21.439 --> 01:47:23.659
playlist. It doesn't have to be classical music.
01:47:24.060 --> 01:47:27.779
It's a piece by a modern Ukrainian composer.
01:47:29.140 --> 01:47:33.960
It's Maxim Shalygin. It's called To All The Resurrected.
01:47:34.680 --> 01:47:38.199
Now, if you go back and give your younger self
01:47:38.199 --> 01:47:42.000
one piece of advice, what would it be? Don't
01:47:42.000 --> 01:47:49.090
take adults too seriously. Good. Last one. Fill
01:47:49.090 --> 01:47:57.529
in the blank. Music is blank. Music is... It's
01:47:57.529 --> 01:48:02.130
so many things. Music is, to me, it's a way to
01:48:02.130 --> 01:48:06.039
live. Ah, good. I don't know. Thank you so much
01:48:06.039 --> 01:48:08.659
for joining us today and sharing your artistry
01:48:08.659 --> 01:48:11.199
and journey with us. And it has been a real pleasure
01:48:11.199 --> 01:48:14.960
having you on the show. So to listeners, I encourage
01:48:14.960 --> 01:48:17.899
you to explore Anna's recordings and projects.
01:48:17.920 --> 01:48:21.579
You can learn more on her website and we will
01:48:21.579 --> 01:48:24.420
include links in the show notes. Special thanks
01:48:24.420 --> 01:48:27.600
to Alexander and Bono Foundation for making this
01:48:27.600 --> 01:48:31.319
episode possible. Please visit alexanderbono
01:48:31.319 --> 01:48:34.939
.com. dot org to learn more and to everyone listening
01:48:34.939 --> 01:48:38.239
thank you for spending some time with us and
01:48:38.239 --> 01:48:41.319
if you enjoyed this episode please like and comment
01:48:41.319 --> 01:48:44.720
and tag us at the piano pod thank you for listening
01:48:44.720 --> 01:48:47.220
and we will see you next time on the piano pod
01:48:47.220 --> 01:48:50.500
thank you Anna thank you Kim it was a wonderful
01:48:50.500 --> 01:48:54.020
conversation I will thank you so much thank you