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Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and pursue a career in music?

I knew when I was about 12 that the piano was going to be an essential part of my life. I was quite shy and reserved as a child, and felt I could only express certain things and be truly myself when playing the piano. It felt immediately like a close friend that was always there and with whom I could share all the ups and downs of life. I did not know then what being a professional pianist meant, I just knew that music would always be an essential part of my life.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

There are so many. If I was going to put one at the top of the list, I would say Ruth Nye – she was my teacher during my studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Royal College of Music. She was not only my mentor but rapidly became like family, and remains to this day an inspiration. She has shaped my artistic, technical and philosophical development like no other person in my life. Also Nikolai Demidenko, Murray Perahia, and Dominique Merlet all taught me crucial things at various stages of my development.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

Challenges go hand in hand with a performing career. Of course, I have had to go through many stressful situations, dealing with tight deadlines and intensive performing periods. But these are to be expected and it is nothing special. A good example of that was when I did my first concerto recording. This was a three concerto album, performed live at the Cadogan Hall in one concert. The very next day, I had a recital at the Wigmore Hall. I remember coming home late that night after the Cadogan performance and practising until about 4 am.

But the most important challenge is to get up everyday and thrive to reach a deeper artistic understanding of the music I am playing, to always question, to remain insatiably curious and never stop learning. In art, movement is everything. The music grows with me everyday, and I hope that the second I have performed or recorded something, my interpretation will have already started to evolve.

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

Pride is not really a feeling I would associate with a successful performance or recording. But I guess more a feeling of exhilaration during a special moment shared with an audience or in the intimacy of a recording studio with my producer and recording team. But perhaps if I had to choose one, I would say my first Wigmore Hall recital; I remember doing a crazy programme, including Bach-Busoni chaconne, Beethoven Sonata op. 110 and Liszt B minor Sonata. I remember the Beethoven op. 110 in that hall as one of these rare moments when you feel you are no longer physically there. There was a real link between me, the music and the audience that night.

In terms of recordings, I think my latest Hyperion concerto recording of works by Bronsart and Urspruch (two Liszt students) with the BBC Scottish Symphony and Eugene Tzigane is particularly interesting. It was a fantastic experience for me to record these hardly known romantic works and bring them to life with such wonderful musicians. My Chopin preludes album as well; I think we managed to capture an intimate sound that allows one to hear all the details, yet distant enough that the poetry remained intact.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

I am not sure about using the word best, but I would say that this non-exhaustive list of pieces are some of the works that are very close to me: Liszt B minor sonata and Après une lecture du Dante, Ravel Gaspard de la nuit, Bach-Busoni Chaconne, Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, Schumann Études Symphoniques, Beethoven sonata op. 110, Chopin preludes op. 28, Schubert sonata in Bb D. 960, Mozart concerto in D minor K. 466 and Brahms concerto No. 1 in D minor.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

Mostly of my own choosing: the piano repertoire is extremely vast and there are so many works that I want to explore! Though choosing a programme has to be done carefully. It is like putting together a meal. I will only perform something if I feel I have something truly special to say playing this work, that it has become a part of me. Also, other considerations come into play. The venue is one; I might not choose to play the same thing in a big London hall and in an outdoor summer festival. Also, I might be in the process of recording specific works, and of course a particular season might coincide with a composer’s birthday, for example, Beethoven’s 250th birthday in 2020.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

For me Wigmore Hall is very special. I have wonderful memories there. It has perfect acoustics and is just the right size to be intimate yet not too close; you can hear everything right down to the very last row.

Who are your favourite musicians?

There are many: Claudio Arrau would be one of the most important ones. His sound, colours, depth of interpretation, but perhaps more importantly, he is the artist who resonates with me the most in terms of philosophy and approach to performing. He was completely uncompromising, putting the music and respect for the score at the centre of everything with such integrity. But also Dinu Lipatti, Ferruccio Busoni, Alfred Cortot, Martha Argerich, Yehudi Menuhin, Jacqueline du Pré, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein and many many more!

What is your most memorable concert experience?

I think it would have to be the first time I performed Brahms’s first piano concerto as a young student, conducted by Andrew Litton. I had won the Royal College of Music’s concerto competition. We had three big rehearsals, which of course never happens in the professional world. This allowed for some truly special music making – Andrew Litton was amazing, the orchestra was full of passionate and eager music students wanting to give everything they had to the music and the conductor. I hold the memory of this concert very close to my heart.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

That is a very hard question. But at the same time, as strange as it may seem, I don’t think I spend too much time thinking about it. I guess, doing what I love to do for as many years as I am lucky enough to be able to do it! Being a musician is who I am no matter what, music is my oxygen and it’s at the very core of my identity.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

I would say that for me, the most important thing is to keep remembering what is at the centre of it all – the music. That as performers we are a middleman, a link between the music and the audience. The hardest thing I think on this journey is to keep a healthy psychological compass and to not fall into the traps of vanity or self-doubt, as both extremes are equally destructive. It’s a delicate balance: one has to remember that if you are a talented artist, you have a unique message and personality; that is what you have to cherish, nurture and put at the service of your art to the best of your ability with integrity and complete dedication.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

All these precious simple moments spent with my wife and baby daughter.

To be on stage performing beautiful music, on these rare moments when everything clicks into place and there is a real link made with the audience is a wonderful feeling.

 

Emmanuel Despax will be performing live on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune programme on 29th April at 5pm, ahead of his performance of both Chopin concerti with string quintet at the Menuhin hall on 30th April (more information)

“Poetry fused with breathtaking technical perfection” (Concertclassic) and “A master colourist with genius-like ability” (Classical Source) is how the brilliant French pianist Emmanuel Despax was described after his acclaimed recitals at the Louvre auditorium in Paris and Wigmore Hall in London.

Despax is establishing himself as an artist whose interpretations bring a rare sincerity and imagination to the music. He performs internationally and is regularly broadcast on many radio stations including France Musique, BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and Medici TV.

His latest Romantic Piano Concerto album for Hyperion – with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Tzigane – received a glowing review from Gramophone: “It’s hard to imagine it being better played than by these forces, Emmanuel Despax displaying a wide range of colours combined with an easy virtuosity … It requires prodigious playing from soloist and orchestral musicians to make it sound as effortless as here, and that it does is tribute as much to conductor Eugene Tzigane as to Despax.” The recording features two romantic concerti by students of Liszt, Hans Bronsart and Anton Urspruch.

His previous Chopin preludes album on Signum Classics was chosen as “Album of the week” by Classic FM in the UK and received a five-star review on Diapason in France: “The young artist’s poetic work of entomology left me speechless. Rarely has the text of these 24 pieces been thus read, enhancing the least articulation or pedalling detail in relation to tempi, sound weight, projection from a prelude to the next, from a group of preludes to another, transmuting his Fazioli into a 1900s Pleyel, iridescent as needs be – intimate and very beautiful.”

In his native France, Despax has appeared in prestigious venues such as Paris’ Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot, the Louvre Auditorium and the Festival International des Nuits Pianistiques in Aix-en-Provence. He performs regularly across Europe and has given recitals at the Fazioli Auditorium in Italy, the Gasteig Blackbox in Munich and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Belgium.

UK highlights include recitals at Wigmore Hall, the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, the Chipping Campden and Petworth Festivals and a performance of three piano concerti at Cadogan Hall. This concert was recorded live and released on Signum Classics. “Emmanuel Despax is a formidable talent, fleet of finger, elegant of phrase and a true keyboard colourist.” (Gramophone)

Having studied in the UK at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Royal College of Music with Ruth Nye, one of Claudio Arrau’s finest students, Despax draws inspiration from a long tradition of pure artistry and uncompromising commitment to the score. His passion lies in retaining and regaining the true role of a performer, as a faithful vessel for the composer’s message.

Now based in London, Despax has performed with many UK orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheus Sinfonia, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

emmanueldespax.com

 

Artist photo: Luca Sage

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“perhaps the most impassioned music I have ever written.”
Robert Schumann writing to Clara Wieck, March 1838

Never one for disguising his emotions, Robert Schumann wore his heart on his sleeve and his music reflects his joy at being alive – and of being in love. His Fantasie in C, composed in 1836, is a remarkable display of soul-bearing, a piece imbued with passionate and unresolved longing, and the heart-fluttering panoply of emotions from ecstasy to agony which being in love provokes. It was written during a particularly long separation from his beloved Clara Wieck, at a time when their future together was far from certain.

The Fantasie in C is a love letter in music, a culmination of passion, virtuosity and delicacy. No salon sweetmeat, this is a highly demanding, sweepingly romantic large-scale work which pianists approach with trepidation.

Originally intended as a tribute to Beethoven and eventually dedicated to Franz Liszt, the Fantasie is cast in three movements. It alludes to sonata form but like its dedicatee’s B-minor Sonata, Schumann dissolves the formal structure to create a work of striking improvisatory freedom which heightens its emotional impact and poetic narrative. The ‘Clara theme’ which pervades the work is heard immediately in the descending octaves of the right hand. The music is an intriguing mix of grandeur and intimacy: the opening statement, a rolling dominant 9th chord, expresses the full depth of the composer’s passion and the music moves from a state of yearning to one of subdued tenderness before the restatement of the opening. The Adagio coda begins with a secret love message to Clara: a phrase quoted from the last song in Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte: “Take, then, these songs, beloved, which I have sung for you.”

“It makes me hot and cold all over,” Clara wrote of the march-like second movement, which grows more intense (and difficult to play) by its continuous dotted rhythms. It’s a majestic outpouring of joy which reaches its zenith in the exuberant coda, whose celebratory leaps (marked Viel bewegter – “with much movement”) would give even the most practised virtuoso some anxious moments.

Sublimely beautiful, tender and intimate, the third movement is an extended song without words, with ravishing diversions into the remote keys of A-flat and D-flat major which create an extraordinary sense of time suspended. In this movement the passion may be downplayed but it is no less powerfully felt. Falling motifs (drawn from the slow movement of Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Concerto), and melodies of intense poignancy give way to a section of delicate tenderness, a waltz in all but name with 2 voices – treble and bass – singing together. One can almost picture Robert and Clara clasped in a deep embrace. The coda is an ecstatic declaration, gradually increasing in speed, before pulling back to Adagio for the close and three hushed C-major chords which are at once peaceful and yet tinged with sadness.

Here is Piotr Anderszewski in the final movement:

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The first of a series of short films made in collaboration with Casio UK and Pianist magazine. In this film, Frances Wilson AKA The Cross-Eyed Pianist offers suggestions on how to make the most of limited practice time, and making practising productive and most of all enjoyable.

Find out more about the Casio Premium Grand Hybrid

Frances Wilson is a pianist, piano teacher, writer and blogger on classical music and pianism as The Cross-Eyed Pianist. She holds Licentiate and Associate Diplomas (both with Distinction) in Piano Performance, and for 12 years ran a successful piano teaching practice in SW London. She is now based in West Dorset where she teaches from her home in Portland. Further information

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Who or what inspired you to take up the viola and pursue a career in music?

I started playing the violin in the US public school system in the 4th grade but it wasn’t until my studies at the Eastman School of Music that I discovered the viola.  I was first violinist in a student string quartet taking part in the Cleveland Quartet Seminar. The violist of our group said she needed to end the rehearsal early so I asked her if I could try her viola and I would bring it back to the dorms later.  It was a lovely old Hill viola, not too big. The instant I pulled an open string sound on the viola tears immediately started pouring out of my eyes. It was as if I had finally found my voice. It was such a visceral reaction; not only did I fall instantly in love with the colors of the instrument but physically my whole body relaxed. While I continued to finished my degree in violin I also began studying with the great violist of the Cleveland Quartet, Martha Katz and then stayed for a Masters degree in viola and studied with the great modern music expert John Graham

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

I think “important influences” are like tree branches resting along the side of a river. You float down the river following your path and then you hold on to a branch and soak all the experiences in.  For me it is the accumulation of tree branches that have help to guide me. Some have been teachers and mentors. My parents also helped me in non-musical ways. While they were not musicians, they were very supportive of my musical interests.

My seemingly non-linear life journey began with orchestra jobs and then successful auditions for two professional string quartets. Chamber music has been a huge influenceon my development as an artist as the skill you must develop include listening to your colleagues, keeping an open mind, taking risks and really immersing oneself in the process of learning music. But it was my first big solo engagement that really lit the inner fire of artistic purpose that has carried me to this day.  Premiering a fantastic concerto by the great Argentinian composer Lalo Schifrin with the New Jersey Symphony was the beginning of my solo career and now, almost 10 years later I have been fortunate to have had over 40 viola concertos written for me and 18 CD recordings.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

I have always been a very optimistic person so I don’t really think of “challenges” or setbacks. Every goal I have set for myself I have achieved in some form or another. Orchestra, quartet, trios, university teaching positions, soloist, recording artist…. I’m very happy to do what I do.  I tell my students that “the journey IS the destination” and to try not to be too “goal oriented.“ Perhaps that is my biggest challenge: not to be impatient. Time management can be a challenge as well sometimes. As a “self-managed” artist, I design my own website, manage my YouTube channel, social network platforms, reach out to conductors and basically manage every facet of my career. This takes a lot of time. I have learned a lot of skills along the way that you don’t always learn at school and I try to pass these on to my students and in public masterclasses and lectures where I try to encourage other artists to be “artist leaders.”

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of? 

I’ve now performed with over 70 orchestras worldwide so I couldn’t possibly choose my favourite performance. Certain performances stand out for me such as my debut with the Grand Rapids Symphony where I performed Brandenburg 6, Hindemith’s Trauermusick and Amanda  Harberg’s concerto in one evening. I have a very vivid and fun memory of performing with the State Orchestra of Merida, Venezuela. My dear friend Fran di Polo, President of la Sistema in Caracas, taught me a “joropo” to perform as a “bis” (encore) at the conclusion of my concerto performance. I motioned for the principal bassoonist, who just happened to also play the charango, and we performed an exciting jorpop for the audience and they loved it.  That is one of the things about performing world wide that I love most. The chance to meet people, make new friends, learn about different cultures, their food, the folksongs and dances.  Music really does connect us and learning so many musical styles has been a great gift for me. Every opportunity to perform is a unique experience and chance to communicate with the audience in a very personal way. As an artist I am constantly trying to find the balance between being as perfect as I can with being musically communicative. When a performance takes you to that special place where you are truly at one with the music, the orchestra and the audience then it is hard to beat that special feeling.

As to my favourite recordings, I’m very proud of the last several I have done including a concerto album of three works for viola and orchestra by the American composers Amanda Harberg and Max Wolpert for Naxos. Three more CDs are due to be released in the coming season: one with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Heredia of Costa Rica, as well as one with the Philadelphia Camerata  performing the concerto of Stan Grill and also a CD with the Southern Cross Philharmonia in Melbourne.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

Because I do so many world premieres I have the reputation for being a “modern specialist.” The funny thing is that ,when you get right down to it, I feel the viola is essentially a “vocal instrument” and so I really feel great warmth from performing the romantic and classical repertoire. The great English concertos of Bowen, Forsyth and Walton are some of my favourites.  Of the new works written for me I really enjoyed performing Andrew Rudin’s concerto. Also Richard Danliepours’ viola concerto is incredible and we had a lot of fun working on it together. I think because I love exciting music with strong rhythm and soaring melodies, many composers today enjoy writing for me and I’m very happy to see other violists performing these pieces now. Because of my violin background and the basic technique and breadth of repertoire the violin provides, I enjoy challenging works for the viola, but ultimately it’s the “human song” that creates the most allure for me.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

Very often repertoire decisions are made for you. Unlike many violin soloists who will play 3-5 concerti up to  10-20 times each  a season, I will often play 7 or 8 different concerti only once or maybe twice a season.   While this creates a real sense of excitement and freshness it is also very challenging to keep all of the notes in my hands.  For instance the first half of the 2019 season I will perform the Stamitx concerto in Cape Cod, the Hindemith der Schwanendreher in Los Angeles, but also give the second perform of the season of the Forsyth concerto and also give world premieres in Melbourne, Colombia, and New Jersey as well as record two new concerto CDs; one in Australia and one in Philadelphia.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

For me, the venue is defined by the energy of the audience. A smaller hall creates a more intimate connection to the listener.  Music needs two elements: a person playing the music and someone to listen to it. If the listener is absent, then its called “practicing.”

Last season on a month long tour of China I performed in several acoustically amazing halls but just last weekend I gave a special holiday house concert in my hometown for 20 friends and that was just as thrilling.

Who are your favourite musicians?

Good one. I think because my goal as a violist is to sound like a vocalist, it’s no surprise that a lot of playlists on my iPhone are of choral works.  The saying goes,”Mjusic begins where words end,” so to hear music “with “ words is almost like the first form of multi media performance. Jesse Norman singing Strauss’ Four Last Songs, the English a capella group Voces 8 singing Ola Gjeilo’s  “Ubi Caritas”; these works really have meaning for me.  Most of my instrumental heroes are violinists like Oistrakh, Milstein, Heifetz, and Ehnes. But I also love jazz, the American Songbook and any musical style and artist that resonates with me.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

I think it is the totality of my “experience” that I look back on with joy and gratitude. My first time performing in Kiev, performing in the Cathedral in Quito with the National Symphony of Ecuador, my Kimmel Center debut premiering Andrew Rudin’s concerto to name a few.  For me, it’s like choosing my favourite piece of music. I’m too close to it…I just love doing what I do and I look forward to doing much more!

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

I feel success is not measured by achievement. If you reached your goal, then you set the bar way too low!  For me, the definition of success if doing what you love. I of course am constantly trying to improve my craft and I am constantly working on my career but at the end of the day, if you love what you do then you ARE a success.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

You are what you think. If you have the courage to say to yourself what you really want to do, then do it!  If I can do it, you definitely can!

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?

I would like to be doing what I do now. I also really enjoy teaching. As the viola professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College I get to share ideas with my students. We work on our craft but also discuss music careers, address how to be an effective teacher and motivator.  For me its all about sharing the journey, not only with audiences but with the younger artists searching for their voice.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

When you wake up and you feel so incredibly lucky to be doing what you do, that although you are eager to do whatever it takes to keep reaching higher, you feel content making a positive difference. That’s happiness.

What is your most treasured possession?

My family.

Born in San Francisco in 1968, Brett Deubner began his studies at the Eastman School of Music in New York where he quickly made a name for himself as a violinist and violist performing as soloist with the Eastman Philharmonia as well as leading the orchestra in Heidelberg at the Schloss Speile Festival.  While at Eastman, his principal teachers were Zvi Zeitlin on violin and Martha Katz and John Graham on viola.

Since the world premiere performance and subsequent critical acclaim of Lalo Schifrin’s Triple Concerto with the Grammy award-winning New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, he has gone on to perform world wide as soloist with over 70 orchestras in 11 countries on 5 continents to unanimous approval for “the warmth and sparkling” quality of his playing.  (Doblinger Press, Vienna)

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Brett Deubner, one of this generation’s most accomplished violists, has inspired worldwide critical acclaim for his powerful intensity and sumptuous tone.  The New Jersey Star Ledger commented,”Deubner played with dynamic virtuosity hitting the center of every note no matter how many there were” and the Stradmagazine noted his playing for his “infectious capriciousness.” 

Recent performances include concerto appearances with over 50 orchestras on 4 continents. Deubner has garnered critical acclaim from solo appearances with such American orchestras as the Grand Rapids Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Missoula Symphony, Peninsula Symphony and acclaimed solo debuts in South American orchestras from Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina. Recent concerto appearances in Europe include well received performances with Orchestre Bel’Arte of Paris, the Thuringer Symphoniker of Saalfeld, Germany and the Kiev Kamerata of Ukraine. Brett Deubner is featured in Wikipedia for his viola transcription and recordings of the 2 viola concerti of Frank Lewin with the New Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, Bulgaria.