Jonathan Crow + Philip Chiu

Schubert: In a class of his own

“You stay classy, San Diego,” goes the signature line of Will Ferrell’s character in the movie Anchorman. For violinist Jonathan Crow and pianist Philip Chiu, the catchphrase sounded more like “You stay classy, Schubert,” during their recording session of the composer’s Sonata in A major, Op. posth. 162, D. 574, Rondo in B minor, Op. 70, D. 895 and Fantasie in C major, Op. posth. 159, D. 934.

“If there’s one word that sticks out in my mind from our work together, it would be ‘classy,’” Chiu says. “It was our watchword as we tackled these incredibly brilliant, sometimes maddening, always rewarding pieces. It seems like kind of a silly, oversimplifying term, and brings to mind a certain quote from the movie Anchorman, but it was attached to the end of every discussion we had regarding the execution of every nuance, attack, measure and phrase.”

Described as “a strange middle-of-the-road composer” by Crow, Franz Schubert (1797–1828) is perhaps best known for his lieder, the crown jewel of his life’s work. While his works for violin and piano are often overlooked, Crow says the music is nevertheless songful and written with vocal and chamber music ideas.

“I’m a real Schubert fan. I like his late symphonies and quartets and lieder,” he says.

Indeed, it was in Schubert’s lieder that the duo found its source of inspiration. “Listening to Jonathan’s opening of the Fantasie is just sublime and perhaps the greatest example of the sort of singing tone we were always searching for,” Chiu says. “It was certainly the thing I admired the most about Jonathan—his ear was fastidiously attuned to every deviation from what was an authentic vocal gesture.”

Written in 1827, the Fantasie for piano and violin is a piece Crow remembers discovering at 13, when he first heard it on the radio. “I didn’t know the piece, but I found it extremely captivating how it went on,” Crow says. “I was a bit confused as I listened to it because I didn’t know what was going on in the piece.”

He said he played it for the first time about five years ago and enlisted Chiu last year when an opportunity to record it came knocking. The Rondo (1826) and the A-major Sonata (1817) were chosen to introduce and set up the Fantasie.

“The A-major Sonata has a very standard structure and you can see where he’s going with it. The Rondo is a standard rondo—it’s advanced harmonically, but not as adventurous as the Fantasie in structure,” Crow explains. “Fantasie is a final version of everything. Playing it is really, really hard. It’s an incredibly difficult piece for piano and violin and it’s not just a matter of nailing your own part, but nailing it at the same time [with Chiu].”

In terms of chamber music, Chiu noted that the Sonata, Rondo and Fantasie are solid steps forward for equal representation of instruments as well as unique takes on the kindof conversations that happen between the piano and violin.

“While Beethoven’s violin and piano sonatas would eventually come to bring equal light to both parts, they also pit the instruments against each other,” he says. “Schubert’s pieces are more like conversations between two friends, or perhaps a journey, due very much in part to the folksong qualities that permeate his output.”

That being said, the folksy journey demanded virtuosity from both the violin and the piano, particularly in the Rondo and Fantasie. According to Chiu, the virtuosity isn’t the kind that eases with practice over time, but the kind that remains as difficult in execution from Day 1 as Day 1,001.

“It was certainly while working on these pieces with Jonathan that I realized, yes, in fact, he is human,” he says. “I’m fairly certain I even caught him occasionally playing a few notes out of tune and this is a man who can easily toss off the most difficult passages in any violin concerto on any given day like he’s spreading hot butter on toast.”

As for various difficulties in their own parts, Chiu says those only amplified when it came time to put things together. “It was really a masterclass in tearing your eyes and ears off of your own part and focusing on the other,” he said.

But thanks to a natural fit between the two, Crow and Chiu struck the right balance to find a way and make listeners understand the music “so it’s not just a series of beautiful moments,” Crow says. “We wanted to record a CD with repertoires that we believe in and we wanted it to [be] immediately beautiful.” With Chiu, “Suddenly, you don’t have to think anymore. It’s just two people feeling the music and the pulse in the same way.”

In the end, the challenge was not trying to simply execute, but to erase any semblance of the fact that “our hearts were in our throats during some moments,” Chiu adds. “Paramount in our minds was always the singing tone, the elegant phrase, and of course, just staying classy.”

La Scena Musicale, February 2012

Lang Lang

The Lang Lang Effect

Chances are you’ve heard of the Tom and Jerry story, in which a two-year-old boy in China was watching an episode of the American cartoon on Chinese television and Tom the cat, a concert pianist in this episode, performs in a dinner jacket Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. The little boy didn’t know what piece of music he was listening to, but he knew he wanted to be like Tom right then and there. “Liszt was the first composer that inspired me to play classical music,” said pianist Lang Lang of the cartoon episode that was his first encounter with Western classical music.

When Lang was 5, he played Liszt’s Little Hungarian Rhapsody for his first piano recital. When he was 9, he started the Tarantella. “Each year, I learned a major piece by Liszt. It was a great process to improve my technique. Each piece was a milestone for me,” Lang recalled. Now 29, Lang is no longer a prodigy. He’s a serious musician, businessman, and one that makes a lot of money playing classical music. Even if you aren’t a fan, it’s hard to disagree with the fact that Lang is a superstar and a showman at the keyboard.

Much of the same can be said of the 19th-century Hungarian pianist who inspired him. The storied and dazzling career of Liszt gripped Europe with a hysterical frenzy dubbed “Lisztomania” by German poet and journalist Heinrich Heine. Like Lang, who enjoys a brand status (there’s a special Adidas edition of Lang Lang shoes and Steinway has released a piano named for him), Liszt was regarded as a pop star in his time.

However, Lang doesn’t see the similarities between him and his “piano hero”, the title of his newest CD with Sony Classical in celebration of Liszt’s bicentenary this year. “He’s a piano God — I can never compare myself to Liszt,” the powerhouse pianist said from London, England following a performance of the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at Last Night of the Proms.

“He made classical music soapproachable to everyone, there’s no huge difference between classical music and pop music. In Liszt’s time, classical music was pop music.”

In Lang’s time, classical music is no longer popular. However, Lang remains optimistic about its future. After all, he has inspired more than 40 million children in China to learn the piano  a phenomenon coined by the US Today Show as the “Lang Lang Effect” — and in 2008 launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in New York to inspire the next generation of classical music lovers and performers. According to Lang, the foundation will open its first piano school in China in January 2012.

“We have the responsibility to inspire the new generation to listen to classical music. I believe great
educational style will bring easier access to people who are eager to know and learn classical music in a smoother, more natural and precise and emotional style of playing,” he said, adding Liszt, among other things, was also “an amazing educator” and many of his students were the driving force of the 20th-century piano school.

“I want people to enjoy practicing,” Lang said. Not just any way you like, but slowly. “There are two
composers that can drive your arms mad: Liszt and Rachmaninoff,” Lang explained. “But if you practice the right way and very slowly, your arms will be OK.” That being said, Lang openly admitted to the physical challenges of recording Liszt in a behind-the-scene video of his new CD. “Franz, you really drive me crazy,” he said in a clip, describing how his arms were sore and fingertips “pretty,
pretty painful”.

“Liszt was a very unique and very pianistic person,” Lang told The Music Scene. “He’s both an angel and a devil at the keyboard… he’s a good monster of making arrangements.”

It was away from the keyboard where Lang did his pre-recording preparation by opening the score to go over the dynamics and tempo markings.

“It’s brain work… it’s about understanding the structure and the meanings of the notes and to have
your own ideas about the music,” he said. “Then you have to connect with your heart. After that, it has to become the reality, to have calculated feelings and emotions. You have to build the bridges in between and that’s the challenge. It’s like making a dream come true. You always have to make it very personal, but it always has to be very logical.”

Coincidentally, that’s how Liszt – My Piano Hero comes across, personal and calculated at the same time. Using one Steinway from New York, the other from Hamburg, Lang’s super articulated fingers packed fireworks, poetic sentiments and crispy chimes in one shiny disc of the music close to his heart. From “must-haves” like Consolation No. 3 and Liebestraum (“the most famous piece by Liszt”) to personal favourites like La campanella (“a genius idea”) and the “Rakoczy March” from Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 (Horowitz version), Lang is a glittering butterfly that flutters high and low, loud and soft in tasteful and effortless manner.

Other pieces included are Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6, Romance “O pourquoi donc”, Grand Galop chromatique, Un sospiro, Liszt’s transcription of Schubert’s Ave Maria and Liszt’s transcription of
Wagner’s Isoldes Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. The final three tracks are gloriously devoted to the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring Valery Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Forget Lang Lang Effect. This is Lang Lang Special Effect. While not all effects are truly special, this
is Lang’s personal tribute to Liszt and his alone. And why should it be any other way if an individual were to contribute to the larger context of things that we know as art? Meanwhile, the cheery, spiky-haired pianist appears perfectly content with his Liszt tribute, which includes a video blog of him self-videoing in a mirror talking to “Franz” about their performances.

“That’s fun to do, I like to talk to Liszt a little bit,” Lang said. “It’s a real encouragement to me to do
better.”

The Music Scene, Fall 2011

Isabel Bayrakdarian

All eyes at soprano on Markham show

If you are lucky enough to hear Isabel Bayrakdarian at Markham Theatre Friday night, better rest up before you arrive.

The famed Canadian-Armenian soprano may just be watching and making eye-contact with you.

“I’m communicating with the audience, so obviously I’m not going to be making eye-contact with the wall,” Ms Bayrakdarian said.

But the downside of looking at her audience in an intimate venue like the Markham Theatre is she might catch someone dozing off while she sings, the Juno-winning singer admitted.

“I take that as a personal insult,” Ms Bayrakdarian said, laughing. “I’m thinking, ‘Am I not….’”

In a much-anticipated exclusive GTA solo recital with husband, pianist Serouj Kradjian, Ms Bayrakdarian has planned a special program with “spice and variety”.

From rarely heard repertoires to more well-known songs, Ms Bayrakdarian will take the audience through a journey that includes Hungarian, French, Italian, Armenian and Spanish music and folk songs.

“It’s like strolling through a park you’ve never been,” she said. “It’s an exploratory experience for them.”
Ms Bayrakdarian — the voice behind the Grammy-winning soundtrack of The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers — burst onto the international opera scene after winning first prize in the 2000 Operalia competition, founded by Plácido Domingo.

She has always sung in churches, but music was no more than a hobby for the longest time.
Ms Bayrakdarian was studying medical engineering at the University of Toronto when she won the competition in 2000.

She was also taking music lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Music at the time.

“When I started winning competitions, I had to make a difficult decision,” she said, adding she won the competition because she had the right attitude and desire to show her best without comparing herself to others.

“It was a gradual thing, but when it comes to passion for music, a lot of us have hobbies,” she said. “In singing, the more you practise, the better you sound. Then you are bitten by the bug. It’s this poison of love for music you get obsessed with.”

Having sung professionally for about 15 years and performed in the world’s major opera halls, Ms Bayrakdarian said singing still never feels like work to her.

“If you love something, you should run with it,” she said. “Getting a paycheque after a performance is a shock. We are not on salaries, so you have to be very comfortable that you are a contractor in a sense.”
Asked what it’s like working with her husband, Ms Bayrakdarian said because both of them are soloists and have very specific and individual ideas about the music, “The process of putting it all together between two stubborn Tauruses — you can let your imagination run on how the discussions run”, she said.

However, “Because he’s my husband, during the performance, blindly, I know he’ll be there for me.”

Published in the Markham Economist & Sun Oct. 20

REVIEW: Tokyo Quartet opens Music Toronto

Due to the labour dispute at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Music Toronto ditched its home — the Jane Mallett Theatre — for the opening of its 40th season on Sept. 15.

Even though the dispute was resolved earlier that morning, as Music Toronto artistic director and general manager Jennifer Taylor told the audience, the season got off to a good start at the University of Toronto’s Walter Hall with the Tokyo String Quartet and pianist Markus Groh.

First on the program was a piece the Tokyo quartet played for its Music Toronto debut in 1975 — the Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 by Debussy. There was no shortage of crisp and eloquent playing from first violinist Martin Beaver, second violinist Kikuei Ikeda, violist Kazuhide Isomura and cellist Clive Greensmith. Yes, there was a glaring slip from Ikeda in the last movement, but the impeccable ensemble delivered a fine take that was well-balanced in tonal refinement and texture. In fact, the performance was so polished that a sense of spontaneity and defiance of the music felt just a tad lost.

Next on the program was the world premiere of Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan’s String Quartet No. 4, Inspirare(2011). The Latin word, inspirare, means “to breath into”. Ryan, composer advisor to Music Toronto and composer-in-resident with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, described his single-movement work as an expression of different kinds of breaths, from smooth and relaxed, quick, soft and gentle, heavy sigh, whispering, held, ragged and determined to the actual physical expansion and contraction of breathing.

The piece is consisted of three major ensemble sections that are framed by four extended solos — first violin, second violin, cello and then viola — each with a different character and rooted in the pitch of a different open string, Ryan explained in the program note.

Inspirare sounded, for the most part, like it could be the Indie soundtrack to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. However, we heard more docile slides in general than slashing strings. Besides razor-sharp, high-pitched and sometimes rhythmic scream, we also heard lyrical passages in which melodic scales were the dominating structure and driving force behind scattering yawns and gulps of air that make up one big giant breath.

But then, just as you prepare yourself for that last inhale and exhale at the end — the big bang — Ryan throws in a sweet puff — a retreat to thin air that you hear coming out of a deflating balloon.

Inspirare is a piece of music that works wonders with a bored mind and the Tokyo quartet gave it a dramatic reading. The premiere was well received by the audience.

The Tokyo quartet was joined by Groh, the 41-year-old German pianist, after intermission to perform Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34.

Groh, who has built a considerable reputation as a Liszt interpreter in recent years, played with a straight, rather matter-of-fact style in this sensual and tempestuous piece of work. It’s a sharp contrast to the seasoned Tokyo quartet’s elastic musicality and the uneveness was especially noticeable in the gentle second movement.

That being said, the ensemble work overall was classy and solid, a fine way to end a cool summer night’s evening.

For La Scena Musicale/The Music Scene blog

Steinway store ‘a happy place’

It’s no secret that a Steinway is among the Lamborghinis of pianos.

But just what are the secrets of Steinway?

For one thing, the American and German piano manufacturer’s exclusive dealer in the GTA — the Steinway Piano Gallery Toronto — is located in a quiet, low-key industrial area in Markham.

But look again and there is nothing low-key about the plaza. Its small parking lot is loaded with Mercedes and BMWs with predominantly Asian children being dropped off for classes at the Euromusic Centre — organizer of the classical piano competition, the Markham Music Festival, for the last 16 years.

“It’s really quite a happy place to come,” said Alex Walker, general manager of Steinway Piano Gallery Toronto. “We are not just an expensive store, we are property located to serve the music community in the Toronto area. Traffic has been quite high.”

Mr. Walker pointed out that Markham and Richmond Hill combined probably have the highest number of music students per capita in the GTA.

But aside from that, the location of a Steinway gallery here was a no-brainer. Like the conjoined Euromusic Centre, it’s a division of Tom Lee Music Group.

The Vancouver-based company is a Steinway dealer and one of the largest music retailers in Canada with branches in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Among other things, Tom Lee Music has a superstar on its list of friends — the flamboyant Chinese pianist Lang Lang, whose one-line endorsement for Steinway reads: “There is no way but Steinway”.

Not all Steinway artists are alike, but there is nothing low-key about Mr. Lang and his performances.

The same can be said of his instrument of choice.

From the forest floor to Steinway & Sons’ factory floor in Queens, New York, to the newly opened Steinway piano showroom in Markham, Steinway pianos are handcrafted using techniques dating back more than 100 years and transformed from more than 12,000 individual parts.

A Steinway grand piano takes nearly a year to create.

“It’s a lost art. Each one has its own charm,” Mr. Walker said. “When you play a Steinway, it’s an exclamation mark instead of a question mark.”

That may sound like a sales pitch from a piano salesman, but Mr. Walker, who is a classically trained jazz musician, prefers to describe himself and his associates who are also professionally trained pianists as matchmakers.

“People buy cellphones or cars every two to three years, but people will only buy a piano once or twice in a lifetime,” Mr. Walker said.

“So we are piano matchmakers with high musical skills. We ask customers for permission to explain the pianos. It’s the nicest environment to come to and buy the piano of your dreams.”

There are many on the showroom floor — 22 as of last week and about 60 more in the nearby “selection centre”.

It took three trips from New York to ship them in and a special John Lennon limited edition — one of about 100 — is scheduled to arrive in Markham at a moment’s notice.

The white Lennon grand piano will join a prestige fleet that includes a rare East Indian Rosewood grand piano, a satin ebony concert grand and other, more affordable Steinway-designed pianos, Boston and Essex.

A Steinway concert grand — the largest grand piano stretching about nine feet in length — can vary in price from about $140,000 to $1 million depending on the finish, Mr. Walker said.

It’s one of the most trusted and revered pianos in big and small concert halls around the world, including Markham Theatre and the newly anointed Steinway Music Hall at Euromusic Centre.

The unassuming recital hall can seat about 100 and features two Steinways grands on stage.

Not only will Euromusic students and outside groups get to perform there, the school’s classrooms will also be outfitted with Steinway pianos soon.

“Steinway is a lifetime piano, they invented the modern piano,” Mr. Walker said.

He said while other piano makers have copied various Steinway advancements over the years, it’s the complete recipe that makes Steinway pianos unique.

So what are the real secrets of Steinway anyway?

“It’s all the things that you can’t see,” said Mr. Walker, who doesn’t own a Steinway, “but I will”.

Alex Walker is giving a free “Secrets of Steinway” seminar at the Steinway Piano Gallery Toronto (2651 John St., Unit #8) Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.

For more information or to RSVP, call 905-940-5397 or e-mail alex.walker@steinwaypianogallery.ca.

Published in the Markham Economist & Sun, Aug. 20, 2011