In a conversation with the Independent, the talented pianist reveals what makes the music of George Gershwin (1898-1937) and Claude Debussy (1862-1918) special, he talks about the ideas that are realized by adapting to the rules of the pandemic, does not hide his concern about the limited possibilities of young musicians develop yourself in music and hope that summer will come with a chance to return to the stage.
When and how was the idea of ”Two Worlds” born?
I was very excited when the founders of Prima Classic – our great opera singer Marina Rebecca and her husband sound director Edgardo Vertanesyan – approached me to record a solo album. It was in March last year, a pandemic had just begun. However, despite the time constraints of the pandemic, this idea was realized with great inspiration and energy, and I am extremely glad that even before the release of the album, the recordings of the compositions included in it were noticed and appreciated in the world.
Marina Rebecca and Edgardo Vertanesyan offered me to record an album that would be bright, unusual and different from my previous repertoire. Far from the music of Beethoven, Schuman and Chopin, which I perform regularly. We chose two composers very carefully – Gershwin and Debussy, between whom an interesting conversation took place. Because they were both great innovators – just as Claude Monet was the first real impressionist in painting, so Debussy was the inventor of a completely new piano style. His music needs a completely different touch than Brahms, Rachmaninoff and any other musician of the time. He is a great personality. And Gershwin is the same personality – the first real master of jazz music, who wrote for the piano and did it very successfully. I recorded the works of both of these composers, and I got 24 compositions as 24 tonalities. These are 24 moments from the beginning of the 20th century, where you can hear both the energy, joy and emotions that are characteristic of Gershwin’s music, as well as the sophistication, nuances and melodies that are in Debussy’s music.
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Debussy wanted the music to be very light, to have irony, to have humor and, in general, to be mysterious, poetic and also enjoyable, to have a sense of dance, and to have a touch of pianist – to be very gentle, as if to caress the keys. On the other hand, the opposite is true in Gershwin’s music, the opposite is very energetic, a lot of rhythm, a lot of joy, but this music is also written with pleasure. And my new album reveals both composers as creators of a new style of piano music and the beginning of the 20th century as a time of search and experimentation in music. It vividly reveals the mood that prevailed in Europe and the United States in the early 20th century.
You mentioned that the recordings of the new album have already been appreciated by listeners all over the world.
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Yes, because Edgardo Vertanesjan offered to release some singles even before the release of the album. Three of them – George Gershwin’s Rhapsody Blues and Claude Debussy’s “Moonlight” and “Doll’s Goblet” from the “Children’s Corner” suite – were included in the prominent music class Spotify’s prominent classical music news, highlighting 40 outstanding records from around the world. Several compositions have also been recognized by music experts from Apple Music and Amazon Music. This is very pleasant. So I’m very happy that the whole album concept is available now. By the way, the co-author of the title of this concept is Marina Rebecca, our famous opera singer, because she, having learned that they will be two composers representing two worlds – old Europe and new America – offered to give the album the name “Two Worlds”. And I think it’s also interesting that both the work on this album and its release is at a time when we are experiencing “two worlds” – we still remember the “old” that was a year ago, when we were still playing concerts, there were full auditoriums and nothing could endanger our health, and now we live in a “new world” with many restrictions and prohibitions. The two worlds also mean that in the beginning there was a struggle to invent a vaccine, but now there is an even hotter struggle to use this vaccine. In my opinion, the concept of this album is very modern.
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Two worlds are also the ones you live in today – one is a wonderful world of music where no one can forbid you to be, and the other is our daily life with restrictions and prohibitions. How does this “forbidden world” affect your emotional mood?
I will say how it is: sometimes it is quite difficult. I was already used to living, planning my creative life at least a couple of years ahead. Yes, sometimes melancholy comes up, wondering if we, the cultural workers, are needed at all… Maybe we can do without us, maybe we just need to eat and sleep… But – I’m happy that these moments are very, very rare. Because I remember the summer of 2020 well – how happy it was for people to come to concerts after the first emergency. They were important to them. Yes, I am happy that people still have the soul string that is responsible for beauty, aesthetics, emotions – for all that art gives us. It may not be mathematically measurable, but it is, and it gives me both great pleasure and motivation to create more and more new programs.
I have just recorded, and at the end of March – March 27 – there will be a new program with piano music by Latvian and American composers. It was commissioned by the American Latvian Association, which has been hosting live video concerts and conversations with its listeners since March this year. After this concert there will be a conversation with Lien Jakovlev, and we will talk about the music I will play and about life in general. I think it will be interesting – both music and conversation. Of course, quality is very important to a classical music recording, and it is expensive. It’s not the same as a live concert, it’s a “different genre”, but I’m glad and grateful that there is at least such an opportunity – to make music and give your listeners your new discoveries in music. But I am very much looking forward to this summer that live concerts in various formats will also take place, otherwise it is really difficult. It’s hard for me, but I know people who are even harder and more difficult, and they are also young musicians who, due to limitations, do not have the opportunity to develop creatively. Because in general, to become a good musician, you have to work a lot and persistently with teachers, prove yourself in competitions and festivals, but at this time it is not possible. I try very, very hard to help my students at the academy who are just starting their careers, still looking for their musical language. Today they are forced to wonder if anyone will want to listen to them at all… And even if they want to, how can they pass on their talent, their feelings and their vision of music to the listener? This is really a big problem. If these restrictions soon end and it will only be one year, nothing more, but if it is many years – It will, of course, affect the younger generation of musicians, and it will be very unfortunate. I very much hope that the young and talented musicians will not put their profession on the shelf and do nothing else, because we have wonderful musical traditions, and I would very much like them to be able to continue.
*Video for George Gershwin’s composition “The Man I Love” performed by Andrei Osokin in his transcription for one left hand
The recording is directed and produced by Edgardo Vertanesyan, who over the years has collaborated with world-renowned classical and non-academic musicians and bands, including Marina Rebecca, Luciano Pavarotti, Anders Miolin, Taylor Swift, The Who, Rianna, Jay Zie, Kanje We and many others.
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Edgardo Vertanesjans says about the creation of the album: “We have known Andrejs for a long time and are following his career – he is a wonderful pianist, whose talent we wanted to show our listeners with the help of a studio recording. We spent countless hours recording the album so that Andrejs could experiment with different interpretations of the compositions, later choosing the versions that addressed him the most. Nowadays, this opportunity is a luxury, because most artists record a lot of music in a relatively short time. We are very happy that we chose to record the album this way, because the result has been great. “
The album is available in digital format on major music streaming sites https://fanlink.to/twoworlds, including «Spotify», while it can be purchased in CD format in the music store “Upe” and in the online store “Amazon”.
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