Clavier Companion - January/February 2012 - 14

“ ”
I was lucky, because in the beginning, you need one really good, solid teacher. The foundation must be carefully assembled—it’s hard work and needs to go step-by-step.
I heard an appealing recording Gianoli made of the Bach French Suite in D minor, recorded in 1951, I think. The tone was very beautiful and she made some interesting choices on repeats. This is not music one usually associates with French pianists, especially in the 1950s. Yes. Although her early studies were with Alfred Cortot and Yves Nat, she later studied with Edwin Fischer. With me, she focused mainly on the German school. I discovered a different way to understand Bach, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. She made some beautiful recordings, all of German composers. It’s a shame most are out-of-print—she was really good. And then you worked with Aldo Ciccolini. He is a tremendous pianist, person, and teacher—just an amazing human being! He comes from Naples, but his pianistic heritage is from the Argentinian school, with Vincente Scaramuzzo (the teacher of Daniel Barenboim’s father, Enrique), Martha Argerich, and Bruno Leonardo Gelber, among others. All of them are technically phenomenal. Ciccolini traveled a lot—he would disappear for a couple of months. During those times, he would send me to other teachers. So I studied with every major piano teacher at the Paris Conservatory when I was there. Ciccolini never saw it as a threat. He gave students many opportunities. I was lucky, because in the beginning, you need one really good, solid teacher. The foundation must be carefully assembled—it’s hard work and needs to go step-by-step. But once you can put your hands on the piano, you need to gather more information. I had enormous respect for Mme. Descaves and went to see and play for her to the end of her life. She always had something interesting to say. My playing for other teachers is not saying anything bad about her. But I believe that a growing young artist needs a lot of different influences; you shouldn’t stay with only one teacher. It is important to have many viewpoints—you need to have that, it opens your mind. At the Paris Conservatory we had lots of masterclasses, with other musicians than just pianists. I loved those! Faculty violinists taught us and played chamber music with us. In those days it was amazing, just amazing. You perform a remarkably wide range of repertoire. Besides the traditional piano repertoire, you’ve made recordings of jazz works and movie soundtracks. You collaborate with singers and a wide range of string players. How do you select new projects? My father insisted that I have a well-rounded general education, in addition to my music studies. So I have a lot of interests besides just piano. I’m a good sight-reader, so I play through things quite quickly and well. I do listen to CDs and get ideas for programming there. And I have some key friends around the world who tell me about new works—they send scores and CDs. There are a few people who know everything about the musty corners of the piano repertoire. I’m quite lucky that they share their knowledge with me!
© James Cheadle

CLAVIER COMPANION

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

Clavier Companion - January/February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clavier Companion - January/February 2012