Clavier Companion - January/February 2012 - 16

Your sense of style and elegance often draws comment. How does this fit into your artistry? I’m happy that they like what I am wearing! To me, this is an important part of the playing. I’ve been attracted to fashion since I was a kid—I liked interesting and unusual clothes. Over twentyfive years ago, I started wearing different kinds of clothes onstage. It was rare in those days. I was criticized at the beginning. But lots of younger colleagues are doing it now. Classical music needs a little help to make it more modern and appealing to young people. It shouldn’t feel like music from another age! Dressing like an eighteenth-century gentleman does not help. Current, fashionable clothing makes an audience feel closer to you. More young people are coming to concerts, but we have to keep building—it’s a lot of work. I know you give frequent master classes. It’s always easy to be a master class teacher. It’s like being a guest conductor. Everyone thinks you’re the greatest, you make a big splash and then go home. But one always has to remember that someone else is doing the hard daily work. In the short time I am given, I try to plant seeds. I remember my own experience—some classes I have remembered for the rest of my life. That’s what I hope to do for students who play for me. I guide, suggest, give direction, and share the love I have for the instrument. Sometimes I can help with technical things. I often see and hear a difference—that’s fantastic! It makes me feel that it was worth doing, that I made a difference and didn’t waste their time. It’s an enormous reward. Just for that, teaching is very special. Renée Fleming said you have a knack of always getting the best hotel rooms. What’s your secret? [Laughs] Experience. And organization. I keep files on what I really like—menus, notes for favorite clubs, great shops. I’m interested and I enjoy unique things. Including nice hotel rooms! When I come back to a favorite hotel, I ask for the special room. I also make a point to have good relations with hoteliers. They are wonderful people who have become friends. They let their colleagues around the world know and I get good treatment.
All photos courtesy of Decca.Cover photo © Decca/Kasskara.

The Internet has changed everything, of course. You can find things with ease that used to be inaccessible. In special cases, I play detective—I try to go to the source. I went to the Satie Foundation and visited the lady in charge there. She gave a lot of fantastic ideas and shared scores. No one had ever asked her before. The repertoire I choose mostly comes from my heart. They are works that excite me, they give joy, they are what I like. In the early stages of a career, you should play what your teacher says, even if you don’t totally enjoy it. It builds your basic knowledge. Later, you have to bring something special to each piece, something that you love about it. What projects are you tackling next? There are many, but I don’t know which one will go first. They are making far fewer recordings than we used to do. So each has to be even more unique. There is no room for just another CD! My last big one was all Gershwin. I played the jazz band arrangements of Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F and the I’ve Got Rhythm Variations with the Baltimore Symphony. I was very happy with it. Nothing is definite, but my dream is to record the Khachaturian Piano Concerto. It must happen. It’s a remarkable piece. Kapell was the last big pianist to play it, and it’s due for a new recording. This year, of course, I have a big Liszt project for his bicentennial. Liszt pieces were favorites since I was a kid. I’m playing a solo recital, doing the Liszt songs with Angelika Kirchschlager, and the concerti. What’s your practice routine? I warm up every morning, just like an athlete. Even the greatest sportsmen have to do this! The muscles are alive—you cannot just torture them. I do 10-15 minutes of Hanon by memory, scales in thirds, sixths, tenths and octaves, and arpeggios and octave exercises. One full scale takes ten minutes—I start slowly, and then get faster. It’s fun, really. The rest of my routine varies with the work I have to do. It depends on what is coming up—some days I practice enormously (6-7 hours rarely), others less. It depends on what I feel like. What is important is concentration. Two hours is better than ten hours thinking of something else. Take breaks—not every five minutes, but maybe once an hour. Be into what you are doing. Otherwise, forget it!
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CLAVIER COMPANION

Scott McBride Smith is the Cordelia Brown Murphy Professor at the University of Kansas. A recognized leader in music education, his philosophical and cognitive approach, combined with a sense of humor, has made him an audience favorite around the world. His numerous practical initiatives to improve today’s piano lesson experience include the series American Popular Piano and the summer program International Institute for Young Musicians.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

Clavier Companion - January/February 2012

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