In the vein of my last post What is a musician supposed to look like?, I’ll tell you here an other story, but this time the story didn’t take place in a neutral environment but in a dressing room after a recital of mine, a long time ago (actually, at the very beginning of my career). I remember until today this old man who came to tell me how much he loved my playing, but he pursued with a very very strange question : “Are you going to move more when playing? You should show your passion by moving much more than you do, you know, like these pianists I see on TV.” This question might seem insignificant but it’s definitely not. The old man’s observation has often been sounding in my ears while thinking about my playing, and made me think a lot about my “style” as a pianist and what was really important while performing. It was a kind of butterfly effect: an insignificant question led to a complete theory about the kind of pianist I want to be.

Earlier this week, I was sitting on the terrace of a café, slowly drinking a cup of the black coffee I needed and enjoying the sun. The older man at the table next to me was alone too and started to chat with me. After a few minutes, he asked me what is my job. I thus answered I am a pianist and he instantly expressed his surprise saying, I quote, “I thought you work in a bank or insurance company, something like that. You don’t look like a pianist at all“. I didn’t take offense, even if I admit I hated him for a few seconds and thought that a guy working in one of these fields would certainly not be sitting on a terrace in the middle of a weekday afternoon. Anyway, it was not the first time someone told me this and I started a great thinking session about what is a musician supposed to look like and who I am.

The classical musical world is nowadays obsessed with a new goal : Reaching new audiences. Everyone is giving his take on the subject, from playing in uncommon venues to playing with an unexpected outfit or a new concept of concerts as well as crossover concerts to reach a new audience. Well, my first question is : what’s wrong with the current audience?

This week, a post a little more personal. I would like to comment Greg Sandow’s post entitled Needing Rebirth, which sparked a controversy in the american blogosphere. At first I paid no attention to it, then after rereading it, I started to think deeply about it.

To sum up, Sandow talks about two concerts he heard in Washington: Janine Jansen playing the Sibelius concerto with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and one of the ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra). Both took place at the Kennedy Center.

At the start of this year, I tried to think about the directions my writings could take for 2010. It is thus self-evident that this blog will still be about piano and music, but I would like to give a new impetus and provide more didactic content. Let’s see what will 2010 be like.

For a long time, I devoured records. All of them, even the bad ones. They allowed me to discover the repertoire as well as fascinating performers. They were part of my musical education and partly trained my ear. They had an influence on my music personality, it’s certain. But which one? Did they helped me or, on the contrary, did they hinder me?

After a long debate with a student about musical analysis, I needed to write few lines on the topic. Why is musical analysis so helpful for musicians? Why do we often deny its necessity? Musical analysis: a musical strategy, I said, because it allows me to draw up a plan for each piece, each concert.

In the first part of Is it necessary to give Classical Music a facelift?, we talked about dress at concerts. Today, I would like to share with you my thoughts on concert programming. A good programming is indeed essential. However, isn’t it tiring to hear the same works every year, everywhere in the world? “It’s the law of the market!”, organizers and agents say, “you must play what the audience wants to listen to”. But if we do not introduce anything new to the audience, they won’t ever want anything else. And, as the audience cannot know all the repertoire, one always finds the same works in most programs.

Today, in order to attract young audiences all efforts are oriented in the same direction: to show you that classical music is not boring nor rigid, and that you, too, are likely to appreciate it. Shortened concerts, lunchtime concerts, concert programs with two doses of film music for one of classical, standardization of programs so the audience does not feel “lost”, and so on.
Well, I’m telling you, this is all wrong: classical music is not cool.

I have always encouraged everyone to be themselves and never give up on what their heart is set on. However, I am the last person to follow my own advice. There are always good reasons to put off doing something I have planned for a long time.