Music Notes
GERMAN CELLIST HITS ARTISTS' OBSESSION WITH PERFECTION
By by Pablo A. Tariman
Thu 19th May 2011
Prizewinning German cellist Alban Gerhardt told Strad Magazine that todays performers are sacrificing original instinctive expression on the altar of perfection.
Alban Gerhard as he appears on the latest issue of Strad Magazine, the bible of string players.
Described by the Washington Post as a remarkable musician and thinker and absolutely at home in the most strenuous modern scores, Gerhardt said musicians often get obsessed with not making mistakes and in the process the whole performance sometimes ends up being too mechanical.
It is the personal touch that I find missing today for all the excellence on the show, he told Carlos Maria Solare of Strad, the Bible of string players. He pays homage to cello icon Pablo Casals whose personal sound he appreciates more than the perfect sound of Yo-Yo Ma, another institution in the cello world.
Gehardt -- who is launching his latest CD called Casals Encores with pianist Cecile Licad under Hyperion label-- noted that he could not distinguish Yo-Yo Ma from other cellists by simply listening to him. "Ive never recognized recognized Yo-Yo Ma on radio. I always thought that it must be somebody fresh from college, very well trained but without much character as yet.
Moreover, the German cellist said that while Casals had excellent, original sound, his (Casals) recordings sometimes suffer from wrong choice of pianists. Casals put up with certain pianists who just plodded along and didnt even play all the notes.
He told Strad that the first thing he does when planning a recording is to choose pianists of the first rank. He picked up the courage to ask Cecile Licad and could hardly believe when she agreed. The calibre of her playing lifts the piano parts to an unprecedented level of quality, he added.
German cellist Alban Gerhardt making music with Cecile Licad:The calibre of her playing lifts the piano parts to an unprecedented level of quality.
Gerhardt who was last heard in the Philippines in 2009 with Licad said his musical partnership with Licad has been an incredible journey for him from being a stubborn, rather small-minded typical German musician to being much more open, spontaneous and flexible especially in the approach to Brahms or Beethoven.
Said he: Cecile (Licad) has taught me how to look beyond what is right or wrong, purely by her playing, not by trying to convince me eloquently.
In one recital at the Hrther Schlosskonzerte near Cologne, a German critic gushed at the Gerhardt-Licad performance of Beethovens A Major Sonata thus: "For the third time in a row the thirty year old cellist fascinated again with his superior performance and his extraordinary temperament. He and his Filipina pianist (Licad) proved to be a very homogenous duo. He was playing everything by heart while Licad gave us an extra performance to her virtuoso piano playing with her facial expressions and body language, which made even pure watching a pleasure. The Beethoven sonata is the absolute climax of this intense music experience. Every movement itself a treasure, everything was not only perfectly executed, but with fire and very closely shaped.
Gerhardt's cello playing has been described by the New York Times as bold, technically resourceful and rhythmically incisive.
What to him constitute musical rapport from the point of view of a performer?
Gerhardt pointed out: For me a good musical rapport between two musicians means that both speak the language of music, both understand music on a very deep level and they can play together without having to talk about it too much. They understand each other without the benefit of the spoken words. Of course, they do rehearse, but in the performance, they might do things quite differently, to what they have done in rehearsal. In other words, they allow themselves to being completely spontaneous without having to give obvious signs to each other but by just simply listening to what the other is doing and reacting to each other.
Gerhardt debuted with Berlin Philharmonic as soloist in Rococo Variations under Semyon Bychkov.
In one performance of the same Tchaikovsky piece with the London Philharmonic, a critic from The Independent concluded: Gerhard is a highly refined soloist, who has all the skills of a virtuoso. The audience was able to enjoy a gripping performance of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, and they shared appreciation with the members of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra who applauded their young soloist enthusiastically.
What does he try to achieve in any performance?
Gerhardt said that among other things he always tries to create the piece in front of an audience. Even if the piece is familiar, I try very hard to make it sound new and exciting as though it is the first time I have ever played it.At the same time; I try to be as truthful as possible to my own feelings as well as to the music. I absolutely hate any kind of tricks in music -- actually in anything in life. I like to see things as real as possible and I want honesty everywhere as well as in any performance.
Gerhardt exhorted Filipinos to support music in the country as well as listen to concerts. I think everyone should inspire the youngsters to learn an instrument. A society in which the young people are all playing video- and computer-games and only listen to the brain-cell-killing music being played at clubs is a society in grave danger.
GERMAN CELLIST HITS ARTISTS' OBSESSION WITH PERFECTION
Thu 19th May 2011
Prizewinning German cellist Alban Gerhardt told Strad Magazine that todays performers are sacrificing original instinctive expression on the altar of perfection.
Alban Gerhard as he appears on the latest issue of Strad Magazine, the bible of string players.
Described by the Washington Post as a remarkable musician and thinker and absolutely at home in the most strenuous modern scores, Gerhardt said musicians often get obsessed with not making mistakes and in the process the whole performance sometimes ends up being too mechanical.
It is the personal touch that I find missing today for all the excellence on the show, he told Carlos Maria Solare of Strad, the Bible of string players. He pays homage to cello icon Pablo Casals whose personal sound he appreciates more than the perfect sound of Yo-Yo Ma, another institution in the cello world.
Gehardt -- who is launching his latest CD called Casals Encores with pianist Cecile Licad under Hyperion label-- noted that he could not distinguish Yo-Yo Ma from other cellists by simply listening to him. "Ive never recognized recognized Yo-Yo Ma on radio. I always thought that it must be somebody fresh from college, very well trained but without much character as yet.
Moreover, the German cellist said that while Casals had excellent, original sound, his (Casals) recordings sometimes suffer from wrong choice of pianists. Casals put up with certain pianists who just plodded along and didnt even play all the notes.
He told Strad that the first thing he does when planning a recording is to choose pianists of the first rank. He picked up the courage to ask Cecile Licad and could hardly believe when she agreed. The calibre of her playing lifts the piano parts to an unprecedented level of quality, he added.
German cellist Alban Gerhardt making music with Cecile Licad:The calibre of her playing lifts the piano parts to an unprecedented level of quality.
Gerhardt who was last heard in the Philippines in 2009 with Licad said his musical partnership with Licad has been an incredible journey for him from being a stubborn, rather small-minded typical German musician to being much more open, spontaneous and flexible especially in the approach to Brahms or Beethoven.
Said he: Cecile (Licad) has taught me how to look beyond what is right or wrong, purely by her playing, not by trying to convince me eloquently.
In one recital at the Hrther Schlosskonzerte near Cologne, a German critic gushed at the Gerhardt-Licad performance of Beethovens A Major Sonata thus: "For the third time in a row the thirty year old cellist fascinated again with his superior performance and his extraordinary temperament. He and his Filipina pianist (Licad) proved to be a very homogenous duo. He was playing everything by heart while Licad gave us an extra performance to her virtuoso piano playing with her facial expressions and body language, which made even pure watching a pleasure. The Beethoven sonata is the absolute climax of this intense music experience. Every movement itself a treasure, everything was not only perfectly executed, but with fire and very closely shaped.
Gerhardt's cello playing has been described by the New York Times as bold, technically resourceful and rhythmically incisive.
What to him constitute musical rapport from the point of view of a performer?
Gerhardt pointed out: For me a good musical rapport between two musicians means that both speak the language of music, both understand music on a very deep level and they can play together without having to talk about it too much. They understand each other without the benefit of the spoken words. Of course, they do rehearse, but in the performance, they might do things quite differently, to what they have done in rehearsal. In other words, they allow themselves to being completely spontaneous without having to give obvious signs to each other but by just simply listening to what the other is doing and reacting to each other.
Gerhardt debuted with Berlin Philharmonic as soloist in Rococo Variations under Semyon Bychkov.
In one performance of the same Tchaikovsky piece with the London Philharmonic, a critic from The Independent concluded: Gerhard is a highly refined soloist, who has all the skills of a virtuoso. The audience was able to enjoy a gripping performance of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, and they shared appreciation with the members of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra who applauded their young soloist enthusiastically.
What does he try to achieve in any performance?
Gerhardt said that among other things he always tries to create the piece in front of an audience. Even if the piece is familiar, I try very hard to make it sound new and exciting as though it is the first time I have ever played it.At the same time; I try to be as truthful as possible to my own feelings as well as to the music. I absolutely hate any kind of tricks in music -- actually in anything in life. I like to see things as real as possible and I want honesty everywhere as well as in any performance.
Gerhardt exhorted Filipinos to support music in the country as well as listen to concerts. I think everyone should inspire the youngsters to learn an instrument. A society in which the young people are all playing video- and computer-games and only listen to the brain-cell-killing music being played at clubs is a society in grave danger.