Chapter Two - My Love Affair with Franz...
Liszt!
Thanks to the Colburn School, our music theory class received complimentary tickets to hear Andre Watts solo at the Dorothy Chandler with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 10th grade. We were in the second row. This performance changed my life, and Maestro Watts became my idol pianist that day.
If you have ever seen him perform, you know he sings along, makes faces, yells at himself and even spits as he emotionally engages. His interpretations are energetic, thrilling and in every way, he is living the piece. Not for show, it is his complete immersion in the music. And if you were in the audience and not spellbound, you do not have a soul.
This particular afternoon, he was playing “Totentanz” (Dance of the Dead).
Liszt had an obsession with death and based the piece on the Gregorian chant, “Dies Irae” (Day of Judgment). He was also inspired by a Franceso Traini fresco, “Triumph of Death” which juxtaposes the fates of those in Heaven and Hell.
The composer attended the premiere of Hector Berlioz’s “Symphony Fantastique” which boldly features the “Dies Irae” theme in its final movement. An artist poisons himself with opium and hallucinates his way into the spiral of death.
Liszt wrote dark, medieval sounding passages, but also composed modern, percussive piano and orchestral parts. Successive repeated notes on the keyboard create footsteps of impending doom. Col legno (striking the strings with the wood of the bow) in the violins emulate the sound effect of jangling bones from dancing skeletons.
A well-constructed rhapsody of six variations on “Dies Irae”, each segment does not necessarily build on the previous, but rather introduces a new character into the piece one by one... A gentleman, a rebellious kid, a skeptic, a monk, a military officer, a maiden, and a carefree child.
The composition has crazy glissandi where you slide the back of your fingers across the keys, merciless runs, and a dynamic piano sound that completely enraptured me. Liszt had, in fact, written this work to showcase his own performance superiority, and I had to learn to play it.
But there were more important lessons to learn that night.
When finishing a concerto, many pianists bow to the audience first and then proceed to turn and shake hands with the conductor and concertmaster. Andre Watts thanked the conductor and orchestra first.
The maestro was gracious enough to greet us backstage, and when we complimented him on his performance, he said, “Thank you, but it takes many musicians to make this happen.” As much of a star as he was, he was gracious, humble, and appreciative of his colleagues.
From that day on, whenever I was lucky enough to perform with an orchestra, I made sure to thank them first as I was only one in a collaboration. It is with this piece that I realized how much I loved playing along-side other musicians over soloing.
In music and in composition it is important to find pieces and artists who inspire you. Find music and role models you are passionate about... who make you feel and make you better... who change the trajectory of your career.
The day after the concert, I made my mom buy the Andre Watts recording on vinyl (which you had to flip over in the middle to listen to the second half). I got the sheet music and started thudding through the opening. When I took the score into my lesson, all Heewon said was, “Oh boy!” (Not sure if this was excitement or exasperation, but I’ll take it either way.)
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