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No Need to Gild the Lily
Tuesday, 04 October 2005
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Dang Thai Son talks to Aleksander Laskowski.
Chopin's music is something you cannot teach and you cannot really learn. Of course, there is some learning to be done, like Chopin's style, the technical skills, the things you work on at school. But the sophistication of this music comes with your own intuition. It is in your heart. When I compare my interpretations of his music 25 years ago and today, they are so very different. But in a sense I've made a circle, I am back at the starting point.
Dang Thai Son
■ What have you been doing during the 25 years since winning the first prize in the Chopin Competition?
If you compare me with other prize winners, my plans after the Competition were rather unusual. The way which brought me to music, to Chopin and to the Competition, was so different from other people. I had started preparing only three years before the Competition. I lived in Moscow at the time. There was the war in Vietnam, where I had started to study, and the conditions were not professional. I came to Moscow in 1977 and had only three years to become a real pianist. It's an incredibly short time. When I won the prize I decided to go back home and study. Normally, your career takes off thanks to the prize. I just felt I wasn't ready. And I didn't feel ready until 1986. I tried to move abroad but the political situation kept me in Moscow. I wanted to go to Vienna and study with Paul Badura Skoda. But, freedom came very slowly. Only today can I say that I feel I really am on my own two feet.
■ Maturity came after a quarter century?
Normally, a pianist starts to develop as a small child. There were many things I could not do as a child. That is why I am so late.
■ During these 25 years, have you found the answer to the question how to play Chopin's music?
This is a good question. Chopin's music is something you cannot teach and you cannot really learn. Of course, there is some learning to be done, like Chopin's style, the technical skills, the things you work on at school. But the sophistication of this music comes with your own intuition. It is in your heart. When I compare my interpretations of his music 25 years ago and today, they are so very different. But in a sense I've made a circle, I am back at the starting point. In the beginning I played very poetically, I looked for the purity in the music. Then came a period when I tried to be much more dramatic, more black and white, so to speak. Now I need equilibrium again. But it's not only beauty and poetry, there is also a lot of pain. You need life to give you experience.
■ How do you remember your contacts with the Polish audience during the Competition in 1980?
I can't forget how I came to the competition. My case was rather special. My application had almost been rejected. There were no preliminary auditions at the time, even recordings were not required. The jury only looked at what you had written on the application form. Mine was very short: born in Hanoi, Vietnam, 1958 and currently studying at the Moscow Conservatory. No history of artistic activity. That was the truth. I had never played with an orchestra, I had never given a single recital before I actually came to the Competition. So I felt no pressure as nobody knew me. There was nothing to lose. Imagine what you feel while performing publicly for the first time. The kind of freshness, purity, maybe even virginity. Once-in-a-lifetime experience. As a completely unknown pianist I surprised the audience.
■ You have recently performed Chopin's E-minor Concerto on a 19th-century Pleyel piano with Frans Bruggen and the 18th Century Orchestra. Has this experience changed your approach to Chopin's music?
A few pianists had to perform on this piano during the Chopin festival in Warsaw. All were in panic, as far as the technical point of view is concerned. It was almost like playing the violin, as the instrument is completely different from the modern piano. Different touch, technique, sound, you just have to modify everything. I was afraid I couldn't play this piano and I had only three days to get ready. We started to fight. But suddenly I found the right approach to the instrument, and then came the enjoyment. A feeling you could not get from a modern piano, a kind of unusual intimacy. But I'd rather play this piano in a smaller hall than at the Warsaw Philharmonic.
■ Has it given you a deeper insight into Chopin's music?
The dynamic range is more limited. The colors are different. But I believe that if Chopin lived today he would prefer the modern piano. It gives you more possibilities. Although it does not create such intimacy. It has much more power. You use the pedal differently; controlling the articulation seems easier on the old instrument. It has less dynamics, so you have to play with the timing. You are more limited on the historic piano, but that is what makes playing it really interesting.
■ It is your first time as a member of the jury of the Chopin Competition. Do you have any experience in assessing young pianists?
I've been a jury member in many competitions. The first time was in 1991 in Japan. Then came the Rachmaninoff Competition in Russia, Clara Haskil Competition in Switzerland, Monte Carlo Piano Master, Cleveland Competition and a few months ago Richter Competition in Moscow. But, I still enjoy playing more. Listening to young talents is lovely but not everything comes smoothly at a competition so you always feel pain.
■ Why did you choose to perform the Mendelssohn G-minor Concerto for the opening night of the Chopin Competition?
It is a great honor to be invited not only as a member of the jury but also to play at the opening gala. The organizers agreed it would not have to be Chopin as we would have to listen to his music quite often during this Competition. Of course, you could play Chopin's music. But then, it would have to be a congenial performance, like Artur Rubinstein's. Of course, you shouldn't choose something very different from Chopin, like Bartok or Prokofiev. I wanted something from the same musical family. And Mendelssohn was an artistic "brother" to Chopin.
■ You mentioned Artur Rubinstein. Who do you look up to? Who, in your opinion, played Chopin best?
All my idols are no longer alive. My playing was very much influenced by Artur Rubinstein. When I studied in Moscow I was very fond of Horowitz. But today I find his style a bit exaggerated. Michelangeli interested me for quite a while. But I am more and more fascinated by Rubinstein. His musical poetry and the natural simplicity he found in the music. Real beauty needs no makeup. Horowitz added the makeup to the beauty. Rubinstein was natural. Each note was like a pure pearl.
■ Do you recall anything special from the Chopin Competition in 1980?
Usually, people are very happy when they get to the final stage. And I was very concerned. Only at that stage did I realize that I did not have the proper clothes for the performance with the orchestra. Instead of concentrating on music I had to look for a tailcoat.
This interview appears courtesy of The Warsaw Voice.
You will find more articles in connection with the 15th International F. Chopin Piano Competition in a competition Gazette at www.konkurs.chopin.pl and www.chopin.warsawvoice.pl
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