RECORDINGS & EVENTS A special eight-page section for readers in the US and Canada talks to... Jon Kimura Parker The Canadian pianist on his virtuoso solo recording, ‘Fantasy’

What’s your definition of a fantasy? It’s a combination of things. The word is used by composers to say ‘I’m not writing a sonata’ – there aren’t those structural expectations. But, especially with Schumann, it’s the idea of the world of imagination and fairy-tales. And then there’s the way Liszt wrote his opera fantasies, where he took several themes from an opera and created a virtuoso display to show off the pianist. I wanted to portray as many different kinds of fantasy on this recording as possible.

Is there a danger that this sort of music can be mistaken for mere technical frippery? I’ve always been embarrassed by music that’s flash for its own sake. The piece on this recording that represents the biggest effort to give it some musical content is the Schubert Wandererfantasie. When I learnt it at 15 I had a brilliant young person’s technique but no understanding of a Ländler or a waltz, or what was stylistically Austrian – it was just fun to play. But, coming back to it now, there’s so much music there. Yes, it happens to be Schubert’s mostly blatantly virtuosic piece but there’s so much music underneath.

Does your technique have to be even more polished in order to find the music within it? As I tell my students, you can easily make musical decisions to accommodate a technical issue but what you want is for your technique to accommodate your musical wishes. That only happens when you’re really comfortable, technically. The years of playing the Schubert as a glorified étude helped me, because it got it out of my system – now I’m able to relax into it and let the music speak.

You’ve included a Wizard of Oz Fantasy… William Hirtz’s original version was for piano duet and it was at my behest that he arranged it for solo piano. He didn’t leave anything out, so it’s insanely difficult – it’s the hardest piece, technically, on the whole recording. But it should sound effortless!

It’s an unusual choice among pieces by Schubert, Mozart, Schumann and an arrangement of Cavalleria rusticana… I’ve always been uncomfortable with the expectation that musicians should be specialists and not acknowledge other types of music. In concert, I’ve been playing jazz encores after Beethoven concertos for years – every once in a while it upsets someone, but that’s me. I’ve started touring with Stewart Copeland from The Police and we’ve been taking music by classical composers and then coming up with something different. I love the opportunity to do that and I think that having a wide variety of interests makes me play Mozart better.

You composed your own cadenza for the Mozart Fantasy in D minor… Back in 1990, I was touring the Mozart Concerto in D minor, K466, with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra and Christopher Hogwood. Hogwood called me a month before the tour and said, ‘I do hope you’ll play your own cadenza’. I panicked and started researching very carefully before writing one. For the Fantasy, though, it just came to me. Of course I want it to be stylistically appropriate but I’m not worried about whether it’s ‘correct’ or not.

It’s been a while since you recorded… I went 25 years without making any recordings at all – I wasn’t comfortable in that high-pressure environment. But recently I played on Orli Shaham’s ‘American Grace’ album and it was so much fun. And now I’ve realised that, if I can record what I want to record, at my own pace and on my own terms, I’m really comfortable recording again.

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Chausson . Ravel Chausson Piano Trio, Op 3 Ravel Piano Trio Trio Solisti Bridge F BRIDGE9440 (57’ • DDD)

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Two French trios – one a classic, the other rarely played. But Ravel’s beloved

Trio in A minor doesn’t eclipse Chausson’s Trio in G minor on this splendid disc by Trio Solisti. If anything, the juxtaposition reveals the unjust neglect of the Chausson, whose thematic allure and rich harmonic colours are merged with exceptional sensitivity to balance.

Chausson was a young composer when he wrote the Trio, which has roots in cyclic structure gleaned from his studies with Franck. While the piece takes some inspiration from his teacher, it also claims a fervent and often wistful personality that points the way to later Chausson creations. The four movements are traditional in form, yet everything is fresh and deeply felt, especially the poignant slow movement.

Trio Solisti bring cohesiveness and unpressured beauty of sound to Chausson’s Trio. The musicians – violinist Maria Bachmann, cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach and pianist Adam Neiman – interact with

GRAMOPHONE MARCH 2015 I