pianist Vanessa Wagner on Philip Glass’ Etudes

How do you strategy decoding Glass’s Études, and what private perspective do you carry to the music?

I come to Glass’s music with the expertise of three a long time spent throughout the complete spectrum of the classical repertoire—from romantic to impressionist to up to date. In his works, I carry not solely my very own story but additionally the musical legacy I’ve carried with me.

For me, Glass can’t be decreased to the long-standing labels of “minimalist” or “repetitive.” His music is tender, lyrical, emotional, and on the similar time radical. He himself calls it “additive,” and I believe that captures its essence fantastically.

You’ve described these Études as companions that evolve with you. How does that evolution affect the best way you play them in the present day?

Music has a magical high quality: a bit can evolve with you over time, revealing itself otherwise every time, remodeled—or rediscovered—by way of a recent interpretation.

That is very true of Glass’s works, which unfold numerous visions and atmospheres. The deeper I dive into these Études, the extra their world opens as much as me, and the extra I can provide the listener a journey of discovery. 

Among the Études have been initially sketches for dance. Does figuring out their origins have an effect on the way you play them?

Glass’s music has at all times been carefully intertwined with the world of dance. He collaborated with choreographers from early on, and for greater than three a long time his works have been embraced by dancers maybe much more than by musicians. Constructed round motion, pulse, and repetition—just like the beating of a coronary heart—his music carries an inherently visible and bodily dimension.

Whereas this connection doesn’t consciously form my interpretation, I inevitably really feel the movement, the trance-like power, and a stream of photos that come up as I play.

Do you end up eager about the Glass’ intentions, or do you focus totally by yourself interpretation when taking part in?

Glass affords performers exceptional freedom. When making ready this recording, I selected to not hearken to every other variations—not even his personal—in order that I might observe my very own intentions, instructions, and tempi. What strikes me is how radically totally different interpretations might be from each other; at occasions, it feels as in case you are listening to a wholly totally different work, a unique world.

Some Études really feel intimate, virtually like a private meditation, whereas others are extra expansive and dramatic. How do you navigate these contrasts in your interpretation?

It’s exactly these variations that give the music the sensation of crossing an ocean, of embarking on a journey. There’s a multitude of atmospheres, regardless of its seemingly repetitive floor. One should navigate the extremes: profound calm, restraint, even stillness, after which trembling, quivering, tumult, and eventually explosion.

It’s important to not be overwhelmed—neither by the meditative passages, the place one can get misplaced, nor by the tempestuous ones, the place one can lose management.

The cycle spans a large emotional and technical vary. Had been there moments when a selected étude challenged you in surprising methods?

I see the true problem as discovering the best steadiness—sustaining management whereas permitting oneself to give up. For example, the ending of Étude 5 is naked and minimal, but carries immense emotional weight, main instantly into the explosive Étude 6, which should be completely contained.

The distinction continues with the hypnotic calm of Étude 12, adopted by the playful tremors of Étude 13. Even past method, the repeated actions can take a look at the physique, and performing the complete 2 hours and 20 minutes is a demanding journey, each bodily and mentally.

How do you discover that steadiness between construction and freedom within the Études?

The time period “additive,” as Glass makes use of it, calls for a cautious sense of construction. Each factor should accumulate patiently and progressively—by no means an excessive amount of, by no means too little. It’s music of steadiness: performed too romantically or rubato, it loses its energy; performed too dryly or mechanically, it dangers turning into monotonous, even monochrome. The secret’s to search out the exact measure of expressivity.

Are there moments in efficiency when an étude takes on a unique character or reveals one thing surprising in comparison with recording it within the studio?

Each live performance reveals one thing new to me. Every Étude is a world in itself, main naturally into the following. Every bit feeds off the one earlier than it, and I really feel this connection much more strongly when performing dwell. For instance, Étude 20—probably the most stunning of all of them—follows Étude 19, which is much less placing however prepares the listener for the subliminal impression of the ultimate research.

What’s the most beneficial factor that you’ve got discovered about Glass’ Études throughout this course of that you simply’d wish to share?

Glass’s music requires the sensitivity of Schubert—performed with tenderness, a contact of humor, deep reflection, dramatic depth, and a way of melancholy.