Playing into the Classical Continuum
A Musician’s Macrocosm
The whole idea of how it starts is really kind of a mystery. It feels almost like a whisper, a whispering from within—before there is even any awareness of a voice from inside. It comes out like a surprise. One day you find yourself saying something so unexpected, and it’s that hearing of oneself saying: ‘I want to play the piano,’ (or some other instrument), that is almost like a shock sending waves of affirmation through your being. It’s strange and powerful when it happens at a young age before any judgment or awareness of what others may perceive around that realization. And it feels like the beginning of a very long journey, even before the idea of ‘long’ or ‘journey’ is a known thing.
That desire turns into a destiny of sorts, and a transformation occurs—listening takes on a whole new meaning full of observation of the intricacies, the minutiae, the essence and the very point of the inception and creation of sound. Then translating perception into the physical and emotional—like coming full circle into oneself to that very point where it all began.
When sound starts taking on the meaning of a language all its own, that is when the path is secure—communication and emotion take on new dimensions, and the meaning of things becomes art, the most universal of all languages.
It’s actually a very cool thing to witness and experience. We are fortunate to have with us someone who knows that life very well, Andrea Kauten. Let’s see what she has to say about it…
Kathy Geisler: What is your current job in the field of classical music? What are you currently working on?
Andrea Kauten: At the moment I am working on the two Brahms Piano Concertos, as I plan to record them. The first one I previously recorded several years ago for the label SoloMusica.
These monumental, marvelous, intense, and expressive works remind me of a huge cathedral with an enormous space inside.
Besides that I had been working on Chopin and Mussorgsky, in preparation for a recital. Schumann Album für die Jugend is also part of what I’m working on, and not to forget Mozart Piano Concerto No 22, in E-Flat Major, K. 482.
Kathy: What were some of your early lessons or experiences in classical music?
Andrea: Well, my early piano lessons were about playing a lot of Bach. My teacher always said that Bach is very good training for a clear and precise way of playing, and I agree with him. I liked Bach very much, but of course I wanted to play other composers too. So I decided to participate in a competition with the music of Chopin and Haydn. My teacher wasn’t happy about this. He argued that I would be too young and it would be too soon for me. But I insisted and he agreed to help me to prepare for the competition. I can still see myself playing one of the Chopin Nocturnes. The whole event turned out very well, as I was given a diploma (there were no prizes, instead they gave out diplomas). I guess that this is part of my nature — if I really want to do something, I go for it!
Kathy: What is one of your favorite places and why?
Andrea: I don’t have one favorite place. But my most loved places are all outside in nature. During long walks with my dog in the forest I discovered a few special places where I like to go from time to time. These are my secret places where I go to be alone with my dog and my thoughts.
For me, smelling the fresh air, the trees and listening to the whistle of the bird represents freedom. In some way it is similar to the freedom I feel in playing music.
Kathy: What is one of your favorite pieces and do you have a favorite performer or experience of it?
Andrea: My favorite pieces are always the ones I am currently working on. I guess it‘s like a painter. The painting he is working on is the most important one at the moment. But of course sometimes you get your inspiration by listening to the interpretation of another artist. This happened to me with the second piano concerto by Brahms. Years ago I was listening to the second piano concerto, the pianist was Emil Gilels. It was an old recording—and unfortunately I never found it on CD. I was so overwhelmed by his way of playing it that I decided one day I would also study this work. So at the moment the concertos from Brahms are my big paintings I am working on.
Kathy: Is there an artist no longer living who somehow made an impression on you?
Andrea: I admire many. I admire them for their courage to fight and to live for their art. I admire them for how they communicated through music. I admire them for how they were able to express themselves, whether as a composer or performer.
Of course there are special moments you remember all your life: I still remember concerts with Annie Fisher and Claudio Aarau I heard when I was a little girl. These concerts really touched my heart. Both of them had a very noble way of playing but at the same time it was so authentic and emotional.
Kathy: What is one thing you think will be different about classical music 100 years from now?
Andrea: My hope is that classical music won’t change too much. For me, the entire repertoire of music is a treasure to be preserved. At the same time (classical) music is not ancient or something dead. Music happens now, in this moment, and tells its story now. It opens up a whole universe of emotions and it shows all the facets of life.
Kathy: What is something about your work that you think most people have no idea about?
Andrea: I think most people don’t realize how much intense hard work you have to do before playing on stage. But of course when you are performing you don’t want to make the audience hear how hard you worked — you want to show them and share with them the beauty of music — this beauty which makes you forget all the hours of daily training at the instrument or the hours of score studying, the hours spent at the computer and phone to organize concerts, rehearsals—and the many hours spent preparing mentally to perform.
It really comes down to the precious gift of being able to communicate through music, to have the possibility to discover and share this wonderful universe of emotions with your audience—this is a big motivation in the daily work.
To quote Schumann: “The notes in music have a meaning that is far deeper than words.”
Beyond all the busy work, you have to be really impassioned about music. Making music is not a job but a way of life and you have to be dedicated to it.
Kathy: Did you have any life-changing experiences that put you on the path that led you to be doing what you are doing today?
Andrea: No, there wasn’t a specific life-changing experience. But already as a little girl I had the desire to play the piano. I insisted on playing the piano because I liked this big instrument and its sound. I remember attending concerts all the time with my mother. I was so fascinated by the artists performing on stage, sharing their art with us, the audience, communicating with us through music. After a concert I was always queuing up to get an autograph. If it was a good day I would also get the autograph inscribed to me. I guess that these were the moments when the desire to become a musician were awakened..
My parents had wanted me to play the violin, as we had a violin at home. It was the instrument my father played when he was a boy in Hungary, and which my grandmother had later brought to Switzerland.
After my father passed away, my mother gave the instrument to me. It was always my plan to study violin, but I never had enough time to pursue it in earnest.
As it happened, a short time after my father’s passing I performed the Bartok Contrasts. There is a passage where the violinist plays a short section on a second instrument. For this I loaned the violinist my father’s violin. I think the fact that my father’s violin was played in a concert with a Hungarian composer made for a wonderful “in memoriam” concert.
Kathy: Is there anything else you would like to say about yourself, your work, or classical music?
I am very happy to have been able to follow my own rhythm throughout my musical evolution and to have had the chance to realize a lot of beautiful projects. And of course I hope there will be still a lot of them! — a lot of wonderful moments I can share with people and a lot of music I can communicate to the audience.
