A conversation with Gianandrea Noseda
YH: Now, you are currently on tour with the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, but I understand that you like to work with different youth orchestras from all around the world. I would like to know what the appeal is to work with youth orchestras.
GN: What is crucial for me is to pass on to the new generation what I’ve experienced in 31 or 32 years of activity as a conductor and, previously, as a pianist. I believe it is part of my duty not to keep everything to myself, but to share with others what I know. I had teachers and musicians who did the same to me. They passed on to me what they had learnt. I realised at a certain point in my life, I think around 10 years ago, that it is important to pass my knowledge to the next generation. Of course, I have recordings, and those are musical photographs of what I have done. They will survive forever. But to have a real-life relationship and live meetings helps.
From another perspective, I also learn from the experience. I learn from the younger musicians on how to keep my spirits young and to keep my curiosity alive. As you get older, you risk losing curiosity. But because young musicians are curious, they push me to be curious with them. That’s a fantastic feeling.
YH: That’s beautiful. How can you tell that the young musicians are curious?
GN: They don’t tell you because they probably have fear and respect for a more experienced musician. But you can see it in their eyes and their body language. They are like a blank canvas that tells me, “Write, write something!”
That’s why I try to be responsible when I make music with them. They will remember for all their lives what I tell them... not because what I am saying is crucially important, but because of the relationship we have established. So I have to be very careful. I have to treat everybody in a professional way, but I also have to be very considerate and precise about how I ask things.
YH: That makes sense. Were there any specific requests you had for the National Youth Orchestra of the USA during this tour?
GN: I’ve been working on it little by little to expand the musicians’ capability for concentration whilst creating long states of ecstatic beauty. The young generation can stay concentrated for only short durations. Normally, they can concentrate for a minute or so. The talented ones can stay concentrated for five minutes. Can you imagine playing Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony, which requires 56-57 minutes of concentration? Without telling them verbally, “you have to be more attentive, more concentrated”, little by little, I try to expand the length of concentration through rehearsals. And when I see that they are losing their concentration, I try to find something funny to gain their attention. Honestly, the results we get are pretty remarkable. Now, these musicians can really stay there in the music, which is fantastic.
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Young-Jin Hur, Where Cherries Ripen
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