Christian Baldini: What are some of the features of this concerto (Ginastera's Piano Concerto No. 1) that you find particularly interesting or attractive?
Eric Zivian: The piece has a propulsive energy that is very exciting! But some of my favorite passages are the contemplative ones like the beginning of the variation movement and the piano solo in the slow movement.
CB: Many people have pointed out an affinity or similarity between Ginastera and other composers, such as Bartok, or even Ligeti. How would you compare Ginastera to other composers?
EZ: The Scherzo movement has something in common with Bartok’s “night music”. In this piece Ginastera writes in a very modernist harmonic language, with tone clusters and other dissonances. But to my ear, the piece is quite Romantic in its expression.
CB: The last movement of the Concerto (Toccata concertata) is almost like a corrupted malambo, a staple Ginastera sound, but perhaps one could argue that it morphes into something else. How do you see this movement?
EZ: The movement has great rhythmic variety and a very infectious melody. The malambo (a gaucho dance) accompanied Ginastera since his early ballets, like Panambí or Estancia. This is about two decades later, and he's still using this same dance but presenting it under a different language. So I find it remarkable that in the Piano Concerto he is pushing the limits of what a malambo can be.... with lots of affectations and abstraction. I love it!
CB: How were your beginnings with music? What inspired you to become a professional musician?
EZ: I loved music from an early age, starting piano when I was 4 and composition when I was 6. With a few exceptions, it has been difficult for me to imagine doing anything else with my life.
CB: You are also a marvelous composer, and I had the pleasure of conducting your music (the world premiere of your Harpsichord Concerto). Tell me, how do you see this symbiotic relationship flourish between your two worlds, that of the performer and that of the composer?
EZ: As a composer, I like knowing how it feels to perform, because it helps me with the theatrical element in music. And as a performer, I feel that I am able to get closer to the mindset of composers, because I can at least begin to imagine how they felt while they were writing.
CB: What is the role of a composer nowadays? (this is a very big question, so please elaborate as much or as little as you'd like)
EZ: It varies a lot, depending on the individual composer. Some composers are very interested in contributing in some way to society, others more in communicating their ideas and feelings. As long as a composer is able to connect with an audience, however large or small, it seems to me that he or she is doing a good job.
CB: Are there any other piano concertos that you would love to play after this one? Which ones?
EZ: The Ligeti piano concerto seems like a great piece, and I would be interested in learning that if I have time and opportunity. In a more traditional vein, I’ve never played the Brahms concerti with orchestra, and that would be great fun. These days I do a lot of my playing on fortepiano (historical piano). In that capacity, I will be playing Mozart's C minor concerto with the Portland Baroque Orchestra next spring, and hope to play many Mozart and Beethoven concerti on fortepiano in the coming years.
CB: Do you find comfort in art? What is the role of art in society nowadays?
EZ: I do find comfort in practicing and performing music. It makes my body and mind feel at one with each other, in a way that nothing else can. Just as with composition, I don’t think there is any specific role of art in society. It depends on the artist, and not insignificantly to the audience or public as well. Art can and does enrich people’s lives in many different ways, and for that we can all be grateful.
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| Eric Zivian |
Eric
Zivian is a fortepianist, modern pianist and composer. He has performed with
the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Portland Baroque Orchestra, the Santa
Rosa Symphony and the Toronto Symphony, among others. He will be performing Mozart’s
C minor Concerto with Portland Baroque Orchestra in April 2019. He is a founder
and Music Director of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, a festival in
Sonoma specializing in Classical and Romantic music on period instruments.
Eric
is a member of the Zivian-Tomkins Duo, the Benvenue Fortepiano Trio, and the
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. As a composer, he was awarded an ASCAP Jacob
Druckman Memorial Commission to compose an orchestral work, Three Character
Pieces, which was premiered by the Seattle Symphony in March 1998.
Eric
studied piano with Gary Graffman and Peter Serkin and composition with Ned
Rorem, Jacob Druckman, and Martin Bresnick. He attended the Tanglewood Music
Center both as a performer and as a composer.
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| Christian Baldini (Photo: Justin Han © UC Regents) |
Christian Baldini came to international attention when he conducted in Salzburg as a finalist for the Nestlé/Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award. He served as assistant conductor with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony. He has conducted opera for English National Opera, Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Aldeburgh Festival, and as Music Director of the Mondavi Center Rising Stars of Opera (San Francisco Opera). He has guest conducted the Munich Radio Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, National Symphony (of Argentina & Portugal), Orquesta de Cámara de Chile, Noord Nederlands Orkest. His Mozart CD recording (Linn Records) conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with soprano Elizabeth Watts received 5-star reviews and was chosen as Recording of the Month by the BBC Music Magazine. Baldini’s compositions have been performed by the Memphis Symphony, Orchestre National de Lorraine, Southbank Sinfonia, New York New Music Ensemble, and are published by Babel Scores in Paris. Since 2009 he has been the Music Director of the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (and the Barbara K. Jackson Professor of Orchestral Conducting), and since 2012 he has been the Music Director of the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento, California's capital city.
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