Elisa Jeon in Conversation with Christian Baldini

This Saturday, March 29, I will have the pleasure of collaborating with violinist Elisa Jeon as our soloist in Sacramento for Ernest Chausson's Poème, with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra. I had the chance to ask Elisa some questions, and here are her answers:

Christian Baldini: Elisa, welcome! I look forward to performing this beautiful work with you, and I can't wait to share your talents with our audiences. Tell me, if you could describe Poème in one sentence, what would that be? And how do you personally interpret the overall character and emotional arc of this piece? Do you envision a particular narrative or imagery while performing this work?

Elisa Jeon: Thank you for having me! If I were to describe Poème in one sentence, I’d say it evokes a sense of unease and anguish, yet also feels lovestruck and dreamy, capturing the emotional intensity and complexity of a love story. Since Poème is inspired by Ivan Turgenev’s novella Le chant de l’amour triomphant, certain sections of the music bring to life the imagery and emotions of the narrative. As I perform, I’ll draw from these elements to convey the emotional journey of the love story through the music.

CB: What makes Poème so emotionally powerful? Is it the harmony, the phrasing, or something deeper?

EJ: Poème is so emotionally powerful because Chausson creates a unique sound world that’s both rich and intimate. The lush harmonies and the way he builds tension make the music feel like it’s constantly searching for something, which gives it a deeply emotional pull. The connection to violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, for whom the piece was written, is also key. Ysaÿe’s virtuosity really influenced how Chausson wrote for the violin, allowing for a personal, expressive interaction between the violin and the orchestra. That partnership helped shape a piece that feels both personal and universally moving.

CB: What is your approach to rubato in general, and in particular in the opening section of this piece? How do you shape the long phrases, and where do you prefer natural breathing points or slight hesitations?

EJ: My approach to rubato is about trying to imitate human emotion and, in some ways, speech. Just as our phrasing in conversation shifts depending on what we want to express, I bring that same flexibility to the music. In the opening of Poème, for example, I pay close attention to the emotional arc of each phrase. If I’m conveying longing, I might stretch a note or pause to let that emotion linger. Similarly, if the emotion is more urgent or intense, I’ll push forward slightly. It’s all about finding where those breathing points and hesitations feel natural, though it can take a bit of trial and error to discover the right moments and balance. It’s a constant process of listening and adjusting, and when it clicks, the music feels more alive and convincing.

CB: Who is your favorite violinist interpretation of Poème, and why?

EJ: Janine Jansen’s interpretation of Poème is my favorite, although there are many other wonderful performances to appreciate. This piece offers plenty of room for freedom, especially in the first two cadenzas, which gives each soloist a chance to make it their own. However, Jansen takes it to another level. I find her playing to be incredibly human, there’s a depth and sincerity in her phrasing that makes the already emotional piece even more profound. Every note she plays feels so intentional, and it’s almost as if she gives words to the music. There’s a daring quality to her performance, a kind of visceral emotion, and even a bit of attitude in how she approaches certain moments. That unique combination of intensity and boldness makes her interpretation stand out in such a compelling way. 

CB: What is the meaning of music to you personally, in your life? How did it all start for you?

EJ: For me, music is about connection, it's a way to share something deeply personal and express emotions that words can’t quite reach. It’s also about creating beauty, whether on my own or with others. My journey started with piano, and then I picked up both piano and violin. But I ultimately chose the violin because I loved playing in orchestras and being part of that community. That’s what really kept me drawn to it.

CB: What's the best advice you've ever received from a mentor or teacher?

EJ: The best advice I’ve ever received is to have fun with the music! I used to get so caught up in hitting every note perfectly that I’d forget the most important thing… It's about making music, not just playing the right notes (although that’s important too). Once I started focusing more on the feeling and expression, everything opened up and became so much more rewarding and enjoyable.

CB: Thank you very much Elisa, we look forward to making music with you!

EJ: Thank you! I’m really looking forward to making music together and sharing this experience with all of you.

Elisa Jeon is an accomplished violinist currently pursuing her studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. A dedicated performer, Elisa has earned recognition for her artistry through performances with prestigious ensembles, including the New World Symphony as a substitute violinist and the National Orchestral Institute Festival Orchestra under Marin Alsop, where she served as Assistant Concertmaster. 

Elisa’s commitment to expanding her musical range has also led to performances at renowned summer festivals, as well as featured recordings under the NAXOS Recording Label. She has played with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra and served as a violinist with the American Youth Symphony from 2018 to 2021.

Currently studying with Chen Zhao of the San Francisco Symphony, Elisa continues to refine her craft, working toward a degree in Violin Performance.

Alina Kobialka in Conversation with Christian Baldini

Alina Kobialka is a remarkable violinist that I have known for a long time, and she has been a regular collaborator for me on several violin concertos. We sat down to discuss her upcoming performance of Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, which she will perform as our soloist with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento on December 7, 2024. Below is our exchange:

Christian Baldini: Alina, what a pleasure it is to collaborate with you again! It has been a while since the first time we met, and since the first time we performed together. You were probably 12 or 13 years old the first time I heard you play. Tell me, what are some of your favorite moments and musical gestures in the Scottish Fantasy, and why? What should people listen for in this piece?

Alina Kobialka: I am thrilled to collaborate with you again with this beautiful piece! It's hard to pick some favorite moments because I love the musical journey of the entire piece. If I had to choose, the very opening of the piece would be one of them, where the orchestra sets up this dream-like atmosphere for the solo violin to enter with a beautiful, quasi-cadenza-like melody. There are also so many other lovely moments in the piece where I get to trade lines with various instruments in the orchestra or even duet together with them. That's something that people can listen for in this piece, along with all the beautiful melodies and harmonies that are created. The harp also plays a great role, so definitely pay attention to that! I love that I get to sing my heart out with this piece, and then it all culminates in the exciting and challenging final movement. I've wanted to play this piece for a long time, and I am delighted that I finally get to! 

CB: A lot has happened since you and I first met. Now you are a tenured member of the New York Philharmonic, still at a remarkably young age! Tell me, how have the last couple of years been? What can you share about being a member of the NY Phil and working every week with wonderful soloists and conductors? What are some of your favorite memories?

AK: I feel incredibly lucky to be a member of the NY Phil. I have amazing colleagues, and it's so joyful and inspiring for me to play with them week after week. I am always learning from them and continuously motivated to improve myself to be the best musician and colleague. There is a certain flexibility that is also required from this job, as we are constantly working with many different soloists and conductors, and it's always amazing to me how quickly the orchestra can adjust and adapt. My favorite memories include working with exceptional soloists (I still remember how Emanuel Ax's encore made me cry!) and fantastic conductors who bring a certain energy and fun to the week. I got the chance to play the chamber version of Appalachian Springs with Hilary Hahn, and it was so fun to work with her in a smaller group setting. I also played a mixed-genre concert with Jacob Collier, Chris Thile, and Madison Cunningham, and it was amazing to see the improvisation and communication between those musicians. I could go on and on. It's been a phenomenal two-ish years with the orchestra. 

CB: Being a California girl, and after living in Chicago (for College), and now living in New York, what are some of the main differences you notice? And also, what do you miss the most about California?

AK: The first and most obvious answer that comes to mind is the weather! Going from no seasons to extreme seasons shocked me, and sadly, I still can't confidently walk in the snow. What I love about these cities is that they all have different personalities, and the experience varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. I do miss how accessible nature is in California, especially the beaches and hiking. But I love living in NYC and am lucky to be close to Central Park! 

CB: You have developed wonderful long-term relationships with many musicians, including Donato Cabrera and Michael Tilson Thomas. You and I have also performed several concertos together. What do you notice in these experiences where you know your collaborators so well? Is it quite different from performing with someone for the first time?

AK: I've been so lucky to have many great musical experiences with you all. A certain familiarity comes from collaborating continuously over time, and it can be easier to communicate specific musical ideas you have. It can be different when performing with someone for the first time, as you are familiarizing yourself with the person's style. Still, I've been fortunate to work with many great, flexible musicians who make the experience easy. 

CB: You are also an avid chamber music performer. What are some of your favorite things about performing chamber music?

AK: There is so much fantastic chamber rep, and I always have so much fun performing it. Chamber music has made me a better musician, as I've learned how to listen, communicate, and lead through it. I've also learned so much about timing and phrasing. I love collaborating and performing with other musicians, and I feel so fortunate to be able to play so much chamber music! 

CB: What are some of the next projects that you really look forward to? Also: what are some dreams you have which you may not have realized yet?

AK: I am performing Britten's String Quartet No. 1 with my colleagues in January. I love his music and would love to perform more of his works. Gustavo Dudamel, our incoming music director, is also coming in the spring, so I am incredibly excited about that! I am also passionate about community concerts and giving back, and I am working on putting together some projects with various organizations in NYC. I am currently living the dream, but I always strive to learn, find inspiration, and feel fulfillment, whatever that may mean at specific points in my life. 

CB: Welcome back Alina, and thank you very much for your time. I look forward to featuring your wonderful musicality with our audiences in Sacramento!

AK: I'm so happy to be back and excited to make music with you and Camellia Symphony again! 

Praised for her “beautiful tone, effortless precision, and musical maturity beyond her years,” Chinese-American violinist Alina Kobialka joined the New York Philharmonic in 2022. Hailed as a “jaw-droppingly assured” soloist with a gift for making “present and future converge” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Kobialka’s artistry shines as a collaborator, chamber musician, and soloist. “Watch for her name. She appears to be bound for greatness” (Las Vegas Review-Journal).

Since joining the New York Philharmonic, Kobialka has performed with luminaries such as Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax. She frequently appears in the Philharmonic’s Merkin Hall Chamber Series and has toured extensively in Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. In May 2024, she performed with the World Union Orchestra in South Korea alongside members of the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

A three-time artist at the Marlboro Music Festival, Kobialka has collaborated with legendary musicians such as Dame Mitsuko Uchida, Jonathan Biss, and Kim Kashkashian. Her love for cross-genre collaboration has brought her to the stage with Jacob Collier, Chris Thile, and Esperanza Spalding in performances seamlessly blending classical, folk, and jazz elements.

Kobialka is a prizewinner of the 2017 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition and a laureate of the 2016 Irving M. Klein International Competition. She also received the Grand Prize at the Mondavi Center National Young Artists Competition.

A San Francisco native, Kobialka made her solo debut at age 14 with the San Francisco Symphony during its 100th Anniversary Concert at Davies Symphony Hall. She has since appeared with the orchestra three times, most recently under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. Other solo engagements include performances with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and Asheville Symphony.

Kobialka began her violin studies at age five with Li Lin and later trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s preparatory division under Wei He. At 16, she moved to Los Angeles to study at the Colburn School’s Music Academy with Robert Lipsett and Danielle Belen. She earned her master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Ilya Kaler.

Catherine (Shin-Rou) Lin in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On September 28, I will have the pleasure of conducting Brahms' Violin Concerto with Catherine Lin as our soloist with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. Also on the program are Daniel Godsil's "Cathedral Grove" and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1. Below is an interview with Catherine. (click here for ticket information)

Christian Baldini: Catherine, welcome, and let's start by talking about Brahms. What do you like the most about this concerto? Why is it special? What should people listen for in this piece?

Catherine Lin: Brahms is definitely one of my favorite violin concertos. It has a lot of beautiful melodies and lines between the solo violin and the orchestra. Why is this piece special? I think the most interesting thing and unusual thing is Brahms gives the orchestra a very strong role and, not just for the soloist. I highly recommend everyone to listen to the sixteen notes from the orchestra part in the first movement and the beautiful melody in the beginning of the second movement. All the themes can also be heard in the orchestra parts too.

CB: Let's talk about your beginnings with music. Growing up in Taiwan, how did you first encounter the violin? Did you play other instruments as well?

CL: First time I saw the violin was when I was three. My brother was practicing on his violin. I saw it and I told my mom I also want to play this instrument and she said, “Ok, only if you decide to make the violin as your career, otherwise you should just play the piano since I’m a piano teacher.” I was very excited and said yes! I will practice every day. Now, I feel very lucky that I made the right choice.

As for other instruments, as I mentioned, my mom is a piano teacher, so she taught me theory, piano and musicianship (like rhythm and solfège). So I know how to play piano and when I was in middle school, I also learned percussion for a year and that was fun!

CB: Who are some of your favorite composers? And favorite violin concertos?

CL: Paganini, Beethoven, and of course, Brahms. I like many violin concertos, such as Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Glazunov, but if I have to pick one it will still be the Brahms violin concerto.

CB: Have you played a lot of chamber music as well? Is the experience different from playing as a soloist with an orchestra?

CL: Yes, I’ve played a lot! Playing chamber music is very fun, but it’s different from playing with an orchestra. The size of a chamber group is much smaller. Whereas orchestras have strings, winds and percussions. So they have much larger scale. For chamber music, I think discussion is more important than playing; you need to spend time discussing how to create good music and find compatible partners with similar music ideas.

CB: What's a day like for you? How much do you practice? Do you have hobbies? Do you exercise?

CL: I have a pretty busy life doing my schoolwork at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I usually practice at least 3 to 4 hours on weekdays and practice more on the weekends. I like drawing and working out when I’m free.

CB: What is your advice for your musicians who are starting out? How does one deal with frustrations? How does one stay positive?

CL: listen carefully and practice slowly are my suggestions. Usually when I feel frustrated, I would find something I like to do like talking to friends or do something I enjoy to do like painting or playing with my cats.

CB: Thank you for your time Catherine, I look forward to making music with you!

CL: Thank you, Maestro for inviting me to play with you and this amazing orchestra!

Catherine Lin rehearsing Brahms with Maestro Baldini and the Camellia Symphony Orchestra

Catherine Shin-Rou Lin, 21, was born and raised in Taiwan. She started playing violin when she was four and now she is currently an undergraduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Professor Chen Zhao.
Catherine has participated in several music festivals, including the Beverly Hills Music Festival, where she played for many professors such as Oleh Krysa, Margaret Batjer, and Tamara Chernyak. She also attended the Round Top Music Festival and the Bowdoin Music Festival these past few years. Additionally, Catherine has taken private lessons with renowned violinists such as Ilya Kaler, Nai-Yuan Hu, Keng-Yuen Tseng, Nancy Zhou, and Danny Tzu-Ti Chang.
In addition to her festival experiences, Catherine had a great time with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2022, receiving excellent guidance from SF Symphony’s members and conductors.

Salomé Ospina in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On March 17, I will have the pleasure of conducting the Grieg Piano Concerto with Salomé Ospina with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento, as part of our "Rising Stars" concert series. On the same program we will also feature the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Suni Norman. Below is an interview with Salomé:

Christian Baldini: Salomé, welcome, it has been very fun to have you in rehearsals with us and to make music with you. Tell us, what are some of your favorite things about the Grieg Piano Concerto? What would you say to someone who's never listened to it? What should they listen for? What will they encounter in this music?

Salomé Ospina: Thank you so much for having me! It has been an honor to play with the Camellia Symphony orchestra and you for the past couple of weeks. I honestly love every single moment in the Grieg concerto. One of my favorite moments in the entire piece is during the slow part of the third movement. I have a solo with the first cello accompanying me as well during this section. I was actually unaware that it was only the first cello until the first rehearsal with the orchestra. This is so meaningful to me because my mother, Maria Hoyos, plays first cello in this orchestra. This duet is so beautiful and I believe it encapsulates all the love and support she has given me over the years. I also really enjoy the last two sections of the third movement because this is the "grandioso" section of the piece. I get to accompany the brass players for a great solo and it is the moment where the tension from the entire piece is finally released. I would describe this piece as adventurous and beautiful. I would listen to the recurring themes especially in the first and third movement. They are everywhere! They get subtly changed throughout the piece but are truly resonant. They will encounter a beautiful journey through this music. I hope that they really enjoy this piece!

CB: You started playing the piano as a young child. Who have been your most important mentors, and why?

SO: Some of my most important mentors have been: Kirsten Smith, Helen Mendenhall, Tatiana Scott, Betsy Collins, and Joe Gilman. They have all guided me for many years with private instruction and are one of the main reasons that I am where I am today musically. They have really helped me develop my technique and love for music as well. I am so grateful to have had these wonderful people in my life.

CB: What are other works and other composers you love playing,  and why?

SO: I really enjoy playing Brahms and Chopin because their harmonic structure is just so beautiful. Also the storytelling that goes on within their pieces is incredible. I recently played the Brahms Piano trio no. 1, and it was incredible because of the complex harmonies and especially because of the interaction between the strings and the piano as well. I also really enjoy listening to Sibelius’s Symphony no 5. 

CB: Do you play other instruments? Do you branch out into other music styles besides classical?

SO: I do not play any other instruments. My mother tried to teach me cello at the age of three, but I decided that piano was what I preferred. I am deeply passionate about playing jazz as well as classical. I love to play in both combos and big bands and I am starting to begin composing as well! I also enjoy playing a variety of styles from latin america with my parents such as boleros, cha-cha-cha, salsa, and many more! I love to listen to music by Hector Lavoe, Duke Ellington, Oscar Petterson, Oscar De Leon and many more!

CB: What is a typical day like for you? How much do you practice in addition to all your other activities? You are still in high school, right?

SO: I am actually still a junior in high school! I typically spend my time in jazz band and concert band at school as well as in some other challenging classes. I typically go home after lunch time at school and usually have a rehearsal with a jazz combo or a private lesson. I try to practice for 2 to 3 hours in a day, but it really depends on how much schoolwork I have. I love to spend time on the weekends with my friends as well. 

CB: What are your plans for the future? Where would you like to see yourself in ten years?

SO: I hope to become a music teacher or a French or Spanish teacher. I really am not sure about where I see myself in ten years. I can envision myself branching out into many things. However, I see myself the most as a teacher of some sorts, and hope to be a performer on the side. 

CB: Both of your parents are musicians, right? Your mother is of course Maria Hoyos, our wonderful principal cellist with the Camellia Symphony. I am sure it will be extremely special to both of you to be playing this concert together. How has it shaped you to come from a musical family?

SO: Being around music constantly is such a privilege for me. I am so grateful to have such wonderful, loving parents. My mom plays cello with the Camellia Symphony and my dad plays saxophone and flute. Being around parents that are practicing exposed me to so much music from a young age and inspired me to become who I am now. This concert means so much to both of us and I can’t believe that I am going to be able to play as a soloist in a concert with my mom as the first cellist. This has been my mom’s dream for many years now, and I am very excited to be playing!

CB: Are you fully bilingual? How have languages shaped or influenced you as a person and as a musician?

SO: Yes, I actually only speak Spanish at home with my parents! Being around two different cultures at once has influenced my view on the world and especially on my values. I try to get the best from both cultures and try to often combine values in order to try to achieve a more balanced lifestyle. I have been introduced to so much music because of them and because of that, I have a love for many different genres. 

CB: Thank you Salomé, I look forward to making music with you and sharing your talents with our audience in Sacramento very soon!

SO: Thank you for this opportunity and for having me!

Salome Ospina is a junior at Rio Americano High School. She currently studies with Kirsten Smith for classical piano and Joe Gilman for jazz piano. She has also previously studied with Helen Mendenhall, Tatiana Scott, Betsy Collins, and Craig Faniani.

Salome debuted as a soloist with the Saint Saens Piano concerto no 2 in November 2022 with the “Sinfónica Joven de Colombia” in Medellin. She has been a part of the Placer County Youth Orchestra, and has performed with the Sacramento Youth Symphony as well. The Summer of 2022, she toured Austria and the Czech Republic with the Rio Americano Jazz and Concert Band. Salome enjoys accompanying other students for performances. 

In February, she went to New York to participate in the Charles Mingus High School Jazz Competition with a small jazz combo from Rio Americano. Salome is a part of The New Traditionalists, a jazz combo that has gone to perform in Orlando and New Orleans. In 2023, Salome was selected as one of 6 people nationwide for the Monterey Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo. This group had the opportunity to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2023 and Berklee College Music January 2024. Salome was chosen as one of the winners for the 2024 National YoungArts Award for jazz piano. 

Eric Zivian in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On November 4, I will have the pleasure of collaborating with pianist Eric Zivian as our soloist in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. Also on the program (aptly titled "Revolutionary Spirits") will be Beethoven's Symphony No. 2, as well as Ruth Crawford Seeger's Andante for Strings. Below is a conversation with Eric.

 

Christian Baldini: Eric, once more it will be a pleasure to work with you and to make music together. What are some of the things you like the most about this Beethoven Concerto? And what should people listen for in it?

Eric Zivian: It’s wonderful to be back working with you again! The Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto is a very special piece in the repertoire. It is not stormy or extroverted like Beethoven’s other concertos, but predominantly gentle and lyrical. The slow movement, a dramatic dialogue between the orchestra and piano, is absolutely stunning. In the first movement, Beethoven breaks the usual pattern of concerto first movements and opens with a rhapsodic piano solo before the standard orchestral introduction. I find the ornaments in the piano part toward the end of the movement, after the cadenza, to be some of the most delightful ever written.

 

CB: Does your interpretation change much as rehearsals go forward? Aside from practicalities, do you feel that rehearsing with others and in different spaces affect your performance or your understanding of a piece? 

EZ: Absolutely. There is nothing like rehearsing with a full orchestra under the direction of an intelligent and sensitive musician like you to give me a fresh perspective. Plus, during practice I always think of new things!

 

CB: Well thank you, it is truly a wonderful collaboration working with you and receiving so much feedback from you in rehearsals! You also play a lot on the fortepiano. Has this informed how you approach a Beethoven or Mozart Concerto when performing on a modern instrument?

EZ: Very much so. I have a fortepiano modeled on the kind of instrument Mozart and Beethoven would have known. It has a totally different touch and sound, very articulate in all registers with deep bass notes, bringing out the clarity of the counterpoint. With that sound in my ear, I have learned to emphasize those qualities on the modern piano when playing 18^th and 19^th-century music.

 

CB: You also love the music of Brahms, and of Ligeti. What attracts you so much to their music, and why?

EZ: Although Brahms and Ligeti were very different composers, I love their music for much the same reason: they use complex rhythms that appeal to my sensibility, while at the same emphasizing clarity and directness of expression.

 

CB: As a composer, what are some of your priorities, and/or what do you try to achieve with your own music?

EZ: To be fully transparent, I haven’t written music in some years. But in my composing days, I also aimed to write music that reflected a combination of rhythmic intricacy and straightforward expression. Decades of composing music also helps me, as a performer, to gain insight into the composer’s perspective.

 

CB: What would be your advice for young pianists and for young composers? What is your advice when people lose hope or get frustrated with themselves?

EZ: My advice is: always remember what drew you to performing or composing. By all means listen to the valuable advice of your teachers and mentors, but stay true to your own vision of what music is all about. During performance, or the creative process, relax and let the music flow through you.

 

CB: Thank you Eric, I am very much looking forward to our performance together!

EZ: Thanks Christian, I can’t wait!

ERIC ZIVIAN

 Eric Zivian received music degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music. He studied piano with Gary Graffman and Peter Serkin and composition with Ned Rorem, Jacob Druckman, and Martin Bresnick.

Eric is equally at home on modern and period instruments. He is Music Director of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, a festival in Sonoma specializing in Classical and Romantic chamber music played on period instruments, and a longtime member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble in San Francisco.

Eric recently performed the Mozart C minor Concerto with the Portland Baroque Orchestra and the Beethoven Choral Fantasy with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. At the height of the pandemic, Eric livestreamed all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas on period pianos.

 

Parker van Ostrand in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On September 23, I will have the pleasure of conducting Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the wonderful young pianist Parker van Ostrand. This will be in Sacramento (California) with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra, in a program that will also feature Brahms' Second Symphony, as well as Midnight Stirring by Nancy Galbraith. Below is an interview with Parker.

 
Christian Baldini: Dear Parker, it is a pleasure to welcome you again in your native Sacramento to feature you as our soloist in Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra. Tell us, how does it feel to come back home and be featured as our soloist?


Parker van Ostrand: I’m really excited. Playing with orchestra is one of my favorite things as a musician, and getting to do it with a great orchestra and conductor makes it even better. And this will be the first time I play Prokofiev 3 with orchestra. It's also nostalgic since I’m performing again at my old high school. The first rehearsal was the first time I went back there since graduating more than two years ago!

CB: The first (and last) time we featured you as our soloist it was within our Rising Stars series, and you played Beethoven's 2nd Piano Concerto. This was four years ago, and you have amassed a number of successes since then, including winning prizes at major international competitions, performing together with Yuja Wang in San Francisco, being named a 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. How do you feel? What has changed for you?

PvO: I feel really grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had in the last couple years. Playing with Yuja was definitely a highlight because I’ve looked up to her more than almost any other pianist ever since I was a kid. One thing that’s changed with all this experience is I feel more open to being spontaneous on stage. I’m more confident in my musical decisions and style of playing, so I’m able to take more risks and see what ideas I can come up with on the spot. When you let loose and don’t worry so much about being perfect or how other people might judge your playing, performing becomes a lot more fun.

CB: Tell us about Prokofiev, and his Third Piano Concerto. What are some of the things you like the most about this piece, and what should people listen for when you perform it?

PvO: Prokofiev 3 is one of my favorite concertos to play- it’s naughty, sarcastic, even grotesque at times. I love playing this piece because it’s really fun to go all out with making the piece as “rude” and brash as possible. The writing is very virtuosic and even acrobatic at times, so it’s pretty cool to watch from the audience standpoint. Prokofiev himself was rebellious and cocky during his time at conservatory, and this piece perfectly encapsulates that. There’s a lot of conflict between the piano and orchestra parts, and it’s pretty cool to be one person fighting against 100 other people on stage. There’s also moments in the concerto that are nostalgic, smoky, elegant, beautiful–and the fact that these moments are so rare make them even more memorable. Part of the second movement is a variation that has the sounds of a dark, icy Siberian winter. It will give one chills.


CB: When I interviewed you back in 2019, we talked a lot about your practice routine, the meaning of music to you, and also about your goals in life. Have your goals changed? Do you see anything very differently?

PvO: Because so much has happened in the last couple years I could never have expected or planned (musically related), I actually haven’t been one to set specific goals recently. With a career path in music, so much is out of your control except your ability as a musician. So my goal these days is just to be as good as I can be at the piano, and see what happens from there.



CB: Tell us about your education and your main mentors since you finished high school.

PvO: I’ve been at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music since January of 2022, and I’m now working with Garrick Ohlsson and Yoshikazu Nagai. I’ve studied with Garrick since I was 16, and just recently started studying with Yoshikazu Nagai. Knowing Garrick for this long, he’s had a huge impact on me and just been an amazing teacher, mentor, and someone I look up to. I can also say the same about my previous teacher here at the conservatory, Jon Nakamatsu, who I studied with during my first three semesters at SFCM.


CB: Lastly: what are some of the things (anything) that interest you the most outside music?

PvO: I like going to the gym a lot. It’s fun to keep pushing yourself and setting new goals all the time. When I have more time, I love adrenaline activities like riding rollercoasters or jetskis, and also doing challenging hikes. Nowadays, I am also pretty into watching movies, thrillers in particular.



CB: Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to sharing your wonderful artistry with our audience members.


PvO: Thank you! Looking forward.

Parker Van Ostrand currently studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Garrick Ohlsson and Yoshikazu Nagai.

He recently won the 2023 PianoTexas Academy Concerto Competition and performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra this past June. In 2022, he won the Gold Medal in the 71st Wideman International Piano Competition and in November, collaborated with Yuja Wang for a two-piano performance at the SFCM Gala. Last summer, he was selected to play in the inaugural G. Henle Verlag Murray Perahia Masterclass in Munich. He also toured with the California Youth Symphony to Eastern Europe last summer with Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, “The Age of Anxiety.” In 2020, Parker won Third Prize and the Best Sonata Award in the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition, and was one of 20 high school students nationwide named a 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts.

This season, Parker will be performing with the Camellia Symphony, Symphony Parnassus, the South Arkansas Symphony, the Shreveport Symphony, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music orchestra as winner of their 2023 Concerto Competition. He will also give recitals at the Tutunov Series in Ashland, the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, the Washington International Piano Festival, and Gretna Music with violinist Amaryn Olmeda.

Parker is from Sacramento, CA, and previously studied with Linda Nakagawa, Natsuki Fukasawa, Sarah Chan, and Jon Nakamatsu. 

Anyssa Neumann in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On April 29, 2023, Anyssa Neumann will perform the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Franz Liszt with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. I will have the honor of conducting this beautiful program, which also includes Florence Price's Andante moderato, and Lutoslawski's Symphony No. 4. Below is an interview with Anyssa, who is visiting from the United Kingdom.

Christian Baldini: Anyssa, please tell us what is so special to you about this particular concerto? What should people listen for in it?

Anyssa Neumann: My favourite pieces seem to be the ones I've heard great performances of, and this is no different. I vividly remember hearing a friend perform the Liszt E-flat concerto with orchestra when I was 18, and it was love at first listen. It's such a fun concerto—serious music that doesn't take itself too seriously, full of spark and fire and shimmering magical fairylands. And it moves between sections so rapidly that you can't get bored. This concerto sometimes gets a bad rap—people think it's too flashy and shallow, not substantial enough. I disagree. Liszt as composer (rather than pianist) often took a beating from the critics, and he agonized over finalizing his written works before subjecting them to public scrutiny. This concerto, on which he worked for 25 years, starts with a stentorian theme in the strings and winds, a nine-note phrase to which he (and possibly his son-in-law Hans von Bülow) later attached the words, “Das versteht Ihr alle nicht, haha!” (“None of you understand this, haha!”) in rebuttal to those critics. A musical cocking-a-snook, as the Brits say!

 

 

CB: How were your beginnings with music? I know you also played the trumpet when you were growing up. Was there a time when you played both instruments with equal emphasis? When/how/why did you decide to quit the trumpet in favor of the piano?

 

AN: I hated the piano for most of my childhood. I wanted to play the violin, but my parents wouldn't let me (to be fair, beginner violin isn't the most melodious of sounds). When I was 9, I decided to play trumpet in the school band (thrilling my parents, no doubt). I liked trumpet much more than piano, but I was quite happy playing second (or third) chair. To be a professional brass player, you have to really want to be in the spotlight, to play all those high notes. I didn't. But trumpet allowed me to be part of a musical community in a way that solitary piano never did. I played trumpet in the Sacramento Youth Symphony from ages 11-16, and that, more than anything else, kept me interested in and engaged with classical music during my piano-hating years.

 

 

CB: What does music mean to you? How does music (and more specifically classical music such as the Liszt Concerto) fit into today's society?

 

AN: Good grief, where to start?! I think I'll paraphrase what an old teacher of mine once said: "a life with music is better than a life without." I have thought about changing careers many times, doing something that actually pays well, something I can leave at the office. (Fact: musicians don't get weekends.) But the thrill of making music, the portals that these sounds open up to other times and places, that feeling of emotional and physical aliveness, and that communal experience with other musicians and audiences—well, you can't beat that.

 

 

CB: You grew up in Sacramento, played trumpet in the Sacramento Youth Symphony while growing up here, and you have now been based in the UK for a while. What are some of the things you miss (if any) about living in the US?

 

AN: Old-fashioned donuts. Deli sandwiches. Mexican food. In that order. I also miss the wonderfully varied landscape and the smell of summer. And, of course, my friends and family.

 

 

CB: Besides being a wonderful concert pianist you are also a musicologist, and an Ingmar Bergman scholar.  You are currently completing a Postdoc at Uppsala university in Sweden. How do you manage it all? Would you mind sharing some thoughts about your Ingmar Bergman work?

 

AN: Most of the time it feels like I'm not managing any of it! Once the pandemic hit, I was very glad that I hadn't put all my eggs in the performing basket—I actually had an academic job during many of those fallow months when musicians suffered the most. Becoming a musicologist was sort of accidental. I was interested in academia, and being a student was the only way I could get visas to live in other countries. So I just kept climbing the degree ladder until I finished a PhD. I fell into Bergman by way of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which Bergman uses in his film The Silence (1963). I wrote a paper on it, discovered that nobody else (at the time) had written much about Bergman's use of music, and that if I ever did a PhD, that would be my topic. I love cinema, I love storytelling—stories are how I make sense of the world. So studying the interaction of film and music was a natural fit for me.

 

 

CB: Do you have any advice for young musicians? At certain times in life we all face challenges, competition, and many musicians have thought of quitting more than once. What has helped you in your trajectory, and inspired you to keep going forward?

 

AN: It's a tricky one, giving advice. I'm not sure I have any—only a few statements I find to be true. The classical music industry can be absolutely brutal. The pay is crap, the work is relentless, your dreams of soloist stardom will probably come to naught, and you will struggle with feelings of inferiority and failure throughout your entire career. If you don't want to do it anymore, then don't—it's ok to do something else. In fact, if doing something else makes you happier, do that instead! I'm selling it well, aren't I? The important part is this: you don't have to be a full-time professional musician to play or enjoy music. Music is for everyone. It's part of our legacy on this planet. It's the best of humanity. So take it seriously, learn it, listen to it, play it, understand it, make it part of you, pursue a career in it if that's what calls to you. I think we sometimes get so caught up in the competitive culture of classical music—the commercialism, the perfectionism, the comparisons, the number of likes and listens—that we forget what music actually is: a way of communicating something about the beauty and urgency of life. I love what Donna Tartt writes in her novel The Goldfinch about the lasting qualities of art: “And in the midst of our dying, as we rise from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn't touch. For if disaster and oblivion have followed this [art] down through time—so too has love. (...) It exists; and it keeps on existing.” A glory and a privilege—gets me every time. 

 

CB: Lastly, what are some of the most inspiring experiences (or people) in your life, and why?

AN: My most inspiring experiences have come from artist residencies, particularly those at the Banff Centre in Canada. Getting to know other musicians (or artists more generally), working and living alongside them—with the right people and the right surroundings, an alchemical transformation occurs, of excitement, solidarity, support, understanding, openness, inspiration, collaboration, realness. I'm inspired by people who are real, who don't hide behind a facade of perfection or control (even as I type this I feel the need to maintain my own facade!). Obviously, vulnerability can be uncomfortable, so there's a time and a place, and trust is essential, but...we're all human. We all make mistakes, in music, in life. We all feel, at various times, that we have no idea what we're doing. Can't we just be honest about that? We're all in the same boat. It's better to journey together than not.

 

 

CB: Thank you very much Anyssa, we very much look forward to featuring you as our soloist!

AN: Thanks for having me!

Raised in Sacramento and based in the UK / Sweden, pianist Anyssa Neumann has been praised for the “clarity, charm, and equipoise” of her performances, which span solo and collaborative repertoire from the Baroque to the 21st century. Recent highlights include concerto performances with the NYKO Sinfonietta (Sweden) and the Lompoc Pops Orchestra (USA); Bach’s Goldberg Variations in Sweden and Norway; solo recitals in Rome, London, Uppsala, the Pacific Northwest, and throughout California; and artist residencies at the Banff Centre (Canada), Avaloch Farm (USA), and the Bergman Estate (Sweden). During the Covid-19 pandemic, she video-recorded Bach’s Goldberg Variations at home, calling the project #IsolationVariations; the playlist of all 32 videos, accompanied by short essays, can be found on YouTube.

 

Recent projects include a Don Quixote-inspired song program with British bass-baritone Timothy Dickinson and a concert tour of New Mexico and California with American soprano Rena Harms. Other collaborative partners include soprano Emma Tring (BBC Singers), mezzo-soprano Katherine Nicholson (BBC Singers), violinist Yolanda Bruno (Toronto Symphony), cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio (Eroica Trio), and the London Chamber Collective. She has also performed as guest pianist with the Sheba Ensemble and appeared on NPR’s Performance Today, Sirius Satellite Radio, Swedish Radio P1 Kultur, Estonia National Radio, and David Dubal’s radio program The Piano Matters, which featured her solo debut album of works by Bach, Beethoven, Messiaen, and Prokofiev.

After studying with Natsuki Fukasawa and Richard Cionco in Sacramento, Anyssa attended the Manhattan School of Music (BM) and University of Oxford (MSt) before continuing further studies with Fabio Bidini in Berlin and Paul Stewart at Université de Montréal. She has additionally worked with Thomas Adès, Rita Wagner, and András Keller at IMS Prussia Cove, and with Mitsuko Uchida, Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg, Marc Durand, Julian Martin, Ronan O’Hora, Anton Kuerti, Andre-Michel Schub, Joseph Kalichstein, and Russell Sherman in master classes.

 

She earned her PhD in musicology from King’s College London in 2017, focusing on pre-existing music in the films of Ingmar Bergman, which she then developed into a lecture-recital and presented in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Madrid, Helsingborg, Lund, Uppsala, and Fårö, culminating in a live broadcast from the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa as part of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2021. She currently holds a postdoctoral position in the Engaging Vulnerability Research Program at Uppsala University. For more information, please visit www.anyssaneumann.com.