Beethoven Western Civilisation's Biggest Talent: Alexei Grynyuk
Alexei Grynyuk is the pianist in the high powered Benedetti, Elschenbroich, Grynyuk Trio, which despite being a mouthful of a name, is lending itself to stardom. Born in Kiev to parents who were not professional musicians, he started giving his first concerts at six. Ahead of his recital in Mumbai on Wednesday, he spoke to TOI about the uniqueness of the piano and how he rises to musical challenges.
Q: How do you bond with the piano?A: I like to think of the piano as one of my body parts. A musical picture is created in the brain, then it travels through the arms and fingers, then through the keys, hammers and strings, filling the acoustics of the hall with sound and finally reaching the listener's ear. All these stages are important and it is quite a long road, compared to one charted by a singer, or even other instruments. A good instrument is one that helps this process. A lot of good instruments have their own personality, their own `sweet spot' -- a sound at a particular volume and register that is the most beautiful for that instrument. It is important to find this personality and marry it to mine, preferably at the rehearsing stage, although I often find new possibilities during the concert.
Q: Unlike most other instruments, one cannot carry the piano along. Does this force a compromise?A: Whenever I am faced with a different piano, I have to find the best in it. It is not productive to try to bend it to my liking. I always try my best to love the qualities of that particular piano as soon as possible, not to fight them. After all, a pianist must be flexible and adjust to every instrument. It's part of the profession, unless, of course, one can afford travelling with the piano.
Q: If you could meet a composer, who would it be and why?A: It would probably be Beethoven. For me he summarised all the music before him and expanded it into the Romantic era and beyond. It's hard to overestimate his influence in Western music. Sometimes I think of him as the single biggest talent of our civilisation. Another composer of particular interest to me would be Rachmaninov. He was not only a genius composer, but equally great at conducting and at the piano.
Q: Do you think there is too much competition among pianists and that somehow the pressures of making a career are a departure from the sublime purpose of music?A: Yes, I do feel that competition has skewed progress in musical performance. Today , an overwhelming number of pianists have a similar, almost generic sound and technique across the world. It is staggering. More people are becoming tired of this sporty style of performance. I'm usually an optimist and think audiences will go for more art in the coming decades.
Q: Tell us about your partnership with cellist Leonard Elschenbroich
and violinist Nicola Benedetti (who visited Mumbai with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
two years ago). How do the instruments in your trio come together?A: The trio is a work of three, with everyone contributing to the whole. Of course, the piano part is very substantial and important in most piano trios. It contains a lot of the skeleton of the whole piece.The musical integrity of the composition very much rests on the pianist's shoulders--all those important constituents, like harmonic progression and formal unity, manifest themselves primarily in the piano part. But all this would not work without the contribution of the beautiful sound, melodic patterns and the emotional communication between all three partners.
Q: Is there anything special you plan to do in Mumbai during your tour?A: I do hope to have a chance to meet classical musicians in Mumbai during my trip. Funny thing is that recently I somewhat felt like I am connected to Mumbai. Before my first visit to the city, there was a folk music festival in Wales and I listened to an ensemble of two violins and percussion improvising traditional Indian music. It was an eye-opening recital and very intriguing; I still remember it very well. A couple of months ago my fianc'e got to know (ghazal singer)
Jasvinder Singh
by chance. We listened to his singing and understood he was from Mumbai.
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