2005
International Web Concert Hall Competition (Honorary Mention)
Attwood, Koji (Piano)-USA
Tell us about your
musical background. How did you select your instrument? Is there any
member in your family who may be a musician?
Thomas Attwood (1765-1838), a student of Mozart and friend of
Mendelssohn, is a relative of mine. Otherwise, there are no other
musicians in my immediate family. The story of how I came to study the
piano is embarrassing, yet true: I had a very conscientious kindergarten
teacher who noticed that I had pretty poor hand-eye coordination (had
problems with handwriting, using scissors, tying my shoelaces, etc.) and
suggested taking a musical instrument to help that. Ironically, I
finally managed to learn how to tie my shoelaces…at age 12.
Tell us more about Thomas Attwood and your family history. When did
your family settle in the states from Europe?
Thomas Attwood is known primarily for being one of Mozart’s few famous
pupils. In fact, a record of his period of study (roughly a year and a
half) is published in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe under the “Attwood
Notebooks”. After his studies with Mozart, Attwood was church organist
at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and composed numerous instrumental, stage, and
dramatic works. When Mendelssohn visits London, he would often stay with
Attwood, and dedicated his Three Preludes and Fugues Op. 37 to him in
gratitude. The two ‘t’ Attwood is a rare occurrence (being exclusively
English, the one ‘t’ being Irish, and rather common) and a member of our
extended family did some detailed genealogical research into our family
and found that a George Attwood (1809-1875), a relative of Thomas, and
his wife, settled in America in 1850—specifically in Kansas.
Tell us about your teachers?
I’ve been extremely fortunate to have had so many wonderful instructors
(not to mention human beings) who devoted incredible amounts of energy
in my education. My early Suzuki teachers helped me to develop my
musical hearing until I was lucky to find a local professor, Richard
Angeletti of the University of Kansas. He is not only skillfully taught
me, but set up for me to play in private master classes with visiting
artists, such as Leon Fleisher, Menachem Pressler, and Claude Frank. At
Curtis, I studied mainly with Seymour Lipkin, a Serkin protégée who also
worked extensively with David Saperton and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. From
him, I was exposed to the Austrian tradition, with deep roots in the
classical Germanic repertoire—Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, and
Schubert—along with appreciating Mr. Lipkin’s own phenomenal rhythmic
sense. I also often played for Edward Aldwell, a Bach specialist whose
playing and overall musicianship I admire tremendously. Jerome Lowenthal,
at the Juilliard School, studied with two iconic figures in the piano
world that I hold with the highest esteem: Alfred Cortot and William
Kapell. Kapell, in particular, has been an idol of mine since a teen,
and I ended up writing my doctoral dissertation on his life and work.
Chamber music collaborations and coaching with such amazing musicians as
Felix Galimir, Joel Krosnick, Albert Fuller, and Jascha Brodsky widened
my horizons of musical understanding. I’m a historical recording buff,
and find that one can learn an incredible amount from simply listening
to great performers from the past, such pianists as Rachmaninoff,
Moiseiwitsch, Friedmann, Horowitz, Gilels, Sofronitsky, Bolet, Cziffra,
Fiorentino, and Lipatti, to name a few, and other phenomenal
instrumentalists like Kogan, Rabin, Heifetz, Oistrakh, Rose, Starker,
Feuermann, Primrose, Caruso, DelMonaco, Gigli, Fischer-Dieskau, and
countless others. Finally, playing for and listening to one’s colleagues
and peers is an often over-looked facet to one’s study at any
institution. I’ve learned just as much, if not more, from these
extremely talented people I’m honored to also call my friends.
Tell us about your practicing strategy... and selecting your
repertoire
Repertoire-wise, I find myself increasingly interested in investigating
the more obscure portions of the piano repertoire. Being a fanatical
Scriabinist, I’ve recently delved into composers in and around his
circle of influence—figures like Liadov, Liapunov, Bortkiewicz,
Blumenfeld, Feinberg, and Roslavets. The more one explores the piano
repertoire, the more one realizes how truly vast it is. Schumann and
Schubert are two beloved composers for me among the standard repertoire.
In your opinion, what is your strength in your playing? And why do
you think so?
I would like to think that I have something to say, and that, hopefully,
I say it with skill, conviction and fire.
Do you like any other forms of art? such as painting? a favorite
writer?
My parents were art history majors (they met in Italy), therefore, an
appreciation of painting has always been a constant. Three of my
favorites are Caravaggio, Monet, and Vermeer. If I weren’t a pianist,
I’d probably be a writer; some that I admire that immediately come to
mind are: Philip K. Dick, Erich Maria Remarque, Julio Cortazar, Haruki
Murakami, Susan Cooper, Roger Zelazny, George Orwell, Graham Greene,
Charles Bukowski, Douglas Coupland, and Milan Kundera.
Do you have a management now? If so, can you tell us who and what is
your concert schedule may be in the next 2 years?
I’ve been with Astral Artistic Services, a wonderful management group in
Philadelphia since 2003 and have several solo recitals planned in and
around the Philadelphia/New York area, mixed in with some chamber music
(including dance) performances as well.
What do you do for hobby, if any?
As my friends know very well, my only “vice” is clothes—specifically
suits, shirts, and ties from Naples, and English shoes. I also enjoy
movies (especially Japanese anime), sports (football and basketball),
good food, and video games. With my friend and fellow pianist Mei-Ting
Sun, we have started our own website: www.whitekeys.com which is
dedicated to promoting pianists and providing free performances. Since
its launch in March of 2005, we have accumulated over one thousand
members worldwide.
Tell us more about your website, whitekeys.com. When and why did you
start? How has been received by the public? Who is it for? and What do
you hope to accomplish from this website? Do you have sponsor for the
website?
whitekeys.com was started at the beginning of March, 2005, for purpose
of exposing the public to classical piano music, and hopefully trying to
educate them somewhat to differentiate between good and bad
performances. It has received tremendous press, and since its inception
we have had over 1,000 joined members and rave reviews of its music, its
ideas, and its goals.
In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a good performer?
Fingers, brains, heart, imagination, and poetic fury.
How do you judge a good performance?
It’s such a subjective thing, but the bottom line is always, “Was I
moved?”
Do you believe a performer must attend conservatory? What is your
opinion on this?
Far more important than any conservatory, in my opinion, is the quality
and compatibility of the teacher you work with.
Do you teach? If so, where?
I’ve had several private students, and enjoy doing some substitute
teaching at Columbia University when the situation arises. None of the
students are actual music majors per se, but they are extremely
intelligent, and quite often, wonderful pianists. Teaching is a great
responsibility, though; one that perhaps I’m not entirely comfortable
yet in undertaking.
Who are your favorite pianists? And why?
I like pianists who have something to say, and say it fire and
conviction. William Kapell epitomizes those qualities the most for me.
I’m an admitted pianophile and tend to gravitate towards the golden-age
pianists such as Moiseiwitsch, Friedman, Rachmaninoff, Hoffman, Cortot,
etc; each one a unique voice, with their own sound and deeply felt
ideas. To go into each one is obviously beyond the scope of this
interview, sadly. I’m also a deep admirer of supreme pyro-technicians
(although certainly these pianists had much more to offer than just fast
fingers) like Cziffra, Fiorentino, Horowitz, and more recently—Cyprien
Katsaris—who is an amazing pianist. I’m extremely fortunate to know so
many incredible pianists who are my peers and friends—many of which I’m
sure will go on to have big careers—such as Mei-Ting Sun, Rufus Choi,
Assaff Weisman, Andrew Le, Chuan Xin, and Yung Wook Yoo, to name just a
few.
Where do you live now?
In New York City, although I do often go back home to Kansas City.
What musical advice would you give to young pianists today?
If I may somewhat paraphrase a statement made by a movie director that
really struck me:
“There is no one path, no one-size-fits-all method to follow. It’s not
like becoming a dentist, going to dental school for ‘x’ amount of years,
and then going into that line of work. The music ‘business’ is based on
a lot of intangible things, like instinct, talent, effort, persistence,
and a belief in yourself. So the real answer is what works for me, I
promise you will not work for you, and what worked for the other guy
isn’t going to work for you either. You have to find your own path to
follow, you have to create your own path to follow, which is why it’s so
scary for people, and why they’re so uncertain about approaching a
career. A music ‘career’ is not necessarily something you earn with your
diploma from a conservatory or university, a career is built (unless
you’re fortunate enough to have a wealthy backer) upon an endless chain
of fluky circumstances generated by your efforts and your persistence.
Luck has a lot to do with it, but you manufacture your own luck by
working very hard for it. There is no getting there in three easy
lessons, such a thing simply doesn’t exist, but you can get
there—eventually. If you believe in it, even though people will try to
talk you out of it, and try to convince you it’s not possible. It just
depends on how hard you are willing to believe in it, how much you’re
willing to work for it, and what you’re willing to invest in it in terms
of your effort, belief and your time. Above all, try to enjoy the
process, rather than the ultimate goal.”
Thank you for the interview and all
the best wishes for your career.
Interviewed by
MusicalOnline on August 2005
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