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| Ⓒ 2019 Shuann Chai |
On
September 15th 2021, pianist/fortepianist Shuann Chai and I spoke at her home
in The Hague, Holland. The Chinese-American artist is an active and engaging performer, critically acclaimed for her
interpretations on both modern and historical instruments. A soloist and
chamber musician, Ms. Chai has is also increasingly in demand as a teacher:
PH:
Shuann Chai, I see you started off with an undergraduate degree in both biology
and piano performance at Oberlin College. Were you on your way to making a
career in the sciences?
SC:
Well, I was very interested in studying medicine, but also biology, anthropology, and languages!
So, Oberlin was a great playground for me. I was able to take a variety of
different classes, scratch all of those itches and see what I wanted to do.
Gradually, I realized that, despite my fascination with other subjects, I
didn't feel compelled to make a life in those fields, but did feel compelled to
make a life in music.
PH: Are
you from a musical family?
SC: Both
my parents are musical and love music very much, but neither are musicians. My
father was a physicist and my mother a restaurateur.
PH: What
were your first musical experiences?
SC: Saturday
morning cartoons! I remember hearing some music on the “Smurfs” that was
so exciting and my mother said it was written by a man called Beethoven. I was
so impressed that someone could have a job writing music for my favourite
cartoon. I think I’ve always really associated music with narrative, even if it
was just an internal one. I was also lucky to have had a really wonderful piano
teacher named Jack Radunsky, who was almost like a grandfather to me. My mother
ran a restaurant at that time, so I brought him lunch most school days. Some
days, to be honest, I never went back to school! He would play recordings and
we would chat for hours. (This was back in the days before mobile phones. I
don't think it I would be able to get away with it today!) I learned so much
listening to Cortot, Rachmaninov, and all the ‘Golden Age’ pianists. Jack
encouraged me to be a critical and open listener, and he had a lifetime full of
stories to share. As a teenager he heard Ravel play in Chicago, ran into
Rachmaninov on a snowy NYC street, and also once found himself seated next to
Leonard Bernstein on a flight. All these things made an impression on me and
gave music some three-dimensionality far beyond just sitting at the instrument
and playing. It was kind of a whole-life philosophy. Those were really
meaningful influences for me when I was young.
PH:
Where did you grow up?
SC: In
the Cleveland (Ohio) suburbs. When I was 11, we moved to Oberlin, which was
great. I was just on a bicycle in a small town and could go to the
Conservatory, the library, or hear some concerts. As a young person, I had
a lot of autonomy to just follow my whim.
PH: And
your higher music education?
SC: I
went to Oberlin as an undergrad, and for my Master's I went to Boston - my
first experience of a large city. The Boston Symphony Orchestra was right on
the doorstep of the New England Conservatory and I made use of that. It was
such a completely different world, to be surrounded by musicians in a
conservatory setting as well as a whole community of professional musicians. It
was an eye opener for me and a lot of my friendships from that time have
endured.
PH: When
did your interest in historic keyboards begin?
SC: I became
interested in historical instruments in high school when. I attended a master
class of Malcolm Bilson. I was totally hooked right away and went to his master
classes as often as I could.
PH: Are
you more at home with the modern piano than the fortepiano?
SC: In
the beginning, I felt a lot of pressure to choose one instrument or the other,
to identify myself as an early keyboard player or a modern piano player, but I
stopped worrying about that a while ago. I think of pianos as more of a family
tree, without a stark ‘historical/modern’ division, and I feel it is my task to
get to know the piano that is in front of me and play my best on it, whatever
it may be.
PH: Have
you played harpsichord?
SC:
Unfortunately, I was never able to make the time to do so.
PH: I
understand that a major project of yours has been performing the Beethoven
Sonatas on period instruments.
SC:
Indeed. Well, that has been a big stop-and-start thing. I started having the
idea in 2012 and was hoping to finish all 32 of the sonatas around mid-2020.
(That was, of course, derailed by the corona crisis.) It has been a fantastic
journey for me because this repertoire and Beethoven's life just happen
to span the development of the piano from an early five-octave instrument
to a six/six-and-a-half octave instrument at the dawn of the Romantic Age. By
the end of Beethoven's lifetime, the piano was going in all sorts of
directions. He couldn't hear these last steps, but he could feel them. I think
that's a powerful statement and we're so lucky to have one repertoire that
encompasses the gestation and the growth of our instrument in this way.
PH: On
what pianos have you been playing them?
SC: I’ve
been able to perform many of the sonatas on the 6-octave Rosenberger piano
(1820) that I’m fortunate to have on loan. Some other excellent instruments
I’ve been lucky to play on have been 5-octave originals from the collection of
Edwin Beunk in Enschede as well as a 5.5-octave Broadwood piano that was the
direct predecessor of Beethoven’s Broadwood at the Cobbe Collection in England.
Recently, I made a video recording of the “Appassionata” on a Broadwood from
1808; what a wonderful sound, so illuminating! (I’ve also performed the sonatas
on modern pianos, of course.) Every fortepiano is so different, depending on
the maker, the geographical origin, whether it is original or a copy. It's a
little like chemistry - that you have to calibrate and re-calibrate every time
you meet a new instrument; there are things that they teach you. For example,
with the five-octave pianos you really get the sense that Beethoven is trying
to push through a sound barrier, an instrument barrier, an aesthetic barrier.
The excitement generated by this tension often gets lost on the modern piano,
because, of course, the modern piano can do anything, mechanically; and our
21st-century ears have been challenged by plenty in the meantime. But I think
if you are clear about that sense of challenge, of trying to break through
boundaries, you can bring that idea to any instrument.
PH:
Would you like to mention the keyboard instruments you have?
SC:
Sure. The earliest one is a 5-octave Stein copy made by Philip Belt. It is a delightful, crunchy instrument,
fantastic for C.P.E. Bach and Haydn. The 6-octave instrument is an original
built by Michael Rosenberger (Vienna, c.1820) and restored by Edwin Beunk This
piano is on loan to me from the National Music Instruments Foundation here in
the Netherlands. It's a very lyrical instrument with a deep bass tone, a
beautiful, silvery top register and a Turkish stop. Then I have a lovely French
Erard (1862) and my New York Steinway D, which has been with me the longest. A
big family of pianos! I’m incredibly lucky.
PH:
Would you like to speak about your chamber music activity and collaborations?
SC: Yes.
I have so many wonderful colleagues and very different ones, as well. It's
inspiring. My husband is a violinist, so we do a fair bit together and that's
always a pleasure. I am also very fond of playing piano four hands and
two-piano repertoire, which is something I think pianists should do more often.
We can learn so much from each other.
PH: I
read that you have collaborated with dancers.
SC: I
have, yes! One was with the music of John Cage; I hear so much movement and
physicality in his music, even in his silences. I also put together a project
around the music of Prokofiev, whose music I find uniquely narrative. With both
pieces it was important to me that the musicians were a dynamic, interactive
part of the show and not just accompanying the dancers from the side wings of
the stage. Both experiences were fantastic fun and I learned so much. I really
hope to do it again.
PH: Do
you engage in much modern/new music?
SC:
Well, in my Boston days, I did a lot. There were so many universities in Boston
with Composition departments and there was always new music to play. I have
done less of that since coming to the Netherlands, but my chamber music
connections bring me in contact with modern programming and that's wonderful. I
love to swim around in new sounds, looking for that personal connection, that
personal “way in”. That's important to me, whether it is music from a
classical- or contemporary era.
PH:
Let's go back to early music. Where do you personally stand as regards the
Authentic Performance Movement of the mid-20th century?
SC: I think the word "authenticity" has been
applied in many different ways since the movement for historically-informed
performance first began, but it has recently become a catch-all for
performances on any historical instrument. When a concert is advertised, for
example, with the tag line "This is authentic Beethoven”, I wonder what
that’s supposed to mean. Authentic to whom, exactly?" A music critic, a teacher,
a connoisseur in the audience, one’s own colleagues, perhaps? The only
certainty is that all of those people will have their own views and standards
of ‘authenticity’, which turns out to be yet another subjective label. On the
other hand, the authenticity of one’s Self, when expressed in performance, is
something that every musician can develop and aspire to. In this case, an
authentic performance is an informed one, and the performer has to do the
groundwork. That means that you have to think about the composer and his or her
intentions, and there are many aspects to consider - the instrument, the
aesthetics of the time, articulation, expression, rhetoric...all of these
things. And then, informed by all of this, the score becomes a message
from the composer to you, which you then have to relay to an audience in your
own voice, in your own sound. This is the process of interpretation. I am
always mystified when people say the performer has to "stay out of
it" or when a performer says "I don't want to get in between a
composer and the audience." I suppose I understand the intention of a
statement like that, but I feel it's my responsibility, my duty, to "join
the hands" of the composer and the public. And then, to think about
authenticity, you have to take a risk and there will be people who are going to
say this isn't authentic. And I think: "If it isn't authentic to you, if
it doesn't jibe with your vision of how Chopin should sound or whatever, that's
absolutely fine." That's actually necessary. We don't have to like- or
agree with everything we hear. But I think, as an interpreter, you have to put
your foot down and you have to say: "This is my interpretation. I have
done the groundwork to the best of my ability." And every performer also
has to say: "As I grow and change, as I learn more and hear more, so will
my interpretations of pieces change.” I hope they do. I hope they grow. I
think that's what we can best hope for ourselves, that, as musicians and
artists, we continue to grow, that we continue to change, that we continue to
learn from the composers, from the generations before us, from our colleagues.
All these things can shape authenticity. The short version of that is that I
believe authenticity should come from yourself and not from the idea that a
performer cannot hope to meet some external standard of authenticity, because,
frankly, I have no idea what that means, as it means something different to
everybody.
PH:
Would you like to talk about your work in education?
SC: I
love teaching. I absolutely love it. I think it is amazing that someone comes
to play for you, that they open themselves to your musicianship in such a
trusting way. Teaching is a synthesis that you make. I try never to come and
say "This is the way I think this piece should go and here’s how you
should play it." Rather, I try to hear what someone is offering and where
they want to go with it and then I think of a lesson as a dynamic interface, of
where your aesthetic and their intentions meet. I also find it interesting when
students ask me for tips on practising or something and, after helping them, I
go to the piano and realize that I haven't even taken my own advice! That can
be very confronting, but I love moments like that and I have to ask myself:
"Why haven't I done it?” I love seeing that the tradition of teaching and
learning still goes on and seeing the energy and enthusiasm of young musicians
who are really stepping onto the stage and putting themselves out there out of
love for this craft and the love for music. I think it is so moving and I
absolutely love being a part of that process.
PH: And
your future plans?
SC: I have several some recordings that have been
rescheduled multiple times because of the corona crisis, but I hope they will
come around: Songs by Alban Berg, chamber music of Brahms, and a couple of solo
recordings - the Schubert Impromptus and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an
Exhibition”. And, of course, Beethoven is always on the radar!
PH: How
has the corona pandemic influenced your thinking?
SC: It has
been a really challenging time for everyone, and for the arts, globally, it has
forced us to reckon with the fact that the place of arts in society is not
where we would like it to be. It makes a lot of us question our place in
society, which is painful, but personally it has forced me to focus and not
just go through my agenda on autopilot. I’m much more intentional now. It's a
silver lining for me and I think we have to try to find something positive in
all of this, because positivity keeps our hearts open and open hearts are what
arts need in order to thrive and grow.
PH: When
it's not music, what interests you?
SC: I
love to cook; I love to eat. I love to read and I'm fascinated by my daughter,
who is seven. I'm such a lucky mother (not that it is easy all the time) but I
find her, and children in general, amazing. And I'm grateful for friends and
the community that I have...also family. So, when it's not music, I'm wondering
if there is someone I would like to call. Sometimes people just need a little
lift, and I feel good about reaching out and letting friends and family know
that I think of them and that they're loved. Keeping friendships and
connections alive is really important to me...recommending books to each other,
passing on recipes… It's all a part of enjoying life and finding your enthusiasm and just hoping for
the best for everyone.
PH: Shuann Chai, many thanks for your
time and for sharing your thoughts and experience.
