BY THOMAS MISSON
By the press, Christian Leotta has been described as one of the greatest Beethoven soloists of our time. It seems no amount of hyperbolic praise is off-limits when describing his abilities. What makes this weapons-grade musicality possible? In simple terms, a perfect storm of hard work from an early age, a huge passion for all things Beethoven, and legendary teachers of a most illustrious lineage.
Christian heard his first Beethoven sonata at the age of seven from an old LP recording of Alfred Brendel, and by the Sonata No 10, Op 14 No 2 recording he was particularly enamoured. “I was so moved by this piece that I wanted immediately to learn it,” Christian says.
Shortly after, his father gifted him the entire cycle of Beethoven sonatas recorded by Daniel Barenboim. From here, his obsession with Beethoven began and with it, his quest to perform each and every one of them. Nine years later, he had over half of the 32 sonatas in his repertoire. By 21, he had finished learning all of them and he went on to present the complete cycle in Montreal.
Christian’s affinity for Beethoven is hardly surprising when taking into account his position in a long, prestigious line of tutorship leading all the way back to Beethoven himself.
“I was so lucky to have had the unique chance of learning this fantastic repertoire with the great Karl Ulrich Schnabel, the son of Artur Schnabel, who studied with Theodor Leschetizky, who studied with Carl Czerny, who studied with Beethoven himself,” Christian says. “To understand Beethoven’s writing is the first step to playing his music and making it alive once more.”
Swapping secrets about how to organise practice sessions and learning repertoire is very common in piano circles, so it comes as a surprise to me that Christian employed no particular method to the enormous task of learning all of the Beethoven sonatas. “It was such a great moment the first time I performed them,” he reflects.
One thing is for certain among prospective and successful concert pianists: the importance of hard work is difficult to understate. Although exercise and socialising are important to Christian, a typical practice day includes six hours of practice.
“It is always nice talking to good friends, having a long walk, or listening to the music you love the most. It is also important to exercise every day in order to keep your body good in shape as much as possible.”
Christian leaves us with his three best pieces of advice for young pianists: “Practice, practice, and practice!”
Christian Leotta will perform four Beethoven sonatas at the Federation Concert Hall, Hobart, 7.30pm May 26. More info www.tso.com.au.
Image supplied.
