BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
By now, you should have heard of the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall. After all, it’s the new COVID-19 initiative fuelling Australian musicians’ income by giving them a stage to continue performing.
On that stage sits an instrument that many pianists would love to get their hands on: a Shigeru Kawai concert grand.
Warrick Baker, who is National Sales and Marketing Manager at Kawai, was the one who helped give local musicians the chance to perform on this instrument – within days of MDCH co-founders’ Adele Schonhardt and Chris Howlett’s request, and just as COVID-19 lockdowns began.
One of the MDCH performers, Stefan Cassomenos, says the instrument has made “such an enormous difference” for pianists who are playing as part of this live stream concert series.
He tells CutCommon: “Performing to an empty hall can feel quite lonely and disconnected, and the warmth of the Shigeru Kawai piano has done so much to combat that feeling of isolation.”
“It really is a lifeline for us pianists, having an instrument that speaks and shimmers, allowing us to retain our identity as communicators and artists.”
Stefan is one of the many musicians who have — and are scheduled to — perform on this piano. So in this interview, we talk to the person who made it all happen.
As Warrick tells us about Kawai during the pandemic, we learn that an instrument can be a tool to bring whole communities together through the toughest of times.
Warrick, I’m going to ask you this quite bluntly: When COVID-19 lockdowns hit, it seems you essentially shifted into providing instruments for people who couldn’t perform them in venues that couldn’t open. So, in your own experience with Kawai, how have the COVID-19 lockdowns affected your business and what you do in the Australian music community?
Starting at the end of that question, I head up the team of Kawai Australia and New Zealand. Our core business is distribution of our own product lines, and part of that is keeping music-making, and particularly piano, front of mind. That’s where our engagement with the wider community sits – supporting and investing in partnerships that not only provide opportunities for performances to occur, but performances that create inspiration for people to want to make music.
The other part of the music community where I sit is on the board of the Australian Music Association. Our key role as an association is to continue to find and create ways that make music and music-making accessible to everyone, including lobbying government on music in schools and support for industry.
In terms of the effect of COVID-19 for us, with our business in Australia and New Zealand it’s been really two different scenarios. One side of the Tasman completely closed for four weeks, and the other side was operating almost as normal. We knew we had to make fast decisions, in an unprecedented situation, on an unknown timeline. I remember getting on a plane in Perth on the Friday night, mapping out multiple scenarios for how things could play out – all of which ended with a question mark.
Fortunately, our worst-case-scenario planning hasn’t been needed. In fact, COVID-19 has really put the spotlight on people wanting to make music in some form, and we have been lucky thus far that we haven’t had the full impact of issues other sectors have had to deal with.
One thing that has been proven by the shutdowns and distancing is that in times of uncertainty, people still want a release, and music has been proven to be just that, time and time again. The big difference this time is that in times of past hardship, people could still go and see live music or a theatre performance, get out, and escape from the reality for an hour or two. With the COVID-19 lockdowns, that opportunity was taken away very quickly.
With that in mind, you were quick to act. Before this interview, Melbourne Digital Concert Hall co-founder Adele Schonhardt told me that, within days of their request, you’d helped deliver a Kawai concert grand onto the Athanaeum Theatre stage for pianists involved. What was it about MDCH that appealed to you to become so involved?
It was two things really: our social conscience, and our long-standing relationship with MDCH co-founder Chris Howlett. When Chris called us to bounce the idea off us, it was an easy decision to help however we could. The call came just a couple days before Daniel Andrews announced he was essentially shutting Victoria.
The decision was simple – so many people with whom we’re connected, either directly or indirectly, would get the chance to continue to perform live music, and still generate an income. With all the news of the arts and music community really being left off the list for government support, it was even more important to us help get the project up and running.
Would you say MDCH and your Kawai involvement is an example of how our music community can come together?
We often lose sight of just how close the music community actually is. My performing days are now 20 years in the rear-view mirror, but you never forget the relationships that built over years, and always know you can call someone and ask for help when the chips are down.
So many people we’re connected with went from having a strong income and programs well into 2021, to nothing, in the space of a Federal Government press conference. The fact the Chris and Adele put the livelihoods of their extended network of colleagues and artists ahead of their own, whilst – in Chris’s case – their own incomes were taken away as performers as well, displays just how resilient the music community is, in supporting each other.
How many of these MDCH performances have featured your Kawai concert grand, and what do you feel this instrument has meant to the musicians who have been able to play it?
I think it is easier to put a number on the performances that haven’t included piano. Piano is one of the foundation instruments, common to just about every kind of music our culture enjoys. I remember very early in the project, maybe the second week of performances, I received feedback that some of the artists were so overwhelmed they could still earn an income that they were in tears – and those MDCH performers I’ve had conversations with have mostly just been grateful they could still perform and work, pay their rent, and provide for their families.
Having the resources to provide support is one thing, however looking towards the bigger picture and seeing the ongoing benefits to the artists performing is what is important. This project will have a long shelf life, particularly with so much continued uncertainty around the reopening of venues this year.
Because people are watching this concert live streamed, how would you advise listeners to set up their devices at home in order to experience the Kawai sound?
I think the best advice I can give to that is: in a comfortable place with a nice bottle to the side and a cheeseboard!
The 5stream team are doing a spectacular job of the technical side of things, and I really can’t fault the sound reproduction. I’ve watched performances on my iPhone, my laptop, streamed through my TV, and they all sound great.
Admittedly, I am a bit of a gear junky when it comes to headphones and speakers, but I think the best way to enjoy it is to find the best solution with the devices you have. The majority of home sound systems are going to produce better sound than any mobile device.
What message do you hope Kawai’s involvement in MDCH will be sending to the Australian music community?
One of the underlying pillars of our business is to support the arts in all its forms, from classical music, to theatre, opera, ballet, music festivals, etc. The reason we do this is partly because we know that resources and funding for arts organisations is basically always shrinking, and partly because, as a business that promotes and makes musical instruments, we need to have a social conscience that supports all avenues where music is involved.
Not everyone is willing to come to the party when it comes to supporting new ideas, and I think one effect of this COVID-19 environment has been to force people to think outside the box. It’s the same in our own business: if you don’t evolve and have new ways to engage with the market or audiences, you won’t last the distance.
What are some of the inspiring stories you’ve also seen from MDCH through your involvement?
The most profound inspiration to come out of MDCH, for me, has been the support of the wider community. The income generated in just two months is truly a great effort for all involved: $250,000 from 54 performances, creating income for 130 musicians across three states, is just incredible. People take comfort in music; having the escape from reality is so important to all of our lives and wellbeing, even in the best of times.
Another is seeing musicians rally together to support each other, so that no one is left behind. When the project was getting off the ground, the key news story at the time was getting football back and playing – yet no talk of getting the arts back on its feet, or of support for an industry that is bigger than the three football codes together, to find a meaningful way through this.
Beyond the MDCH in its Athanaeum home, you’ve also provided the Kawai studio for some Sydney broadcasts. What do you see in, or hope for, the future of Kawai and its collaboration with MDCH?
One thing that has come to light from MCDH is the reach and accessibility it has given to regional Australia, who may normally see a rare few touring artists. We hope that there’s a way for this great initiative to extend into the long term, and become an avenue to expand the reach of music to regional areas that rarely or never get on the tour list.
In terms of the Kawai side of things with MDCH, we see this as another important artistic partnership that has a long future ahead for us both. MCDH is a new performance experience and has made classical performance accessible to what is probably the biggest audience exposure any venue could have. The biggest hope we have for the future, is that a support and funding spotlight is focused on the arts, going forward. Just imagine life without music. No thanks!
Watch musicians perform at the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall during the Michael Aquilina Chamber Music Festival from 30-31 May.
Images supplied. MDCH captured by Albert Comper.
CutCommon is proud to be an official Melbourne Digital Concert Hall media partner.
