BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Jina Lee and Scott McDougall are piano students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. They’re no strangers to stringent practice and professional development.
But it’s not often emerging musicians get the chance to expose this development to one of the most renowned pianists in the world.
In one of the most renowned concert venues in the world.
In front of an audience.
This month, Jina and Scott studied their chosen repertoire on the Sydney Opera House stage, under the guidance and critical eye of pianist Freddy Kempf. It all formed part of the ongoing Utzon Music Series Masterclasses, curated by Yarmila Alfonsetti.
Before they took to the stage, these two young pianists who told us what they were hoping to learn with Freddy; a London-born pianist who made his concerto debut (at just 8 years old) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and has since performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony, NHK Symphony, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Freddy’s masterclass kicked off the 2019 series, which will continue to empower emerging musicians like Jina and Scott to learn from the Brodsky Quartet, VOCES8, Johannes Moser, and more.
Read on to learn what you can expect from the next one.
Jina and Scott, it’s lovely to chat with you. Tell us, why did you want to take part in Freddy Kempf’s Masterclass?
Jina Lee: It’s such a rare opportunity to be able to have a masterclass with such a renowned pianist! I wanted to participate in the masterclass because it would be such a shame to miss the chance of being able to experience receiving such close feedback from a concert pianist, and being able to hear Freddy Kempf’s personal musical insight.
Scott McDougall: I thought it would be an awesome experience to meet such an incredible person like Freddy; to have him listen to my playing and have him share his ideas and inspirations. I’ve listened to his recordings quite a lot, and I’ve always found them very inspiring. I feel so lucky to have been given the chance to meet and learn from him. It’s also a great performance opportunity, playing in the Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House.
You’re at different stages of your studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Why do you feel it’s important to extend your professional development outside your academic environment?
JL: As we are surrounded by the same bunch of musicians for a few years, it’s always nice to receive musical feedback and learn from different perspectives. And that way, you aren’t so confined to just a certain way of playing or musical style.
I think it’s always important, with anything in life, to be able to view things from various perspectives as it can really help develop your own interpretations.
SM: I’ve always found it really important to take as many opportunities outside of uni as I can. I know there is an argument for remaining intensely focused on your study and not pursuing any opportunities beyond that, but I guess I’ve always been the opposite in that I’ve been keen to be out there as much as I can, to get a sense of what the professional world would be like as a musician.
Apart from enjoying playing and performing with various orchestras and chamber groups, I’ve learnt so much about piano and the professional side of music from several tutors and the friends that I’ve played chamber music with. I think I’ve been incredibly lucky with all the opportunities I’ve been given.
Scott and Jina, this is not your first experience performing in masterclasses. What have you been hoping to gain with Freddy?
JL: I am just very keen to hear how Freddy approaches the piece I am working on, and I hope that I can gain inspiration from his interpretation to develop my performance for the better.
SM: I’m really keen to hear Freddy’s ideas about colour, different thoughts on phrasing, and the technical side of how he achieves that. Freddy’s playing is so colourful; I’d love to explore that through this Debussy prelude I’ll be playing for him. These preludes can be interpreted in so many different ways. They were written very late in his life when he started using more abstract sounds and musical structures. It’ll be interesting to see what [Freddy] has to say about it!
And what do you hope audiences gain from watching a masterclass experience?
JL: I hope that, through this experience, the audience will be able to understand that they too are free to interpret a piece in their own way but they should also be open to other approaches.
SM: Freddy has so much experience as a performer, and for him to be sharing that with us, I’m sure it’ll be really engaging. Hopefully, everyone will come out with a greater sense of awareness and enthusiasm about music!
Learn more about the Utzon Room Series Masterclasses on the Sydney Opera House website.
Bookings are open for the next masterclass, which takes place on 14 April with Trio Wanderer’s Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabedian.
Images supplied.
