BY CELINE CHONG, LEAD WRITER (QLD)
The classical and pop genres of music are, to most, worlds apart.
From the perspective of a classical musician, pop has a completely different concert (err, live gig) culture. It has totally foreign considerations when it comes to composition (err, songwriting). And, uh, you’re meant to dance while the music is playing…? (Are we talking baroque dance suites here…?)
But for Vietnamese-Australian cross-genre pianist Van-Anh Nguyen, life as a musician – and the genre debate that comes with it – doesn’t have to be so black and white.
In her new album Pop Alchemy, Van-Anh has fused some of the most recognisable pop and classical tunes. And as one of Australia’s most successful cross-genre artists, she chats to us about her process of creating Pop Alchemy, and life as a young artist bridging two worlds.
Hi, Van-Anh! So lovely to meet you, and thank you so much for chatting with us! Tell us about your musical education and career so far.
I started learning piano with my parents at the age of 13 months old; they’re both musicians – mum’s an opera singer, dad’s a classical guitarist.
I went through all the usual piano competitions nationally in Australia, and did many masterclasses and summer school through Germany and Austria in my teens. I did my time at the Sydney Conservatorium under many great teachers; then decided to focus on bridging the classical and modern world through arranging and creating modern takes on classical songs, vice versa, and subsequently mash-ups with both a classical and a pop song [coexisting].
What do you think influenced your love for pop music? And what drove you to combine both pop and classical styles into your professional career?
I grew up in a household where Classic FM was the only thing playing. It wasn’t until high school where I was obsessed with that late-‘90s, early-2000 R&B and hip-hop, and then house music beats after that. I started doing classical covers of pop songs, but I wanted a perfect amalgamation of the two. And, through experimenting, it all fell into place.
Your album Pop Alchemy has a whole range of different mash-ups and interesting musical concoctions! How do you go about deciding which songs and pieces to mix together? Do you have a favourite?
It’s quite difficult to find what matches, because pop tunes are based on four chords, whereas classical tunes are elaborate in structure, harmony, and rarely have that verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. It’s a process of finding songs I like, working out a section of both songs that can somehow match, and interweaving them together. It’s a real experimental process: there’s no formula, and I think that’s why I’m so drawn to doing this.
Off the album, I’d say the Destiny’s Child vs Rachmaninov mash-up is my favourite.
Did you have an overarching theme or message for the album while creating it? Or was it more exploratory in nature?
The idea behind the album was to be progressive in the approach of classical music. In the end, I am most passionate in ensuring classical music stays alive. So if it be that I do mash-ups, or arrange pop tunes in a classical manner that gets people to write to me asking for sheet music or introducing them to classical music that way, then that’s what it’s all about for me.
Being a cross-over pianist is a pretty unique position! What do you hope to communicate to your audiences with the level of influence you have today?
I want to make sure that classical music stays alive, and ensure people have fun playing it at the same time. Classical music can be perceived with such snobbery and can feel stifling to some – it alienates so many people, and it should never be that way.
On top of that, I love the piano and want more people of all ages playing it. I hear so often: ‘I wish I kept up the piano…’. So I hope with my arrangements, they come back to it, or it inspires the younger generation to keep going and know that there’s other approaches to classical music.
Finally, what are your top three pieces of advice for emerging young musicians?
- Don’t ever be afraid of the word ‘no’. If you ask and don’t get the answer or help you want, go knock on another door. Persistence is key.
- There are so many platforms now available for you to broadcast your music, so why wait? Being self-made is so powerful and expected now. Put it up on YouTube, share it on Facebook, Instagram, put on your own concert, make your own posters, or use mediums like Fiverr to help you do an independent release. You can almost do everything yourself these days, so what are you waiting for?
- Collaborate. Reach out to like-minded people and do collaborations to help cross promote.
Find Van-Anh Nguyen’s new release Pop Alchemy through your favourite retailer.
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