Jenny Lin is one of the most fascinating pianists currently on the scene. Solidly outside the mainstream, she proudly confesses, “I think it’s important not to just record things because of their commercial possibilities.” And to prove that point, Lin’s newest recording is Federico Mompou’s 28-movement mystical masterpiece, Música Callada. She talked with Ariama about Mompou, Broadway shows and Alexander Scriabin’s phone number.
What sparked your interest in Mompou’s Música Callada?
About ten years ago I was living in Geneva in a little chalet in the countryside that was owned by a wealthy family. It was the total opposite of New York, with little to do, so my only form of entertainment was to go and buy recordings. That was how I discovered recordings of Mompou playing his own works. Ever since then I was interested in his music and hoped that I would be able to record Música Callada in its entirety. But I never thought I would get the opportunity to record it because it’s obscure and in many ways not a commercial project. I think it’s important not to just record things because of their commercial possibilities. I believe in longevity and I hope that my recordings will stay around for a long time and not just for the time in which they are released.
Música Callada is made up of such gorgeous miniatures. Is the miniature more difficult to perform or record than the large-scale work?
I think so. One thing is you can have longer takes in recording sessions, sometimes even full takes when you are recording miniatures. Your concentration has to be much more intense. What’s difficult about Música Callada is that there are 28 pieces and you have to think about how to make all of them make sense in one large set. I wanted to make them all connect but also allow them to stand alone. My intention was not to take breaks between numbers so I told the engineer not to break for separate takes but to let the tape roll and I would play however long I wanted. This music cannot have any measurement of time.
Along with Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues and perhaps Messiaen’s Vingt Regards, is it one of the great 20th century piano cycles?
Absolutely, yes. I feel like I can relate to these works a lot. Especially Shostakovich, even though it sounds like it’s from long ago, its much closer to my lifetime. That’s very important to me. My connection is much deeper with the more recent composers. They are very different from contemporary music composers. A composer like Valentin Silvestrov, you couldn’t really call him contemporary.
When you perform this music you, really start to look at yourself from within and relate to them. Silvestrov doesn’t speak English, so I was communicating with him through his manager. After he heard a recording of me playing his music, he wrote two pieces for me and mailed them to me all the way from the Ukraine. I felt that this is someone who really cares about his interpreters.
What are some new projects we can look for?
I like composers who are very good pianists. Many composers know the instrument well, but those who are pianists have a very different approach to the instrument. That ties in with my next album, which will be tunes from Broadway and musicals arranged by pianists. There’s one tune arranged by Earl Wild, but the rest will be by active performing pianists.
Have you contributed any arrangements?
I have to find the courage to write one. I was thinking about it and I might, but I won’t absolutely say I will. It’s not so easy to do when there are so many good ones. What’s important is that Broadway and musicals are such major influences on American culture. We tend to overlook this genre, but it’s just not for the tourists. So with this album I’m staying with my roots, just changing the tune.
What recordings have made the biggest impact on you?
I loved recordings by old pianists like Vladimir Sofronitsky and Maria Yudina. I was into them for the liberty and vision they had of music. I’m not sure they would be so well received if they were playing now because there is such an established standard. But I just loved their approach to the instrument and their touch, which was so clean and clear. Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was also one of my biggest heroes. I think his recordings are perfect, like well-polished porcelain.
You can see my love for certain repertoire. I haven’t recorded them, but I love Scriabin, Ravel and the more personal Shostakovich. I think Sofronitsky was the son-in-law of Scriabin. I actually went to Moscow and visited Scriabin’s home once. His house was kept intact and I remember seeing the instrument he designed that set off different colors of light. One of the things I will never forget was the telephone that was on the wall in his house with the phone number on it—that was a great memory.
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by Craig Zeichner
