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Interview, Alessio Bax on Forgotten Dances

Black and white photograph of Alessio BaxAlessio Bax, past winner of both the Hamamatsu International and Leeds International Piano Competitions, recently released Forgotten Dances, an album exploring the dance qualities in a range of solo piano repertoire, from Bach to Bartók. Matthew Ash spoke to Alessio about the album, his love of Bach and avoiding the endless rabbit-warren of seeking piano perfection.

 

What inspired you to create the Forgotten Dances programme? 

It's very interesting because since my very first opportunity to record a CD, and that was in 2004 with Baroque Reflections, I made a short list of dream projects that I would like to record. I'm still going through that list! 

With Signum now, it's been fantastic because they just said yes to everything I've suggested. Their quality is great, and we always have a great time recording. It always starts with one or two pieces. I love the idea of putting together dance suites, especially the Bach suite with the Bartók dance suite. 

I love the way you bring out the dance-like qualities in the Bach.

If you can think of any music, any single composer that can endure all kinds of performances and transcriptions, it's probably Bach, because the music at its core is so great. The way you play Bach, I think, really defines who you are at the core of the musician. You have to showcase the music without getting in the way. I use all my technical skills, colours, anything I can do on the piano, as a tool to achieve that. 

My approach to Bach has been growing with me in the years. I've been touring with the wonderful flautist Emmanuel Pahud, for example, who opened to me a new world about the expressive importance of articulation. I've been dabbling in some harpsichord playing as well. It's an ongoing process.

Your playing is imbued with a real sense of movement. Is it something you think about in all your playing? 

I think music needs to be alive. It needs to be at least three-dimensional. It needs to lift off the page and into the air. And then, proportions, three-dimensionality, voicing. Especially as a pianist, there's so many challenges to make music alive. The piano is a very complex machine, and it takes all the years to make it sound otherwise. 

You are a Steinway artist. How closely do you work with the piano technicians? 

When you open that door, you might spend the rest of your life just driving yourself and the piano technician crazy. I think there's some incredible pianos that I've been lucky to play in my life where the piano inspires you in ways that you never thought. I work closely with piano technicians, but not neurotically. You find the piano that you find, and you adapt.

Chamber music is a big part of what you do. How important is it to you and what does it bring to your solo playing? 

I’ve reduced it to a few summer festivals, some of which I run, and others run by close colleagues. During the season, I do tours with two or three people that I really enjoy working with. I think we inspire one another to grow. I just did a few concerts with James Ehnes. It was a little bit of a surprise, and we have a few projects coming up together. He's a wonderful player.

The joy should be there; the sense of wonder that you practice so much, yet you don't know what's going to happen, even if you're just by yourself. I think the moment you think you can recreate exactly what you do in practice, then the magic is broken.

Finally, why the piano? What got you started? 

When I was seven, my parents gave me a little keyboard for Christmas, and I loved it so much. My introduction to classical music was through the music of Bach on the organ, and I really wanted to be an organist.

I used to read Bach fugues and split the parts with my brother. When it was time to enter the Conservatory, we were supposed to take five years of piano before they would let us switch to the organ. I resisted it for a while, but there was no choice, I had to do it. I got a piano teacher, and very quickly I fell in love with the repertoire through great recordings of old pianists.

And here I am still. How can you not fall in love with the piano and the music?

Alessio Bax (piano)

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV

Alessio Bax (piano)

Available Formats: MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV