Jon Nakamatsu playing Mozart Sonata in B flat, K333 in Orchard Room, Los Altos Library |
Jon Nakamatsu in Musical Conversation with Sandra Wales, President, Steinway Society, Bay Area Orchard Room, Los Altos Library 13 South San Antonio Rd. Wednesday, April 19, 2017, 7:30-9:00 pm
Edited by Peter Y. Chou |
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Speaking Volumes: Jon Nakamatsu Flyer, Los Altos Library, April 19, 2017 |
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Preface: I left Foothill College Krause Center at 5:50 pm
and got the 5:57 pm Bus #40 to Los Altos Library at 6:20 pm. Some
20 people were already on line, and tickets were handed out for
this free event. I've heard Jon Nakamatsu playing the piano on
KDFC 104.9 FM frequently, but have never met him. After seeing
a flyer at Los Altos Library on his coming for a free event
on 4-19-2017, I was eager to meet this 1997 Van Cliburn Gold Medal Winner. A friend was going to come at 6 pm and save me a seat, but she showed up ten minutes after me. We were lucky to get seats in the second row close to the piano. I've typed my 8 pages of Notes of this interesting interview.
Mary Popeck, President of Los Altos Library Endowment welcomes the audience of 100 for this sold-out event. "This is the 15th Speaking Volumes Lecture. Krissy of Steinway Piano Gallery (316 State Street, Los Altos) donated the piano for this event. Jon taught my son German at St. Francis High School, that's how I first met him. Jon won the Gold Medal at the 1997 Van Cliburn Contest. He has recorded 12 CDs, and some are on sale in the lobby."
Jon Nakamatsu entered the Orchard Room from a door behind the piano
to a wide ovation. He began playing immediately, and when he finished, told us
it was the last part of Mozart K. 333
Sandra Wales: I first met Jon in 1997 when he won the Van Cliburn contest. Jon Nakamatsu: I started playing piano when young at 6 years old. My private teacher Marina Derryberry was with me when I was 27 years old. Piano playing wasn't paying the bills. So I taught German for 6 years at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View [1991-1997]. i missed now teaching classes in German. Competition ends when you're 30 years old, so 1997 was my last chance. Sandra Wales: What was that experience like for you? Jon Nakamatsu: I had competitive experience at 7 years old. Participated in the UNICEF Youth Awards for 10 years, also local county contests. But didn't win anything. I auditioned in the 1993 Van Cliburn Contest, and didn't make it. Missed in the Chopin and Schumann Competitions. You never know what moves people on a certain day. There's always full of pressure. Now webcast is through the whole world. Make a mistake and everybody knows it. It's make it or break it. I was lucky to win in 1997. Sandra Wales: What's the life of a concert pianist like? Jon Nakamatsu: So much of my day is business. Planning for 2-3 years out. Artistic planning for festival in Massachusetts. Last year, we had a baby. So I have none to 8-9 hours of practice. If they have a piano to practice— great! Life comes to you in strange ways. Important to balance your life outside of music. Sandra Wales: How much do you travel? Jon Nakamatsu: 7-8 months away from home travelling. I want to spend every second at home with my new baby. Sandra Wales: You son is 15 months old. Will he be a pianist? Jon Nakamatsu: Hope not to be a pianist. It's a tough life. I would not wish it on anyone. Sandra Wales: Any advice for those who wants to be a pianist? Jon Nakamatsu: Stage is not the end. Goal is to enhance your life. Great love of music and to communicate with others. This will take over your life. It grabs you. Life takes you where you want to go. To be a presenter, outreacher, writing, research, not just performing on stage. Sandra Wales: Steinway wants to spread music. Jon Nakamatsu: One common theme in travelling around the world— It starts at the home. Not how you analyze a Beethoven Sonata. People will recall that their mother played that piece. People drawn to the concert hall. To expose your family to art. Someday they'll go to a museum or concert. 8:00-8:08 pm— Jon Nakamatsu went to the piano and played Chopin (3rd Scherzo, Op. 39, 1839) Sandra Wales: Do you have a favorite composer? Jon Nakamatsu: No. I do love Chopin. Sandra Wales: Do you teach? Jon Nakamatsu: I recently taught at San Francisco Conservatory. There were six students. I had to rethink my lessons (not comfortable like German). Ability takes time. My students taught me a lot. Sandra Wales: Interaction with students? Jon Nakamatsu: You learn more about yourself. Many of my students are English as Second Language (ESL). Everyone's physique are different. That's a challenge for me.
Sandra Wales: How do you suggest for us an inner journey?— Jon Nakamatsu: My family knew nothing of musicians. They were genuinely interested in what I did. Not like going to a symphony to hearing it once. Need to listen a piece over and over again. Get different performances by different artists. This person's recording is different from that one. Go to the Library & read everything about that piece such as Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Bay Area has a lot of offerings. Experience it LIVE— Go to a concert. Live performances are better to listen to than CDs. Sandra Wales: Our goal at Steinway is to reach 500 students. Jon Nakamatsu: Liv experience and repeat it. 60% of teachers have a piano in the classroom back in the 1970s. To infuse students into music and sensitize them to listening to a long sonata. Make it a positive experience to them. Go to kids concerts, youth concerts, chamber music concerts. Sandra Wales: Difference in playing solo or concerts? Jon Nakamatsu: If I play with an orchestr, average time is 30 minutes. For solo performance, it's 90 minutes of music with intermission. Concerts are like sprints. Solo performance is a marathon. Preparing and performance. Concerto is 30 minutes. Recital is 2 hours. In Chamber Music, there is support from each other. Sandra Wales: Insular experience in recitals? Jon Nakamatsu: I learned over time. There is mental strain. Can't shut off the world. You're human. You're trained to multi-task. Some is snoring, people opening cany wrappers. Goal is to be in that moment. I wish I had a hamburger because I'm hungry. All the noise up there. Any negativity (forget or make a mistake). If you study correctly, you won't be afraid of the test. Bring yourself to the moment— Breathing is most important. Feeling my big toe in my shoes. On the stage, you feel as though you're swimming. 8:25-8:32 pm— Jon Nakamatsu played Chopin (Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66, 1834) Q & A Session with Audience Q: Could you say something on playing from memory? Jon Nakamatsu: It's different when you have the score in front of you. Music that I memorize are internalized. I see the score go by in my mind. I mark the score. Even if I know it with Chamber Music, I need to know how long others are playing. No test until you're on stage. It's very scary. Memory is performance anxiety. When I'm talking, I can go back and say something different. But not so, when you're playing music. You're listening to the sound when you play from memory. Before it was vulgar to play from memory, because the performer acts if he's more important than the composer. Franz Lizst changed all that when he played from memory. Now we are all doing it. Q: How did you start playing at 6 years old? Jon Nakamatsu: I wish my mother was here. I was 4 years old when I decided to play the piano. They bought me a toy organ. They told me "We'll buy a piano, but you need to take lessons." My parents didn't push me. My mother made me practice for a certain time before I'm allowed to go outside and play. Q: When did you stop taking lessons? Your relationship with your teacher? Jon Nakamatsu: My teacher [Marina Derryberry] passed away in 2009 [May 5]. I played for her over the phone. Played for her a week before she died. She came to my concerts and told me during the intermission— No BS! Q: How do you keep your hand and fingers strong and pliable? Jon Nakamatsu: I'm careful in using my hands. To be mindless is dangerous. Be careful to take breaks. I won't do Tchaikovsky concert cold. 75% of what I do is tempo-oriented. Everything is done very slowly and detailed. Always slow down a bit. Q: On your repertoire, do you play something stringent and dark? Jon Nakamatsu: I've done quite a bit of that. Beethoven's Late Sonatas and String Quartets. Maybe music doesn't have an answer. If it's presented in the right way, it's good. Not necessary that audience buy your CDs. Play what you believe in, present it differently. We listen to Beethoven with more passion now than during his times. Q: You didn't go to a conservatory. It will make a great movie. Have anyone offered to make a movie of your life? Jon Nakamatsu: No one has asked me to make a movie. Music competition will pick someone with Julliard School resumé instead of someone teaching German who's never gone to a conservatory. In my case, they have no idea whether I'm from Yale or Julliard. No pre-conceived notion of my background. Some jurists are asleep. A friend who taught English at St. Francis High School is now a neurosurgeon. Medical Schools are admitting students who are more well-rounded. Sandra Wales: Let me close this event by thanking Jon for his great humanity and humility.
After the Event: I went up to Jon Nakamatsu and shook his hand. Since my pen ran out of ink, Web Links to Jon Nakamatsu:
• Wikipedia: Jon Nakamatsu |
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