A FEW WORDS WITH CUBAN-SPANISH PIANIST LEONEL MORALES

 

A FEW WORDS WITH CUBAN-SPANISH 

PIANIST LEONEL MORALES

The eminent Cuban-Spanish concert pianist LEONEL MORALES was in Singapore for the first time, presented by GL Piano Education and Shang Nancyfriends, where he gave a piano recital at Ten Square @ Orchard Central on 5 September as well as several masterclasses. Taking a break from enlightening a six-year-old on the finer points of a Clementi sonata, he speaks with PIANOMANIA on music in his homeland, piano competitions and being an artist.

Tell us something about classical music in Cuba.

Cuba is a country of music, the land of the rumba, chacha, bolero, guajira and danzon. Everybody is a musician. My father played many instruments, including some which he invented himself. My grandfather owned three circuses and a cinema. My brothers and sister play in professional orchestras. I learnt the piano and was taught by Frank Fernandez, a great virtuoso and the best teacher in Cuba. He was taught by Victor Merzhanov, representing the great Russian piano tradition. Many great Russian pianists came to Cuba to perform and teach, including Mikhail Voskresensky, who also taught me.

Those were the days of the Soviet Union, which had supported Cuba in every way. Cuba sold cane sugar to USSR at high prices, and got crude oil in return at low prices, which were then processed and sold back at high prices. Cuba also supplied gas and arms to Communist revolutions in Angola and El Salvador. That was how Cuba got rich, but after Perestroika, all the money stopped coming in and it was finito, downhill all the way after that.

At 25, I left for Spain to make a career in music. When I returned to visit my family, I was treated as a traitor of the state and was put in prison for two weeks, only released after my musician friends spoke up for me. Soon after I went back to Spain, I was informed that my father was very ill. He told me that he might not be alive by the time I got released, so I never got to go home to Cuba again.

So you must be a specialist in Cuban and Spanish piano music.

I actually perform much more music than that, such as all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, five piano concertos and Choral Fantasia, and I have played all Rachmaninov piano concertos in two concerts: the First, Fourth and Paganini Rhapsody in one, and the Second and Third in the other. 

My interest in Spanish composers goes beyond performing their music. The competition I founded in 2000, International Piano Competition Spanish Composers (CIPCE, www.cipce.org), a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC, www.wfimc.org) pays tribute to a Spanish composer in every edition. This year’s edition is dedicated to Padre Antonio Soler. Each pianist may perform a free repertoire of his or her own choosing and to include a work by Soler. Any piece by Soler is permissible, and they would have added a new Spanish work into their repertoire.

How important are piano competitions? Are they essential or a necessary evil?

Competitions are positive and necessary. Pianists get to learn and prepare a big programme. They practise at a high level, and perform under attention and pressure. They get to perform in different concert halls and different brands of pianos. They also learn from listening to fellow competitors and colleagues, and get opinions from jury members.

However, it would be a mistake for a pianist to think he or she is great based on the result of winning a single competition. There are many factors that influence that outcome, such as how the pianist played, how others performed and the particular combination and reactions of jury members. The prize means nothing more than that. There are also positives of not winning a competition, so do not worry if you don’t win. In a way, competitions are like sports.

What is your message for young pianists?

Always aim for the highest level of artistry possible. Cultivating a particular sound is more important than technique. Technique decreases with age but your sound endures. One just needs to think about pianists like Rubinstein, Gilels, Larrocha or Haskil – all of them had great sound despite being advanced in years. A lot of young people put a lot of emphasis into technique, but are otherwise very boring, so you must develop a personality of your own. Being polite and modest in personality gets you invited back. Always ask yourself, why do you play the piano?

Have you had any regrets?

My father impressed on me how difficult it is to do well for yourself. Conditions were difficult when I was growing up in Cuba. There was no electricity, no air conditioning, there were mosquitoes everywhere, and had to make do with one meal a day. But I had a dream, and that was to play the piano. Now, my son Leo de Maria is also a pianist and my assistant. I am a very happy person and have come close to realising my dreams. For us, we cannot live without playing the piano. We cannot live without music.

LEONEL MORALES autographed my CD of his recording of Xavier Montsalvatge's Concerto Breve. Privately, Montsalvatge told him that he preferred his recording to Alicia de Larrocha's. However, Morales advised that one should listen to both recordings before making a final judgement!