Following his memorable, sold-out solo recital at the lavish Ian Potter Sound Gallery in Monash, CHTNetwork spoke briefly with pianist-composer Benjamin Martin, who the great American pianist John Browning called “the young Horowitz” by. When asked how Martin successfully blends contrasting sounds, his eyes lit up. “I try to think of painting different sounds. And as Horowitz puts it, “A pianist need not be confined to watercolours. One can be an oil painter too.” 

Yet why do some find classical music boring? “That’s actually becoming an old-fashioned idea”, he says. 

He believes the term classical needs to be reimagined – “It takes great imagination and an element of risk-taking on the part of the performer to convey truth, and if any of those elements are absent, your audience switches off. Art’s not about being safe”. 

What about musical influences? “Meeting Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood was definitely a pivotal moment for me in my youth. His conducting classes were especially instructive and rhythmic.” 

I then asked how one balances playing and composing? “With composing it’s ultimately necessity that motivates you. The moment you’re gripped by a spell of creativity you just must go with it. Playing and composing are entirely different disciplines” 

And the future of classical music? “As the great cellist Anner Bylsma (who just passed away) said, “Music is so miraculous, when it happens. For instance, you’re sitting in a room with your friends. You’re playing Ravel’s String Quartet – a wonderful piece. Suddenly the walls seem to disappear. You don’t think about your colleagues or your friends anymore. Something happens in the room. I find it mysterious, it suddenly is beautiful. You can’t force it, it happens.”

Below is a link to Benjamin Martin’s arrangement and live performance of Ary Barroso’s ‘Brazil’: soundcloud.com/benjamin-martin-974049038/martin-barroso. 

在莫纳什华丽优雅的Ian Potter Sound Gallery音乐厅举行了一场令人难忘、座无虚席的独奏会后，CHTNetwork与钢琴兼作曲家Benjamin Martin进行简短访谈。美国伟大的钢琴家John Browning将Martin誉为“年轻的大师霍洛维茨(Horowitz)”。当被问及他是如何成功将形形色色的声音融合一起，Martin的眼睛亮了起来。“我试着描绘出不同的声音。正如霍洛维茨所说，“钢琴演奏家不必局限于水彩画。一个人也可以成为一名油画家。”

至于为何有些人觉得古典音乐枯燥无味呢？“实际上这是一个已经过时的想法。”他认为，古典主义这个术语需要重新构思 – “表演者需要加入极大的想象力和敢于冒险的元素来传达真理，缺乏这些元素，观众们就会失去兴趣。而艺术与安定是无关的。”

关于音乐影响力的源头。“在坦格伍德见到Leonard Bernstein对我的青年时代来说无疑是一个关键时刻。他的指挥课特别有启发性和节奏感。”

对于一个人如何平衡演奏和作曲?“在创作的过程中，最终目的是激发你的动力。一旦被创作的魔力所吸引，就必须跟随。只能说，演奏和作曲是完全不同的规律或学科。”

说到古典音乐的未来呢？正如刚去世的著名大提琴家Anner Bylsma所说:“音乐的到来是如此神奇。”例如，你和朋友坐在一个房间里，你在演奏拉威尔弦乐四重奏，一首美妙的曲子。突然，墙壁似乎消失了，而你已经遗忘同事或朋友，空气氛围中已经发生变化，我瞬间感受到它的神秘和美丽，这个是不由自主的。”

以下为Benjamin Martin对Ary Barroso“Brazil”的编排和现场表演的链接:soundcloud.com/benjamin-martin-974049038/martin-barroso