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Topic: Interview with Olga Kern  (Read 6064 times)

Offline vlhorowitz

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Interview with Olga Kern
on: April 08, 2012, 07:31:24 PM
Hi Everyone,

Hope you're all having a great weekend. Here is my first published interview with the San Francisco newspaper. It's brief, but Ms. Kern offers her take on Art, the future of pianism, and her relation to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.

As always, thank you all for reading ! :)

https://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2012/04/heritage-and-art-inspire-pianist-olga-kern
"Sometimes my fingers work, sometimes not, - the hell with them! I want to sing anyway," WK, 1953.

Offline m1469

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Re: Interview with Olga Kern
Reply #1 on: April 08, 2012, 07:58:42 PM
Cool, thanks for sharing.  I like Olga Kern, I saw her perform live the same year she won her place.   I will never forget especially a particular approach she took to the piano at the beginning of one piece in particular (though I can't recall the piece).  And, I remember she changed dresses at intermission  ;D.  I liked reading her thoughts.  She and I share the same Birthday :), but not the same year (close!).  Early Happy Birthday, Olga Kern, you are pretty!  The best in your endeavors :).
"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving"  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Offline gvans

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Re: Interview with Olga Kern
Reply #2 on: April 09, 2012, 02:33:29 AM
Thanks. I've heard Olga twice in the last year--once in a solo program with her eleven-year-old son, and once with Vladamir Spivakov, playing the Franck sonata and the Brahms D minor.

She's amazing, and has incredible technique--practissimo, all you Olga Kern wannabes!
And, as m1469 wrote, she wore two different gowns for each performance--one can only imagine the size of her wardrobe...

In the solo program, she played a series of variations by Clara Schumann--they were memorable, and quite wonderful. Rarely played. Her son performed with good technique and spirit but lacked nuance. In time, I'm sure he'll be a fine pianist.

Offline vlhorowitz

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Re: Interview with Olga Kern
Reply #3 on: April 09, 2012, 03:10:00 PM
Thank you all for reading and for sharing your thoughts :)
"Sometimes my fingers work, sometimes not, - the hell with them! I want to sing anyway," WK, 1953.

Offline pianowolfi

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Re: Interview with Olga Kern
Reply #4 on: April 09, 2012, 05:06:57 PM
Quote
In 2001, Olga Kern won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the first woman to receive the honor in more than 30 years.

My god, what a shame! The first woman in 30 years! That's truly a shame! They should re-think their competition system!  :'(  

I *love* her Rach 3 so much! In my book it's absolutely fantastic!

Very interesting read, I like very much her thoughts and her approach! :)


Offline vlhorowitz

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Re: Interview with Olga Kern
Reply #5 on: April 23, 2012, 01:35:45 AM
Glad you enjoyed reading - thanks for commenting :)
"Sometimes my fingers work, sometimes not, - the hell with them! I want to sing anyway," WK, 1953.
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Piano Street Magazine:
Women and the Chopin Competition: Breaking Barriers in Classical Music

The piano, a sleek monument of polished wood and ivory keys, holds a curious, often paradoxical, position in music history, especially for women. While offering a crucial outlet for female expression in societies where opportunities were often limited, it also became a stage for complex gender dynamics, sometimes subtle, sometimes stark. From drawing-room whispers in the 19th century to the thunderous applause of today’s concert halls, the story of women and the piano is a narrative woven with threads of remarkable progress and stubbornly persistent challenges. Read more
 

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