Hüseyin Sermet - 24th Singapore International Piano Festival

Concert Programme

Felix Mendelssohn – Fantasy in F-sharp minor, Op. 28 ‘Sonata écossaise’

Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 ‘Waldstein’

Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition

Hüseyin Sermet’s performance was exceedingly intellectual, in both the aspects of musical intention and execution. The playing constituted an enormous range of color change, especially in the textural aspect. This could surely only be achieved due to his extraordinary control over the instrument which stemmed from the clarity of thought he has from his musical intentions. These musical intentions were guided by great contextual knowledge (hence my description of his playing as intellectual), which authenticated his performance and made it convincing. A convincing interpretation, I feel, is the basis of artistry. What was especially evident in his performance of the classical works, the Mendelssohn Fantasy and Beethoven Sonata, is the naturalness and adherence to the classical style (more will be mentioned later) of execution, the latter being during the presence of thicker textures in both pieces, he was able to maintain clarity and not succumb to inclination of playing “according to the score”. This is an example I would say of tasteful playing. I was amazed by his rendition of the Beethoven ‘Waldstein’ Sonata, especially the first few bars of repeated chords in the lower register, because had never heard a performance where the repeated chords could not be clearly distinguished as individuals and instead collective formed a unique texture. I was convinced of my belief that Hüseyin Sermet was thinking of a certain texture then during the Masterclass he gave. He declared that no string player (double bass or cello) would perform those few bars of notes as individual beings but instead as something textural. Hence, one must and always think of the orchestra. Hüseyin Sermet certainly did in his own performance of the Beethoven Sonata for it was filled with a wide range of colors, touch and textures (there were instances where pizzicato or plucked strings were heard) that could only be achieved if one kept the idea of orchestral playing in mind. Another feature of his playing that intrigued me was his use of pedal in the 3rd movement (Rondo) of the Beethoven Sonata, where certain phrases were played with pedal throughout. I was however convinced that he had his reasons for doing so and was affirmed during his Masterclass (more will be mentioned later).

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Masterclass Programme

Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 30 in e major, Op. 109

Sergei Prokofiev – Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83

Frédéric Chopin – Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58

The most emphasized point that Hüseyin Sermet made was the use of the una corda pedal, which should be used not (only) to provide a softer dynamic but most importantly, for color. In the larger context, one should play the piano with “four hands”, meaning that the sensitivity of the pedals and feet should be as acute to that of the fingers, rather like how one can say the exact same words but with a different tone hence creating a different “atmosphere”. For example, the left pedal can and should be used in passages with fortissimo with the intention to achieve a different color (hence also making the playing less ‘boring’). There should not be a stereotype that the una corda pedal is for the intention to achieve a muted or softer sound. Hüseyin Sermet was rather fervent about this point and added that Beethoven had six pedals during his time and certainly had the ability to produce a wide range of colors that we are unable to, now. Hence, returning to my point about Hüseyin Sermet’s performance of the Waldstein sonata, where the third movement encompassed a passage where the pedal was held for longer than will be “technically correct”, is because Beethoven would have preferred it in this manner.

The second point reiterated throughout the Masterclass was the knowledge of the structure of the piano. One should be aware that the strings in the lower registers are much thicker than that of the higher register. Hence, when performing a passage with a certain marked dynamic, (for example: forte) the right hand will naturally have to be played louder than the left. It will not be tasteful and ironically, not adhere to the composer’s intentions to follow literally what is written on the score, but rather process his written commands with wisdom and knowledge, to achieve the intended effect.

An overlapping comment that Hüseyin Sermet gave for all three students (as subtly as he could) was that their performances were boring. For the Chopin Sonata, he noted, although it was played beautifully, it was still essentially, boring. I unfortunately have to agree with what was said, though perhaps I shall phrase it in a different way: that they lacked artistry. If one’s performance was boring, it meant that either the interpretation or the execution (or both) was/were lacking. In this case, none of the students lacked in the execution part, but rather the interpretation. This, I feel, can be attributed to the lack of contextual knowledge, listening with this knowledge in mind, and musical creativity. These characteristics if present will constitute part of artistry. However when these constituents are lacking they will have to be implemented by an external party and the result may not be the most convincing of interpretations. Hence it was rather understandable that Hüseyin Sermet should be impatient at the lack of energy and responsiveness to comments that he gave. The piano, he said, is like a mirror that does not reflect one’s physical attributes but directly that of the soul. If one is alive (figuratively), it will be reflected in the music (the converse is implied). Hüseyin Sermet pointed out that in order to not make one’s playing monotonous and boring, one could possibly think of “light and shade” and degree of energy that should be used. This culminates from the understanding of human emotions, and is essentially the existence of music as well. One can also (for the Prokofiev Sonata) pick out “interesting notes” and emphasize them.

A question that none of the students were able to answer (properly) was, “If I was the student who played that (what was played by the student) and you are the teacher, what comments will you give me?” I found that this question extremely useful in critiquing one’s own playing because as Hüseyin Sermet mentioned, “one must be their own teacher”, eventually. “The brain and heart must be independent” and one must never be “dependent” on others to give feedback. How this can be achieved is surely how critically one listens to one’s own playing and shape the sounds as “irresistibly” as possible.

Finally, I would like to add that I had always thought that natural playing will come ‘naturally’, but I had a change of perspective after the Masterclass, because I realized that the degree of attention and thought Hüseyin Sermet places into each note is in fact, with the intention to make the playing sound “natural”.

Other points mentioned:

• Staccato in Beethoven should not be taken literally but rather as “Portamento”

• An arpeggio is not always a technical decoration but sometimes all of the notes that constitute an arpeggio should be taken as main notes

• One needs to be utterly convinced in one’s interpretation and trust oneself

• Sound should be something physical and carried internally