Interviews
Interviews | 2003 Chopin CD
2003 Interview on Chopin Recital CD DW314
interviewer: Sasha Kozlov
SK: When did you start pursuing music?
DW: Well, the story goes, when I was three and a half...
SK: When did you start pursuing music?
DW: Well, the story goes, when I was three and a half, I saw a piano made completely out of glass at a music store. You could see everything inside, and I was fascinated, and wanted to start playing. So try to picture a little boy, you know, that can't even reach the pedals. My parents didn't want to believe that I was serious about all of this, that I really wanted to pursue music. According to them, I kept begging. I guess they considered taking the risk, and they took me to my first music teacher, who laughed when he found out how young I was. He said that children this age can't read yet, and have trouble concentrating, and that he would not accept me as a student until I was able to read. My mom decided to put me on, what we can call, an "intense reading diet." I discovered a passion for reading, and began reading book after book after book. Within a short time, my first piano teacher decided he would give it a try, only to discover that I was able to focus longer than most of his other students could. In a short time, my first piano teacher decided he would give it a try, only to discover that I was able to focus longer than most of his other students could.
SK: You discovered a passion for music. Did everything that you needed to do to develop this passion always go as smoothly as you would have liked?
DW: For a long time, I was married to the piano. I saw nothing else. Just laborious hours of practicing, sometimes taking up my entire evenings and weekends - even one time, I remember, I practiced seventy-two hours straight. I confess. I went through a period of time where I would only focus on the technical aspects of the pieces I was working on. I, literally, became obsessed with technique. Eventually, it got to the point where I could not stand the piano anymore because of it, and went weeks without practicing: it was a psychological thing. So, I decided to remove the word "practicing" from my vocabulary, instead focusing more on my love for the audience as I began to realize how crucial performance is to my musical development, as it liberates the mind of the performer.
SK: Is that the way you still approach music today?
DW: Absolutely. I feel that many young musicians waste hours of their life in a practice room: instead of bringing out their individualism through their own understanding of the music they are working on, they use up their creative energies by constantly worrying that they are inferior to who they feel are their competitors.
SK: Is there any reason in particular as to why you chose an all Chopin program for this recording?
DW: Not really. Years of studying in Poland had a profound influence on my musical development, and the way that I approach Chopin. Although I have performed many all-Chopin programs in the past, the last thing I want is to be considered a Chopin specialist.
SK: Over the years, have you discovered any other passions in life besides your love for music and the piano?
DW: Yes. Throughout my life, I have been fascinated by eastern medicine, meditation, and nutrition. Above all, they have helped me to relax before performances, and endure my heavy concert schedule that, although I love giving recitals, can be very stressful. I make sure that everything I eat or drink is full of nutrition. It increases my energy level dramatically and keeps me in great shape.
