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Igudesman and Joo

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Igudesman and Joo

Igudesman and Joo

Igudesman & Joo (Alek­sey Igudes­man and Hyung-ki Joo) look like the unlikeliest duo, which fits their genre of comedy well.

Mr. Joo is British-Korean, and Mr. Igudesman is from Russia. They  first met in the 1970’s at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England.

A Little Nightmare in Music

The contrast between the tall Korean pianist and the short Russian violinist sets the tone for Igudesman and Joo’s breakout show “A Little Nightmare in Music”.  The physical differences between the men reminds me of Laurel and Hardy, as does some of their combative slapstick. Steinway & Sons must have a great sense of humor!

Igudesman and Joo are classically trained

Although Igudesman and Joo are skilled, classically trained musicians, you don’t have to be a classical music buff to enjoy their material. There are no “in” jokes that only musicians would understand.  The music that they play during their skits is well-known enough that they will be familiar to you regardless of whether you know who wrote them or what they are called. They also use some more popular material.

Best Musician Comedy since Victor Borge?

I won’t tell you any more about the show because I don’t want to spoil it for you. Suffice it to say that I haven’t laughed this much at a classically-trained musician turned comedian since I heard Victor Borge do “Phonetic Punctuation”.

https://youtu.be/Qf_TDuhk3No

Check http://www.igudesmanandjoo.com for upcoming shows.

Tempo Rubato

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Red light with green filterDrivers slip into the Exit Only lane to get past traffic at a red light. When the light changes, they do not exit. Instead they cut in ahead of the rest of the traffic. The time they save is stolen time – tempo rubato.

Those who cut ahead of us on the highway, at the store, at the bus stop, may be your neighbor, my child, anyone. They get to their destination faster, by delaying those whom they pass. I doubt that they consider themselves thieves, but they steal.

In music, rubato takes various forms. You can hold back for just a moment. You can speed and slow over several bars. In Armenian composer Khachaturian’s piano concerto, a conductor can use rubato to make the entire work heave like a vessel in heavy seas.

At the piano, rubato can be like traffic on a multi-lane highway. One hand maintains the tempo while the other speeds and slows, but never breaks entirely free from the flow. Time is not stolen, it is borrowed and returned.

One time I was running late driving to my piano lesson. Never mind that my tutor might also be behind schedule: I did not want miss a moment. I like to get to music school early to inhale the ambience and ogle the Steinways. And it is oddly soothing after a draining day at work, to exchange a nod and a smile with parents waiting for their kids, those same parents who are there at the same time every week, waiting for the same kids.

When I got to Rubato Red traffic light, the Exit Only lane was open. Like those rats who cut me off every day, I took it. When the light turned green I unleashed 450 ft/lbs of gut-wrenching BMW diesel torque and reclaimed 20 seconds of my life, proceeding stretto to class.

On Being an Adult Beginner Pianist

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Ken Turner, Carnegie Weill Hall, May 2015

Ken Turner at Carnegie Weill, May 2015

I started piano lessons when I was over 60 years old. Being an older adult beginner pianist has been a delirious adventure of discovery, joy, frustration, glory, aches and pains.

It is hard to balance such time-intensive activities as learning an instrument and writing. Until now I have given the piano priority, because of my age. My tutor has been playing for over 20 years. Her fingers flit across the keys with deft precision and economy that I do not have 20 years to attain.

Creative Expression

Both writing and pianism are forms of creative expression. Playing the piano may not appear creative, since we perform music that was (usually) written by someone else. But when you perform for others, every nuance of dynamics, pace, pedal, facial expression and bodily motion is part of the unique experience that you create for your audience.

You Can Do This Too

I read a post from a guy in his 30’s asking if he was too old to learn the piano. He had had “a few years” of lessons at school, but fretted that too much time had passed. I am in my 60’s and have a modest Bach, Beethoven and Chopin repertoire after just 15 months. If your heart is in the right place you can do this too, no matter how old you are and how little you know when you start. The rewards are life-changing.