Sally Whitwell and the music of Philip Glass
An interview
Sally Whitwell is an Australian pianist and composer. This year she released her first album, Mad Rush: Solo Piano Music of Philip Glass. We had a brief interview about this experience and her career.
Why have you chosen Phillip Glass for your first solo album?
It was actually my producer’s suggestion that I record music by Philip Glass. To be frank, I hadn’t much experience of his music before then - In terms of minimalists, I’d played much more music by Steve Reich, Michael Nyman and Arvo Pärt. However, through researching Glass’s oeuvre and getting right inside the music, I have developed a great love and admiration for Glass’s artistry. I feel my ears have been opened by this opportunity and I am very grateful for that.
This album includes “Dead Things” from The Hours. What films do you like because of their music?
The film scores that come immediately to mind are Jonny Greenwood’s score for “There will be blood”, Yann Tiersen’s score for “Amelie”, Bernard Herrman’s score for “Psycho” and Philip Glass’s score for “The Hours”. When young composers go to study how to write film scores, they’re always being told that nobody should notice their score, it is a servant to the action. I dislike that. I like a film score that makes its presence known, that perhaps comments on the action like a Greek chorus, or gives a sense of place or an emotional context. A score that is memorable in this way can be very powerful.
You decided to memorize the music for this record. Why?
Quite simply it was the only way I felt I would be adequately prepared. Memorizing was the only way I knew how to ensure my own awareness of the architecture of the music, which I believe is a very important aspect of any performance. There are too many pages of notes going by in Glass’s music for the performer to be able to step back and see the structure, so I devised some graphic means of doing that. Basically, I made graphical representations of the music in bright colours and simple shapes. It worked well for me.
What was your experience when you visited Mexico?
I loved visiting Mexico! I also come from a country that was colonized hundreds of years ago by a European power, and I always find it interesting to see how or indeed if the indigenous culture and the colonial or Western culture are able to coexist. Some nations do it better than others (I must admit, Australia hasn’t always been one of the better ones). When I visited Mexico, I was performing with Gondwana Voices, a children’s choir with members drawn from right across Australia, and we had the great privilege of singing with some groups of Mexican and Argentinian children. I remember how much I loved the energy of the Mexican folk music. I also own a couple of albums of rancheras which I developed a taste for whilst I was there.
You work with young people. What pieces or recordings would you recommend to a young pianist?
I mostly conduct choirs of young people, rather than teaching piano. But my advice to any aspiring musicians is to listen to anything and everything! As a young person, I had music around me all the time thanks in no small part to my family and their eclectic tastes. There was plenty of Beethoven and Schubert, Handel and Tchaikovsky, but also The Beatles, Glenn Miller, Paul Simon and Frances Yip (my mother is Chinese and Frances Yip is a bit of a star in the Chinese speaking world - she’s kind of like their answer to Barbra Streisand!). All the best musicians I know are very versatile and if you’re looking for a career in music, it is my advice to be open minded about the music you play or listen to. Don’t be a snob. Give it a go, you might be surprised at what you discover!
What do you listen to besides classical music?
I like to listen to a bit of jazz, Thelonius Monk, Chet Baker, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, Jamie Callum, Paris Combo. Also piano pop of various kinds, Tori Amos, Rufus Wainright, Regina Spektor and Ben Folds. I have a special fondness for The Beatles, David Bowie and Elton John the way he used to be in the 1970’s. Have also recently been enjoying discovering Philip Glass’s band he used to play with and write for - Polyrock. Really interesting stuff. Basically though, I like to get on Youtube and follow random tangents to make new discoveries. There’s just so much music out there.
In your blog you called the Stuart “a twenty first century piano for twenty first century pianists”. What are the new possibilities with this piano?
It’s a truly unique instrument, and Wayne Stuart the man who developed it’s technology is a truly unique person! The strings are attached to the instrument in a different way to a regular piano, which gives the string a greatly lengthened resonance, a much greater dynamic range and a clarity I have never experienced in any other instrument. It is quite simply a much more flexible instrument with a greater range of colours available to the pianist. For Philip Glass’s music it is the perfect instrument with it’s enormous dynamic range and shining crystalline tone. When I had to play a live segment on the radio a few months ago, they had a Steinway concert grand for me to play in the studio… and it wasn’t good enough! I managed to pull it off, but I would have preferred a Stuart and Sons instrument.
What is your next project?
I’m performing a few solo recitals which will include, in addition to the Philip Glass repertoire, some works by Michael Nyman and Yann Tiersen. It’s been quite a few years (15 years, to be precise) since I last performed a solo recital. It’s a little daunting, but really exciting at the same time. I’m also working on composing two new works, one for children’s chorus and orchestra commissioned by our state education department, and also a multi movement work for women’s choir, girl’s choir and orchestra which will be performed at a wonderful festival here in Australia called the Moorambilla Festival in 2012. I’m really excited about these new works.
