Michael Tsalka – Questions:
1. In less than a month you will perform Vachal’s Keyboard Concerto in A major with Musica Florea in Prague. In an e-mail you sent me prior to this interview you mentioned that you are currently in Amsterdam playing this concerto on fortepianos that were made in Czechia in the early 19th century. How different are these instruments from some other fortepianos that were made elsewhere at approximately the same time?
Thank you for the opportunity of having this interview. I am delighted to perform with Musica Florea in Prague! We shall offer the modern world premiere of Vaňhal’s Keyboard Concerto in A Major, IIa:A1. As part of preparation for this event, I spent several beautiful days at the workshop of Maestro Gijs Wilderom in Bergen, Netherlands. Gijs has two original, rare fortepianos by Czech (Bohemian) builders: Michael Weis (Prague, 1800-1805) and Brünn Zahler (Brno, 1805-1810). Both instruments are glorious but differ from each other. The Weis fortepiano is sweeter in character, possibly better suited for playing most of Haydn and Mozart’s repertoire. The Zahler is dramatic, with roaring bass lines and an expressive upper part—I would choose it for compositions by Beethoven from his early and middle periods.
Such curious differences in fortepianos of the time are not rare. Vienna around 1785-1790, for example, had at least fifty fortepiano builders. Each of them had their own sound concept for the fast-evolving instrument and were not shy in experimenting during construction. The harpsichord, during the period, remained popular, yet it was also influenced by the sonic possibilities of the fortepiano. For example, the Venetian swells of the Kirkman harpsichord –large pieces of wood inside the instrument, opening when one’s pushes a pedal, allowed performers to create a kind of crescendo effect, something not available in regular harpsichords prior to 1780. We have an impressive variety of strange, fascinating inventions in many of those original instruments, each a treasure of its own.
Incidentally, two new CDs of mine, playing that Zahler and a new harpsichord built by Maestro Thomas Power will be released in the first half of 2025: Aurora Borealis for Tempus Clasico (Mexico), presenting early keyboard works by contemporary Mexican composer Leonardo Coral, and Bachian Elegies for the Paladino (Vienna), offering repertoire by J. S. Bach and C. P. E. Bach.
2. What are some interpretative aspects of this work you will perhaps have to discuss during your upcoming rehearsals with Musica Florea? How well do you know the ensemble?
I am familiar, of course, with Musica Florea, a most wonderful ensemble: Their recordings of Jan Dismas Zelenka, Antonin Rejcha, Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek,
J.S. Bach (specifically, a recording of “Erbarme dich, mein Gott,” from Matthäus- Passion, BWV 244, alongside Magdalena Kožená) have been a source of consolation and inspiration for me during the pandemic years. I am much looking forward to collaborating with Musica Florea, under the baton of Maestro Marek Štryncl, and to perform in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, Prague!
In the last forty years, an intense effort has been made by marvelous musicologists such as Allan Badley, Paul Bryan, Alexander Weinmann to reevaluate the important contribution of Johann Baptist Vaňhal to the Viennese Classical Style. Vaňhal, of course, resided in Vienna for most of his adult life, and was central, together with figures such as Haydn, Gluck, Dittersdorf and Hoffman, in the stylistic development of secular genres: The string quartet, the symphony, the concerto and the sonata. We now know much about his symphonic style. Many of his works in this genre have been recorded and published in the last ten years by labels such as NAXOS and Chandos. He was also highly prolific as composer of sacred music, creating circa fifty masses, numerous psalms, cantatas and motets.
The situation with the composer´s concerti differs. Although Vaňhal began to publish various fortepiano and violin concerti in the 1780s, quite a few of his earliest concerti for violin, flute, harpsichord, organ, cello and bassoon, composed for patrons such as Count Clam Gallas and Count Ladislaus Erdödy, are now lost or in incomplete manuscript format. We are aware that he composed more than fifty concerti, but the enormous challenge of creating a comprehensive catalogue and scholarly publication of the surviving works remains. While it is clear his concerti were performed throughout Europe and admired by composers such as Haydn and Mozart, not much evidence remains concerning the actual performances of the works. This, as musicologist Allan Badley notes, is more the result of our limited understanding of the complexity of the era, and not a reflection on the popularity of the composer during his lifetime, particularly after 1775.
The Keyboard Concerto in A Major, IIa:A1 was first published in Vienna in 1785 by Hoffmeister, probably after an initial successful performance. Its three movements exhibit many of the stylistic traits, which characterized Vaňhal´s concerti in the middle of his career: Its first movement is in an expansive sonata/ritornello form, a lyrical, almost rhapsodic slow movement follows, and a fast, buoyant final rondo “alla Boema” closes the work. In a similar fashion to Mozart´s piano concerti at the time, which Vaňhal undoubtedly knew and admired, the tuneful immediacy of the musical language appeals not only to the aristocracy, but also to the middle and even lower classes of the city.
Musica Florea and I will be offering the modern world premiere of this marvelous keyboard concerto! We are thankful to count with a scholarly edition prepared by Czech researcher Martina Pospíšilová in 2013. That means audiences in Prague
will be the first to hear this work in modern times. A main point in our rehearsals, from my perspective, will be how to bring back to life the music score for our public.
As a performer, I cannot imagine being honest and not entering an intimate dialogue with each composition I approach. Musical scores of all eras brim with important encoded information about what composers expect of us expressively and stylistically. What is textually written as well as what is not specified have equal importance, particularly in scores from the Baroque and Classical Eras. One only must have the courage and curiosity to explore all the details and integrate them as best as possible into one’s personal, honest interpretation of the music.
3. It is not that common that a performer is as flexible as you are when it comes to interpreting music of different styles on such a high level. How do you manage to confidently play classical music from basically all historical periods?
Having played, recorded, and taught on a wide variety of historical keyboards and their reproductions, I concluded that one should not approach these instruments with any preconceptions. I firmly believe in sustaining a concentrated, intense dialogue with each new instrument I approach. Listening to the technical and expressive possibilities of each individual instrument and adjusting one’s own interpretative abilities to these parameters yields the best possible results. This is especially the case with original instruments, so beautiful and individual in many ways.
There is also the question of defining the character of each historical keyboard: In the case of the clavichord, for example, there have been instruments from 1500 to those still built in Scandinavia around 1840. The variety is absolutely mind-baffling! I find this is also the case, to a certain extent, with historical pianos. I therefore attempt to discover the beauty and possibilities in each individual instrument. After having studied the modern piano and early keyboards for many years, I have found that acquaintance with both worlds promotes openness—and leads one in a path of discovery and constant renovation.
During the eighteenth century, musicians did not specialize in either the organ, harpsichord, clavichord or fortepiano: composers were improvisers, and most could play string instruments and any of the keyboard instruments provided for them. At the same time, they were superb Kapellmeisterer, chamber musicians and conductors. I do not think that I am anything special: I discovered one pathway to bring back to life traditions that have been somewhat neglected by an over-specialized, scientific approach to music-making in our schools and conservatories. I attempt to teach this pathway to my students. I believe that early keyboards bring a lot to my modern piano-playing, and vice versa.
4. Following up on the previous question, do you feel equally comfortable when playing any style of music?
Interpretation is an exercise full of contradictions. It demands, on the one hand, a rigorous methodology in the mastery of the technical, expressive and stylistic details of the score, and on the other the expressive generosity and communicative gregariousness of the interpreter’s free, artistic spirit. In other words, seriousness in the preparation of the music and flexibility to react on the spot to the subtleties of each individual performance, considering among other things, the acoustic characteristics of the space, the peculiarities of the instrument and the disposition of your audience, also the weather, if one is performing on early keyboards! To achieve a perfect balance between all variables at hand is next to impossible; on the other hand, the true interpreter must convince himself/herself that all this forms part of his/her own nature if s/he is not to be inhibited during the performance.
And, yes: I feel equally comfortable with most styles of keyboard music. I am most fortunate in this way! I wish to mention especially three marvelous professors, who assisted to develop my abilities during my graduate studies in modern piano, early keyboards and chamber music at Temple University, Philadelphia: Prof. Joyce Lindorff, who taught me to play the harpsichord, chamber organ and introduced me to the clavichord and eighteenth-century studies, Prof. Lambert Orkis, who made me a master of the fortepiano and a fine chamber musician, and the late Prof. Harvey Weeden, who was a most inspiring teacher of the modern piano. Without their excellent, expert, patient guidance, I would never have developed my stylistic interpretative ease.
5. Could you introduce some of the pieces that were written specifically for you?
I love studying and performing new music. More than eighty composers have written works for me, including solo music for piano, music for early keyboards, chamber music (duos to quartets), and several concerti. I find working with contemporary composers fascinating, and an essential part of being a classical performer today.
I have always relished the idea of finding fascinating repertoire unknown to the public and offering them the opportunity to listen from a different perspective.
As scholar and interpreter, I have made a humble contribution to our understanding of the diversity of keyboard repertoire of the Classical and Early Romantic Eras by locating, editing, publishing articles and recording CDs with unknown compositions by composers such as Daniel Gottlob Türk, Johann Baptist Wanhal, Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Ferdinand Ries, Joseph Anton Steffan, Eucharius Florschütz and Ignaz Moscheles.
Recent examples of my collaboration with contemporary composers can be found in two CDs: Full Moon and Last Dance for the Australian label Wirripang, released in April and November of last year. The performers were harpsichordist and fortepianist Diana Weston and me. We had several marvelous Australian composers writing for us: Diana Blom, Ann-Carr Boyd, Elena Kats-Chernin, as well as other fabulous composers from around the globe, including Violeta Dinescu (Germany-Romania), Joan Josep Gutiérrez Yzquierdo (Spain), Aspasia Nasopoulou (Netherlands/Greece) and Nicholas Smith (U.K.). These two CDs, incidentally, were also supported by the Johann Baptist Wanhal Association, since Diana and I recorded the world premiere performance of two of his for Sonatas for Four-Hands, Op. 32.
Other composers who have dedicated works for me recently include:
Nimrod Borenstein (U.K.), Jens Vraa (Denmark), Gabriele Toia (Italy), Graham Lynch (U.K.), Roberto Reale (Germany), Jin Zhuosheng (China), Christoph Keller (Germany). I would require a separate article to discuss these and other contemporary works more in depth! The styles vary from tonal to atonal music, from clearly notated scores to highly improvisatorial and experimental notations. I find the challenge worthwhile, always—and am delighted to present these creations to the world for the first time!
6. As a versatile keyboard instrumentalist, I wonder how many and what instruments you have at home?
I am thankful for all the instruments I have! Currently, a double-manual harpsichord built by William Dowd (Boston), a Bettenhausen spinet, an excellent five-and-a-half-octave unfretted clavichord based on late eighteenth-century South German and Swedish models and built by Sebastian Niebler (Berlin), a wonderfully expressive Bechstein grand piano from the 1860s, a Steingraeber grand piano from 1915 which belonged to my grandfather, a modern Kawai piano, and an Italian Square Piano from circa 1820. I hope to expand this list, in the decades to come.
7. Do you often have music related night dreams? Either nightmares, pleasant dreams, or even inspirational?
Yes! Rather bizarre dreams, in which I discuss with former mentors fine points of interpretation (tempi, phrasing, musical meaning and possible narrative) of the compositions I am preparing. Many of my oneiric interlocutors are already with the angels and have their own particular thoughts. Curiously, following these spiritual exchanges my interpretation improves significantly. I also often have melodies or harmonies which have baffled me the previous day appearing in my dreams. My wife tells me that I often perform musical phrases in my sleep in the middle of the night!
8. Speaking of dreams, what are your plans or wishes for the future? Either music related or not.
I love teaching: It is a highly important part of my life and what I believe. At CUHK-Shenzhen, School of Music, we have an outstanding piano and keyboard department, led by the distinguished pianist, Prof. Krzystof Jablonski. It is a large department which includes wonderful performers and pedagogues from Mainland China, Italy, Korea and Japan/U.K. We have just received a Double Manual Mietke Harpsichord, built by Maestro Bruce Kennedy—most probably the finest harpsichord in Mainland China. I hope to achieve much with this instrument! CUHK-SZ, School of Music, has also recently opened doctoral degrees in piano performance. In Mainland China, the doctorate degree in performance were so far offered only in the renowned Beijing and Shanghai Conservatories, I believe. I am intensely forward to supervising the projects of piano doctoral students in Shenzhen and hope to be of service for the next generation of musicians.
I also hope to keep my concert activities in full swing. Each new project challenges me and provides me new life! In the next ten years, I also intend to record cycles of works by masters of the Baroque or the Classical Eras. I would love, for example, to record all of Mozart´s keyboard concerti or the four volumes of J. S. Bach´s Clavier-Übung. I wonder if God will be as generous as to permit these visions to come to full fruition!
My commitment to the world of historical keyboards will continue. Words can hardly communicate the emotions one experiences when one approaches a historical keyboard for the first time, particularly one that has been restored by masterful hands, or that has somehow survived the multifarious indignities of time. Humility, curiosity and excitement mix with a sense of privilege and fascination as one discovers with each new musical phrase the unique personality of the instrument. For example, I had the pleasure of often playing at the European Fortepiano Museum and Academy (EFM) in Germany, led and curated by my friend Pooya Radbon. An invaluable experience! I hope to repeat this pleasure many times, in the years to come.
On a slightly less musical note, I am an admirer of reading classic literature and visiting museums. I enjoy wandering around beautiful cities for hours, discovering the immense beauty of their different neighborhoods and parks. I love long walks in parks and woods. A hobby of mine is to listen to recordings from the early twentieth century as I stroll. I feel humbled by their variety, level of imagination and unique expressivity; they bring my own musical thoughts into perspective.