Pianist ‘breaks the ice’ with stories about music
James D’Leon to play at museum
Most classical pianists stride on stage in a tuxedo, then sit at the keyboard while the audience stares at a profile for the next couple of hours.
Pianist James D’León breaks tradition by talking to the audience. He explains the background of each piece before placing his fingers on the keys. His eclectic programs usually unfurl in a serious theme that turns lighter, often spiraling off into jazz or tango.
“It lets them know I’m not this insane pianist who plays dark themes all the time,” he said in a telephone interview from his Prescott, Ariz., home.
D’León will perform at Chatter Cabaret on Sunday, Aug. 28, at the Albuquerque Museum. The program spans romantic works by Charles Alkan and a left-handed piece by Leopold Godowsky, as well as contemporary compositions by Frederic Rzewski using every note on the keyboard.
Knowing what was going on in the composer’s life at the time can enhance the audience’s experience, he says. They no longer have to wonder why the music sounds so sad.
“It breaks the ice,” D’León said. “Sometimes, the stories are so clear, the audience gets it from the beginning.”
Godowsky penned his “Elegy for Left Hand Alone” after a stroke left his right side paralyzed.
“He’s known for these blazing etudes that no one can play,” D’León said. “He always one-upped himself.
“You read through the background, and it’s so sad,” he continued. “He had just recovered from a stroke and his son just committed suicide.”
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt was known for his introspective, spiritual works. “Für Alina” describes a sleep peaceful enough to hear the wind ruffling the blades of grass. From there, D’León leaps into “Piano Piece No. 4,” Frederic Rzewski’s wild ride through the turmoil of nightmares.
A suite of tunes by the great jazz pianist Bill Evans includes his interpretation of “Danny Boy” as well as a variation on Duke Ellington’s “Reflections in D.”
“Bill Evans also had a somewhat tragic life,” D’León said. “Like many of the jazz greats, he battled addiction. When he recorded ‘Danny Boy,’ they said he showed up in the studio high. He had this introspective approach to it. By 1978, the doctor said his organs were failing. It was heroin.”
D’León will end the concert on a brighter tone with three tangos by the legendary Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla.