Twin pianists tour with NZSO
A pair of visiting performers are closer than most, writes James Croot.
Christina and Michelle Naughton share a birthday, a talent and sometimes a piano. The Asian-American twins, who have been hailed as one of the best piano duos of the decade, are making their first visit to New Zealand, performing with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch over the next week.
Christina Naughton says while the pair are delighted to be visiting and performing here, they are just as excited to be working with (NZSO music director) ‘‘Maestro’’ Edo de Waart again.
De Waart has known the Naughtons since they were students at the prestigious US music conservatories The Curtis Institute and The Julliard School and has performed with them several times.
‘‘The sisters are marvellous musicians, charismatic and wonderfully talented,’’ he says.
That feeling is mutual, says Christina Naughton. ‘‘He has been a very importance presence in our life since we were teenagers. His message has always been to stay really close to the music and that’s something we’ve kept close to our hearts, as well as Maestro de Waart personally.’’
As part of the four-city tour, the Naughtons will join forces to tackle Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos. It’s a piece the great musician composed in 1779 to perform with his sister Maria Anna, ‘‘which is super fitting for us’’, believes Christina.
‘‘I think sometimes composers who have sisters really have this special ability to write for two pianos – or four hands.
‘‘What makes it most challenging is also what we like about it. It’s very spontaneous and very conversational. Both parts are also extremely equally written, just about everything played is done by both.’’
So how do the Naughtons decide who is going to play what part and do they switch it up to keep things fresh?
‘‘It’s not like one of us is always the first or second piano,’’ explains Christina, ‘‘but no, we don’t flip a coin, we really don’t have much of method for it.
‘‘We certainly fight over certain things, but that we seem to be able to come to agreement on pretty easily.’’
The Naughtons certainly appear to have a pretty harmonious and symbiotic relationship, reflected in some of the raves for their performances.
Acclaimed pianist Joseph Kalichstein, who taught the sisters at Julliard, believes that ‘‘when they play together, they seem to have one mind and one body.’’
Christina has previously admitted to The Wall Street Journal that ‘‘there are times I forget we’re two people playing together’’.
It’s something she says now they actively work on. Rather than ensuring they have complementary skills, the ‘‘hardest part is actually playing with the same voice and also being brutally honest with one another’’.
‘‘I think that makes us stronger in some way and more conversational when we play together.’’
Christina insists there is no sibling rivalry and says that fortunately there was more than one piano in their Princeton, New Jersey childhood home and that they never fought over who used which one.
‘‘We were a piano house and as a pianist it is always good to play on different pianos, so we took full advantage of that.’’
For her part, Christina says while she never initially thought about a career in music as an ultimate goal, as she approached College age, it just seemed like nothing else would do. ‘‘I didn’t really say to myself, ‘this is what I’m going to do’, but somewhere in my heart, I always knew I would be doing music.’’
It is a career that has now taken her and her sister around the globe, performing everywhere from Hong Kong to Germany.
With so much of their time spent either performing, rehearsing or travelling as a pair, do they ever yearn to go off and do things separately?
‘‘We’re together all the time,’’ laughs Christina. ‘‘And the older we get, the more and more we really appreciate that. A lot of people say how lonely touring really is, but for us it isn’t.’’
❚ Christina and Michelle Naughton are joining the NZSO for their Mozart & Mahler Tour, which includes visits to Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre tonight, and Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena on April 11. For more information, see nzso.co.nz