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Listen "E16: Interview with Karl Lutchmayer- British-Indian Concert Pianist, Steinway Artist, Academic, and Rock Keyboardist!"
Episode Synopsis
An absorbing, enlightening and entertaining conversation with Karl Luthmayer- musical raconteur, international concert pianist, academic, rock star keyboardist & theremin player in a prog-rock band!
As well as chatting about Karl's career and piano playing, we discuss his fascinating research on facial expressiveness in piano performers, the history and aesthetics of piano concert arrangements, the explosion of interest in Western classical music in India, concert etiquette and reaching new audiences.
Show Notes
Some background about Karl's career and interests [1:15]
On the growth of classical piano in India [7:40]
Karl's research- facial gestures in pianists and how this has changed over history. How findings from this research can help us to perform and memorise [17:20]
Karl's other current research project- piano concert arrangements, how these were more common before our age of 'authenticity', and attitudes towards the original score. Also concert etiquette and re imagining the concert experience [31.15]
Narcissism and music-making [55:40]
About Karl's Busoni Festival [1:04:20]
Links:
Karl's website: http://www.karllutchmayer.com/
The interview with Karl that appeared a couple of days before we recorded this podcast episode and is referred to a few times: https://crosseyedpianist.com/2019/11/14/meet-the-artist-karl-lutchmayer-pianist/
A clip from one of Karl's conversational concerts: https://youtu.be/sfS1APe5Ino
A paper which has a useful summation of Jane Davidson's pioneering research on visual expressiveness in music performers and the effect on audiences: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0305735612449896
The research paper that demonstrated how experts' judements of music competition performances changed radically with and without being able to watch the video as well as hear the performances: https://www.pnas.org/content/110/36/14580
A video of my arrangement of the Chopin Nocturne Op.55 No.1 in F Minor that Karl somehow heard about and is discussed here in this episode: https://youtu.be/7NnsB_ieJqY
The fantastic CD 'Got a Minute? - Paraphrases on Chopin's "Minute Waltz" and Other Works': https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/BI%201083
and on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3dfFGzFetWceTHNDIKqYrs?si=DCUaoFbTT4yZJ3Bn61ox9w
More Spotify links to various albums of transcriptions referred to in this podcast discussion:
Volodos Rachmaninov transcriptions: https://open.spotify.com/album/1CXuE7ZolszyV3fbLezusT?si=nxXVZawQRh6qyei4_N0ZyQ and https://open.spotify.com/album/5xkEiNcoOn0Y4kWdi9UqbL?si=bQsJkT7TQ3KF9Lzf58iQvg
Unfortunately Earl Wild's album of Rachmaninov song transcriptions is not on Spotify, but there are a couple of albums recorded by other pianists of these genius arrangements. Nowhere near as good unfortunately as the real thing. The original is definitely one of my desert island discs: https://open.spotify.com/album/1rudoPWy56B321lzAjBmTD?si=gla6kdfkThGZaQCuOucG8g
A controversial CD of Rachmaninov reproduced from piano rolls- how accurate and representative are these? Who knows! But there are some stunning versions of Rachmaninov's arrangements- particularly for me the Liebeslied- nobody plays it better than this recording! https://open.spotify.com/album/39O5Qp8wG4P32ebUqqLGv7?si=bdGM1FSOQwOSnH0YKcYnOQ
One of the best recordings of the Bach/Busoni Chaconne, here with a performance of Liszt's transcription of Beethoven's 7th Symphony- a real treat! The old LP cover was absolutely hilarious, but I can't seem to find an image of it anywhere on the internet- if anyone has it, do send a photo! https://open.spotify.com/album/281x07NB0TtYmp9Jmy8Qzv?si=OiP1zePlQhCN8iQMWyLp1Q
Volodos' live album which has his version of Liszt's Dante Sonata: https://open.spotify.com/album/3TsXBqjYS4SgtK7g7xPAHd?si=Ux3oinodTRGlyxO9QOnhrg
Horowitz's Pictures at an Exhibition: https://open.spotify.
As well as chatting about Karl's career and piano playing, we discuss his fascinating research on facial expressiveness in piano performers, the history and aesthetics of piano concert arrangements, the explosion of interest in Western classical music in India, concert etiquette and reaching new audiences.
Show Notes
Some background about Karl's career and interests [1:15]
On the growth of classical piano in India [7:40]
Karl's research- facial gestures in pianists and how this has changed over history. How findings from this research can help us to perform and memorise [17:20]
Karl's other current research project- piano concert arrangements, how these were more common before our age of 'authenticity', and attitudes towards the original score. Also concert etiquette and re imagining the concert experience [31.15]
Narcissism and music-making [55:40]
About Karl's Busoni Festival [1:04:20]
Links:
Karl's website: http://www.karllutchmayer.com/
The interview with Karl that appeared a couple of days before we recorded this podcast episode and is referred to a few times: https://crosseyedpianist.com/2019/11/14/meet-the-artist-karl-lutchmayer-pianist/
A clip from one of Karl's conversational concerts: https://youtu.be/sfS1APe5Ino
A paper which has a useful summation of Jane Davidson's pioneering research on visual expressiveness in music performers and the effect on audiences: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0305735612449896
The research paper that demonstrated how experts' judements of music competition performances changed radically with and without being able to watch the video as well as hear the performances: https://www.pnas.org/content/110/36/14580
A video of my arrangement of the Chopin Nocturne Op.55 No.1 in F Minor that Karl somehow heard about and is discussed here in this episode: https://youtu.be/7NnsB_ieJqY
The fantastic CD 'Got a Minute? - Paraphrases on Chopin's "Minute Waltz" and Other Works': https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/BI%201083
and on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3dfFGzFetWceTHNDIKqYrs?si=DCUaoFbTT4yZJ3Bn61ox9w
More Spotify links to various albums of transcriptions referred to in this podcast discussion:
Volodos Rachmaninov transcriptions: https://open.spotify.com/album/1CXuE7ZolszyV3fbLezusT?si=nxXVZawQRh6qyei4_N0ZyQ and https://open.spotify.com/album/5xkEiNcoOn0Y4kWdi9UqbL?si=bQsJkT7TQ3KF9Lzf58iQvg
Unfortunately Earl Wild's album of Rachmaninov song transcriptions is not on Spotify, but there are a couple of albums recorded by other pianists of these genius arrangements. Nowhere near as good unfortunately as the real thing. The original is definitely one of my desert island discs: https://open.spotify.com/album/1rudoPWy56B321lzAjBmTD?si=gla6kdfkThGZaQCuOucG8g
A controversial CD of Rachmaninov reproduced from piano rolls- how accurate and representative are these? Who knows! But there are some stunning versions of Rachmaninov's arrangements- particularly for me the Liebeslied- nobody plays it better than this recording! https://open.spotify.com/album/39O5Qp8wG4P32ebUqqLGv7?si=bdGM1FSOQwOSnH0YKcYnOQ
One of the best recordings of the Bach/Busoni Chaconne, here with a performance of Liszt's transcription of Beethoven's 7th Symphony- a real treat! The old LP cover was absolutely hilarious, but I can't seem to find an image of it anywhere on the internet- if anyone has it, do send a photo! https://open.spotify.com/album/281x07NB0TtYmp9Jmy8Qzv?si=OiP1zePlQhCN8iQMWyLp1Q
Volodos' live album which has his version of Liszt's Dante Sonata: https://open.spotify.com/album/3TsXBqjYS4SgtK7g7xPAHd?si=Ux3oinodTRGlyxO9QOnhrg
Horowitz's Pictures at an Exhibition: https://open.spotify.
In God we trust