A Breath of Fresh Air – Interview wth Zlata Chochieva | The Flying Inkpot

(re)creations: Solo Piano Recital by Zlata Chochieva
Fri 5th Nov 9pm, Sat 6th Nov 7pm
Victoria Concert Hall

Discovered by Mikhail Pletnev at the age of 14 and with her recording of Chopin Études named among the Top 10 Chopin recordings ever by Gramophone, Moscow-born pianist Zlata Chochieva performs in Singapore for the first time this November.

Aileen Tang talks to her about her philosophy towards piano transcriptions and discovers that there is a lot more to her than classical piano.

The Flying Inkpot: Your recordings of Chopin and Rachmaninov are widely acclaimed and I hear that your favourite composer is Rachmaninov. What compels you most about Rachmaninov’s music?

Zlata Chochieva: I have to say Rachmaninov has always been very close to my heart since I was a child. I have two favourite composers: Chopin and Rachmaninov.

Chopin was the one – because of his music and because of my mother playing his waltzes and mazurkas – that caused me to fall in love with music, and fall in love with the piano. I was, I think, three years old at the time, and I just became really interested. My brother would have piano lessons in school, and I would sometimes visit those lessons, so I just asked if I could try to do the same. I just became so fascinated by Chopin’s music which my mother – who is a pianist as well – performed.

As for Rachmaninov, my love for his music came a little bit later, but while I was still very little. I would say my love for his music came through the recordings which my mother would play for my brother and I. These recordings were on LPs of Rachmaninov’s concerti, performed by him. I would like to emphasise here that Rachmaninov is not only a special composer for me, but also a special person. I think he is someone for whom I would always feel great admiration as a human being. He’s just one of the best pianists I know.

From listening to the recordings, I think it’s very hard to reach his level. There is something very human about Rachmaninov’s music, but also something very much out of this world. And I’m very attracted to this combination in his pieces: where he tells stories about our world and at the same time reaches such high spiritual layers – layers that are only possible to reach if you are a genius. His music and the ideas in them can be very understandable for us as normal human beings, but he brings them at such a different level and with such a beautiful shape, that it’s only possible if you’re a real genius.

TFI: Earlier this year, you released another album – (re)creations – which comprises piano transcriptions by Rachmaninov, Liszt and Friedman. What is your personal philosophy on transcriptions when it comes to the balance between retaining and recreating?

I wanted to present the piano transcription as an independent, original work – as if it was written for piano. So I think this was the main idea of (re)creations – to give a breath of fresh air into the pieces we know from before, and to make them sound new.

ZC: Yes, that was a very special project for me, which I did during the pandemic in 2020. That was the time when we all felt very different, I think – sometimes lonely, sometimes very fragile. We didn’t know what was happening or what the future would bring us, and that made us feel a little bit nostalgic. I really started appreciating the past when everything was much more stable, and we were able to meet and to communicate and to play live concerts.

The uncertain situation would put me in a very nostalgic mood, and I would find my inner voice in Schubert’s songs. I had the idea to record the Schubert songs which had always been very special for me. Schubert is also one of my favourite composers, and Liszt’s arrangements gave me the main inspiration for creating my CD. I thought to create a CD with piano transcriptions and to make them sound a little bit different. I wanted to sort of prove that piano transcriptions are not only about showing off or making very powerful virtuosic impressions but also that piano arrangements can have a very big range of colours. It can also bring a very intimate tone and different moods. I wanted to make a programme to reflect this, to reflect the different shapes of piano transcriptions – from vocal works to symphonic works made for piano.

Of course, the most challenging transcription would be the Friedman transcription of Mahler Symphony No. 3. It’s only one movement but still, this is a work which is very well known for its large forces and people are used to hearing it played by an orchestra. So this piece actually gave me a kind of impulse to create the idea that the piano transcription has to be independent. Of course, the first step is to get into the main subject of the original work. But the second step is even more interesting – converting the idea of the original work into the piano world. And my task was to make it sound as if this piece was originally written for piano, to make it sound very natural so that no one would say, “Why would we listen to the piano version if we have an orchestral version?”

This was something I wanted to avoid and I wanted to present the piano transcription as an independent, original work – as if it was written for piano. So I think this was the main idea of (re)creations – to give a breath of fresh air into the pieces we know from before, and to make them sound new. This would also give us the perfect opportunity to hear them from a different perspective, because the way they sound on the piano can bring different colours to pieces we know from before.

TFI: I read in an earlier interview that you enjoy listening to jazz! Are there any plans to incorporate jazz into your work?

ZC: Yes, I have a very special feeling towards jazz – from my father who used to play the double bass in a jazz ensemble. He was not a professional jazz player – not even a professional musician – but he had a sense for jazz and basically taught himself. What attracts me about jazz is this very special freedom, and that’s what, of course, I would like to share a little bit as a classical musician. Sometimes we are perhaps too serious or too conservative about certain things – even inflexible. So jazz would give me some inspiration to improvise a little bit within the classical shape. It’s not about giving a constant improvisation but the feeling of making something on the spot. This is something very interesting for me because of course we have to spend many hours practising and planning, but when we are on stage, something else can happen, and then we just have to also be very spontaneous. And why not? I think it’s nice to add some sense of improvisation on top of many hours of practice – some sense of special freedom, or a sense of making certain things look spontaneous. I think it’s very attractive for the audience, and it would be attractive for me as an audience member as well. So that’s what I would like to learn from the jazz musicians.

TFI: Who has had the greatest impact on you in your musical journey so far?

ZC: I would like to say that one of the main inspirations in my life was my study for about three years with Mikhail Pletnev, a pianist I greatly admire. He was always among my favourite pianists, and it was a true fortune for me to start studying with him. It was a very special time for me and I will never forget it. Even though he was such a hero to me –  as I had always loved his playing –  it did not affect my self-esteem or prompt me to copy his playing. It was just such a beautiful impulse he gave to me. I’m not even mentioning all the amazing advice he gave to me about piano playing! Studying with him was about discovering myself as an artist – showing me how important it is to find my own voice in the art, have the courage to be myself and to be unique, and be brave about new ideas. Since then, this has been my main interest and goal – to create my own world within each piece I play.

TFI: If you had to choose another instrument other than the piano, what would it be?

ZC: I think it would be the violin. I still have this plan to start learning to play the violin, and maybe I will realize this dream some day! One of my dearest dreams when I was a child was to be a violinist – just to be able to play in an orchestra. I have always been so fascinated by opera and symphonic orchestral sound. Maybe my love for the violin was not just because of the violin itself, but because of the prospect of being able to play those amazing symphonies by Brahms, Mahler, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. I was not interested in conducting but I was always interested in playing in the orchestra. So that was my dream!

TFI: Can you share with us what you like to do to relax and recharge?

ZC: It’s very important for me to live in a place where I can recharge, and I think Berlin is really a great place for that. It inspires me because it has many different colours and everyone can find himself or herself in it. For me, the best way to relax is just to go out and walk. To walk in nature or walk along beautiful streets, and enjoy the architecture and beautiful trees. It really makes me feel very balanced inside and always gives me a very nice feeling. I would also mention that outside of my penchant for searching for the best games to make real money on my phone, my most precious hobby is photography. I really enjoy not just walking, but also taking pictures while I walk in beautiful places. Photography is really something very, very special for me, and I love doing it.

TFI: I’ve seen some of your photographs on your Instagram and they are so beautiful! This will be your 1st time performing in Singapore. What have you heard about Singapore and what are you most looking forward to?

ZC: I’m really looking forward to my debut because this is basically my debut in Asia, and I’m very happy to start with Singapore. It has always been one of my dreams to visit this beautiful country. I know it just from some videos and photos, but I think it’s just so beautiful, and it has its own face – I think this country doesn’t look like anywhere else so I’m really, really very much looking forward to see it with my own eyes. I heard that the Singapore audience is very special, very cultured and very warm as well, so I’m really, really excited!

TFI: Can you tell us a little more about the programmes for the 2 evenings?

ZC: This is a very special programme for me to play – not only to record. Now I get the chance to share it with the public at a live event, and it’s very exciting to be able to share it in a more spontaneous way. So for both concerts, I’m playing the (re)creations – the piano transcriptions – and they form the core of both programmes, mixed with different pieces.

The first concert will feature Scriabin and Mozart variations. It will be Scriabin’s 150th birth anniversary in 2022, and I think the combination of Mozart and Scriabin is very interesting because they have many similarities which are maybe not that obvious. I think Scriabin sounds even richer in combination with Mozart.

The second concert will include Ravel. So I would call the programme “reflections and (re)creations” because I’m going to play the reflections of Maurice Ravel. It’s about the more abstract world. It’s not about human stories – it’s about a human being inside of nature, or the human being’s perception of this nature. So this is a different world, and I think it goes well with the (re)creations which, of course, inhabit another world. I’m really looking forward to meeting and playing for the Singapore audience!

Friday 5 November 2021, 9pm

Tickets for (re)creations: Solo Piano Recital by Zlata Chochieva are available from SISTIC