Routes to the Viola – An Interview with Lyda Chen-Argerich | The Flying Inkpot

Festivals are a-plenty these days now that most covid-related restrictions have been lifted and concert venues have opened up to full capacity. But few have attracted attention like “Martha Argerich and Friends”. While almost everyone knows of Martha Argerich – even if they have not listened to her – the identity of her “Friends” is intriguing. Comprising her daughter, violist Lyda Chen-Argerich, her grandson, David Chen on the piano, long-time pianist-conductor collaborator Dario Alejandro, and Van Cliburn winner pianist Yunchan Lim, the line-up over the 3-day festival is poised to surprise and excite.

Aileen Tang has a chat with Lyda Chen-Argerich, daughter of Martha Argerich and conductor Robert Chen, about how she came to play the viola and not being pushed to be a professional musician.

The Flying Inkpot: Hello Lyda, we’re really looking forward to watching you perform very soon! Will this be your first time in Singapore?

Lyda Chen-Argerich: Not my first time visiting, but my first time performing in Singapore.

TFI: I read that you studied both law and violin in Geneva. Were you considering perhaps a career in law at that time? 

LCA: Yes, it took a long time to make up my mind. Here in Switzerland, our Baccalaureate is later than France because we have one extra year of study. And we have a very general education so we can’t specialize very early like the way you can with the ‘A’ levels. So, we just study a bit of everything and then when we turn 19 or 20, we have to make up our minds about what we want to do. I wanted to go to China first but when I came back, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. I thought law would be very, very useful. And it is – it’s a certain logical way of thinking that helps you deal with so many aspects of today’s life. I’m really thankful I did it. I’ve met quite a lot of cool people and I have a lot of lawyer friends! It’s very, very practical indeed.

TFI: You eventually switched from violin to viola. What was the impetus for you to make that switch?

LCA: I quit violin at some point when I was 17 because it was just too much work and I was lazy. I did okay with the violin exam and all that, but then I thought, oh you know, let’s just enjoy school! And I had a fantastic time in school! It’s the best time when you’re between 16 and 20 – making lots of friends and going out. You don’t have as much pressure as when you are in university. And so I quit the violin for a really long time. 

Then when I turned 27, my father said to me, I have a present for you – would you like a viola? And I was like, ooh! My father had to flee from China and his parents finally agreed to let him study music  – which was unthinkable in China in the 1930s and 40s. But because he was already a teenager, he couldn’t study an instrument. He chose composition and he played a bit of piano. He was also doing some viola – that was his love. So I think that is why he offered me a viola. 

I fell in love with the sound of the viola. When I play the violin, it’s as though the sound is too high. Maybe it’s also as one grows older; one prefers more mellow sounds. It has been said that the viola sound is the nearest to the human voice. 

TFI: Yes, I agree – I love the sound of the viola too! 

LCA: With the violin sometimes – with a higher pitch – it can send your soul flying. The violin touches my spirit, but the viola touches my heart.

It makes a big change to have music as part of our lives. Sometimes when you see what’s happening all over the world, it’s really quite gloomy. But when you play music, you can forget completely about all these tragedies and dramas. You just lose yourself in the music. Apparently, music stimulates the centre of pleasure and reward in your brain – and it’s not a bad addiction! What usually stimulates that part of the brain might be gambling or drinking – but music does exactly the same. So it really does something to our brains and therefore to our hearts. 

TFI: It’s very powerful. I couldn’t agree more. It’s amazing how I can be in a concert hall with 1,900 other people and yet still lose myself completely in the music.

LCA: I do have a preference for classical music. Of course, I love some pop music and indie rock – I really enjoy it. But when it comes to really listening and being totally involved, it has to be classical music. Because it really asks for effort in listening effort, with the ranges and contrasts [in dynamics], and the harmonies. Pop songs are so much simpler – with some exceptions, of course. It’s such a pity that classical music cannot touch a wider audience. A lot of musicians, producers and concert organizers are really trying to make classical music more attractive for everyone, and not just for some kind of elite. 

TFI: Did you feel any stress or expectations from others because of who your parents are? 

LCA: I was not very conscious of it – not as conscious as my half-sisters [Ed: Martha’s 2 younger daughters Anne Dutoit with Charles Dutoit and Stéphanie Argerich with Stephen Kovacevich] who both grew up with my mom. They were in that universe every day – their fathers are musicians too and they were touring with her. I didn’t grow up with my mom. I didn’t have much contact with her until I was a teenager, so I was not yet aware of the pressure. But my father always made the point that the best thing was not to necessarily become a professional. He probably thought that way of his own life because I’m pretty certain that had he started earlier in life, he would have become a fantastic instrumentalist. So my dad said, if you can play in a string quartet or you can play second violin, you will be so happy and have such pleasure from it. He’s right, of course. But he never pushed. He would tell me that if I practise 15 minutes a day, that’s already good enough. He was far from the tiger mom who would tie you to the seat and practise the piano for three hours!

But now when I’m pushing my son David [Ed: Age 14, with Vladimir Sverdlov-Ashkenazy], I can say it’s a very, very difficult task. In a way, he’s going to school – and he’s not the schooling type – and on top of that, he has so many different classes and courses he has to take. Basically, there aren’t enough hours in the day for him to at least have some time to relax – which is why he’s not practising. It’s always a balancing act. He definitely feels more pressure than I did – obvious pressure because now he plays with his grandmother. He understands what this life is like and how high the expectations are. Of course, he rebels because he’s a teenager. But I do wish I’d been more encouraging and pushed more. But life is how it is. 

Honestly, I don’t have regrets either. I would probably have been able to play the viola much better and much sooner if I had been pushed, but maybe I wouldn’t be happier. And now the opportunities are here and I’m so, so grateful. 

Tickets for all 3 nights of Martha Argerich and Friends are available from SISTIC:

https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/argerich1122

CHAMBER MUSIC

Monday, 7 November 2022, 8:15pm

CLARA SCHUMANN – Three Romances, Op. 22

Lyda Chen-Argerich, viola

Martha Argerich, piano

CHOPIN – Fantasie-Impromptu, Op. 66

David Chen, piano

RAVEL – Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose)

Martha Argerich, piano

David Chen, piano

RACHMANINOV – Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

Darío Alejandro Ntaca, piano

Martha Argerich, piano

ROMANTICS

Tuesday, 8 November 2022, 8:15pm

David Chen, piano (Beethoven)

Martha Argerich, piano (Schumann)

Orchestra of the Music Makers

Darío Alejandro Ntaca, conductor

WAGNER – Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin

BEETHOVEN – Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15

BRAHMS – Tragic Overture, Op. 81

SCHUMANN – Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

GENERATIONS

Wednesday, 9 November 2022, 8:15pm

Lyda Chen-Argerich, viola (Hindemith)

Yunchan Lim, piano (Beethoven)

Orchestra of the Music Makers

Darío Alejandro Ntaca, conductor

HINDEMITH – Trauermusik

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV – Scheherazade, Op. 35

BEETHOVEN – Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73

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