Marc-Andre Hamelin at the Grammys, receiving his award for the Chopin-Godowsky Studies. The announcer needs a lesson in pronunciation...
Interview comments:
EI: You performance of the first Godowsky/Chopin study at the Grammys a couple of years ago must have been the first time Godowsky was heard on American TV.
MAH: It was also the first time that Jon Stewart announced Godowsky!
That was a very difficult situation because after playing one chord you want to jump back ten feet because its amplified a thousand-fold. And your first reaction is to tone down your playing. But wait a minute, Im playing for television, I dont want to sound like milquetoast, you know? So you just have to play normally, and wish you had earplugs. Youre just unleashing this torrent of sound...
The first number in the evening was Madonna's "Music," and I sure wish I had earplugs then. Im a traditionalist. Even if its like a feel-good sort of stomp or a headbanger, I want to hear the words. And theres no hope of hearing the words at that volume. The only rock concert I ever went to was Frank Zappa, You Are What You Is. That was in 81. It was at the Montreal Forum, and I didnt hear a single word. It was phenomenally earsplitting.
28 авг 2024
