Yefim Bronfman: Three months later, I saw Matsuev, and we ran into each other in, I think, in Australia-

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: -one of the places. And I said, you know, "This piano in Kiev, they told me that you played it." I said, "No, it's not true. I've canceled that concert."

Manny Ax: [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: So they lied to me on top of it.

Manny Ax: I see. [laughs]

[music]

Manny Ax: From WQXR and Carnegie Hall, this is Classical Music Happy Hour, hosted by me, Pianist Manny Ax. Each episode, we'll speak with a special guest about their lives, listen to some of their favorite musical gems, play music-inspired games, and answer questions from you, our listeners. My guest today is one of the truly great pianists of our time. His astonishing command of the keyboard is fully matched by his probing intellect and, above all, his fearless emotional depth.

He has played in virtually every important venue in the world and with all the great orchestras, and continues to explore new and old music equally. To top it all off, he is a totally charming, delightful man, and I feel very lucky to have the pleasure of speaking with him today. Yefim Bronfman, welcome to the show.

Yefim Bronfman: Thank you. I'm speechless. Such introduction is really-- totally undeserved.

Manny Ax: But you just talked. How speechless can you be?

Yefim Bronfman: From now on, I will be.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: Now, your friends call you Fima.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes.

Manny Ax: So I will allow myself to do the same thing.

Yefim Bronfman: Thank you. Thank you. That would be great.

Manny Ax: Now, we met for the first time, I think, just around 1975 when you came to New York.

Yefim Bronfman: We met before.

Manny Ax: And you say we met in Israel.

Yefim Bronfman: After your recital at the Museum-

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: -of Tel Aviv.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: And you played, uh, Andante spianato et Grande polonaise, and you played Gaspards.

Manny Ax: [laughs] How could you remember all that?

Yefim Bronfman: Well, I remember great performances.

Manny Ax: I see. [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: And I met- I met you in York afterwards, and you were greeting people. I would come say hello, and you were very nice.

Manny Ax: Your debut in New York was at Carnegie Hall-

Yefim Bronfman: Mm-hmm.

Manny Ax: -Bernstein conducting Israel Philharmonic, Rachmaninoff 3. How do you remember that concert?

Yefim Bronfman: I remember I was less nervous than I-

[laughter]

Yefim Bronfman: -I get now. And we played the night before in Washington, and just got to New York the day off, and I was very relaxed. I was not experienced enough to play such a big gig, you know, Bernstein and Carnegie Hall. I was 18 years old. I-I barely played with orchestras then, you know. So to have somebody like Bernstein, who was not the simplest person to play with-

Manny Ax: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: -because he was such a big personality, obviously, he commanded and dictated his way of playing. And I remember suffering a little bit because his temper was much slower than I was used to.

Manny Ax: I see.

Yefim Bronfman: So I feel that that kind of engagement came in the wrong time of my life. I would appreciate him much more 10 years later. Obviously, he was a genius and a great musician, but I was too young to know that. So in a way, that was a difficult experience looking back at it.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: At the time, it seemed like, okay, I'm playing Rachmaninoff 3.

Manny Ax: Of course.

Yefim Bronfman: That's fun. That's great fun.

Manny Ax: And you've worked with so many of the great conductors and artists, Isaac Stern, for one?

Yefim Bronfman: My debut in Carnegie Hall was 10 days earlier at a series called Isaac Stern and Friends.

Manny Ax: Oh, I see.

Yefim Bronfman: Where I played Schubert's Fantasie with Jean-Bernard Pommier.ss

Manny Ax: This is the sfour-hand Fantasie?

Yefim Bronfman: Four-hand Fantasie, yes.

Manny Ax: Right.

Yefim Bronfman: That was my first time playing.

Manny Ax: Is that a piece you've played often or?

Yefim Bronfman: I played it a few times, but, you know, not that often. I've pslayed it with some very good pianists. We have never done it. I don't think we have done it, you and me.

Manny Ax: No, we've never done it.

Yefim Bronfman: No. It's a ni-nice piece. You should look into it. You know, it's a really lovely piece.

Manny Ax: Yeah, well, Schubert, you know-

Yefim Bronfman: [laughter]

Manny Ax: -sometimes-sometimes he does good things.

Yefim Bronfman: Sometimes, yeah.

Manny Ax: Yeah. How do you design a recital program? Do you have a design in mind?

Yefim Bronfman: There are different ways to approach it. I think that sometimes you focus just on one composer.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: And some composers, like all Beethoven program, works well, better than maybe others. I mean, I've done all Prokofiev programs when I did all sonatas-

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: -but I don't know how interesting it is for the public, you know, to hear.

Manny Ax: You studied in Philadelphia, so I hear a little Philadelphia accent in your speech.

Yefim Bronfman: Are you serious or are you joking?

[laughter]

Yefim Bronfman: You know, it's a suburb of Philadelphia, I understand. That's more New Jersey side.

Manny Ax: That's more and more mainline, I would say.

Yefim Bronfman: Mainline, yes.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: But the reason I mention it is because you're also a great punster. And I remember once when you were talking about doing all Prokofiev and saying that, "I hope no one here is anti-Kofiev." [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: You're either Prokofiev or anti-Kofiev.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: [unintelligible 00:04:55] It's-it's nice to know that both are possible. [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah. But sometimes you-you also choose, uh, like a topic, like you decide to do night music or you decide to do a Fantasie program.

Manny Ax: Mm.

Yefim Bronfman: This is always fun because it's kind of stimulates you to have Clair de Lune and Moonlight Sonata on the same program.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm. Yes. Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: There's so much repertoire-

Manny Ax: Yes. Yes.

Yefim Bronfman: -we have. We can pick any subject. You know, there's just-

Manny Ax: Right.

Yefim Bronfman: -so much that we have at our disposal.

[music]

Manny Ax: So, Fima, we have some questions about classical music from our listeners. We're going to do our best to answer them. If we don't know, we'll just make something up.

Yefim Bronfman: Okay.

Manny Ax: No problem.

Yefim Bronfman: That's fine.

Manny Ax: Let's hear from a caller who has a question about choosing unfamiliar music.

Speaker 3: Dear, Manny. I'm wondering what do you look for in music that is unfamiliar to the public? I'm curious if you only want the megastars or if you'd take the chance on an unknown. Thank you.

Yefim Bronfman: First of all, one should play the music that you really want to play. Only if you believe in that music and if you like it, then it's worth bringing it to public. I think that public views very much influenced by the performers they hear. So if they hear Szymanowski for the first time-

[music]

Yefim Bronfman: -they may like it. Or maybe they don't like it. Or love for this music will grow with time or maybe not. But if I personally believe in that music, I need to play it in public. Regardless of if it's famous or not.

Manny Ax: Yeah. Yeah. No, I-I think that's actually absolutely correct and true. And I think that there are many, many people who love you, love your playing, love everything you do, and they will follow you if you present music that's not familiar to them. I think there's another side to it that sometimes you get asked to do a piece that nobody has seen. It's going to be written for you to play.

Yefim Bronfman: Mm-hmm.

Manny Ax: And then, of course, you take a chance just like everybody else. Uh, with any luck, it will be a wonderful piece, especially if you like that composer's music. Sometimes it doesn't come out as beautifully as you were hoping, but it's something that you take a chance on. And, uh, you've done an incredible amount of new music. You've done a concerto of Magnus Lindberg, which is the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. Millions and millions of notes.

Yefim Bronfman: Well, there's a story behind it, how late he delivered it. Maybe five weeks before he finally delivered the score.

Manny Ax: And you were under the gun for the performance, of course. Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: And I was performing in many different places. I would-

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: -stay after the concert, you know, and practice till 2:00 in the morning when I could.

Manny Ax: Oh. Oh.

Yefim Bronfman: And then two weeks before the concert, I was playing in Philadelphia. And I get a phone call from him. He said, "Fima, I have great news." Oh, thank God, the phone was canceled.

Manny Ax: [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: “I-I complete-- I finished the cadenza. I'm sending it to you.”

Manny Ax: Oh, no. [laughs] Oh, God.

Yefim Bronfman: Oh, great.

[laughter]

Yefim Bronfman: So I received it. It was like all black on the page. You know, there's just thousands of notes in it.

Manny Ax: But-but I remember I saw a write-up about the first performance of the piece.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes.

Manny Ax: And I believe the man who wrote it up said, "Whatever Mr. Bronfman got paid for that performance-

Yefim Bronfman: Yes, I remember.

Manny Ax: -it was not enough." [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: I should have negotiated my contract differently.

[laughter]

[music]

Manny Ax: When you're at home, I know you're practicing all the time. Do you play stuff for fun, or do you always play what you're working on?

Yefim Bronfman: First of all, I don't practice more than four hours. I just get tired.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: I think prolonged practicing, uh, you lose perspective of sound a little bit. And I think that listening music from inside sometimes is more important than-

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: -hearing it live in a small room.

Manny Ax: Did you ever use a silent keyboard to practice? It's like the action of the piano without actually the hammers and the strings. Or it might even have the hammers, but there'd be no strings, so, in fact, you would be getting no sound, no musical sound. You would just get the mechanism. You would-

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah.

Manny Ax: -practice the mechanism and there'd be no sound.

Yefim Bronfman: Only before the concert, but I never really practiced-

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: -with a silent keyboard, no. s

Manny Ax: ‘Cause I think, if I'm not mistaken, I think in the days when people traveled by train in the '30s, they would often have a silent keyboard in the baggage car and actually practice on those things-- [crosstalk]

Yefim Bronfman: That's where-- Oh, they had to take, uh, let's say, sheep from Europe to America, like Rachmaninoff days. He must have had some keyboard to practice before playing when he landed in New York. I think it's a great idea. I just personally never tried it.

Manny Ax: Yeah, there's so much video and recording of live concerts now. Is that something you are for, or maybe not as much?

Yefim Bronfman: Not as much, I would say. I'm always dreading this kind of situations with live TV and live radio. Live radio is better for some reason. I know it makes no difference, but for some reason, I don't see the cameras.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: That's already-

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: -a better feeling. But it's something that's difficult to deal with. Very often I'm so nervous I can't even sleep the night before and go play half asleep, you know, it's just I'm afraid to oversleep, you know. I'm afraid I don't have time to warm up. I like to come to the concert hall two hours before. So if you play at eleven o'clock, let's say you have to be there by 8:30, because last half hour before the concert, try not to play because I just need to have a little quiet before you-

Manny Ax: Right.

Yefim Bronfman: -go on stage. And I'm not a morning person-

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: -on top of that, I know you are much better than me. I know you, sometimes after concert you practice very early in the morning, but I'm still asleep.

Manny Ax: Yeah, but that's just habit. But I know just what you mean. As a performer, I agree with you completely. I dread the whole process, and it makes me terribly nervous, even more nervous than a concert. On the other hand, as a listener or as a consumer, I love the idea of having performances that I can watch or listen to. So it's a little bit on both sides.

Yefim Bronfman: Of course.

Manny Ax: I-I think in the perfect world, I would never do it, but everybody else would, so I can hear it.

[music]

Manny Ax: Now we have a caller from Providence, Rhode Island.s

Ana: Hi, this is Ana. I'm from Providence, Rhode Island. My question is, what do you do if you get injured? Do you go to physical therapy? Are there hand exercises that you do? Do you exercise to be a pianist?

Yefim Bronfman: Very good question. The thing to do when you have hand injuries, take time off and not play for a couple of weeks. That happened to me. I was working and playing a lot of concerts with a very difficult repertoire. And after a while, your hands start hurting, and that's when you need to take time off. And if that doesn't cure it, then you have a more serious problem, then you go see a doctor. But, basically, to be a pianist, you have to be in good shape physically, because we sit a lot practicing and rehearsing, and playing concerts, and we need to move, and we need to exercise, and I do a lot of walking myself. There's really nothing you can do with your hands, you know.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: Any heavy lifting for me is not-- doesn't help, but basically you just keep your body in good shape, and you don't go out of breath when you perform.

Manny Ax: So you wouldn't recommend amputation?

Yefim Bronfman: Not particularly.

Manny Ax: Okay.

Yefim Bronfman: Only if you need it.

Manny Ax: Okay.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: It's hard to reverse, I guess.

Yefim Bronfman: Exactly. Yes.

Manny Ax: Yeah, yeah, Yeah, I guess I would- I would go along. Probably, most things for the hands, if you're lucky, will be taken care of by some rest. I think it's a matter of really luck to some degree. I've been pretty fortunate in not having too many issues, but what's interesting is how little is generally known by everybody about the body. I remember I had some shoulder issues a few years ago now, and I went to a very highly recommended doctor for sports medicine, then-- and this lady did an MRI, and she said, "Well, it could be something up here in the neck, or it could be a little lower down in the shoulder, or it could be underneath." So I said, "Aha, so what do you think I should do?" "Well, why don't you not do anything?" I said, "Okay, that sounds like a wonderful solution." And, in fact, it went away after a certain time.

Yefim Bronfman: Did you have to pay for that?

Manny Ax: I-I had to pay for the consultation-

Yefim Bronfman: Of course?

Manny Ax: -but at least there was no follow-up.

[music]

Manny Ax: That was the good thing. I'm Manny Ax, and this is Classical Music Happy Hour. We'll return in just a moment.

[music]

Speaker 5: Classical Music Happy Hour is supported by Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort. For over 25 years, Viking has been connecting the thinking person with the world. First on the great rivers, then on all five oceans, now on all seven continents. Whether you choose to journey through the heart of Europe on an elegant Viking longship, explore the ancient cities of the Mediterranean on a small ocean ship, or venture to the white shores of Antarctica on a purpose-built expedition ship, you will always experience thoughtful service, destination-focused dining, and cultural enrichment on board and onshore. And every Viking voyage is all-inclusive with no children and no casinos. Learn more at sviking.com.

Manny Ax: This is Classical Music Happy Hour. I'm Manny Ax. Yefim Bronfman joined us before the break. Let's hear a bit more of that conversation. The show is called Classical Music Happy Hour. What is your favorite drink after a long day?

Yefim Bronfman: Well, you know, I drink less nowadays. I find that for me to stay focused, especially when you are on the long tours. I'm trying to save my energy, and I think when I wake up the next morning, and if I drink, I feel the tiredness more than if I don't. So--

Manny Ax: So you don't drink at all?

Yefim Bronfman: I-I drink very little.

Manny Ax: Very little. What would it be? Wine, beer.

Yefim Bronfman: Well, you know, I love wine.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: Especially the red wine. And if it's- if it's bad wine, I don't touch it.

Manny Ax: Okay.

Yefim Bronfman: You know, and if it's a good one, I touch it.

Manny Ax: Excellent.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: What is the best book you've ever read about music?

Yefim Bronfman: You know, the best book about music was really not about music, but it was autobiography of Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday, because-

Manny Ax: Yes.

Yefim Bronfman: -he writes there about the musicians and the composers that he met in his lifetime.

Manny Ax: What's the first record that you bought with your own money?

Yefim Bronfman: Oh, that's the toughest question you've asked so far. I never bought any records in Tashkent, where I was born. But the first great pianist I heard on television-

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: -when I was about 10 years old, it was a-a gray-haired man playing live in Moscow. It was Rubinstein.

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: And I was so impressed that I couldn't stop watching it, and it was live from Moscow. And it was just a revelation for me then. That was something I will never forget. And, you know, there's now this concert is available on YouTube, and I watch it all the time because some of the greatest playing I've ever heard.

Manny Ax: I know the exact performance you're talking about.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes.

Manny Ax: And I also listen to it all the time.

Yefim Bronfman: Unbelievable.

Manny Ax: Yeah. Do you go to concerts a lot?

Yefim Bronfman: I go to concerts when I can really listen and enjoy myself. I go more to concerts when I'm in Europe than in New York.

Manny Ax: I understand.

Yefim Bronfman: You know.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: Uh, for some reason, I'd like to focus on music, and then I don't need to worry about what I say, what people say to me, and all this stuff.

Manny Ax: It just reminded me, I think one of the great old pianists, maybe Rubinstein, once said to his wife, "Ah, I have to go and say hello to the man in row C24.” And she says, “Why?” “That's the only one who hasn't talked to me yet.” So, [laughs] probably if you went to see the New York Giants, they wouldn't bother you.

Yefim Bronfman: But they have a World Cup in the-

Manny Ax: Yes.

Yefim Bronfman: The final is going to be in New Jersey.

Manny Ax: So you're gonna go?

Yefim Bronfman: I would love to go, but I can't imagine the traffic.

Manny Ax: Yeah, well, it's not like a music concert. I mean, this is serious stuff.

Yefim Bronfman: Of course, I know, but I love soccer.

Manny Ax: You love soccer?

Yefim Bronfman: Yes.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: I grew up with that.

Manny Ax: It's funny that you should love soccer. It's the one thing you cannot do is use your hands.

Yefim Bronfman: I used to do it when I was a little kid, you know.

Manny Ax: You played?

Yefim Bronfman: I played every day, we played in--

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: -in Tashkent. I was-- mostly I was goalkeeper because I was-- the size, I-- the ball never went through me.

[laughter]

Yefim Bronfman: So the- when the boys looked at me and said, "You be the goalkeeper."

[laughter]

Manny Ax: I'm sure you were fabulous at it.

Yefim Bronfman: I was fabulous. Yes, of course.

Manny Ax: I have no- I have no doubt.

Yefim Bronfman: I have no doubt either.

Manny Ax: Are you a sports fan aside from soccer?

Yefim Bronfman: Yes, I love chess.

Manny Ax: Okay.

Yefim Bronfman: No, I love all kind of sports.

Manny Ax: Do you- do you play chess online?

Yefim Bronfman: No, I play chess with people who like to play chess. You know, like life interaction. And I'm not very good. I was better than before, but, you know, very hard to find anybody to play with.

Manny Ax: Well, we could play. I'm terrible, but we could play.

Yefim Bronfman: I am worse than you.

Manny Ax: I doubt it.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: Do you see any connection between sports and music?

Yefim Bronfman: Of course, especially in tennis, which I love.

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: Um, I think the way they plan their strategy-

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: -depending who they play-

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: -in our case, it's depending what we play.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: I think that's a great lesson to hear great players, how they focus on certain aspects of the game, which we do before each concert. You have to be strategic in many ways.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: So I think there is a strong connection with it.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: Not to mention chess, of course.

Manny Ax: In chess analysis, they talk about strategy and tactics. And, I guess we probably, to some degree, do that in a piece of music.

Yefim Bronfman: Absolutely. Yeah. Strategy is the overlooking and tactics is you change it as you go along-

Manny Ax: Right.

Yefim Bronfman: -depending on circumstances.

Manny Ax: Yes.

Yefim Bronfman: It could be a piano you're not happy with or very happy with.

Manny Ax: Yes.

Yefim Bronfman: Concert hall or the public.

Manny Ax: Yes.

Yefim Bronfman: You know, there's so many nuances that go into-

Manny Ax: Yes.

Yefim Bronfman: -changing things. If the restaurant calls us earlier, then the--

Manny Ax: [crosstalk] Do you have to play a little faster? [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: A little faster. I'm just kidding.

[music]

Manny Ax: We have a question about piano preferences.

Speaker 6: Because you can't carry your instrument with you, I would like to know if there is a particular brand of piano that you prefer to play. If so, why? Also, I'd like to know what restrictions are placed on instruments that you use in performances.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: So I like Steinway piano. I always play Steinway piano. Couple of times I've played other brands, and I enjoyed it very much, but my overall preference is for Steinway. My first instrument was Yamaha when I practiced at home. I still have that instrument, and I like practicing on it because it's a very good piano.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: But I would not necessarily use it in a concert.

Manny Ax: Yeah. I think there are a lot of good pianos made by different companies, right?

Yefim Bronfman: Absolutely.

Manny Ax: I-I agree with you. I think we're used to playing Steinways because so many places have Steinways. And I like them, as you do, very much. Again, I've also used other instruments, especially when a good Steinway may not be available at the place, and sometimes they're a lot of fun to play. I don't think there's specific restrictions in any way. I think we can play the best piano that's available at the time, but it's usually a Steinway.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: Once in my career it happened that I arrived at the venue that only had two Bösendorfers. And I really loved it because playing Schubert on it was just so--- you find different things in it.

Manny Ax: Uh-huh. Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: One-one learns from playing a certain instrument.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: You learn something about music you play, you know. So, it's-

Manny Ax: Okay.

Yefim Bronfman: -kind of gives you inspiration to do something different.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: And that was the case.

Manny Ax: Yeah. What's also interesting sometimes is to play a really old piano. I mean, a piano-

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah.

Manny Ax: -from 1825 or 1850. I played some Chopin on an 1850 Érard, a French piano.

Yefim Bronfman: Which I remember you made the recording of it.

Manny Ax: And that was the first piano that actually had a steel frame inside.

Yefim Bronfman: Whoa.

Manny Ax: And it was a very, very different kind of experience. The treble and the bass had very different sounds. In some ways easier to play, but in some ways harder to play because you really had to pound to get any kind of sound. You had to play very loud. So it was an adjustment, but a very interesting way to, as you say, to hear the music in a different sound world.

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah. Yeah.

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: I remember in Tashkent, where I grew up, there was only one Steinway in the whole city.

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: And, of course, students were not allowed to touch it. Um, I had a piano at home called-- a-a Russian piano called Red October.

Manny Ax: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: A little bit. And they have--

Manny Ax: Krasny Oktya-Oktyabr.

Yefim Bronfman: Krasny Oktyabr. Yes. Red October, which was terrible, but that's what I practiced when I was eight years old, you know, and then-

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: -we had Petrof, which was a-

Manny Ax: Right.

Yefim Bronfman: -huge upgrade and-

Manny Ax: And that--

Yefim Bronfman: -upright piano.

Manny Ax: Those were very good, I think.

Yefim Bronfman: Well, it wasn’t upright, but it was-

Manny Ax: Right.

Yefim Bronfman: -much better.

Manny Ax: Because I played a couple of Petrofs. A Czech piano, I think. There was a time when there were many, many companies producing their own pianos.

Yefim Bronfman: That's right. Yeah.

Manny Ax: And Steinway was only one. I was just reading the biography of Arthur Rubinstein, who came to America in 1906, was his first tour. And he came using the Knabe piano.

Yefim Bronfman: Knabe, yes.

Manny Ax: Yeah. K-N-A-B-E.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes.

Manny Ax: It was a different world, kind of.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes. Yes.

[music]

Manny Ax: You are very, very pragmatic. You adapt to pianos when you need to, but you're quite picky about what you like.

Yefim Bronfman: Less so than I used to be. You know, when you play a lot of not such great pianos, how often one is really happy, this is a dream piano. Doesn't happen that often.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: But when you have the experience of playing many different pianos all the time, you just accept it more.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: I think I'm becoming much more accepting of piano. And I think, you know, in Russia, for example, I was never in Moscow Conservatory, but in the days of famous pianists, students were not even allowed to talk about how bad piano is.

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: They had to play. And I remember also Rudolf Serkin always said, "There are no bad pianos; there are only bad pianists."

Manny Ax: I see. [chuckles]

Yefim Bronfman: Which is partly true, but only partly.

Manny Ax: Yeah. Yeah. I think some people adapt a little faster and a little more willingly to pianos than others.

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah.

Manny Ax: Did you ever have a situation where you had a program that you were supposed to play and the piano you found, you simply had to say, "I'm sorry, I can't play that program?"

Yefim Bronfman: This never happened, but it was close.

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: For example, I was-- uh, ended up one day in Kyiv-

Manny Ax: Mm-hmm.

Yefim Bronfman: -Ukraine, but it is 15 years ago, and the piano was so bad. I was playing Brahms' Second Piano Concerto.

Manny Ax: Which is a monster-

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah.

Manny Ax: -a monster piece. Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: The piano was the worst piano in my career. Some keys were not even playing, you know.

Manny Ax: Wow.

Yefim Bronfman: So I was on tour with a wonderful orchestra.

Manny Ax: Yes

Yefim Bronfman: And I went to the manager. I said, "You know, I don't think I can, uh, play." For some reason, I ended up playing the whole concerto. It was a terrible experience.

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: But what made me play is I was complaining bitterly backstage when one of the workers said, "Well, you know, you're complaining, but Matsuev played on it."

[laughter]

Yefim Bronfman: So I felt guilty if Matsuev played.

[laughter]

Yefim Bronfman: But three months later, I saw Matsuev, and we- and we ran into each other in, I think, in Australia-

Manny Ax: Uh-huh.

Yefim Bronfman: -one of the places. And I said, "You know, this piano in Kyiv, they told me that you played in it." I said, "No, it's not true. I've canceled that concert." So they lied to me on top of it.

Manny Ax: I see, I see. [laughs]

Yefim Bronfman: That was the piano I wish I did not play.

Manny Ax: But generally you make friends with the instruments.

Yefim Bronfman: Sometimes only acquaintances, not friends.

Manny Ax: [laughs] Now, uh, you are an incredibly entertaining person. Do you feel that humor is important to music?

Yefim Bronfman: Well, thank you. I'm very humbled by your compliment. Maybe I should have gone to entertainment.

Manny Ax: [laughs] Well, I always think that if you weren't such a fabulous pianist, you'd be Robin Williams.

Yefim Bronfman: You know, the thing is that the kind of life we lead, not have humor about it would be devastating. You know, it would be hard to see the-

Manny Ax: Yeah.

Yefim Bronfman: -the other side of what we do because it's, you know, it's-- A lot of time you go on eight-week trip, and you don't go to places you necessarily want to be. You need to have some kind of an enlightenment-

Manny Ax: Mm.

Yefim Bronfman: -in your life. I don't know if you agree with me. But humor is important, but I don't try to do it. I think it has to come naturally, you know. If I laugh at it, that's what makes me feel good.

Manny Ax: And it's sometimes it's easier with other people, isn't it? As pianists, of course, we travel alone a lot of the time, but when you are doing chamber music or you're with an orchestra, a lot of things become funny that would have been unpleasant- [chuckles]

Yefim Bronfman: Absolutely.

Manny Ax: -without-- if you're alone.

Yefim Bronfman: You make me laugh all the time, you know.

[laughter]

[music]

Manny Ax: Okay. Fima, we are here to challenge you today with a game that we're calling the Newly Dead Game. We will give you some clues about odd composer deaths, and you tell us which one is correct. [chuckles]

Yefim Bronfman: Okay.

Manny Ax: Number 1: Baroque composer Alessandro Stradella might be best known for his chamber cantatas, but his death also put him in the news. How did Stradella meet his end? Here are the choices. A, he had one too many pre-concert coffees, and his heart gave out mid-performance. B, after surviving an earlier assassination attempt, he was murdered under mysterious circumstances. C, he embezzled money from the wrong cardinal. And, D, he ate some bad pasta and died of a stomachache.

Yefim Bronfman: I think he was probably murdered.

Manny Ax: You're absolutely right.

[music]

Manny Ax: Really, yes.

Yefim Bronfman: [laughs]

Manny Ax: Stradella-Stradella had a habit of seducing the wrong woman. And after an unsuccessful attempt, a wrong fiancée finally got his revenge.

Yefim Bronfman: [laughs] Okay.

Manny Ax: But in fact, it seems that C could also be possible.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes.

Manny Ax: Because he did embezzle money-

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah.

Manny Ax: -from the church.

Yefim Bronfman: So both are right.

Manny Ax: So-so both are right.

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah. [chuckles]

Manny Ax: Yeah. Stomachache, not so much, I guess.

Yefim Bronfman: Not so much.

[laughter]

[music]

Manny Ax: Number two, Jean-Baptiste Lully, was a 17th-century Baroque composer, dancer, and instrumentalist best known for his operas. How did he die? He made fun of the French royalties who sent him to the guillotine. B, he fell off the stage while dancing to one of his own pieces and hit his head. C, he hit his foot with his conducting staff and ended up with gangrene and dying from the infection. D, he met his end in a duel over an Italian countess who had too many suitors.

Yefim Bronfman: That's a tough one. I would go with guillotine.

Manny Ax: Okay, the actual answer is C. He hit his foot with his conducting staff-

Yefim Bronfman: Oh, really?

Manny Ax: -ended up with gangrene and dying from the infection.

Yefim Bronfman: Oh, wow.

[music]

Yefim Bronfman: It's part of historical document.

Manny Ax: Conducting, a dangerous business.

Yefim Bronfman: Yes. [laughs]

Manny Ax: Yes. During Lully's time, just to explain, a conductor would use a big wooden staff to pound the floor and to keep time. During one performance, he missed the floor and got his foot.

Yefim Bronfman: Yeah, yeah.

Manny Ax: And gangrene came in. The doctor suggested an amputation, and Lully refused. Gangrene set in, and Lully kicked the bucket.

Yefim Bronfman: Is that when the little stick was born for conductors?

Manny Ax: [chuckles] Um, probably.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: Although sometimes they stab their hand, don't they?

Yefim Bronfman: They do, yes. The safest way is without a stick, and just--

Manny Ax: [laughs] That's also true.

[laughter]

[music]

Manny Ax: Number 3. Bach and Handel were born in the same year, the same country, and both became giants of the Baroque period. What was similar about their deaths? A, they both died after complications from eye surgery, performed by the same doctor. B, they both died of chocolate poisoning after one too many desserts. C, they both suffered a harpsichord accident. And, D, three words, toxic wig glue.

Yefim Bronfman: Wait, totally. Wild guess, the first one, eye surgery.

[music]

Manny Ax: It's absolutely right.

♪♪ Ev’ry sight these eyes behold, ♪♪

Manny Ax: Bach and Handel were both treated for cataracts by the same quack doctor named John Taylor. Who else can say they single-handedly killed an entire musical era?

♪♪ Ev’ry sight these eyes behold, ♪♪

♪♪ Every sight does a different drama unfold. ♪♪

Manny Ax: Yefim Bronfman, thank you so much for joining us today.

Yefim Bronfman: Thank you for having me. It's really great honor to be here.

[music]

Manny Ax: I'm Manny Ax, and this is Classical Music Happy Hour. Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson. Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim. Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon. Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.

[00:34:26] [END OF AUDIO]

 

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