hear Rachmaninoff play?" [piano music]

Manny Ax: From WQXR and Carnegie Hall, this is Classical Music Happy Hour, a new podcast hosted by me, Pianist Manny Ax. Every episode I'll speak with a special guest about their relationship with music. We'll delve into their love of some surprising and not so surprising musical pieces, answer your classical queries, and take part in playful musical games. Today's guest is one of classical music's brightest stars. Born into a musical family in Beijing, she soon rose to international acclaim, performing with some of the world's greatest musicians, ensembles, and conductors. In recent years, she has done projects as varied as a Rachmaninoff marathon, playing all five piano and orchestra pieces in a single day, and a concert incorporating David Hockney paintings. Last year, she won her first Grammy for the album, The American Project. It is my dream to become the president of her fan club. Yuja Wang, a great pleasure to welcome you to the show.

Yuja Wang: That's so sweet. Thank you for having me.

Manny Ax: Did you grow up in a musical home? Were your parents both musicians?

Yuja Wang: Yes. Mom, dancer, father, percussionist.

Manny Ax: Dancer?

Yuja Wang: Dancer, yes. Crazy. No.

Manny Ax: Okay.

Yuja Wang: Very disciplined. You know that people mentioned about my posture. That's all her doing. [laughs]

Manny Ax: Well, you do look in fabulous physical shape.

Yuja Wang: Well, she want me to be a dancer.

Manny Ax: I see.

Yuja Wang: Then I escaped it by pretending I like the piano, and then it becomes pretty real. Actually, playing on the piano was fun in the beginning because I can translate this course, but now everything's so visual. I'm only good at sight reading. I cannot memorize anything. [chuckles]

Manny Ax: No, but you are a phenomenal sight reader, in fact. For people who may not understand that term, sight reading is simply, you have a piece of music that you don't know, and the music is in front of you, and you try and play it as you're looking at it for the first time. You are, in fact, phenomenal at it. I know that at one lesson, you actually sight read the Bartók first violin Sonata accompanying someone. Jaime Laredo told me.

Yuja Wang: Yes, but after that, I don't remember.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: Well, that's not important, especially these days with iPads and so forth.

Yuja Wang: Exactly.

Manny Ax: I also know you listen to a lot of music, and you know a lot of music. Does hearing other music influence how you play? Let's say you play a Beethoven Sonata, but you've heard the 9 Symphony.

Yuja Wang: Oh, for sure, yes, or the string quartet. It's like getting into that composer's language, their complete works. Like, if I do a Bartók Concerto, I'll hear the Bluebeard Castle, which I actually really like. I would hear that again.

Manny Ax: Can you give me an example. Like, I saw that you recorded a Beethoven Sonata, Opus 31, number 3, called The Hunt.

[piano musicc]

Manny Ax: Are there things in other Beethoven pieces that would connect to that, do you think?

Yuja Wang: There were three of them. It's like elegant humor, and I find that in the first one, number one, it's like he wrote out when pianists cannot play two hands together. [laughs]

Manny Ax: [chuckles] Absolutely. It's very funny.

[piano music]

Yuja Wang: There's just lots of humor in this one as well. It sounds like he's written out when we screw up in a concert. Like, there's a scale where it's triplets.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: Too many notes for the right rhythm. Right.

Yuja Wang: Yes. I get it.

Yuja Wang: Yes, I love that little humor in that.

Manny Ax: It's also in the key of E-flat. I thought there might be pieces that have horn stuff, and things like that that connect.

Yuja Wang: Oh, yes. They all sound like horn stuff as long as they're in B-flat or E-flat.

[laughter]

Yuja Wang: Well, obviously the E-flat, the Emperor Concerto.

Manny Ax: This had you kind connect a little bit because of the horn things.

Yuja Wang: Maybe.

Manny Ax: Maybe, yes.

Yuja Wang: See, I don't even remember that sonata. [laughs]

Manny Ax: That's okay. There's no need to remember it now.

[laughter]

Yuja Wang: There are pieces that I learned before 20. I can be drunk, and no sleep, and whatever, and I can be in front of piano and then it just comes out, so it's permanently remembered.

Manny Ax: Well, but part of it is because you play an incredible range of repertoire. You play so many pieces. One of the things I wanted to ask you about was how do you keep them going? For example, you played Tchaikovsky Concerto in Toronto. You're doing the piece by Rautavaara, right?

Yuja Wang: That, I'm using my iPad.

Manny Ax: You still have to get your hands to go to the right key.

Yuja Wang: That's lots of elbows, actually, [laughs] so it's different muscles, yes, but it's-- [chuckles]

Manny Ax: For example, let's talk about playing the five pieces of Rachmaninoff in one day. There's an incredible number of notes that you have to keep working on and be accurate with. How do you find time?

Yuja Wang: Well, the Rachmaninoff, I played, like, say, Rach 3, I played so many times throughout the year singly, and two also. Then I remember four, I was in for one season. I was playing a lot because it's fabulous piece and exquisite, and actually, one of my favorite. Then just put them all together, it's about amount of notes that you have to play in a recital anyways. [laughs]

Manny Ax: Do you feel like you have to work 24 hours a day sometimes?

Yuja Wang: No, no, no. No.

Manny Ax: No. You're not that big a practicer.

Yuja Wang: No, [chuckles] and sometimes it shows. I did a big fat round note in the Tchaikovsky as I was like, wow, even if I try to play wrong note there, it still doesn't matter.

Manny Ax: That's one wrong note.

Yuja Wang: Yes.

Manny Ax: Yes, out of what, 17 million?

Yuja Wang: Very obvious one. [laughs]

Manny Ax: Well, that's okay.

Yuja Wang: Then, sometimes as I get older, I always use Horowitz as examples, like, I got the emotional cross. That's why it matters. I get less cross about the wrong note.

Manny Ax: I totally agree. Yes, of course, but in fact, you do play very, very accurately. I'm always amazed. I was going to ask you, do you have special ways of practicing those things?

Yuja Wang: No. I think in my 20s, I did lots of pieces like that or the Carmen or the Bumblebee, so I was also physically more in the condition to do so. You just really pray to someone, and just let it go because you don't think about it.

Manny Ax: Of course, if something happens, not a big deal, but I just--

Yuja Wang: Oh, it's a big deal. [laughs]

Manny Ax: [chuckles] I'm just always so--

Yuja Wang: No, it's really like shut down the brain, I think, while playing, because now I'm actually like, "Oh, but what expression?" Then it's like, oh, that was not the right answer.

Manny Ax: You mean you could close off a little bit and just let your hands do it?

Yuja Wang: I heard that's how people improvise. I still haven't found that sight reading is part of brain that lights up, and then improvised is actually the same brain that lights up for blind people. It's completely opposite of sight reading, and I haven't found that spot yet.

[paino playing]

Manny Ax: Yuja, I'm hoping you can help me answer some questions about classical music from our WQXR listeners. We've invited them to submit their queries, and we're going to do our best to answer them. If we don't know the answer, we'll just make one up.

Yuja Wang: [chuckles]

Manny Ax: Here's a question from Danny from New York.

Danny: Good afternoon, Mr. Emmanuel. My name is Danny. I live in New York. What is the difference between a piano sonata and a piano concerto? Thank you for allowing me these questions.

Manny Ax: Would you like to take this?

Yuja Wang: Yes, sure, I can take it.

Manny Ax: Sure.

Yuja Wang: Well, piano sonata and piano concerto is in the same form, but concerto involves an orchestra.

Manny Ax: Excellent answer.

Yuja Wang: Okay.

Manny Ax: There's also something called sonata style, which would simply mean that in a certain period, in the period of Haydn, Mozart. The idea is that there is a section called the exposition which starts the music.

Yuja Wang: Right.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: Then there's a middle section which develops.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: Then there's a recapitulation, which is a recapitulation of what we started with.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: That's a standard form, and that form can be found in piano sonatas, and in piano concertos.

Yuja Wang: Exactly.

Manny Ax: The difference is how you define the word, but certainly, what you said was absolutely right. Sonatas are either for one instrument, maybe two, but basically a concerto is for more instruments with a soloist.

Yuja Wang: Right.

Manny Ax: That's a good, solid answer. Thank you, Danny.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: You played a fabulous concert which ended with the four Chopin ballades. Do you have any sense of story when you play a piece of music? I mean, is a ballade, for example?

Yuja Wang: Well, yes, that's all about narration. [laughs]

Manny Ax: Do you have an actual picture, or is it kind of--

Yuja Wang: Kind of disjunct scenarios, I guess, but I guess it's just like a general emotion, and then I kind of see what happens on stage. Then I try to think about it in a bigger structure of the four of them in one story, actually-

Manny Ax: Wow.

Yuja Wang: -rather than four stories.

Manny Ax: Let's say it's a Beethoven sonata, do you feel there's a story?

Yuja Wang: I think I feel the frame like an architect more than the story. The harmonic language.

Manny Ax: I see, so harmony plays a big part in it.

Yuja Wang: For sure. Yes. The story, for me, I can think about it when I practice it. Maybe it helps imagination, but I feel like all of it should come from the intrinsic language of the piece.

Manny Ax: When you do a set of pieces like the Chopin ballades, there's such a long history of performance of that music.

Yuja Wang: I heard you recording.

[laughter]

Yuja Wang: No, it was my favorite.

Manny Ax: Forget my recording, but there are people from the '20s and '30s.

Yuja Wang: From Chopin's time?

Manny Ax: You must have listened to a lot of those things, right, over the years. Do you feel that influences you directly, or is it something you assimilate?

Yuja Wang: I try not to. I feel like pieces that I really internalized, and recorded, and felt like I'm so convinced by what I want to say, that I actually do not have a preset idea of it. I try not to hear piano playing. I started doing that when I was in my teens.

Manny Ax: I see.

Yuja Wang: That's why I heard so much, like symphonic stuff, chamber music. I try not to have anything influence, but if I have a question, I'll consult a recording to see what they did.

Manny Ax: Well, now, for instance, we do have recordings of Rachmaninoff playing the pieces.

[piano music - Rachmaninoff]

Manny Ax: I wonder, did that affect you at all?

Yuja Wang: Yes. None of those very cheesy sentimentality, if people are like, "Oh, you should take more time." I'm like, "Did you hear Rachmaninoff play?" [laughs]

[piano music]

Manny Ax: You're kind of struck, I mean, that does influence one.

Yuja Wang: Well, the Rach 3 is definitely lots of Horowitz recording. There's two, I think it was the one with Ormandy. I remember the cover of the CD where he's bowing in Carnegie. Same orchestra, actually.

Manny Ax: Yes, I grew up with the one with Reiner from Chicago.

Yuja Wang: Oh, Reiner. Oh, okay.

Manny Ax: Or actually RCA Victor Symphony. Sorry, I think.

Yuja Wang: It could be that one too.

Manny Ax: That's from the '50s.

[piano music - RCA Victor Symphony]

Manny Ax: We have another caller inquiry. Betsy has a question about encores.

Yuja Wang: Okay.

Betsy: Hi, Manny. My name is Betsy from Cortlandt Manor, New York. My question has to do with encores. When do you decide to do an encore? If you do, how do you decide which piece to play? I'm interested in this because I've been to concerts where the audience was calling for an encore, and the performer didn't do one, and other concerts where the performer did five. Thank you.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: Okay, Yuja, this is a perfect question for you because you are the queen of encores.

Yuja Wang: Sometimes.

Manny Ax: How do you decide on how many, or how few, or any at all?

Yuja Wang: Well, I try not to play too many when I'm playing concertos, because I did get a lecture from Leon Fleisher in Ravinia when I was before 20. I remember I did Beethoven Concerto 1.Then, of course, back then, I have like Turkish March, Carmen, all this showy stuff. He said I completely cheapened a gorgeous performance of Beethoven. Also, he felt like musicians on stage, they were not supposed to be obliged to be force-feeding those trashy pieces. It's very conflicting instructions I get, but of course, I also got grilled in Lucerne when I did two Ravel concertos, which I thought was enough. Then they had a symphony after the concerto. Without intermission, so I didn't play encore. Then I was asked by three journalists saying, "How can you be so mean, so cruel to your fans?"

Manny Ax: Wow.

Yuja Wang: I really don't have an answer. I feel like whatever I do is probably wrong.

[laughter]

Yuja Wang: I started doing so many encores when I did recitals, and especially the recital in Vienna, because I really feel bad. My first half was Schoenberg Opus 25, and I feel like I should give audience some boom booms in the end.

[chuckles]

Yuja Wang: Then my feedback from audience is like, "We love the third part of the recital," [laughs] which is the encore part. Sometimes I did go for half an hour, but also, it was nice to play in a gorgeous hall. I want to play those pieces. It's like meeting an old friend to check out the acoustic, to feel where I am physically, musically, emotionally, and spiritually, after I played all that.

Manny Ax: Betsy, it's actually a great question, because I've been to a number of Yuja concerts. I never know how many you're going to do and how you're feeling, but it's very exciting, and it's wonderful, and I hope you keep it up and just keep playing more and more encores. With an orchestra, there's sometimes a problem because first of all, there's union rules for overtime-

Yuja Wang: Exactly.

Manny Ax: -and want-

Yuja Wang: They don't want that.

Manny Ax: -to sit there for extra time.

Yuja Wang: Exactly.

Manny Ax: That's one issue, but I have to say I disagree with Leon about cheapening things. I think it's fine. I think it's wonderful to play a beautiful performance of Beethoven concerto, and then to play fabulous performances of everything you do, like Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka. It's great. It's absolutely great. Anyway, I think it's a great question. Thank you, Betsy. I hope this answers a little bit.

[piano music]

I'm Manny Ax, and you're listening to Classical Music Happy Hour. We'll be back in just a moment with more of our conversation with Yuja Wang.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: I'm Manny Ax. Let's go back to our conversation with Yuja Wang. This show is called The Classical Music Happy Hour, so I'm allowed--

Yuja Wang: Oh, where's the drinks?

Manny Ax: That's what I'm allowed to ask you. What is your favorite drink after a long day?

Yuja Wang: If it's a really, really heavy day, something smoky and spicy. Like something with--

Manny Ax: A sausage?

[laughter]

Yuja Wang: [unintelligible 00:18:24] or something.

Manny Ax: Okay.

Yuja Wang: If it's a lighter day. Gin, tonic, 30. Gin.

Manny Ax: Okay.

Yuja Wang: I like olive more than twist.

Manny Ax: What's the best book you've ever read about music? If you can pick one.

Yuja Wang: I would say any novel by Murakami.

Manny Ax: I'm also a big fan.

Yuja Wang: For example, the 1Q84, it starts with the Yanatric Symphoniata. What's on my mind? [chuckles]

Manny Ax: Great. What is the first album you bought with your own money?

Yuja Wang: Probably Leon Chopin.

Manny Ax: I doubt it.

Yuja Wang: Well, CD days, that was so long ago. I don't know.

Manny Ax: Yes, okay.

Yuja Wang: It's either you or Claudia or Mata or somewhere in China.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: Is there a first piece of music you fell in love with?

Yuja Wang: Yes. There's Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky.

Manny Ax: Okay. Beautiful.

Yuja Wang: Then, Chopin, Nocturnes.

Manny Ax: You were asked about a favorite piece, and you brought up the Prokofiev Scythian Suite. First time I ever heard it was last night.

[MUSIC - Scythian Suite: Prokofiev]

Yuja Wang: Oh. [laughs]

Manny Ax: I listened to it last night.

Yuja Wang: What do you think?

Manny Ax: It's very dramatic and powerful.

Yuja Wang: Yes, it's a bit like the Sacre, right?

Manny Ax: Exactly. That Sacre de printemps. It's the rite of spring. It's funny, there are parts of it which actually, they have almost the same notes. E and G. You know those, da da da da.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: What about the Scythian Sweet draws you?

Yuja Wang: The mythical part.

Manny Ax: There's something primal about it.

Yuja Wang: Very primal. Very mythical. Before human had civilization. I think that's what attracted me about Prokofiev, is that childlike energy is just raw.

Manny Ax: You travel all the time. Do you love or hate the actual process?

Yuja Wang: I hate security. I hate waiting. The initial excitement of going to see a new place is definitely gone because I've been doing this since when I was 16, but I have to say, I just took three weeks off, and it kind of came back. I was excited to go and it needs to practice to be on stage, actually, because the first concert rehearsal was fine, sounded great, and then, there was 2,600 people only, but they all sucked up the sound. Then when I was on stage, I was like, "This is not how I sounded in then rehearsal. Then, I kind of all of a sudden got really self-conscious, like, do I have my sound?

Manny Ax: It's important to keep playing.

Yuja Wang: To keep just feeling comfortable on stagem, and to be kind of up for it, because in pajamas for three weeks,and you know where it hurts the most after the first concert? My feet. [laughs]

Manny Ax: I just wanted to know when you say, "It's no longer exciting to come to a new place," you probably have made friends almost everywhere that you've gone.

Yuja Wang: We do keep in touch.

Manny Ax: There's a comfort in that, probably?

Yuja Wang: In that?

Manny Ax: Yes.

Yuja Wang: In good hotels, in good spas. I do look forward to someone cleaning my room instead [laughs] of myself doing laundry. I like that part on the road, but I think it's mainly the security, and going through immigration. That's the drill. Sometimes you go through that in the morning or few hours before you have to be in front of people to play. It's like a dichotomy of [chuckles] really shitty life to a very glamorous one.

Manny Ax: Speaking of glamorous, I know you like wearing high heels.

Yuja Wang: I'm short. [laughs]

Manny Ax: [chuckles] For whatever reason, but I don't understand how you manage.

Yuja Wang: I can teach you.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: Actually, you have no issue.

Yuja Wang: It takes patience.

Manny Ax: You have no issue using the pedals with those incredibly high heels.

Yuja Wang: I know.

Manny Ax: You've just learned to do it.

Yuja Wang: Sometimes they have platforms, so you really don't feel it. I use now another pedal to turn pages.

Manny Ax: Right, you actually do that.

Yuja Wang: That's tricky that I do have to practice with the high heels to know the right time and the right touch.

Manny Ax: You're able to do it while you're still playing the piano.

Yuja Wang: Yes.

Manny Ax: That's amazing.

Yuja Wang: It's functional to wear a short dress because then I know where the pedal is. I can see it.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: I never thought of that as a reason for anything, but that's fine.

Yuja Wang: It's very liberating to know where your pedal is.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: Here's another question that I know you're just going to love.

Yuja Wang: Okay.

Sonny: My name is Sonny, and I'm from Mobile, Alabama. My question is, have you ever been presented with an instrument for a performance that you simply didn't want to play?

Yuja Wang: [laughs]

Manny Ax: Would you like to take that? [chuckles]

Yuja Wang: Actually, my thing is, I hate piano selection. We have that luxury sometimes. We also choose pianos for halls.

Manny Ax: Sometimes.

Yuja Wang: Yes. I chose it for the Disney Hall in LA. Then, actually, a few months ago, I played, I was like, "This is really shit piano." They told me I'm the one who chose it. Like, well, it was better before.

Manny Ax: Yes, it's terrible.

Yuja Wang: It depends on the mood.

Manny Ax: It's bad to pick a piano for a hall because every other pianist is going to say, "Who picked this piece of crap?"

Yuja Wang: Exactly.

Manny Ax: Everybody. [chuckles]

Yuja Wang: Also, it's hard to pick because you are not in the room acoustic, so you don't know. I feel like one piano is like a more ring top, and more bang-based. Like, I want a boomy, and some piano has a more mellow, and more blended middle, and I just want both of them.

Manny Ax: I get the feeling, though, that you usually make friends with your piano. If it's a good piano, you'll play on it-

Yuja Wang: Totally.

Manny Ax: -because there are people that want things exactly one way, and I don't think you're like that.

Yuja Wang: Give me one piano and give me two hours of-

Manny Ax: Preparing.

Yuja Wang: -stage time on stage, not in a garage, and then, so I'm used to the acoustic, but of course, now I realize it changes completely when there's thousands of people coming in, especially in winter with their coats.

Manny Ax: It's not so much about the brand of piano, is it? It's more individual piano is what we are talking about.

Yuja Wang: Oh, totally, and also the action, and maybe sometimes the tuner can do something. Less friction, more sound, but as long as I have that one to two hours of adjusting to it, I will feel like it's my own instrument.

Manny Ax: There you are. Thank you, Sonny, for the question.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: I was completely blown away by that concert you did with Harmonic. That was really, really fantastic because you did three really, really difficult pieces, both from the conducting, and playing point of view. I just thought it was phenomenal. I'm curious, what do you think the challenge of conducting is? Why do you want to play without conductor?

Yuja Wang: Well, like I always said, I feel like playing concerto is basically just like playing tremor music with a bigger group. When I play concertos, I know very well who's playing what, at least the old pieces. It all started from Claudio, where listening is the key, and of course, you're just part of.

Manny Ax: This is Claudio Abbado you're talking about, right?

Yuja Wang: I feel comfortable when I play conduct, and I actually choose pieces that's not Beethoven or Mozart or Chopin even, because I'm trying to avoid the 2D part. [laughs] That's the hard part for me.

Manny Ax: There you have to actually do the conducting and not play.

Yuja Wang: Exactly. It's super comfortable when I'm playing because from the musicians, it's clear, because you're basically speaking with music. I don't know for sure the result is better then. It's not like you're also more free. It's not like we're doing it the same way all the time, so we're together. I might do it differently, but we're still together because everyone's flexible, and malleable at that moment.

Manny Ax: I suppose with a Mahler symphony or a Tchaikovsky Symphony, at some level there's going to be leadership, because when you have 16 first violins, you probably, at least, have to follow one of the violinists. In a certain sense, [chuckles] the idea of complete democracy in an orchestra is very difficult just because of that.

Yuja Wang: Yes, but each section would have a leader already.

Manny Ax: You can come closer to it, right?

Yuja Wang: Yes.

Manny Ax: No, I understand. You haven't thought about, for example, doing Mahler 6.

Yuja Wang: [laughs] I know how it starts. I mean, that's in my--

Manny Ax: It's just a big.

Yuja Wang: It's a little long and I don't think I can stand on my heels for all that.

Manny Ax: [laughs]

Yuja Wang: No, dude, I don't. I don't even know how to read the winds. I don't know how to transpose. That's very confusing. I can--

Manny Ax: I understand that, too.

Yuja Wang: Yes, I can. I'm sight reading really well for piano, but then when I see the scores, it's.

Manny Ax: Reading a score is actually a huge challenge, because when you read the notes, it's a fifth of it's five notes away, or four notes away or whatever it is, and

Yuja Wang: Clarinet.

Manny Ax: -the real conductive people that conduct this music have to really learn how to do that.

Yuja Wang: Yes.

Manny Ax: It's a lot of practice. Well, I, for one, would love to see you in flat shoes doing a Mahler symphony. [laughs] I'm just saying

Yuja Wang: It's very whiny.

Manny Ax: What? The Mahler or the shoes?

Yuja Wang: The Mahler.

Manny Ax: Oh, the Mahler. Okay.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: We're here to challenge you today, Yuja, with a game we're calling the Newly Dead Game. We'll give you some clues on how a famous composer dies, and you tell us which answer is correct. Are you ready?

Yuja Wang: Yes.

Manny Ax: Composer number one, Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer who loved the ideas of dark magic and mysticism, but it was an everyday morning ritual that led to his demise. A. Getting his hand stuck in a coffee grinder and bloody him death.

[laughter]

Manny Ax: B. Shaving his mustache with a straight razor. C. Going out for the new newspaper and getting trampled by a horse. or D, scrolling through his phone, and having a sudden heart attack.

Yuja Wang: Wow. They're all so unlikely. I see. It's actually not as easy as I thought. What was the first one? I think it's the beard. Is it?

Manny Ax: It's the beard. You're right. It's the shaving. Alexander Scriabin cut himself shaving, developed a pimple that led to blood poisoning, and that killed him.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: Composer number two, Beethoven. That's Ludwig van Beethoven to you. It's 1827. He is in his bed, dying of what most historians think was probably liver disease. What kind of considerate gift did his publisher send him? Was it--

Yuja Wang: Wine? No.

Manny Ax: Was it a very expensive fruit basket from Harry & David? The one with fruit, chocolate, and four cheeses? B, a new Steinway piano featuring his name etched in gold on the side? C, a royalty check for £250 sterling, and they waived their usual fee. D, a case of wine.

Yuja Wang: Oh, I said wine.

Manny Ax: You're absolutely right. A case of wine. As Beethoven lay--

Yuja Wang: So could die faster. [laughs]

Manny Ax: As Beethoven lay dying with a failing liver, his publishers thought, "You know what he needs? You know what he really appreciates. A case of wine?"

Yuja Wang: Wow.

Manny Ax: As a matter of fact, apparently, Beethoven's last words were, "Pity, it's come too late."

[piano music]

Manny Ax: Composer number three, Franz Joseph Haydn, is known as the father of the symphony. They never have the mother of the symphony, which is kind of annoying, I think, but we'll get to there. When he died, there was something missing from his burial. What was missing from his burial?

Yuja Wang: Oh, this is a little further.

Manny Ax: A, his wife. She never once visited. B, his lucky baton, which he very specifically asked to be buried in his right hand until the end of time. C, his car keys and wallet. D, his head.

Yuja Wang: I guess his baton, or is A, his wife?

Manny Ax: Actually, the answer is his head.

Yuja Wang: His head.

Manny Ax: Haydn's head was robbed from his grave a few days after burial by a budding phrenologist who kept it on his mantelpiece for a while. When he got caught, he gave a fake head back, which was reburied with Haydn, and it wasn't until 145 years later, that Haydn was reunited with his actual skull, but because so much time had passed, they figured they'd leave the original skull in there anyway, because who can really be sure about these things? There are actually two skulls buried with Haydn to this day.

Yuja Wang: Oh, wow.

[piano music]

Manny Ax: Well, we're at the end of this episode of Classical Music Happy Hour. Yuja Wang, thank you for joining us today.

Yuja Wang: My pleasure.

Manny Ax: I'm Manny Ax. Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholtz Foundation, and by Linda Nelson. Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonemaker, 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.

[piano music]

 

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