Musical connections: from Russia to America: an interview with Olga Kern.(2009 Conference Artist)(Interview)

In celebration of Van Cliburn's sensational victory at the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958, a group of Fort Worth, Texas, music teachers and volunteers were inspired to create the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. First held in 1962, the quadrennial competition has launched careers and showcased the most outstanding young pianists of our day. As the Gold Medalist of the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001, Olga Kern became the first woman to achieve this distinction in more than 30 years and joined the select number of pianists whose careers have gained immediate international acclaim.

Born into a family of musicians, Olga began studying piano at age 5. Winner of the first Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition when she was 17, she is a laureate of 11 international competitions and has toured throughout her native Russia, Europe and the United States, as well as in Japan, South Africa and South Korea. She has captivated audiences around the world and enjoys a performing career that most pianists only dream of achieving.

When Olga Kern appears as guest artist and clinician of the 2009 MTNA National Conference, those attending her concert and master class will have the opportunity to witness first hand her dazzling stage presence, superb musicianship and remarkable technique. In preparation for her appearance at the conference, I had the unique opportunity to converse with Olga Kern from her Moscow home. The 40-minute phone conversation provided an unforgettable, vivid impression of her enthusiasm for life, her passion for playing the piano, and her vibrant, vivacious personality, full of laughter and spirit.

Ann Gipson: What do you remember most about your early years of piano study?

Olga Kern: Since both of my parents were pianists, piano music has been a part of my life and around me since I was very little. My parents were always playing the two baby grand pianos in the small apartment where we lived, and my parents were always teaching a lot of piano students in the apartment.

I am certain I also heard piano music while my mother was pregnant with me. Many years later when learning the Rachmaninoff Third piano concerto, I remember feeling this concerto was not difficult for me to learn. When I told my mother, she said she was not surprised as she was practicing and playing this piano concerto when she was pregnant with me. I believe my son also was influenced by piano music he heard before he was born. When I was pregnant with my son I was performing a lot, and I remember him moving around when I played Brahms or Schubert. A few years later he told me he loved the music of Brahms and Schubert the most.

As I was growing up, I constantly heard piano music and was surrounded by it all the time. I always wanted to play the piano, nothing else. I really loved this instrument. For me, the piano was the king of any instruments. It was the best. It was royalty. For me, it had amazing strings, pedals, hammers and this huge beautiful sound. Everything about this instrument was amazing for me.