Gabriela Montero Classical Improvising

Posted on Sunday, January 23

Gabriela Montero brings her classical improvising to Chicago.
A very personal approach to classical piano.

By Don Macica

Solatino (Emi Classics)

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Toccatina

Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, speaking by phone from New York, recalls her first piano.

“I was given a piano when I was seven months old as a Christmas gift, and I started to play the melodies sung to me by my mother every night at our home in Caracas. By the time I was eighteen months old I was playing all these different songs and pieces. So, I was improvising from the very beginning.” By the age of five she had given her first public performance, and at eight she performed a concerto with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra under José Antonio Abreu.

Ms. Montero is an internationally renowned classical pianist who has developed a distinctive style of improvisation, a rarity in the classical world. Her solo recital concerts combine pieces from traditional classic repertoire with those of Latin American composers, and conclude with her taking melodies suggested from audience members (and, yes, they must be sung) and creating brand new improvisations on the spot. I remark that this can make her concerts fun (another classical rarity), and while she readily agrees, she also points to a deeper purpose.

“When I improvise with the public, there is such a relationship with the audience and it becomes a spontaneous and communal experience. It’s wonderful because the audience has a very strong input and I can relate to my audience in a very personal way. It’s very intimate.”

She explains why she has made improvising such a key component of her artistry.

“Improvising brings me very close to the composer’s instinctive way of creating. My way of playing is very emotional and intuitive. Improvising allows me to have a personal relationship to the piano.”

EMI Classics has just released her third album, Solatino, devoted to music from Latin American composers, including two from Venezuela. It follows the award winning Bach and Beyond and her debut, Baroque. I ask her why she decided to record and release this music.

“I thought it was the right moment in my life, and also the right moment in the social and political reality that Venezuela is living right now. I wanted to bring some emphasis to this part of the world, and pay homage to all of this beautiful music from Latin America, some of which is not often played.”

She continues, “I wanted to pay tribute to the wonderful things about Latin America, and of course Venezuela, and at the same time speak about the things that are not so wonderful. It’s a very personal recording.”

Included with the CD is an essay written by Gabriela concerning the symbolism of the colors chosen for the cover, as well as a dedication which reads “… to my dear father, Jorge, and to my country, Venezuela. My father’s love for Venezuela, its land, history and music is a passionate one. They are one and the same in my mind.”

Near the end of our conversation, I mention that, although I didn’t know it at the time, I saw her perform (along with millions around the world) on television during President Obama’s Inauguration ceremony with Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Anthony McGill. I ask her what it was like performing at such an important event.

“It was an incredible experience because I was representing a big part of this country, which is the Hispanic community, as well as representing women, and mothers, and single mothers.

It was a great honor to be there. I think it was a transcendental moment in the history of this country and the world, and I was very, very proud and happy to be part of it.”

I’m beginning to understand Gabriela’s passion for her art as well as life. It’s apparent in her use of the descriptive ‘very’. During our conversation, everything is ‘very’… very intimate, very emotional, very personal, very very proud. It’s clear that as an artist and a person, she does not approach situations tentatively, in half measures. Her playing reflects this. I notice its effect on me, too, the way I have shifted from ‘Ms. Montero’ to ‘Gabriela’ in the space of this short profile, feeling like I am talking about a friend. ‘Ms. Montero’ just seems too formal for someone this full of life.

Just before we say goodbye, Gabriela offers this: “I’d love to say that I think it’s very relevant that my mother was born in Chicago and lived there until she was eighteen, so I’m very much looking forward to being there.”

I believe her.

Gabriela Montero
Friday, February 4
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