JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us
IVANA GAVRIĆ: A large project I have been involved with over the last couple of years has been my album called ‘Origins’, which weaves different threads together, both musical and personal. It includes two concerti – the Haydn D major Keyboard Concerto and a concerto written especially for me by the British composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad called Between the Skies, the River and the Hills. In her concerto, Frances-Hoad pays homage to the Haydn but also my own origins by using a Bosnian folk melody in her finale. On the album I also play solo pieces by 6 French composers (Ravel, Debussy, Dukas, D’Indy, Widor and Hahn) who were invited to commemorate the centenary of Haydn’s death by writing a short homage based on the musical spelling of his name. Finally, I also play a short homage to Haydn by Frances-Hoad on the same theme, written on the two hundredth anniversary of Haydn’s death, so the whole programme nicely ties together and comes full-circle.
And why the Haydn concerto in the first instance, I hear you ask? Well, contrary to the title of his finale Rondo all’ungherese, certain musicologists at the start of the 20th century suggested that this movement was actually based on a Bosnian Round dance, not a Hungarian one. Having been born in Bosnia, this naturally got me excited. I don’t believe the claim is true, and in a way, it doesn’t really matter, but finding out about it gave me inspiration to try and create a piece which does use a folk song from the region and celebrates its rich and diverse culture.
JS: How did doing these projects change you as a person and as a creator?
IG: It was really only after completing this recording that I became aware that for the last few years I have been trying to understand my origins, my influences; I have been trying to really understand myself. I guess we all go through this process at some point! Having grown up in two very different countries, for not the nicest reasons, this journey becomes a little more complicated. I feel this recording is a musical representation of my Bosnian and British heritage, as well as love for the music of Ravel and Debussy. Surprisingly, it has given me a feeling of freedom and a closing of a chapter.
JS: What might others not understand or appreciate about the work you produce or do?
IG: In my performances, both live and recorded, I always try to tell the story of the piece. I like to take the listener on a journey with me.
JS: What are the most important parts of yourself that you put into your work?
IG: I seek is to always give an honest, passionate and, I hope, thoughtful interpretation.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
IG: To find a life-work balance!
JS: Imagine that you are meeting two or three people, living or dead, whom you admire because of their work in your form of artistic expression. What would you say to them and what would they say to you?
IG: Only 3 people! It is really difficult to narrow down the choice so much, but one intriguing dinner party I would enjoy would be with Diaghilev, Beethoven and Ravel. I imagine I would prefer not to talk to them, but just listen and watch their interactions. Diaghilev, though not a musician, is a fascinating figure to me. He is the reason some of my favourite works have been written. Undoubtedly a very difficult man, he had such a great instinct and charm to bring the most fascinating artists from all fields and different countries together to create the Ballets Russes. Beethoven – I don’t really need to explain why. I will never cease to be amazed how some music (and other artworks) that is centuries old can be so relevant today. I adore Ravel. The colours, subtlety and sensuality he writes never fail to entrance me.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life that helped to make you who you are as a creative artist.
IG: I don’t think that there has been one major turning point. I feel it is more a sequence of gentle turns, cross-roads and some roundabouts which have brought me to where I am now! Perhaps the most significant moment was getting to know the music of Janáček. I feel I really found my voice through his music and I felt I had something new and interesting to say when playing his piano pieces. If only he had written more! His music gave me confidence to express myself as an artist much more boldly, which I then carried with me to other repertoire.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about your life as a person in the arts?
IG People often don’t appreciate just how much time and hard work goes into being a musician, especially a concert pianist. I get the impression many outsiders often assume that one is simply born talented, and so that we live on our gift. I believe talent is about 1 (very important) percent necessary to be an artist. But 99 percent is incredibly hard work, sacrifice of what many people would consider ‘normal life’ and take for granted, perseverance and a thick skin.
JS: Please tell us what you haven’t attempted as yet that you would like to do in the arts? Why the delay so far?
IG: I am developing a new project with my husband, who is a neuroscientist, around music and emotions. We are planning to give interactive concerts with talks. Why the delay – ask him! Sadly, Covid-19 at the moment…
JS: If you could re-live your life in the arts, how would you change it and why?
IG: I try not to spend time dwelling on ‘what ifs’, but if I were able to give advice to my younger self, it would be “go for it and don’t worry what people will think”.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
IG: I do despair at how undermined music has become in mainstream education, in the UK at least. It is vital to expose children to music, to get them playing instruments and reading and writing music, even if they don’t take it up professionally. They learn to listen, to express their emotions, improve their coordination, concentration… the list is endless. At the same time, it is great to see how innovative and enterprising certain music organizations and individuals have become about reaching new audiences over the last decade; reaching out to a young as well as old new audience.
It is a really poignant time to be answering this question right now. The current pandemic has been absolutely disastrous for my profession, and the long-term resolution seems very uncertain. Our audiences are often elderly, and many music organizations struggle to stay above water anyway as they are so badly underfunded, so I worry about how and what awaits us at the other end of this long tunnel. But, on a personal level, I have found it really moving to see how much comfort my own children have got from singing to themselves and each other during this lockdown. I get the impression music has been a very powerful tool for many people around the world during this time. Music heals the soul and there is nothing like hearing it live. I hope that some of the lessons learnt from this worldwide difficult time is to devote more importance to the arts.
JS: What exactly do you like about the work you create and/or do?
IG: I love how each day is different. I have the luxury of playing an instrument for which there is such a vast amount of repertoire that I will never be able to say that I have played it all – I am constantly learning something new. I love the physicality of playing the piano and the weird and wonderful worlds music exports us to. I love performing to audiences – for me the quintessence of performing is communication. That moment in a concert, when the music breathes and you hear the audience literally breathing with you is incredibly powerful.
JS: In your creative life thus far, what have been the most helpful comments you have heard about your work?
IG: It makes me happy to hear people say that I took them on a journey during my performances; that I told them a story and that it felt like I was speaking only to them. It means a great deal to hear praise of your work, especially if it is something that is very dear to you, and even more when it comes from ‘an outsider’ and not a professional or a connoisseur. We bear our soul to audiences in performances, and when people appreciate it, magic happens.
JS: Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising things about you?
IG: I am often surprised to find how drawn I am to playing classical music which is inspired by folk music – from Grieg evoking the Norwegian landscapes and the Hardangerfiddle, to Chopin remembering his native Poland in his Mazurkas, and of course Janáček imitating folk melodies and the rhythm of the language to create a voice that was different from the German tradition. I am surprised, as I really was not the biggest fan (by any means!) of folk or traditional music as a child…!