Improvisation is often taken for granted by Berklee students. It is just another part of the music, an inevitable part of it. We are taught and know as musicians ourselves that invention and innovation are often the product of improvisation. It allows the musicians an opportunity to express themselves as they are at that moment. It gives them space to show their abilities. Historically improvisation has always been an important part of music. But as of the early nineteenth century, the classical music establishment has shunned improvisation preferring to emphasize reading and the playing difficult scores instead.
Enter Gabriela Montero. Born in Venezuela, Gabriela has been playing piano since she was a toddler. She recounted the story of how at the age of seven months her grandmother convinced her parents to give a toy piano intended for an older sibling to her. And she has been playing piano ever since. Performing for the first time at the age of five and her first concerto at the age of eight she has been a shining star to the classical music world for her whole life. But aside from being a prodigy and her virtuosic abilities on the piano, Gabriela also has an extraordinary gift for improvisation, reintroducing it to the classical music world. She described how many people who came to hear her when she first started improvising in her concerts were shocked, they didn't know what to make of her. So in an effort to bring some understanding into what she was doing she began asking members of the audience to sing her a theme on which she would base her improvised piece. And after touring the world and playing with many different orchestras Gabriela comes to Boston to perform solo, putting more emphasis improvising.
The Lawrence and Alma Berk Hall is certainly a different venue from where she usually plays. But the intimate setting made the atmosphere much more comfortable and special. I felt as if I were sitting in her living room listening to her play after dinner. It was like a small gathering of friends, and after a few timid requests the audience relaxed and felt free to talk and joke with the performer. Her first improv and one of the night's best, was inspired by a snippet of a theme from The Write of Spring. And we watched as she took a few moments to prepare herself. Lightly doodling the theme a couple of times she closed her, took a breath, then began to play. You can hear the influences of Chopin, Mozart and the wide breadth of styles that she has played and internalized over the years. The Write of Spring theme was an especially nice way to start the night because it was a perfect catalyst for her to make an interesting piece. It's fascinating to see where the piece begins (with just a little snippet) then makes this transformation through styles and eras of music into something completely original. The best moment for me was when she was asked to speak about how she came to play piano. She talked about how her mother sang to her as a baby and she would in turn play those same melodies on her toy piano. She ended the story by improvising a piece inspired by a lullaby her mother used to sing to her. The evening continued with The Simpson's theme (another favorite of mine), Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a little Elvis, and a little Beatles. It was an amazing thing to watch, hear and be a part of and I hope she will grace us with her presence again sooner rather than later.
If you want to hear her before her next Boston appearance check out her website. She has started taking online request and bi-monthly she will pick one request and improvise a piece from it to post on her website. www.myspace.com/gabrielamontero
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