Of caprices, conductors and Uto Ughi
Those hands, those fingers. I see them now grappling with tempura bits (he loves how the dish is served at Sofitel’s Spiral) and gesturing to stress a point (about that ineffably lovely creature called classical music and its boorish cousin called rock ‘n’ roll), and all I can think of are those hands, those fingers grappling with the violin strings, gesturing out something invisible yet essential, mapping out a capriccio by Paganini, something dripping with technical ecstasy.
Those hands, those fingers belong to Italian violinist and conductor Uto Ughi, widely considered as Italy’s greatest living violinist and whose advocacy is the promotion of classical music in today’s culture. Ughi is in Manila to perform tonight, 8 p.m., with pianist Alessandro Specchi in a one-night-only concert at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The concert, hosted by the newly appointed Ambassador of Italy to the Philippines Luca Fornari who arrived three months ago with his wife Silvana Novelli, is part of the Italian National Day celebration, the Festa della Repubblica.
Emanuela Adesini of the Embassy of Italy to the Philippines says, “We are very honored to have (the two maestros) here because this is an important day for us. And we are very glad to announce that the concert is fully booked.”
Ughi was here six or seven years ago, and he still remembers how “warm, sensitive, receptive and friendly” Filipino audiences were. The violinist has just arrived from China where he performed in Beijing (where he played at the Theater of the Forbidden City), Shanghai (where he played at the Shanghai Expo) and Canton (where he has played three times).
When a person intoxicated with pop culture sits down with a violin virtuoso such as Ughi, all he or she can think about are the delicious myths and the tasty bits of violin history. Like what? The stories about Niccolò Paganini purportedly selling his soul to the devil in exchange for virtuosity at the violin, about the alchemical origins of the Stradivarius violin, and such. But Ughi will be quick to say that the most fascinating thing about violins and violinists is the richness of the tradition.
He says Paganini was the last of a whole line of violinists that achieved greatness in the 1700s. Concurrently there were wonderful violin-making schools by Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati and Cremona. “They made the most beautiful-sounding instruments, which inspired the violinists to produce a most beautiful sound — you have Vivaldi, Corelli, Tartini, and so on until Paganini. Vivaldi even inspired Bach who transcribed the concertos for different instruments. There was a very fecund, fertile ground for music.” So, it’s all in the tradition; not something that evokes Mephistopheles and Marilyn Manson.
Thus, it’s important for Ughi to continue that tradition by teaching kids that music is a language that is mysterious; and that mystery is always worth imparting.
The violinist recounts how at the age of four he was already hearing music at home.
“My father was a great music lover. My family goes to concerts, operas.” At the age of seven, the young Uto played his first public concert — the pieces were the chaconne from Bach’s Partita No. 2 and several Paganini capriccios. (Let’s put it this way: These are not the equivalent of A Horse With No Name or Wild Thing to guitar players.) At the age of 15, he started touring Europe. The rest, of course, is Uto Ughi’s four-stringed history. He has played with some of the most important European and American orchestras, as well as performed in festivals in Salzburg and Vienna.
For the Manila concert, the program consists of compositions by Fritz Kreisler, Beethoven (the lyrical, happy Spring Sonata, not the dramatic Kreutzer), Henryk Wieniawsky, Camille Saint Saens and Niccolò Paganini (La Campanella).
Someone asks what criterion does he follow in putting together a set list. “I like to put (works) by interesting composers,” explains Ughi. “(You see) musical language doesn’t need translation, unlike when you’re making a speech. The fascinating, most charming thing about music is you can feel Beethoven with the same intensity of feeling, of pleasure in Tokyo, in Manila, in Beijing, or in Rome. Music goes beyond languages or political ideology.”
The violinist then stresses a point: “Music should make people less greedy, less materialistic, more poetic.”
What about having played a particular piece, say, a hundred times already, how does Ughi drag those tired old symphonic horses out of the woodshed and make them sound fresh, full of life?
The key is not to fall into repetition, he answers. “You don’t have to eat spaghetti all the time. (But) each time (you play a composition), it varies with the hall, the acoustics. You can give something more creative each time. What you should try to avoid is routine. No performance should be the same — different mood, different psychological moment. You must try to recreate the piece and not to repeat yourself.”
The moment is king. He quotes the great pianist Rubinstein who said the greatest composition for him is the one that he is playing at the moment.
“Rubinstein also said there is no (such thing as the) greatest composer. When you go to a museum, you can see Michelangelo, Raphael and Rembrandt — everyone has his own personality, own life, and different things to say. (In music) everyone is interesting provided he has something to say.”
How does the maestro sustain his love of music, asks someone.
“You can stop, think, read, visit the country, and lead a normal life. I think it’s necessary to not do the same thing all over again. Music is an expression of life, but if you don’t live, you wouldn’t be able express anything. If your life is limited to hotels, restaurants, concerts and airports, you don’t enrich yourself. You become really like a robot.”
Obviously music is very important for a musician, but says Ughi it is equally important to “unplug” from time to time, and do other things. The violinist is also into literature, painting, nature, skiing, mountains, and swimming. If he has time he wants to visit the different islands of our archipelago. He regularly swims to ease the recurring pain in his shoulder due to years of playing the violin.
Pianists have it easier. “They sit in a comfortable position; we violinists carry the instrument like a crucifix.”
Let It Be Beethoven
Music is such a strange beast. Ughi says you can be a very nice person and not communicate anything, but you can be a disgusting person and communicate the most fantastic thing. It has been said Van Morrison sings the loveliest ballads ever invented, but he was a boor.
Ughi complains, “Nowadays we live in the age of television where conductors are making gestures like a marionette, since we are very used to a very superficial way of judging things. But if you see films of people like Toscanini… they didn’t even move. They communicate with their spiritual power that emanates from their personality. Otto Klemperer was sick(ly) but he communicated with his eyes.”
The violinist scoffs when asked about his views on success. “‘Success’ is an empty word. It irritates me to the last blood of my body. When you think (solely) about (gaining success), you are not a musician. We live in a time that publicity has become more important than anything. If Beethoven and Chopin (were alive today) and they had no publicists, nobody would notice that they’re geniuses.”
Halfway through lunch, Ughi shares another interesting insight.
The classical musician must try not to spoil or ruin what Beethoven and other musical masters have written. He says, “We must try to be humble, to be servatori della musica or servants of music. If the audience doesn’t like (the performance of a piece by) Beethoven or Vivaldi, it is our fault.”
But he has a disclaimer: The interpretation can be new each time. There was once a violinist who played onstage the Franck Sonata, which for violin players is one of the most important pieces in the Romantic repertoire. The composer, Cesar Franck, was in the hall along with a student. Ughi continues, “The pupil said, ‘Maestro, he has done everything opposite of what you wanted! Franck answered, ‘I think he’s right.’ The interpreter can sometimes improve the intention of the composer. He can — but not very often (laughs).”
Maybe tonight we can all watch Maestro Uto Ughi, with pianist Alessandro Specchi, take a sad tune and make it better.
* * *
The concert is organized in partnership with Rustan Commercial Corporation, Metrobank Card Corporation, Italian Maritime Academy, Elburg, Crewtech, and Sofitel Philippine Plaza. For information, call Susan Ortiz of the CCP office at 832-1125 local 1800.
