Ein Moment mit … Klara Min

Am 4. Oktober spielt Klara Min in der Philharmonie in Berlin (Feuilletonscout v. 3. September 2014) Auf dem Programm der südkoreanischen Pianistin stehen Rachmaninow, Tschaikowsky und Chopin. Doch ihr Herz schlägt vor allem für lebende Komponisten. Und sie sucht persönlich wie im Spiel immer wieder die Herausforderung. Anlässlich ihres Konzerts gab Klara Min Feuilletonscout ein Interview.

Feuilletonscout: When and how did you discover your love of classical music?
Klara Min: Ever since I was a child, I always loved music and expressing myself. Those combinations brought me to the world of classical music. But I like all kinds of music that speak to me.

Feuilletonscout: You made your debut in New York in 2002, choosing to play piano etudes by Unsuk Chin, a contemporary Korean composer. At first this sounds rather unusual. What made you decide on these musical pieces?
Klara Min: I always enjoy playing compositions by living composers. I met Unsuk Chin through her teacher from Korea, and discovered that her compositions were very interesting and challenging. I wanted to have those pieces heard by NY audience.

Feuilletonscout: Critics attest to your performance an outstanding technique and a great sensitivity. Your artistic understanding, it has been said, states that an artist is the final and sole authority, allowing him to interpret music according to his own perception of it. Does it please you that it is possible to describe your art?
Klara Min: I don’t always agree with what critics have to say about my playing. Sometimes, it could be completely the opposite. I know that some artists never even read reviews because they do not want to be influenced. I know what I am doing, but there is nothing solid that I could say about my playing because music is an art that is associated with time, and time constantly moves. Today I am a different person than who I was yesterday. But performers must abide by the intention of the composers, and more accurately the intention of the notes. Otherwise, you are being agogic.

Feuilletonscout: In 2008 you founded the New York Concert Artists & Associates, a society based on Schumann’s “Alliance of David” (Davidsbund). This society was brought into being by Robert Schumann in 1833. Artists, living and deceased, were members of this fictitious alliance. They differentiated themselves from the Philistines, whom they regarded as bourgeois citizens. How does your society function? How do you support the artists and what is the external impact of your engagement?
Klara Min: The mission of NYCA is that the ultimate artistic decisions in all situations, must be made by the artists themselves, therefore artists must be proactive not only in their artistry, but also connecting with the world, making decisions on their career steps. NYCA gives opportunities to those artists by being a platform- We have annual auditions world wide to choose a pianist to be offered a debut at Carnegie Hall, and we are expanding to more venues. NYCA also has its own concert series in NY. Being a NYCA member means that you have a group of friends, advisors and forerunners who accompany you on your way to becoming a well-rounded artist, and further to developing your career step by step.

Feuilletonscout: You will shortly be moving from New York, where you have lived for 20 years, to Berlin. How do you envision yourself remaining in close contact with the New York Concert Artists?
Klara Min: New York is of course an amazing city, and it became my home after 20 years, but one must come out of her comfort zone in order to adopt different dimensions of what life can offer. NYCA is an international organization, and the concept of NYCA must remain in everyone’s mind, not in a physical venue.

Feuilletonscout: How will you organize your work there from Germany?
Klara Min: Nowadays, with such information technology, anything is possible to do remotely. And there are NYCA artists who reside in New York, who I am in touch with regularly. And I visit NY quite often.

Feuilletonscout: What induced you to go to Berlin?
Klara Min: I love Germany, and Berlin is a great city just like NY, but more spacious and calmer.
In New York, everything is very vibrant, but sometimes, it is hard to discern an actual movement from a vibration. But in Berlin, I feel, perhaps because I am new here, more in touch with my inner self. Berlin is also located very conveniently to commute to different cities in Europe, for example, to Basel, where I commute every week.

Feuilletonscout: Unsuk Chin also lives in Berlin. Are you intending to meet her? Have there been any tentative approaches towards establishing a musical co-operation with her?
Klara Min: I saw her in New York a couple of years ago, and of course, I would be delighted to catch up with her again in Berlin. She is a wonderful person.

Feuilletonscout: What is your greatest musical dream?
Klara Min: When I was younger, my greatest dream was to play in the biggest hall somewhere, and to make someone in the audience on the very top tier, farthest away from the stage, overwhelmed with tears from my playing, playing the most breathtaking pianissimo. And that is because I believed that in such moment souls connect. Words cannot describe that magic. But now, my wish has changed a bit. I still long for connecting with people, but I just want to have a good life in music. Music is a reflection of life. Without life, there is no music.

Feuilletonscout: What would you like people to remember about you and/or your art?
Klara Min: I think that whatever I do in arts, if anyone remembered how beautiful the arts were, how beautiful music was out of my performance, then that would please me the most. I am only the sharer of arts just as those who love arts.

Feuilletonscout: Had you not become a pianist, what would you have wanted to become instead?
Klara Min: I have been asked this question so many times, but I have never thought of becoming something else so far. I think the reason is that I never tried to become a pianist, but it feels like it chose me instead. I like to be creative in all aspects of life, and that makes me very happy. If I had to choose something else, I would probably become a painter or a movie star? I like to paint and to act.

Berliner Philharmonie, 4. Oktober, 20 Uhr
Berühmte Klavierkonzerte

das sinfonie orchester berlin
Renchang Fu, Dirigent
Klara Min, Klavier
Dmitri Levkovich, Klavier
Yukako Morikawa, Klavier

Frédéric Chopin
Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 1 e-Moll op. 11
Sergej Rachmaninow
Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 2 c-Moll op. 18
Peter Tschaikowsky
Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr.1 b-Moll op. 23

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