Gustavo Miranda will perform a marathon of a concert in Puente Alto. "It will be the complete works for solo piano, an odyssey in every creative dimension of Ravel"

On August 24th, the Chilean pianist will achieve a new interpretive challenge, this time with the music of the composer who has fascinated him since childhood. "The sonority produced in the music of Ravel impressed me very much. I did not know, at that time, how it was possible for a piano to sound that way," he recalls.

After having performed the Beethoven Series in various spaces, between the end of November of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, and the Mozart Series this past July in Teatro Municipal of La Pintana, now Gustavo Miranda Bernales (1991) has taken on a new interpretive challenge.

On Saturday, the 24th of August, he will play the complete piano works of Maurice Ravel. He chose the Centro Cultural of Puente Alto, the commune in which he was born, for this historic concert. The performance will begin at 5 PM, Eyzaguirre 02115.

On this new artistic project, Radio Beethoven spoke with this Chilean pianist who returned to our country a couple of years ago, after having lived in the United States for 13 years, where he studied at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York City, after having initiated his studies in the Institute of Music of the Universidad Católica in Chile.

Why did you decide to perform the complete works by this composer at this moment?

"The truth is that Ravel must have been the first composer who profoundly impressed me. Ravel's music takes me back to my childhood, because he was the composer who most inspired me at that age. The sounds produced in his music impressed me very much. I did not know, at that time, how it was possible for a piano to sound that way. That is what happened to me with Ravel, so it is very special to be able to play his complete piano works."

Were you very young? We are talking about childhood; was that about 10 years old?

Yes, when I was a child. We are talking about the late 90's, early 2000's. Ravel's music was not yet in the public domain at that time, so it was very difficult, especially being in Chile, to gain access to sheet music of his works. The internet was also not as developed in those aspects as it is today, so it was very difficult to access his sheet music. All I had were recordings of his music. I remember I had a CD of Martha Argerich playing pieces by Ravel; Gaspard de la Nuit, the Sonatina, and the Concerto in G Major. I listened to that, but I did not know how it was written. I asked myself, 'how do they make the piano sound that way?' So by ear, I looked for a way to slow down the recordings and to write down each note of what I heard.' (He laughs.) I remember I spent an entire summer transcribing the music of Scarbo, of Gaspard de la nuit, by ear. That is how obsessed I was! Afterwards, it was easier to find the sheet music and I began to learn the music more from those. But I was certainly obsessed with his music at that time."

What would you highlight about how the music of Ravel has grown within you since that very significant impression it made on you as a child to now, being able to perform it on the piano? I imagine it is one of the greatest satisfactions of an artist; that which is a mystery is slowly comprehended and learned, until the moment that you are able to bring those notes to life, today, here in Chile. You live the discovery of that mystery, reveal what is in that music, yes?

"Yes. It was a long process. As a child, it was that first impression. Later, in my youth, I learned many of his pieces, nearly all of them. I learned the Concerto in G Major, Gaspard de la nuit, the Sonatine. In my adolescence, I continued playing them, afterwards there was a period in which I ceased playing them, and now I return to them. But the truth is that it is with another perspective now. Now, for example, I have played a lot of music from other French composers, such as Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns. I can see, in a certain way, where Ravel's music came from. His music was a true mystery for me as a child, because I found it so special. What is special about his music is that it is very eclectic. I think there is no other composer who can do what Ravel did, to incorporate elements of Spanish music, elements of Jazz, elements of Baroque music, of classicism - all those elements combined in one piece and with such great taste. It is impressive. The music of Ravel is of an elegance, a great sophistication. It is fascinating."

Why did you decide to perform the complete works of Ravel in this place? Are there personal, biographical motivations, or do they have to do with your understanding of the mission of an artist? What are the elements that converged for you to decide to do this in the Centro Cultural of Puente Alto?

"Well, I come from a fantastic experience, having just played the complete Mozart piano sonatas at the Teatro Municipal of La Pintana, performed together for the first time in Chile. I played 18 sonatas in three concerts. The truth is that it was an emotional experience for me, to bring music there. I found the public to be exceptional; there was much emotion in the concerts and I think that is the most important aspect of music. That experience was wonderful because there had not been many concerts and Mozart sonatas had not been played there before, nor any concert with a repertoire of that style. I want to continue to follow that idea, to bring music to everywhere where I can bring it, so that is why I am going to play in Puente Alto. In fact, I was born in Puente Alto, so it is also special in that sense."

It will be, in a sense, a homecoming. It will always have a different impact to interact with different audiences, yes? I mean to say, for you as a pianist, are there things that always occur at all performances and there are some that are exceptional, yes?

"Yes, music is communication, so that is something that happens at every concert. It is a process by which I tell stories to the public, but directly to the public, from my most intimate, human side. That will obviously always be different, just as when we speak to different people. It is like that, a living process. I am very pleased to be playing this series there and I thank the Corporación Cultural of Puente Alto - especially Milton Izurieta, its executive director - because they have been energized about doing something of this calibre."

These are great interpretative challenges that you have placed for yourself lately, after your return to Chile and your studies in the United States. First you performed the Beethoven series in different venues in Santiago. How was that experience?

"Those were seven concerts in which I played 35 Beethoven Sonatas. Those included three sonatas that are usually not included in the series, the Kürfürstensonaten. I began with those when I returned to Chile. Now I played the Mozart series and also The People United Will Never Be Defeated by Rzewski. I have performed repertoires that seem to me to be very interesting to perform."

In the case of The People United Will Never Be Defeated, the variations of Frederic Rzewski on El pueblo unido jamás será vencido by Sergio Ortega, it was also an impressive challenge. I was there, and there was a great number of people, an intense energy from the audience at USACH. Additionally, this interpretation, the first in our country by a Chilean pianist, was connected to the documentary Himno, as well as an extract of a video of your interview with the pianist to whom this piece was dedicated, Ursula Oppens. How was that experience for you and why did you choose to tackle such a demanding and important work of the 20th century?

"It was very special for me to be able to do that concert. The truth is that these concerts which I have performed in Chile have been more special for me from an emotional point of view, and that is the most important thing in music. I have been able to live that being in Chile and playing here, with audiences here. So that has been very special for me in this time, playing here in Chile."

During 2023, in July, Gustavo Miranda tackled the Sonata in B minor by Franz Liszt at Teatro Oriente, in August, the Piano Concerto by Clara Schumann, and in October, the Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach. This year, he played the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Johannes Brahms in his return to the Teatro Municipal of Santiago. Additionally, he performed recitals at Teatro Zoco and Galería Patricia Ready.

These great interpretive challenges, these artistic projects in their own right that you are developing, continue in parallel with your activity as a traditional concert pianist. Is it important to you to play for all sorts of audiences?

"Yes. The truth is that I am fortunate to pay a very large and varied repertoire, so in practically every recital I perform there is a different repertoire. That is a quality that allows each concert to have its own special significance. I am interested in producing that inspiration every time I perform."

As far as projects, are you thinking of tours or recordings?

"I am interested in recording my music."

Gustavo Miranda, furthermore, offered a guided tour of the recital with the complete piano works of Maurice Ravel, which he will perform on the 24th of August at the Central Cultural of Puente Alto. He explains that he organized it in three parts, with each of these containing one of the most important works by the French composer.

"The concert begins with Pavane pour une infante défunte, which must be one of the most famous pieces by Ravel for solo piano, and one which he later orchestrated. Afterward, I will play the Sérénade grotesque, which is the first piano work which Ravel wrote. Then I play a piece which is called Menuet antique, in which Ravel reveals a nostalgia for Baroque form. Ravel uses this dance in many his pieces, for example, there is a minuet called Le tombeau de Couperin, as well as the Sonatine and the Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn. He really admired that dance of Baroque origins, but he writes it with a 20th century perspective. After that, I play Jeaux déau, which is an example of what is called Impressionism, a term that he did not much like the usage of and which is more closely associated with painting. It is like the music of Debussy - it has to do with these almost visual images that are contained in the music. The Jeaux d'eau, of course, mimics water and it really sounds as if the piano were creating water. In fact, that style of writing came from Liszt; this piece is a sort of response to Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este by Liszt," details Gustavo Miranda.

That first part will close with "Miroirs," another fundamental piece among Ravel's solo piano works. "They are five pieces, including Alborada del gracioso, which must be one of the most famous, and which Ravel also later orchestrated, because Ravel was a great orchestral composer, a virtuoso. His piano pieces were marvelous, but his ear was an ear for an orchestra. The variety of sounds that emerge from the piano with his music are impressive," comments Miranda Bernales.

The second part of this marathon of a recital will begin with the Valses nobles et sentimentales, which he describes as an homage to the era of the waltz. "In the final movement of this piece, which is titled 'Épilogue,' you can hear that the waltz begins to dissolve, to form a memory of everything that was that era. After, I play the Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn, which is an homage, as well as the pieces 'À la maniére de Borodine' and 'À la maniére de Chabrier.' Ravel was enthusiastic about expressing his admiration for other composers. After that, I play the famous Gaspard de la nuit, which is considered one of the most challenging pieces for piano," details Gustavo Miranda.

He tells an anecdote. Before, the Oriental Fantasy by Balakirev was considered the most difficult piano piece that existed. "I don't know if it was a joke, but Ravel said he would like to write something even more difficult than that, and from there emerged Gaspard de la nuit, whose final movement is Scarbo. It is very challenging for piano, but beyond that, it has impressive sonorities. This is one of the pieces that I listened to as a child and the sounds impressed me. This piece is based on three poems: Ondine, Le Gibet, and Scarbo."

The third part of the concert begins with very short pieces. "A Prélude in A minor, which Ravel wrote for a competition at the Paris Conservatory. It is a piece of two pages, very short, and the other is a Menuet which is posthumous; it was found years after Ravel's passing. This short piece is in C-sharp minor. After, I play the Sonatine. There are no piano sonatas by Ravel, so this is the only piece that comes close to the tradition of writing sonatas. I finish the concert with Le tombeau de Couperin, of which Ravel later orchestrated all movements except the Fugue and Toccata. This is another homage, in this case of Couperin, and it is basically a Baroque suite with dances, but clearly in the sonorous language of Ravel. So that is the concert, that is the complete solo piano works; an odyssey of the full creative dimension of Ravel."

I imagine there will be two intermissions, yes?

"Yes. It is a concert that begins at 5 PM, a bit earlier than the usual, so that there is time to experience all his works, which in reality are not so extensive; they can be done in one concert. Ravel was a very self-critical composer when it came to his works. In preparing this concert, I researched a bit more and, although I am not a musicologist, I saw that there are many works by Ravel that have been lost, or that were destroyed, especially of the time period in which he was a student at the Paris Conservatory. He wrote many compositional exercises, including a movement from a sonata for piano which was lost, which did not survive, and there are many fugues that he wrote in that time period. However, the majority did not survive and those that have are not confirmed to have been written by him. I chose not to include them in this program for that reason. There are also pieces of another work. Perhaps a recording could include all of those pieces, but I knew they were not finished sufficiently to include them in this set. What I will play are the complete works as approved by Ravel."