{"id":101607,"date":"2024-02-06T11:10:13","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T16:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=101607"},"modified":"2024-02-06T15:21:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:21:09","slug":"interview-pianist-ben-cruchley-glenn-gould-school-berlin-back-toronto-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/02\/06\/interview-pianist-ben-cruchley-glenn-gould-school-berlin-back-toronto-concert\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Pianist Ben Cruchley: From The Glenn Gould School To Berlin &amp; Back For A Toronto Concert"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_101610\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-101610\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-101610\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2.jpg\" alt=\"Ben Cruchley (Photo: Dan Hannen)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-101610\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Cruchley (Photo: Dan Hannen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Pianist Ben Cruchley\u2019s studies took him from Toronto to Montr\u00e9al to Italy and Berlin; now his career is bringing him back to the city for a concert on February 12. He\u2019ll be performing a program of Bach and Rachmaninoff at Toronto\u2019s Heliconian Hall.<\/p>\n<p>Ben began his musical training at Toronto\u2019s Glenn Gould School, followed by studies at the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al, and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He\u2019s since relocated to Berlin, where he\u2019s now based.<\/p>\n<p>A prize-winner at the Beethoven Competition in Bonn in 2015 and the Grieg Competition in Bergen in 2016, he subsequently launched a performing career that has included performances at Berlin\u2019s Konzerthaus, Bonn Beethovenfest, Palermo Classica, Kunstverein M\u00fcnchen, Filarmonica Banatul in Timisoara \u2014 and Toronto\u2019s Koerner Hall.<\/p>\n<h2>The Concert: Dies Irae \/ Day Of Wrath<\/h2>\n<p>Bach and Rachmaninoff \u2014 the two composers are separated by centuries and musical styles, but Ben finds a commonality in their inspiration.<\/p>\n<p>As Cruchley says in his notes, the Dies Irae is a Gregorian chant that has become \u201cone of the central codes the language of classical music\u201d. The Latin poem, characterized by its strong rhythms, describes the Last Judgment, and its original form is used in the Catholic Funeral Mass. As he points out, it\u2019s been the inspiration for so many composers over centuries of music.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s chosen two of them for the concert, including <strong>Bach\u2019s Partita in D major BMW 828<\/strong>, and <strong>Rachmaninoff\u2019s 1st Sonata in D minor<\/strong>. The latter piece\u2019s third movement, the Allegro motto, quotes from the Dies irae. Rachmaninoff\u2019s original inspiration for the work was Goethe\u2019s Faust, and the reference is on point.<\/p>\n<p>Beethoven: Fantasia Op.77 (Ben Cruchley, piano) Recorded live at the International Telekom Beethoven Competition; Dec. 5, 2015 Bonn, Germany, where Ben placed 2nd:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K2UJ_bDBiuo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>We asked Ben a few questions about his career and the concert.<\/p>\n<h2>Pianist Ben Cruchley: Q&amp;A<\/h2>\n<h4>How did you come to study in Italy?<\/h4>\n<p>I had been studying in Montr\u00e9al for 3 years, was very happy there, and was considering to pursue a Music doctorate with my teacher (Dang Thai Son). He encouraged me, however, to investigate possibilities in Europe. I booked a 4-week trip that began with an audition at the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome, where Benedetto Lupo teaches.<\/p>\n<p>My plan was to not be accepted into Rome, and then to make my way north to Berlin via Switzerland, meeting and playing for a number of piano teachers along the way. As it turns out, I was accepted, and had to cancel the rest of my plans \u2014 in Italy, school begins literally the day following the auditions, so I found myself suddenly very busy finding an apartment while closing my Montr\u00e9al chapter from abroad.<\/p>\n<h4>What drew you later to Berlin? It sounds like you found it a creatively rich environment.<\/h4>\n<p>I already had some friends living here, who made me feel welcome even before I moved there following my studies in Rome. For artists and perhaps especially for musicians, Germany is a relatively comfortable place, but there is always a flip side to the coin. The rich creative environment rests on a strong foundation of amateur music making and appreciation. In Berlin alone, there are around 3,000 choirs, for example.<\/p>\n<p>What this also means is a slightly more conservative cultural orientation generally, at least compared to what I remember from my upbringing in Toronto. The church, for example, plays a leading role in involving the general population in music making (and much more).<\/p>\n<p>On top of this, there is the dimension of national cultural pride, another double-edged sword. I notice more and more to what extent Germany is oriented culturally towards its past; even in the more experimental or avant-garde scenes you sometimes catch a whiff of nostalgic decadence.<\/p>\n<p>On gloomier days, I have the sense that Europe is heading towards a precarious situation, driven among other things by a xenophobic anxieties. It\u2019s not such a stretch to think that this increased funding is part of what makes it a relatively comfortable place for artists, including for ex-pats like me.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, there is also a strong tradition of self-reflectivity and a vigilant, critical look at culture, that engages with these tendencies; I am constantly encountering stimulating thinkers and artists who embody this spirit.<\/p>\n<p>So after 6 years, my feeling about Berlin is very mixed, but certainly never boring.<\/p>\n<h4>You\u2019ve added conducting to your musical practice \u2014 what is your vision as a conductor? How would you describe the role \u2014 is it simply another way of performing\/expressing music?<\/h4>\n<p>Like most pianists, I was constantly trained to \u201cthink orchestrally\u201d, \u201cthink like a conductor\u201d, and it&#8217;s been a great experience turning that from theory into practice. As a pianist, one is repeatedly made aware of the distinction between the material, sonic aspect of music, and the way music exists as an idea, as a representation of something, embodied through an instrument.<\/p>\n<p>Every instrument, including an orchestra or a choir, has its own needs, its own way of sounding good, which has to be understood and respected, but beyond this, my ideal for a performance of classical music is to create experiences (be it at the emotional, imaginative, or intellectual level) that take us beyond what we are experiencing [purely] as sound, and outside of material reality in the larger sense. This is what I&#8217;m trying to accomplish, whether in front of a keyboard, a choir or an ensemble.<\/p>\n<h4>For the upcoming concert, you\u2019ve chosen works revolving around a concept. Is that your usual practice, i.e. your programs delve into the works beyond the music itself?<\/h4>\n<p>I like to find some focus to the program, mostly for the sake of the audience, who is often unfamiliar with the repertoire and therefore appreciative of a clear point of entry into it. Despite what is said about the universality of the language of music, classical music is written with its own conventions, and, in my opinion, the more familiarity someone has with this language, the richer their listening experience will be.<\/p>\n<p>I get to spend months with these pieces, thinking about them, noticing hidden details and interesting affinities, and I find that many of these discoveries are interesting for an audience as well. So I try to find some specific theme that focuses these topics and insights, and about which I can talk to an audience in the space of a few minutes.<\/p>\n<h4>Is there a particular era of music that you are drawn to? You seem to enjoy new music as well as the traditional repertoire.<\/h4>\n<p>I have very eclectic tastes, and at the same time and very ignorant of so much that is out there. In nearly every genre I have my favourite artists and styles. I think we are simply so spoiled, by all the creativity available to us; and learning to appreciate something better is one of the most important ways to expand one\u2019s horizons (going as it does in the opposite, easier direction of criticising something). But I wish I spent more time getting to know the huge amount of new music that is out there.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What projects do you have in progress?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Recently I began meeting with a Cameroonian percussionist, <strong>Calvin Yug<\/strong>, to experiment with the possibility of classical music and Traditional Bantu music coming together in dialogue. This is a very exciting and stimulating project for me, and demanding, as there are very few models on which to base our work \u2014 not without good reasons.<\/p>\n<p>More practically speaking, it has meant finding ways to detach the language of classical music from its manifestation in fixed, untouchable musical masterpieces, and treat it is a language that is capable of combining more spontaneously with other musical languages. Juxtaposing the two traditions, which represent such different social practices and attitudes toward music (before one even mentions the relation between these cultures historically), helped me to understand a bit better how classical music resonates with us, and how it is consumed. We had our first performance in September, and I\u2019m excited to see this project grow.<\/p>\n<p>Other plans for 2024: I lead Berlin\u2019s only mixed-voice LGBTQ+ choir, with whom we are planning performances this summer in areas where the political far-right is strong, in anticipation of regional elections.<\/p>\n<p>Also: hopefully, a solo recording.<\/p>\n<h3>Toronto Concert Details<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The show takes place at Heliconian Hall of February 12, 2024 at 8 p.m.<\/li>\n<li>Tickets are PWYC ($25 suggested)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>More information, and to reserve tickets to the show, [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bencruchley.com\/upcoming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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