{"id":108970,"date":"2024-10-29T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T20:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=108970"},"modified":"2024-10-30T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T12:00:01","slug":"interview-harpsichordist-david-louie-talks-bach-keyboard-partitas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/10\/29\/interview-harpsichordist-david-louie-talks-bach-keyboard-partitas\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Harpsichordist David Louie Talks About The Bach Keyboard Partitas"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_108972\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108972\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-108972\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-78.jpg\" alt=\"David Louie, harpsichordist (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-78.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-78-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-78-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-78-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-108972\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Louie, harpsichordist (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>David Louie is a keyboard player simply put, known for his technical and interpretive skills at both the piano and the harpsichord. He&#8217;ll be performing a recital of Bach&#8217;s Partitas for keyboard on November 3.<\/p>\n<p>To maintain a career as soloist with both instruments is a rare feat today, and David combines that with a position as an influential teacher of keyboard and historical practice.<\/p>\n<p>David was born in Prince George, British Columbia. He came to Toronto to study music, and graduated with a degree from the Royal Conservatory, followed by a postgraduate degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He\u2019s a laureate of the CBC Radio Competition and other international competitions.<\/p>\n<p>Along with his career as a performer, Louie is a member of the faculty at the Glenn Gould School and the Taylor Academy of the Royal Conservatory. There, he teaches piano, chamber music, and historical performance practices, and some of his students are carrying on his winning tradition \u2014 including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/10\/16\/scoop-glenn-gould-school-student-eric-guo-wins-2nd-international-chopin-competition-period-instruments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eric Guo, winner of the second International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to David about keyboards and Bach partitas.<\/p>\n<p>He performs the Scarlatti Sonata K. 104 in G major:<\/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\/zDSd_1qY2vA?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<h2>David Louie, the Interview<\/h2>\n<p>For David, there was never really any question of focusing on anything else. \u201cI was just like most kids who were introduced to piano at a young age,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI was endlessly fascinated, as a kid. I was five years old.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The piano came first, other keyboards later. \u201cI discovered early keyboards later, when I was in college,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>As to the repertoire of his recital, J.S. Bach\u2019s Keyboard Partitas Nos. 2, 4, and 6, that\u2019s a no-brainer as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery pianist is forced, whether they like it or not, to play music by J.S. Bach,\u201d he notes. \u201cI was no different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps because of the arbitrary nature of his early exposure to it as a piano student, the music at first held little appeal. \u201cI did it because it was necessary, but I never quite took to it until I discovered the early keyboard instruments,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Then, everything changed, and today, Bach\u2019s keyboard works form a large part of his repertoire \u2014 but not as performed on the modern piano.<\/p>\n<p>At the RCM, Michael &amp; Sonia Koerner have donated the collection of historical instruments displayed under glass in the lower level. Louie maintains those instruments. \u201cThey&#8217;re in playable condition,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople are amazed at the sound. This instrument was built while Bach and Handel were still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He explains, \u201cIt&#8217;s a different technique and different approach. What I love about the harpsichord is the democracy of the voicing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bach\u2019s music is written in using counterpoint, as Louie points out, a compositional technique that works with two or more independent voices, each with what he calls a democratic role in the music. Performing Bach on the harpsichord or organ allow for that kind of democratic voicing. The dynamic ranges that the modern piano introduces into the mix complicate the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can suppress certain voices, [but] the whole interplay and the soul of counterpoint \u2014 the equality of the voices is lost,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was the instrument that Bach had,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_108973\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108973\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-108973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/David-Louie-w_harpsichord-1.jpg\" alt=\"David Louie, harpsichordist (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/David-Louie-w_harpsichord-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/David-Louie-w_harpsichord-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/David-Louie-w_harpsichord-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/David-Louie-w_harpsichord-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-108973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Louie, harpsichordist (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The Bach Keyboard Partitas<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to showcase the partitas,\u201d David says. \u201cIt shows the sheer range that Bach was able to encompass within this one volume.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When programming a concert, it\u2019s necessary to look for a mix of pieces with variety and contrast, and it\u2019s possible to find that within the Partitas. \u201cIt&#8217;s an enormously difficult program,\u201d he acknowledges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe partitas \u2014 these are special pieces even for Bach, and he wrote a lot of music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As he points out, while the Baroque master is revered today, in his own time, success was not a foregoe conclusion, and he was competing against several other organist\/composers even in his native Germany alone. He composed a great deal of music simply because he had to as a working musician. Publishing music was prohibitively expensive in the 18th century, and Bach didn\u2019t have the kind of deep pocketed patrons that some other composers enjoyed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt his own expense, he decided to self-publish some of his music,\u201d David says. He published the collected book of Partitas, titled Clavier-\u00dcbung I, (labelled \u201cOpus 1\u201d by Bach), in 1731.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s like a business card,\u201d Louie says, a way, in other words, of showcasing as well as distributing his music. \u201cHe put his best in it, and also his most daring. It&#8217;s music that&#8217;s designed to make an impression on people.\u201d Since Bach couldn\u2019t travel much himself, he let the music do the traveling for him. Aside from a couple that are more accessible, the composer didn\u2019t cater much to amateur abilities when he wrote them.<\/p>\n<p>Louie cites the \u201cwide ranging colours, endless possibilities within the standard baroque suite\u201d. \u201cIt&#8217;s what he does with it that is pretty remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The gamble on self-publication had the desired effect, selling hundreds of copies. Bach\u2019s reputation began to grow among his contemporaries. \u201cI don&#8217;t think he could have possibly imagined where his fame could have gone after his death,\u201d Louie says. \u201cThis music is really the catalyst.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>David Louie\u2019s concert is presented as part of the Mazzoleni Masters series at Koerner Hall; find more details about the performance, and ticket [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcmusic.com\/events-and-performances\/david-louie-(1)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\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>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? 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Bach&#8217;s music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":108972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,74,18,19,26,27,29,46,4557,63],"tags":[970,6458,1562],"yst_prominent_words":[12154,14729,9987,10214,6616,12857,14728,8282],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-78.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-slA","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108970"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109010,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108970\/revisions\/109010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108970"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=108970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}