{"id":95322,"date":"2023-03-10T13:59:11","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T18:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=95322"},"modified":"2023-03-10T18:00:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T23:00:03","slug":"interview-pianist-and-composer-chad-lawson-talks-about-his-music-and-his-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/03\/10\/interview-pianist-and-composer-chad-lawson-talks-about-his-music-and-his-method\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Pianist And Composer Chad Lawson Talks About His Music And His Method"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chad
Chad Lawson (Photos: Neil Krug)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

American pianist and composer Chad Lawson is in Canada for performances in Quebec City, and Toronto on March 11. His many popular releases for piano have combined elements of classical music as well as jazz, and science, among other things.<\/p>\n

Classically trained from the age of five, he attended Berklee, where he switched to jazz performance. He also began working as a studio and touring musician, and while he continued his music studies in stints, including later on at the Manhattan School of Music, his professional life took precedence. He formed his own Chad Lawson Trio, then later toured with Julio Inglesias’ band before recording his first solo album in 2009.<\/p>\n

With his background, he lists a wide range of influences, including classical masters. \u201cCertainly Chopin and Bach. Those are the two. Chopin has the vulnerable melody, whereas Bach has the technical skill.\u201d Chad mentions reading Chopin\u2019s biography, and realizing that he\u2019d only performed live on rare occasions. Still, Chopin wrote that he found playing music to be soothing. \u201cI find that to be the case as well,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The farther Chad gets in his own musical explorations, the more it reminds him of the fundamentals. \u201cWe have this transition of genre, but it all goes back to the root, to Bach.\u201d<\/p>\n

His The Chopin Variations<\/em> reinterpreted the works of the Polish master. \u201cI did the album in 2014 called The Chopin Variations<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have this large audience that I call the Spotify generation. Maybe they have a piano in the house, but they don\u2019t know how to turn it on. If I brought Chopin to this audience, how would I do it?\u201d he asked himself.<\/p>\n

He plays solo on one side of the release, adding two other musicians for the other half. He chose his collaborators, Judy Kang on violin and cellist Rubin Kodheli, because they were musicians who had played with a wide variety of artists from hip hop stars to classical performers.<\/p>\n

In creating his Variations<\/em>, he started with the idea of making it easy for that Spotify generation to enjoy. \u201cI Xeroxed the sheet music,\u201d he recalls. Then, he studied the melodic patterns carefully. \u201cWould Chopin’s music still sound beautiful if it was very scaled down?\u201d He pared down the music to its basic elements.<\/p>\n

While it was well received by listeners, he was surprised at the industry reaction. \u201cI thought I’d get a lot of pushback,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it was quite the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he\u2019d imagined, the music was reaching people who\u2019d never listened to Chopin before. \u201cI try to bring in an audience that isn’t familiar,\u201d he explains. From his fan feedback, and with his introduction, many went on to search out and sample Chopin\u2019s original compositions.<\/p>\n