MICK RAUBENHEIMER’S Round Corners mini-interviews situate artists outside their given media. He chats to the meticulously wonderful pianist Jill Richards.
When did you first identify as a creative artist?
When I was 12 I knew that all I ever wanted to do was to play the piano. I fell in love with it and I was hooked for life. I adore the versatility of sound, the range, the glamour and, for me, its completeness. At the time I had a wonderful and inspiring piano teacher who didn’t tell me that there were limits, and encouraged adventurous thinking. It was an early lesson in the curiosity and sense of wonder that is part of making music. I love trying out new ideas, learning new works, working with people in different artistic fields. There is, happily, so much to learn!
Outside of your medium, what branch of art most stimulates you?
Visual art is a real turn on for me. I think a lot about the spatial dimension of music – the architecture of it, and how the sound moves in the air. I find a connect between that and the spatial element of visual art, and how they both exist in a three dimensional way. The abstractness of that process appeals to me, because music is such an abstract medium itself. And I love talking to and working with visual artists as they have such wonderful creativity and off-the-wall ideas – so inspiring!
But then I think of the other disciplines – dance, theatre, literature, etc, and they are pretty damn amazing too…
Which artists in said discipline have significantly inspired you, and why?
Besides my piano teacher, I think the biggest influence has been the composer Kevin Volans. He is both friend and colleague, and I owe so much to him. I deeply admire his compositions, his astonishing creativity, fearless honesty with himself, and his discipline. But above all that, it’s his integrity and approach of being in service to the music, as something to which we all have a deep obligation: we must perform/write to our utmost best. He’s written lots of piano music for me, and it has been a privilege to get some insight into his working process, and therefore, some understanding of how composition works generally. It really helps to take that knowledge back to much older works and have more understanding of how those works were actually made.
Another seminal person for me was the late great, Zim Ngqawana. When he asked me if I’d like to do some improvisation with him, I felt like a complete classically trained idiot. He was so generous and full of knowledge and encouragement that I managed it, and it’s opened up a wonderful part of music for me. I am immensely grateful for that. And, of course, I am always inspired by listening to great pianists: They take the listener into that profound world of music in the most thrilling way, so that I keep thinking “How did they do THAT?”
What, to you, is art’s most important function?
Well, it absolutely does not have a function in the sense that most people think: Making us do maths better, preventing Alzheimer’s, even having some Mozart to complement the bubble bath…those things get used to justify its existence, and thus its benefits. Simply: music IS. It’s part of who we are, what we breathe, our atoms; it shines a light into our places of passion, imagination, fantasy, curiosity, darkness and inexpressible spaces. It’s a world of beauty, of mystery, that cannot be expressed in any other way, and touches the very deepest part of us. It completes us.
Local creatives that currently excite you?
There are several – those people who are doing experimental work, who are pushing boundaries and opening up new spaces, often in interdisciplinary collaborations. I was thrilled when I saw Naomi van Niekerk’s work, Neels Coetzee’s sculptures evoke such deep dark feelings, Tony Myiambo’s acting is so intense that he kind of burns the air around him. I love work that is excellent, and of a super high standard, where the artist has a totally ethical practice in terms of no compromise, serving the art, and killing him/herself to get it right.
What specific work – be it in literature, music, or visual art – do you return to again and again, and why?
I have a bunch of favourites, works like the Mendelssohn octet, Brahms chamber music, Schubert lieder, as well as Boulez’ Sur Incises, Stockhausen’s Mantra – and many more. I’ve just been listening to the second Partita of Bach, and Stravinsky’s Petroucka: I suppose it’s very eclectic. I love all of them because they are deeply affecting and create the deep inner world of music.
And I constantly return to the great pianists, for learning and inspiration: Richter, Pletnev, Horowitz and lots of others.
Any current project you’re unveiling/wrapping up?
Yes! Not wrapping up just yet, but I’m working with the video artist and filmmaker Jurgen Meekel on a project that involves lasers and special paint. My part is the soundtrack, which will probably be field recordings, improvisation and sounds from other sources. We’re thinking a lot about light and sound, and how different they are physically… and then of course it starts me thinking about gravitational waves, and black holes, and time as that other dimension. All very exciting.
Who: Jill Richards
WS
