Classical pianist David Pasbrig spends 25 to 30 hours per week training music students, and when he’s not doing that he’s spending even more time rehearsing. Sounds daunting, but he’s passionate about the process, from the time he starts rehearsing a piece to the applause at the close of a concert.
Q What are we going to hear – any familiar pieces?
A I’m going to be playing a lot of Rachmaninoff, a little bit of Debussy, and a little bit of Robert Muczynski, a 20th-century American composer. Rachmaninoff’s second sonata is one of the things I’m playing right now. It’s 25 minutes long, so it takes off a lot of the program there. I’m going to start off the program with a prelude by Debussy that’s majestic.
Q You mentioned you like to play Rachmaninoff. Why?
A It’s a joy for pianists to play, if their hands are big enough. He was a pianist himself, so if your hands are big enough to play it, it’s a joy. That’s key — if it fits your hands.
Q How much do you practice?
A I practice typically 2 to 3 hours a day, and when I have concerts 5 to 6 hours a day. It can be exhausting, but I love to practice. I enjoy the music making part of it, I enjoy solving the technical problems, I enjoy the physicality of it.
Q Do you enjoy performing as well?
A I do. Things always change onstage. When you’re in front of people, it’s so easy to feed off of an audience. It’s much different than say, recording, which is very difficult when you just have a metal object to play for. It’s hard to be inspired by that.
Q When you’re not playing classical piano, what do you enjoy playing?
A I thought about learning jazz, and I can play anything that’s written, As far as composing, though, it’s like a different language. It’s not that I couldn’t do it, it’s that I haven’t had the time to spend on it.
Q What do you listen to?
A Anything. I’m not against anything. Often if I’m just coming home from work I’ll put on talk radio because it’s been music all day long.
Q What do you do to relax?
A I’m a big fan of exercise, and sometimes going for a long run in peace is a nice thing to do to clear your mind.
Q How is classical music relevant today?
A Anything can be relevant to somebody if it speaks to them in some manner. Whether you have a degree in classical or not, there’s always something you can find in it. Across all types of music, it’s all the same. You might find a song that speaks to you in classical music, or you might find some kind of dance form or variation. Even if you’re not particularly trained in it, you might enjoy it.
Q What types of shows do you enjoy playing?
A I really enjoy performing. I enjoy the fact that I play solo concerts, chamber music, concertos. Big audiences are fun but they’re a lot of work because you have to play a lot louder. The energy is really great but the energy of a small intimate performance is really great as well.
Q What have you learned about your playing though teaching?
A It’s a great way to find solutions to problems. When you see something in someone else it’s easy to solve it in yourself.
I often tell my students if they would just do what I ask them to do, it would solve their problems. Then I sit down and realize if I would just do what I should be doing, it would solve my problems.
Q If you could plan your dream concert, whose music would you play?
A There really is no answer. I love to play whatever I’m in the mood for. There are so many things out there. There’s something for every mood. I like to change things up.
What’s interesting to me is that the modern music that people don’t really know inevitably ends up being the most enjoyed piece on the program. Even obscure pieces, ones I’m not sure will go over very well, people love them. They go over better than the big standards. I think they can relate to modern composers. It’s always nice to hear something that they know, but then introduce them to something new.
For instance, the Muczynski pieces I’ll be performing are six very short preludes, and the longest is 1:30 minutes. They’re little character pieces. People often laugh, some are sad, some are a little spooky.
IF YOU GO
WHAT Classical pianist David Pasbrig, part of the In Harmony series of concerts
WHEN 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5
WHERE Delaware Public Archives Mabel Lloyd Research Room, 121 Duke of York St., Dover
ADMISSION Free
MORE INFO Call 736-7030
Email Sarika Jagtiani at sarika.jagtiani@doverpost.com.
