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I was one of three lucky students who received the rare opportunity to take to the piano bench beside one of the world's most celebrated concert pianists, North Carolina Symphony guest artist Noriko Ogawa. The masterclass was organized by Ms. Jessica Nalbone, Education Manager of the North Carolina Symphony, and it was held at Ruggero Piano's Bosendorfer Hall on Saturday, April 9. What an opportunity! I jumped at the chance and signed up immediately.
I decided to play the third movement of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 for Ms. Ogawa because I found out that she would be performing that same concerto with the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra in Japan right after her performance with the North Carolina Symphony. Coincidentally, I had just performed the third movement with the Winston-Salem Symphony earlier this January. Despite an exciting performance, I still felt that I had room for improvement on the piece. I was sure that Ms. Ogawa would certainly have a lot of input to offer. I was so excited, but I made sure to practice a lot; I was not going to take any chances.
By the day of April 9, I was ready and eager. My parents and I ended up arriving at Ruggero Piano twenty-five minutes early. We were just in time to see Ms. Ogawa finishing up her practice session. She was clearly hard at work. Every one of her notes was solid, composed, and fierce. She left the hall briefly to grab a quick lunch and returned to the hall. Now the masterclass began.
Ms. Ogawa immediately greeted me with a warm smile and a kind "hello." We began discussing my piece selection, where I mentioned that I had chosen to play the third movement of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2. Ms. Ogawa was excited to hear about my choice and even offered to accompany me. This was a happy surprise. What a great honor it was to be accompanied by a world class pianist. She played with a captivating, contagious energy and I responded by playing more energetically myself. We blended together really well , and at times, it felt like we were conversing through the pianos.
After the run-through, she seemed pleased with my performance. Ms. Ogawa spoke in a cheerful, humble, and encouraging tone. However, she immediately pinpointed my tendency to rush. I did my best to make appropriate changes, and she immediately delighted upon the obvious improvement. She would then proceed to compliment me on my playing. There is nothing like getting a compliment from a world class pianist. Often times, it would take a few demonstrations by herself for me to truly know what she wanted and when she played I was immediately struck by Ms. Ogawa's superior phrasing. She was able to craft the sound she wished to produce with such mastery and elegance. We worked through the whole score like this, section by section. I learned that "allegro" does not mean to play fast, but rather, to play lively. She explained to me that an orchestra was often a large group, so playing at a steady tempo was imperative. In one particular passage, she told me that I could change the tempo but that I needed to come back to the original tempo before the orchestra rejoined me. I also learned to not be afraid to exaggerate in order to make the music more interesting for the audience. In addition, Ms. Ogawa talked to me about Beethoven's various mood changes: curious at one section, funny at another, yet serious at others. That is just a taste of what she taught me; I could keep going on and on...
Ms. Ogawa then continued the class with other students. Throughout, she was very warm and lighthearted; her joyful mood put us all at ease. I was amazed by the immediate improvement all of the students made following her simple, but precise instructions. From an outside perspective, the changes were so apparent, yet achieved so quickly and effortlessly based on her straightforward advice. I really enjoyed her demonstrations to the students and wondered how she could play with such meaning and color. It felt like the music she made had so many layers, each beautiful in its own right.
I am very grateful to Ms. Ogawa, who was willing to sacrifice her precious hours before her concert to share her insight and knowledge with young people like me. I am thankful to Ms. Jessica Nalbone from the North Carolina Symphony for organizing this masterclass and giving us the opportunity to meet the world class pianist and to Mr. Richard Ruggero for providing an excellent Bosendorfer Hall and Fazioli piano. It was truly a masterclass to remember.
Richard He is a tenth grader at Raleigh Charter High School and currently study piano with John Ruggero.
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