Olga Kern Records Brahms CD at Skywalker Ranch
Admittedly, the connection seems obscure at first. You might guess that it has something to do, on the one hand, with Kern's command of the classic piano repertoire, which was more than enough to earn her the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001 and launch her into a world-class concert career.
On the other hand, it may reflect somehow on her thoroughly contemporary story: that of a glamorous young superstar and single mother of a young son who has juggled family and professional responsibilities with a virtuosity comparable to what she has achieved on the keyboard.
You could guess that, and you wouldn't be wrong but the truth is actually much simpler.
In October 2005 Kern sequestered herself in the studio to record three of the Brahms Variations for piano on the Harmonia Mundi label. The sessions took place at a site she has come to know well: the Lucasfilm Studio at Skywalker Ranch, north of San Francisco.
For more than a year, since she recorded her album of Rachmaninoff transcriptions there, Kern has decided that the George Lucas facility is as ideal for piano projects as it was for the Star Wars epic film series. Incidentally, this is one of the most favorite recording studios for Harmonia Mundi.
"No, I didn't go there to put special effects in my music," she says, laughing. "Of course, it does have fantastic equipment, as you could imagine. But what I love most of all is that it is so inspiring. I would be in the studio all day long, every day, so when I had a lunch break I would go outside and be in the middle of nowhere, in beautiful nature, with wineries and grape fields all around. There's even a lake right in front of the studio! It's an amazing place to work, even though it doesn't look like a place for work at all."
Yet work she did, beginning with a period of intense practice before setting off for the pristine fields of Marin County. The first step was to determine which Variations she would record, given that she and the studio could budget just a week for the project. She decided on the Variations on a Hungarian Song, Op. 21; the Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24; and the Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35.
"Each one is so different from the others," she explains. "The Hungarian theme is very short, with just two variations. But in this music there are elements of what you hear from the bigger variations, like the Handel and the Paganini. Here you can recognize Brahms, even in the short variations of the Hungarian. They're very deep and charming, and I tried to create that special Hungarian flavor, all the way to the big chords at the end, where the sound becomes so rich."
As for the other two works, she observes that "the Handel is such a refined piece because the theme is so beautiful; that's one reason why I played it for my Carnegie Hall debut. And the fugue at the end takes so much concentration. It's different in character from the Paganini variations, but I've played them both for a long time; it's important to me that I perform any piece before I record it, and I'd played these so much that I felt free to do whatever I wanted with them once the recording began."
Kern recorded on the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano at Skywalker Ranch, her instrument of choice for concert hall and studio. Her favorite technician, Max Michimoto, was on hand too, having flown out from the East Coast for the week. "Max tunes the Yamaha piano at my apartment in New York," she says. "Every pianist has different requirements, but Max knows exactly what I want. He didn't even need my comments; he was just at the studio every day before the recording session, preparing the piano for me even before I'd seen it myself. In my experience, all the piano technicians who work for Yamaha are highly professional."
The sessions went flawlessly, and the week passed quickly. But as far as Olga's son is concerned, what matters most is the last stop that his mother always makes at the gift shop as she bids farewell to the Skywalker Ranch.
"Vladislav is so much into Star Wars," she says, with a smile. "So whenever I go there he says, 'Oh, Mommy, you'll be right there! Please bring me something special!' And of course, I always do."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
 Yamaha Artist Olga Kern |
You could guess that, and you wouldn't be wrong but the truth is actually much simpler.
In October 2005 Kern sequestered herself in the studio to record three of the Brahms Variations for piano on the Harmonia Mundi label. The sessions took place at a site she has come to know well: the Lucasfilm Studio at Skywalker Ranch, north of San Francisco.
For more than a year, since she recorded her album of Rachmaninoff transcriptions there, Kern has decided that the George Lucas facility is as ideal for piano projects as it was for the Star Wars epic film series. Incidentally, this is one of the most favorite recording studios for Harmonia Mundi.
"No, I didn't go there to put special effects in my music," she says, laughing. "Of course, it does have fantastic equipment, as you could imagine. But what I love most of all is that it is so inspiring. I would be in the studio all day long, every day, so when I had a lunch break I would go outside and be in the middle of nowhere, in beautiful nature, with wineries and grape fields all around. There's even a lake right in front of the studio! It's an amazing place to work, even though it doesn't look like a place for work at all."
Yet work she did, beginning with a period of intense practice before setting off for the pristine fields of Marin County. The first step was to determine which Variations she would record, given that she and the studio could budget just a week for the project. She decided on the Variations on a Hungarian Song, Op. 21; the Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24; and the Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35.
"Each one is so different from the others," she explains. "The Hungarian theme is very short, with just two variations. But in this music there are elements of what you hear from the bigger variations, like the Handel and the Paganini. Here you can recognize Brahms, even in the short variations of the Hungarian. They're very deep and charming, and I tried to create that special Hungarian flavor, all the way to the big chords at the end, where the sound becomes so rich."
As for the other two works, she observes that "the Handel is such a refined piece because the theme is so beautiful; that's one reason why I played it for my Carnegie Hall debut. And the fugue at the end takes so much concentration. It's different in character from the Paganini variations, but I've played them both for a long time; it's important to me that I perform any piece before I record it, and I'd played these so much that I felt free to do whatever I wanted with them once the recording began."
Kern recorded on the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano at Skywalker Ranch, her instrument of choice for concert hall and studio. Her favorite technician, Max Michimoto, was on hand too, having flown out from the East Coast for the week. "Max tunes the Yamaha piano at my apartment in New York," she says. "Every pianist has different requirements, but Max knows exactly what I want. He didn't even need my comments; he was just at the studio every day before the recording session, preparing the piano for me even before I'd seen it myself. In my experience, all the piano technicians who work for Yamaha are highly professional."
The sessions went flawlessly, and the week passed quickly. But as far as Olga's son is concerned, what matters most is the last stop that his mother always makes at the gift shop as she bids farewell to the Skywalker Ranch.
"Vladislav is so much into Star Wars," she says, with a smile. "So whenever I go there he says, 'Oh, Mommy, you'll be right there! Please bring me something special!' And of course, I always do."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
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