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 Sara
Davis Buechner was a prize winner in many of the world's most
prestigious international piano competitions: Queen Elizabeth of
Belgium, Leeds, Salzburg, Sydney, and Vienna. She was the Grand
Prizewinner of the 1984 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition,
and the top American Prizewinner in the 1986 Tchaikowsky Competition in
Moscow.
More...
Transcript Recorded:
09-12-2005
- 07:00:51
PM
MyAuditions:
Greetings Members. Welcome to
our inaugural celebrity chat.
Our featured artist this evening is with Sara Davis Buechner,
concert pianist. This is a moderated chat and
all comments are pre-screened and will be pre-approved by Sara
prior to public display on this forum.
Sara Davis Buechner: Hello everyone!
Sunny in Vancouver today which is very
different then NYC where I spent 25 years.
MyAuditions: Sara, what
are your upcoming
concert dates and where?
Sara Davis Buechner:
I have a 10-day trip
scheduled to NYC from
October 1-10; a 3
day recording session for Koch International;
and a lecture at the Czech Center in NYC on
Oct 7th. Also, a solo
recital scheduled in Riverdale on Oct
9th.
MyAuditions: The
forum is now open to member questions.
Fotis: Good evening from York, UK
(United Kingdom).
Sara Davis Buechner:
Hello Fotis. Do you
have a question for me?
Fotis: Actually,
many! What is the programme of your solo
recital?
Sara Davis Buechner:
The recital is at the Scarborough Church in
Riverdale, NY. The
program is Mozart Sonata in A Minor; the
Sonatina for Left
Hand by Dinu Lipitti and many short pieces by
Rudolph Friml as well as Debussy.
Sara Davis Buechner: I have recorded
many pieces by Friml on my Koch Solo CD
and you can order the CD from my Web
site, which is on my MyAuditions guest artist
profile at
www.sarabuechner.com
<tcuffari>: Hello Dr. B!
<artsopolis>: Hi from California.
<tcuffari>: I had to say hello. Everyone
is excited about your concert here (NYC).
We're pumping it up.
Sara Davis Buechner: Hi Tom
(tcuffari).
I will call you after this is over.
LOL.
<noteworthy>: Did
you feel your conservatory/music school training prepared you well for
your competitions?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Hmm. An interesting
question. Yes. I
think so especially from Juilliard.
Sara Davis Buechner: Juilliard has
this kind of cut-throat competition atmosphere
that prepared me for gladiator battles against other people.
It had both good and bad aspects but
prepared me well for competition. The level of
people at Juilliard gave me a great sense of level of ability, what
I had to do as a professional to succeed.
Fotis: Do
you think that piano competitions serve music or with 'music gymnastics'?
Sara Davis Buechner: I don't think
that competitions are very thoughtfully run
but the process of preparing for them
is excellent professional experience for any young person.
<noteworthy>: After
competitions are over- how did you continue to keep your solo career
alive?
Sara Davis Buechner:
I call it "survival for musicians."
First, keep your sense of humor. Second,
be ready to play anything.Third, never
say no the first time.
Sara Davis Buechner: I always look
at everything in life as an opportunity. So
often when I was asked to play something
I had never played before
I always said yes first and then learned it fast
That is how I learned over 100 different piano concertos
MyAuditions: Do
have them all memorized?
Sara Davis Buechner: LOL.
I plead the 5th on that one!
Fotis: How
can somebody learn Rach 3 (Rachmaninov) fast?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Stay up all night. LOL.
Sara Davis Buechner:
First of all, that is one that I have not
played. If I was
asked to do it in a week, I would say no but if I
was asked to do it in 6 months I would say yes and knock my fingers off
learning it!
<noteworthy>: That
is great advise!! Were you always a good sight-reader or did this come
from learning so much?
Sara Davis Buechner:
I was a very poor sight-reader when
I went to college
but I quickly saw that each composer's music is like a separate foreign
language and so I spent a lot of time in the
practice room teaching myself how to sight-read by doing it
sometimes 2-3 hours per day. For
example, after
sight-reading a lot of Schubert dances and
learning the sonatas, sight-reading becomes
quicker and easier.
MyAuditions: Sara, how many hours
per day do you practice each day?
Sara Davis Buechner:
I set 4 hours as the standard now.
<noteworthy>: The
real question is, how many hours per day did you practice when you did
competitions?
Sara Davis Buechner:
When I was in my late teens and early 20s,
I was unemployed and did
8-10 hours of practice per day.
MyAuditions: Where
did you practice?
Sara Davis Buechner:
At Juilliard on the 5th floor.
I avoided the 4th floor grind.
<noteworthy>: Did
your knowledge of theory help you memorize the "100" quickly, or did it
just come from "bottom on the bench" time?
Sara Davis Buechner:
I would say both, but the knowledge of musical
structure is crucial to memory.
<artsopolis>: Do you have any advice
on how to get the attention of concert promoters, presenters and press
reviewers?
Sara Davis Buechner:
I think it is important to advertise your
appearances as best you can and make sure you
play your best. That is your best advertising.
<noteworthy>: Have
you had any hand problems - over practicing,
etc?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Fortunately no. But,
I have had students who have had hand problems
and it's a very important matter to the pianist
to always be aware of how your muscles feel while practicing.
At the first feeling of pain or stress in my joints,
I always quit for the day. I think, in
that way, I have avoided injury.
<noteworthy>: Did
you ever suffer from stage fright?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Constantly! I think
that you never get over the strangeness of walking unmasked
on to a platform in front of hundreds or thousands of people.
Somehow, you have to forget them all
and go about your business like they are not
there.
Fotis: What
is something goes wrong? For example,
you stop?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Nothing ever goes wrong and
I never stop. LOL
<pianopower>: From your website, I
see that you are represented by Carrie Feiner Enterprises. At what stage
do you think an agent or manager can be helpful to an aspiring pianist?
Sara Davis Buechner:
A thoughtful question. hmm.
I think the first thing for young professional pianists to have
is a very self-identified repertoire. That is
to say, a few recital programs and concertos
that you feel such a strong personal connection with
that you honestly feel no one can do better then you.
Sara Davis Buechner:
So, to some extent,
it's a level of self awareness and self confidence that needs to be
present before you look for a manager to
promote you.
<noteworthy>: Thank
you, that is very good advise!
MyAuditions: Is their a signature
piece that you are known for?
Sara Davis Buechner: I like to think
that I have more then just one signature piece
but the composers I most want to be remembered for playing are
Bach-Busoni, Mozart, Dvorak, Chopin, Busoni,
Martinu, Friml,
Gershwin and some selected contemporary composers
<noteworthy>: In
your opinion, do the better know music schools serve the pianist better
in the long run- due to the fact that the name is already well known?
Fotis: I
would add something to noteworthy's question... does a non-Julliard
trained pianist have any luck in the competitions?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Of course. I studied
with a lot of teachers who did not teach at a major conservatory.
<pianopower>: What
factors should be considered when selecting a major teacher?
Sara Davis Buechner:
I think for a pianist, the choice of your
major teacher is the most important one.
At Juilliard, I was surrounded by many very fine young pianists
and listening to their practicing was
an inspiration. But, it was my teachers who
most strongly influenced me.
Sara Davis Buechner: I think,
number one, how does that teacher perform.
I think that is the main consideration.
In effect, you are selecting someone to model yourself after
so if you respect someone as an artist,
your bound to be inspired by them.
Sara Davis Buechner: Even if they
are not an expert on the placement of the fourth finger!
LOL
<noteworthy>: What
do you think will revitalize classical music, or how can one get the
general public more interested in this great art?
Sara Davis Buechner:
That is a vitally important question.
Of course, the classical music business does not exist in a
vacuum. If the business of classical music is
to become more healthy, we must first see the
priorities of the general public change.
Sara Davis Buechner: I think that
elementary school teachers should make a
better salary then basketball players. My
feeling is that we do not have too many musicians, but that we have too
little audience. We need to start teaching the
children of our countries to love beauty, art,
and spirit from the earliest age.
Sara Davis Buechner:
When I lived in the
Bronx, (NYC) I use to imagine
if all the kids I saw
who were stuck on drugs, instead were
"stuck" on music. What
a wonderful world that would be!
<pianist>: Hi Ms. Buechner. I was a
student of Dr. Rust and Mr. Evan, I Played in your master class a year
and half and ago in Lynn. I just graduated in May. My friend told me
that you will be on this website to chat, so I wanted to say Hi.
Sara Davis Buechner:
Hello Pianist. Welcome!
<pianist>: Thanks.
I really enjoyed your master class.
MyAuditions:
Members, we are at the 8pm mark. Sara,
would you like to extend for a bit further?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Sure. Another 15
minutes would be fine with me.
<noteworthy>: Do
you think the classical recital format can change? For example, has
anyone tried to engage the audience, talking to them in between pieces?
Sara Davis Buechner:
The recital format has already changed
quite a bit and unless I play in a major
concert hall in a very large city, I now
usually expect to talk to my audience at some point, in solo recitals.
I think it is a good idea, and fun also, to tell the folks about
yourself and the music you are playing. It is
educational and people seem to enjoy it, and it is the kind of
thing that makes some people want to continue,
that is to say, go to classical music performances.
<pianopower>:
Do you receive e-mails sent to you through the "contact" page on your
website?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Yes. Often
and I always answer them!
Fotis: Do
you thing that record companies have played/can play a role?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Yes, I certainly do. Of
course CD's not only get sold in stores and
over the Internet, but they also get airplay on a lot of radio stations
throughout the world. So, once you have made
some recordings on a major label,
the opportunity for exposure is greater now then ever before.
<pianopower>: Do you think it is
possible to succeed as a concert pianist without getting attention
through major competitions? (If so, how?)
Sara Davis Buechner:
I think these days, with
more and more young musicians, there is
always an element of luck involved in terms of interested people hearing
you at the right time but you can exceed in
classical music despite competitions. Even in
a competition, you don't have to be a winner, like "American Idol".
;>)
Fotis: Any
pianists that you admire?
Sara Davis Buechner:
Let me think... I
guess my favorite living pianist today would be
Mitsuko Uchida. She strikes me as the
best kind of artist. Someone who follows their
musical star at all times, and has been celebrated for all the right
reasons.
MyAuditions:
Members, we have time for one last
question.
<pianopower>: Earlier in the chat, you talked about the
musical languages of different composers. How would you describe the
language of Chopin? (key features, etc.)
Sara Davis Buechner:
Oh boy, that is a good last question.
I guess I would describe the music of Chopin as pure song and
sensuous phrasing.
<noteworthy>: Thank
you for doing this. It has been most helpful!
<pianopower>: Thank you for sharing
your thoughts with us this evening.
MyAuditions: That is the last
question for this evenings inaugural celebrity chat.
MyAuditions would very much like to thank Sara for taking the
time this evening to chat with us. Please make sure that you
visit her Web site at
www.sarabuechner.com. A transcript of this
evening's chat will be made available to members in the coming days.
Look for the link on the celebrity chat main page if you wish to access
it.
MyAuditions:
Also, please make sure that you check our schedule for next month's
featured celebrity chat with Douglas Yeo,
Bass Trombonist with Boston Symphony
Orchestra. This event is scheduled for
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 at 7pm Eastern Time
MyAuditions: Thank you Sara. And
thank you members. This concludes this
evenings program. Good night.
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