He started small and became famous at a young age, but few people here know that he is an international star. Adam Giorgi is a 41-year-old pianist and composer.
The international piano competition was organized by the musician Ferenc Liszt in New York, at Carnegie Hall, and its goal was to bring the works of the world-famous Hungarian composer to as many people as possible.
The interview discusses, among other things, the following:
- What is your musical belief?
- How do you see the difference between light music and classical music?
- How much preparation is required to appear in the BL Finals,
- What are your experiences in the Ferenc Liszt International Piano Competition?
- How important is Ferenc Liszt’s work internationally?
The key is development
When was there a point in your life when you felt insecure about being a musician, when you couldn’t imagine whether you’d be able to do it for sixty years?
There is nothing wrong with sixty years. Fighting for things is the most beautiful task. Prettier and more fun than receiving it on a tray. The process is the most important thing. At the same time, uncertainty is also a normal feeling. We can never be completely sure of what we do and how we do it. One is not deterred by the fact that he has to do this for sixty years. Rather, the problem lies in how he asks himself about the reality of these sixty years. It could be creativity, finding a way, reward, or hard work. The moment one realizes that he should not become a victim of his life, everything becomes more beautiful.
If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?
To understand that happiness consists of continuous improvement and accepting our mistakes. If we don’t improve, we can’t be happy, but if we don’t accept our mistakes, we can’t be. I have some of these great facts. For example, the path to a better future is through education. All major conflicts arise from the fact that culturally we cannot understand each other, and we cannot forgive each other. When you lose what you had, you learn to appreciate what you have left.
Classical elements dominate his music, but elements of folk music also appear. To what extent do you feel restricted in these two areas?
Learning classical music is like learning any other art or profession. We will be able to appreciate details and learn the range of tools with which we can express our thoughts and emotions in music. We know that Picasso painted idealized portraits and landscapes in his teenage years. He was one of the most talented young artists of his time. There he invented himself, there he created something that no one had before him. What we know now, it was preceded by very serious professional preparation. It’s the same thing in music. Classical music teaches us a kind of sensitivity, we gain a toolbox with which we can tell our story more richly.
I also believe in the richness of detail in light music.
An international pop star spends weeks in the studio with the same precision and detail as a world-famous violinist or pianist prepares for his concerts. The goal is to be able to move towards another dimension, to a higher level, where we can communicate with the audience, after mastering the toolkit. After Pilinszky, it’s free: the important thing is not how many times a bird flaps its wings, but how it bends. The greatest artists of the twentieth century were united by the fact that they could all play extremely long bows.
Recently, it is often seen on Pest’s bulletin boards that “there is no serious music, there is only music”. What do you think, is it possible to reinterpret the concept of classical music in the mind of the average student?
I think it’s true that “there’s no serious music, there’s only music”, and I agree with that. When I go to concerts by other musicians, I talk to people in the audience, and the lay people often say “they can’t hear the difference.” Yes, everyone can hear the difference. Everyone hears the difference between excellent and great. They may not be able to articulate what makes something so powerful, but they can hear the richness of detail, the air between sounds. The general public, who are less familiar with classical music, can feel the quality. There is no difference between classical music and pop music. Music can take us back to our childhood, reveal our traumas, and help us rediscover ourselves.
By the way, is it important to educate people musically so that they can embrace a more classical piece of music better, even in a way that complements the musical story with the words, thus creating context?
I’ve always felt that music is a data stream in which as much information as possible arrives in the shortest possible time. Music begins where words end. With music, we can tell deeper and more complex stories than in any other way. Each work speaks differently to different parts of the audience. It can be interesting to talk about a piece of music, and perhaps it should be, but perhaps another philosophy of not talking at all and letting the music take over is perhaps more true.
The true tragedy of the fall
In 2012, he participated in the opening of the European Football Championship in Warsaw, and this year, in 2023, he participated in the opening of the Champions League Final in Istanbul. Was it just a strange combination of events that gave you the opportunity, or was it the fulfillment of a long-cherished dream?
In English, they say that it takes ten years of work to achieve overnight success. There is no such thing as sudden success. We have been planning the BL final for 11 years. Canceled three times. The fact that we believed in him and found people who also believed in him for his artistic mission is a big deal.
It’s not that someone is asked to play it, but it is discussed 11 years ago, an artistic concept is prepared, we work on it for eight years, and then the pandemic comes, because of which the show has to be cancelled. . Next year, the event will have to be moved from St. Petersburg to Paris, then the BL final will go to Istanbul, and the show will be on the table again. An artist must see that things do not happen overnight, and that humble work and perseverance always pay off in the long run. The saddest thing about failure is that people don’t know that they were a year, a day, or just a phone call away.
The real tragedy is when we give up and don’t know how close we are to success.
How important is such an event for a musician and pianist? How can you describe the feeling?
The young artist always dreams of bringing his music to as many people as possible. If this is the starting point, events like these are huge milestones. A pianist can play in front of 300,000 or 1.5 billion people at the highest moment of the BL final, when there are only a few minutes left before the starting whistle…
There’s a lot of emotion in the piano version of the Champions League anthem. I thought about the lives of the players, the moment they leave, and how they live their struggles. A lot of people were born in small villages, and they wanted to play football, so they chose it, joined a bigger team, won the local league, and from there they got to the Champions League, the finals of that league, and finally they are here, listening to the Champions League anthem. In the life of an artist, to be able to participate in this moment, to be able to add something to the life path of these excellent athletes, is a great honor and a huge artistic mission.
What are your next big career steps?
I really want to work on my own music and get it out to as many people as possible. Last year I wrote record material, and we’ll record it this fall. Hopefully this will be released this year. In addition, nurturing Ferenc Liszt’s legacy abroad is my primary mission.
Hungarians are at the forefront of the world
The Ferenc Liszt International Piano Competition was held today in New York at Carnegie Hall. How do you evaluate the event?
This is the most important Liszt Festival outside the country’s borders. In cases like this, In these difficult times We can speak without words, we can be proud of our values, of our being. Last Friday, it was a real pride to be Hungarian in New York. Three pianists selected from numerous applications were able to play Liszt’s works in the Great Hall of Carnegie Hall with one of the best orchestras in the world, the St. Luke’s Orchestra. As a result, Hungary received great attention from New York, the world’s leading power. Just as the Chopin Competition in Warsaw plays an important role in the national self-consciousness of Poles, it is important for us Hungarians to nurture Ferenc Liszt’s legacy. The movement and sensitivity of care at home was a great joy to me. I’m very grateful for that, because without them it wouldn’t have been possible.
How well are Ferenc Liszt’s works represented internationally?
From the beginning, I had the feeling that Liszt was relatively underrepresented abroad. The Ferenc Liszt International Piano Competition has dramatically rewritten this in me. In one of, if not the most important concert halls in the world, we are broadcasting the competition live on Friday evening at prime time to all parts of the world. As a result, Liszt received a focus unprecedented in history. We use every channel we can to bring his art to people, which is why this is the biggest and most important Liszt Festival ever. This is not just a concert or event, there has been no precedent for this. This year was the third competition, and at the beginning of next October we will be here again in Carnegie Hall.
How important is Ferenc Liszt’s legacy in your work? Are there other artists who influenced you?
For me, music is storytelling. If I had lived in Liszt’s time and been somewhat gifted, Liszt’s language would probably have been closest to me. While he was telling his stories, I wanted to tell mine. In addition, the artistry of jazz pianist Keith Gareth is also important to me, because he started out as a classical musician and then became one of the most important jazz pianists in the world. He improvises with instruments he learned through classical music and tells his ideas and stories. It is also important to highlight Christian Zimmermann, winner of the 1975 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, who for me treats the masterpieces of classical music in a way that is easy to comprehend and understand.
How well is Liszt’s legacy treated in Hungary?
At home, Liszt is wonderfully represented, and we appreciate his art. On the other hand, there are untapped opportunities in promoting Liszt’s art beyond borders. This is also why the Ferenc Liszt Piano Concert in New York is so important, as the focus is on Liszt at this time, and American audiences can hear his works live. However, there may be more international events in which Ferenc Liszt’s work is highlighted.
(Cover image: Pianist Adam Giorgi plays the piano during the 2022/23 Champions League final between FC Internazionale and Manchester City on June 10, 2023. Photo: Catherine Ifill/Getty Images)
