A young pianist who chases after Bach and successfully presented Goldberg Variations ——An Interview of Du Tianqi

Interviewer: Dan Zhaoyi

(The whole passage is from the Piano Art)

In June 2018, Du Tianqi's special concert of Bach's "Goldenberg Variations" (hereinafter referred to as "Goldenberg"), which was toured in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu, was scheduled to be held at the Music Hall of Chengdu Sichuan Conservatory of Music on June 9. After the lights dimmed, the screen on the right side of the stage slowly unfolded. A piece of video carefully planned and self-directed by Tianqi which is like the concert "Preface". Under the created atmosphere, a "marathon" performance started. The scene was exceptionally quiet, and all the adults and children, the insiders and the outsiders of this industry were so attracted by the magnets, and occasionally they couldn’t help but sobbing.... Tianqi's magical "Goldenberg" melody deeply touched everyone at the concert, and my heart was stirred up by waves, and tears welling up in my eyes. I thought about the extraordinary experience of his ten years of piano learning. ——boring and escaping, challenge and enjoyment, clear and ambiguous, persistence and struggle, frustration and expectation, decadent in the process of contradiction... all that is mixed with the joy and excitement that I experienced at the same time with him , expectation, disappointment, doubts, incomprehensibility, and vacillation give up, etc., mixed feelings come to mind...

I’ve heard countless concerts in my life, and I’ve been touched, and feeling the excitement, and having sleepless nights for many many times...but... now, I’m listening to the full-fledged music with tears that didn’t overflow and I rushed to the backstage and hugged Tianqi while crying. It was the only and very first time in my life!

That night, I wrote a testimonial to Tianqi: "Thanks to a real artist, musician, and pianist Du Tianqi, who brought us the words of the great Bach from the vast space to the humans on earth. He stood 'Philosophy and mathematics, science and art are all searching for the original force of the orderly operation of the world, and trying to describe it to the height of his, profound and full of humanity to the great Bach "Goldenberg Variations". He almost perfected the interpretation."

His music continually crashes into the soul, trembles the mind, and recalls the road that he once walked together (why his presentation can touch and evoke all this, I have no idea... but it’s always involuntarily touched by music. ......), suddenly a thought broke into my mind: If one day I leave the world, I will call - Tianqi, no matter where you are in the world, you have to come back to see me, play a piece that touched you for my soul, or the great Bach's "Goldenberg Variations" that touched me so deeply tonight!

In my opinion, you are a student who is truly better than me. Let me pay tribute to the great Bach on behalf of all the people who listened to the concert with great respect! Pay tribute to a true pianist who has not won any big prizes but has experienced various ups and downs and is working hard to be mature.

     That night, I couldn’t calm down for a long time. I wondered why I was like this. What made me uncharacteristically? The lingering doubts eventually found an exit: an interview with Du Tianqi, right! Conduct an interview with Tianqi, an interview... interview, an......interview...

Part I - The Bumpy Learning Experience

On the other day after the tour, I called Tianqi who had returned to Guiyang his hometown and told him that I wanted to interview him. He gladly accepted my interview and came to my place where I have stayed for rest in Lichuan, Hubei Province, surrounded by mountains and forests, and the air is fresh. After greetings, we sat down in a small studio and started our interview.

Dan Zhaoyi (hereafter referred to as Dan): "Tianqi, I think we will have a lot of content to cover in today's interview. After going abroad for a two-year postgraduate study, you have changed a lot. Maybe this is the true you. Or even you have experienced an extraordinary journey and returned to the original and true you. Before discussing Bach's "Goldenberg", can we review the life you have lived, especially the rough learning experience before going abroad?

Du Tianqi (hereinafter referred to as Du): Okay!

Dan: At the very beginning, how did you start to learn the piano? How did you feel about learning the piano?

Du: I started to learn the piano when I was 5 years old, but before, there was a tortuous road. Before learning the piano, my mother took me to learn to paint. Once the teacher asked us to draw nature, many children scored 100 points, while I was 98 points. The teacher said that "insects are painted larger than people, minus one point; people painted smaller than insects, and then minus another one point." The stereotyped thinking of the teacher disgusted me, and the interest in learning painting was immediately ruined.

Dan: What a pity! The interest of many children is run out of due to the teacher or parent who does not understand the child's mentality. Then, did you continue to study in the painting class?

Du: Of course not! After that I lost interest in painting. Once the painting class dismissed, I passed by the electronic piano class downstairs. My mother said: Do you want to change to learn the electronic keyboard?

It was a big class. My mother studied very hard to accompany me, but I always sneaked into sleep. To deal with this, my mother has to ask the keyboard teacher to come home to teach me. When the teacher came to my home for the first time and saw that my family was in good condition, she suggested "Let Tianqi change to learn the piano!" (Perhaps the teacher found the best reason to get rid of the child who loves to sleep). My parents did not hesitate to accept her suggestion, and then took me to ask Professor Chen Xueyu of the Music Department of Guizhou Normal University for advice. Professor Chen took my hand and looked at it, then shook his head and said: His hand is not only small but also soft like noodles! However, he looks smart. Then, he accepted to teach me. In this way, I officially embarked on the road to learning the piano.

At the beginning, learn the piano seemed very attractive to me. Soon after learning the piano, Teacher Chen found some things in my character. In order to further stimulate my interest, he began to arrange me to participate some suitable competitions. Unexpectedly, every time I can get the prize, and often the first place, so that Teacher Chen is very happy! Of course, it is also a great encouragement to me. My parents are also very proud of me and have confidence and expectation for me to learn the piano.

Dan: At that time, you won many awards. Did this make you fall in love with the piano?

Du: Actually not! I was born in the year of monkey, so I am very active. I have been famous for being active, making friends, being a monitor and fighting with my classmates, and playing tricks on everyone since I was in kindergarten. There is basically no quiet moment. The original intention of my parents to send me to study art is to make me cultivate my sentiments and become quieter. At that time, it was an unbearable thing to calm down and sit there to play the piano. I felt like a punishment. Therefore, every day when I went to practice the piano, I went to hide and seek with my mother, and made her chasing after me with sweat. She was so angry that I was beat up by her and after that I just sat on the bench quietly. However, as long as the piano is practiced, the "game" with my mother, I mean “hide and seek” took place repeatedly... (lol, we laughed at the same time), therefore, I got a lot of beat for playing the piano!

Dan: Since you feel that practicing the piano is so painful and boring, why didn't you give up?

Du: looking back, I feel I had a very contradictory mentality. I was born to enjoy the feeling of being on the stage, enjoying everyone's gaze and applause, and playing the piano gave me way more attention than I got the first place in exams or fight with others. Therefore, although I was naughty, I don’t want to give up. What's more important is that my mother is obsessed with my piano. Without her persistence and strict training (I have to make up for the delay in the toilet), I would have definitely given up.

Dan: I also heard that you think that learning culture is too easy. In order to challenge yourself, you chose to learn the piano that is difficult to learn as a professional. Is this true?

Du: Nope. When I was a child, my exam scores in school have been very good, and I especially like reading books, because I have already developed my good study habits at that time. Everything has to be understood thoroughly, and the knowledge structure established through reading have greatly helped my study and later music learning. The "challenge to myself" thing is overstated. In the subconscious, the so-called "challenge" is more like an idea that I want to be different from other students around me.

I remember when I was studying at a famous middle school in Guiyang in the first grade (at that time, I hadn’t studied piano since I came back from Shenzhen). One day, the whole school did morning exercises. I suddenly saw myself wearing the same uniform with more than 1,000 students. Listening to the same music, doing the same movements... I felt strange sigh in an instant, and the similarity of "one model" made me feel scared - the "average plain people" who completely lose their personality. So I decided to resume practicing the piano that day, even if I lived in the school and I had less time and poorer condition to learn piano given the hard weather. But compared to be like everyone else who is drowned in the same, playing the piano made me grasp the "straw" that leads to a higher, farther, wider sky. From this, I found the motivation that I must persist!

Dan: Ah! How old were you at that time?

Du: 12 or 13 years old.

Dan: At such a young age, you had this exceptional idea so that you are indeed a thoughtful child! Tian Qi, your words remind me of the energetic and smart you who entered the Shenzhen Art School for the first time. You had excellent academic achievements and you have the love of music, playing the piano well and you are very attractive. I remember you always enjoy everyone's appreciation when performing on stage. The very impressed memory is that you participated in a concert in that semester of the art school, and you wore a white tuxedo on the stage to play Vladi Ganovov's "Humores que", praised by the teachers and students on the scene, and everyone was curiously asking where this kid from who is so aura is. At the time, I was really happy - I thought, I had a good seed! How did you feel when you moved to Shenzhen and how do you feel about Shenzhen Art School?

Du: The days when I first entered the Shenzhen Art School were not only the happiest time of my teenage years, but also a peak in my piano career. Before moving to Shenzhen, I have won many awards in several competitions at home and abroad. Guiyang's learning environment and teaching conditions can no longer satisfy me. So when I first arrived in Shenzhen, I became your student and had a good atmosphere. I was as free and happy as a fish that swims in a bigger pond. However, I can feel that my mother was not very happy for leaving our hometown to move to an unfamiliar environment. I can feel some pressure from it. However, this did not affect the joy of coming to the most appropriate place at the most appropriate time when I first arrived in Shenzhen. The excellent self-awareness and the external view of me have brought me great satisfaction. It made me try to find fun in practicing the piano, to make things that seem boring interesting, to make the interesting things richer, and to greatly stimulate my potential.

Dan: I already knew that you have great thoughts and ambitions. And you hope to be different. I opened a blog on the Internet in my teens and wrote many articles on China's education system. When you were that young, why did you think about such profound problems?

Du: I have had doubts. Because I read a lot of books, I can feel vaguely at that time. Maybe there is no obstacle to the humanities between philosophy and literature, painting and music. On the contrary, all the statements are based on the same language, whether abstract or figurative. Perhaps this is just an intuition and has not risen to theoretical cognition. I am thinking maybe the IQ of human beings is only one factor, and the more effective use of IQ talents through continuous learning and broadening the knowledge structure is the more important factor. These two factors determine how far the world can be explored on the road of learning and research, and how far you can go.

Dan: Indeed, what you showed us at that time was a child who was full of talent and energy. There is another thing that is deeply memorable. Shortly after you entered school, I arranged two pieces of Clementi's Etudes: No. 1, 2 for consolidating your foundation. Not only did you finish the course well technically, but you also played in a lively and musical manner. Later, I learned that you wrote notes of understanding and sentiment for these two Etudes, and practiced them which even can be seen as an exercise song for purely mechanical muscle training. You added lively imaginative art to them. (Unfortunately those words are not retained). Besides, your Chinese teacher Wang Xiaohong came to us with joy and said that you wrote a poem in the composition for the musical piece of Grieg's "Ode to Spring". She praised your poems is very artistic, emotional and poetic. I am very surprised that an eleven or twelve-year-old child has such active and active thinking and artistic imagination. Can you talk about how did you naturally connect professional and cultural studies so closely, and what kind of initiative did you have to express your imagery in words?

Du: The memory of Clementi and the Ode to Spring is still fresh. As I said before, when I came to a new environment, I tried to find fun in the music while practicing the piano, and happy to volatilize my own potential, and these are the knowledge structures and learning methods have been developed that combined with my potential since my childhood. The reason why I can write interesting piano notes is because I saw the shape of the music in those songs, maybe it was the first time that I saw the shape of music in that piece and that was the very first time that I had senses on music other than hearing. (I later saw this shape in Bach’s music, and this shape has meaning in his music.) Perhaps I realized at the time that the purpose of music (such as the meaning of Etude technical training) is not single or unique. And I realized perhaps all purposeful art work can be interpreted and reconstructed from the wholesome music point of view. There must have been no such theory at the time, but perhaps there was such an intuition. It is a pity that the love, enthusiasm and yearning for the music, and the love of the piano which have just begun to burn were extinguished in the following holiday...

Dan: What made you didn’t come back to school? What happened when you were in Guiyang that year? I have not been able to know the real situation. Now that you have found yourself again, I want to know what has shaken your heart and the enthusiasm of learning the piano interrupting your good learning state.

Du: I went home on vacation and I invited several friends to home. Just when my mother received your call and asked about my piano learning at home, then she loudly shouted upstairs: "Du Tianqi, you don't practice the piano, don't you want to go back to Shenzhen to study!" I felt ashamed since she yelled at me in front of my friends and I was very angry and screamed back: "I don’t care, if I don’t go back to Shenzhen I will be fine!" Parents mistakenly interpreted this sentence as "I don't want to go back to Shenzhen". My parents interpreted this sentence as I don’t want to go back to Shenzhen and told you directly. I don’t know how you communicated with them at that time, and I only know they quickly arranged me to study in Guiyang.

Dan: Does this little thing let you give up the piano? This is not like you, was there any other reason?

Du: From an objective point of view, there were indeed many factors. First of all, my mother has deliberately misunderstood me, because from her feelings she can't stand the lonely life in Shenzhen, and she didn't want to go to Shenzhen anymore. Secondly, my academic achievements were good, and they hope that I will continue to do so and be admitted to a prestigious school, studying the "practical" profession to inherit the family business; thirdly, with my children nature, it was much easier for me to stay in my hometown than go to Shenzhen to study piano so I obeyed their arrangement.

I can't judge whether the decision is right or wrong, but it does influence my life profoundly. Of course, I did not return to Shenzhen was also related to the great pain I went through half six months later.

Dan: You just said that you suffered in the year you returning to Guiyang, what happened?

Du: In the one and a half years when I went back, I faced the death of my grandfather and grandmother. This deeply affected my life for a whole ten years, until I started to invest in Bach's music, which made me gradually calm down, relieved, and turned better.

After returning to Guiyang, a Mid-Autumn Festival, Grandpa died of heart disease at home. My time with my grandfather was not much, and I was not very emotional. But witnessed his passing away - a fresh life suddenly turned into a cold body, let a child realize the existence of death for the first time!

Grandpa left, and my grandmother’s incomparable deep feelings became more precious. Grandma is the one who makes me really feel love! She will kindly call my nickname, give me a hug of love and a warm touch, never dares to express her love and miss to me... This kind of true love is what I can’t experience elsewhere and it is different from my parents’ strict love for pushing me to succeed. At this time, I cherish the time with my grandmother. In that six months, we worked out together, went to the supermarket, chatted, and talked about my future... But half a year later, I suddenly learned that she was suffering from cancer! I was not told until the last week of her life.

On the morning of my grandmother's death, I rushed to the hospital from school and saw all the adults looking at me. They were all waiting for me. Because the whole family knows that I have great emotion bonds with my grandmother, they are waiting for me to decide whether to take off the ventilator that the grandmother relied on to maintain her life. I said no, we must insist! I also went to comfort the crying family and told them that my grandmother would be fine... But when I saw the grandmother in the ICU bed full of tubes in the evening, in addition to the vital signs still on the instrument, she was unconscious about everything in the outside world completely, after a period of extreme contradictions, in order to relieve the pain of my grandmother, I made up my mind when I got out of the ward, quietly and hard to spit out the heavy three words: "Pull tubes out!"

......

Grandma just left after pulling out the tubes!

I didn't cry in the whole process of handling the funeral. I didn't think about the pain and influence that would have caused to me at the age of 14. So I didn't have tears that day, so I remembered it for the next ten years. I will still burst into tears, or crying uncontrollably. After more than ten years, I often see her in my dreams, and I will wake up crying... Maybe everyone regards me as a man in my family. This is the inheritance of responsibility. For a child, grandmother's grandson, this is a forever unbearable burden.

The next decade was a chaos in my life. After facing "death", my heart has a huge black hole. In order to pin and fill, I began to read books on theology, philosophy, and psychology, hoping to find some rational explanations to heal the wounds. But in fact I failed. On the one hand, I want to get rid of the shadows, but on the other hand, I can't help myself but continuing to struggle in the black hole of confusion, gloom and pain.

......

(a long period of silence)

Dan: After that, do you remember how you returned to the Shenzhen Art School?

Du: Of course! I will not forget anything I experienced during that turbulent period.

A few months after my grandmother passed away, you took several students to perform in Guiyang. It was a donation performance for the children of migrant workers. When you saw me and warmly invited me and said: "Tianqi, could you present a performance as a local piano boy?" I had been away from stage for a long time, and I was very grateful that you still cherish me. I enjoyed the thrill of being on the stage, so I accepted the invitation and participated in the "Humores que" which is my favorite piece.

It was just that performance that re-sparked my love on piano and returned to the art school. However, even I didn’t realize that I haven’t get rid of the gloom. Given the pain in my soul, I can’t concentrate on practicing the piano enthusiastically, relaxed and motivated to explore potential as I did before.

I often imagine that if I stayed in Shenzhen for the rest of the year, instead of staying in Guiyang for a year and a half, I lost my time to make music. And if I could avoid the encounters during that period, perhaps the road afterwards could be more stable, brighter, and fulfilling. If so, maybe I have already become a pianist, a musician who plays the piano as a fun in life? Of course, this assumption is the "Arabian Nights" which is a forever unknown results!

  Dan: Tian Qi, I really didn't understand what you have hidden in your heart at that time since you were so calm that we can't peep into your mind. Everything is going according to normalcy. You can still finish your studies, but you didn't have the spirituality as the past, and there was no spark of that spirituality. At that time, I was also puzzled and thought what made this child change?

    Du: Yes, I didn’t have thoughts or desire to study music and express myself. My life was like a muddy mud, and it was difficult to move forward. To make matters worse, after half a year of high-intensity training, you took me to Japan to participate in the Asian Chopin International Piano Competition. I suddenly missed the score on the stage and made serious mistakes! It let me taste the failure for the first time in my life. I used to think that I was outstanding in the previous piano performance. I have never seen the scenery of the "low valley". The shadow of defeat made me more indulgent...

Dan: Wow! This is terrible. How can such a serious situation occur, and people around you are completely ignorant? ! At that time, your mother was with you, did anyone at your family know?

Du: No one knows! Then I entered the youth rebellious period, began to drink, drive, absent, strong love and breakup, against everyone in life. At the same time, I read philosophy, psychology, philosophical notes and psychology case analysis. The whole me became a contradiction! I hope to try to cure myself in the contradiction, and then go forward. However, in the impression, I have spent the entire high school stage so entangled.

Dan: After listening to these situations, I am very self-blaming for didn’t care about you enough. You were so helpless and everyone around you is to be blamed! Fortunately, from the perspective of the entire life journey, you have not really deviated from the basic direction and track, and finally returned to the right path!

Du: I am very grateful to you since you have never given up on me and have led me to learn and progress, and you took me to participate in some competitions and performances. Although the results were not satisfying, at least in front of people, on the surface, I am almost in normal status. Given this situation, it is already a great fortunate for not falling down and going through everything.

Dan: After entering the university, your study and thoughts have changed even more. With my observation and feelings, your college career is still spent in a kind of confusion, contradiction and turmoil, right?

Du: Actually, I regretted the first day I entered the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. On the one hand, the inner desire is to go to a place where the atmosphere is better; on the other hand, I was still suffering from the inability to solve the pains and contradictions lingering in my heart. As a result, I resisted the environment, atmosphere, courses, etc. of the university life. I was unwilling to accept the reality but I have no courage to make changes, and were in the impetuous environment of the whole society. I was influenced by some vicious values so that I wanted to disregard everything and change my status quo by chasing fame and fortune.

Dan: No wonder, from the beginning of junior year, I felt that you were trying to do some research on your future destination. At that time, you often asked for leaves to participate in some activities, tell me what you were busy with during that time?

Du: As I said before, I was trying to get some good things to get rid of my situation. I tried to do some businesses, looking for a brokerage company to hype, socialize, and participate in various activities, such as going to commercial performances for brands, and even going to Beijing "Bird's Nest" performances. Objectively speaking, some things done at the commercial level are still effective. But I think this is still not what I want, so I am more aggressive to invest in business. At that time, I was not only lacking theoretical guidance, but also lacking rational thinking, and even less sincere in doing business, so I must eventually fail. Looking back, this result is a fluke for me, and it has become my luck. If it were successful, my life might have developed to another unknown abyss.

Here, I want to thank my father, no matter what I want to try, encountering whatever failures, he has no blame and always gets my back encouraging me. It is him who gives me the greatest tolerance for my ignorance and impulsive behavior!

Dan: Actually, Tianqi, you are a very lucky person, always have the love of your parents, you should be grateful to them.

The business has failed. You have also completed the journey of the university in confusion. It has come to a turning point in life. What made you suddenly decide to go to the United States for postgraduate study at this vital turning point? You know, I was surprised when I learned that you have this intention! I hope that you can talk about the real experience, and there should be nothing to hide when it comes to this stage.

Du: At the year of my graduation, I made a girlfriend. She accompanied me through the confusion of graduation, the failure of business (the three restaurants I opened at the time were bankrupted), and the hard time. Inadvertently she took me to the place where I should go - I sent my sister and her to go to school and went to the United States together. My father had hoped that I could go abroad to study, but I refused because of rebellion and lack of courage. In the state of confusion at that time, in order to get rid of the life on the verge of collapse, I decided to stay in the United States to continue studying.

Dan: The time was so limited and you need to prepare for the TOFEL and professional test tracks, could you make it?

Du: After making the decision to continue studying in the United States, I called my father and he did not hesitate to express his support. When I flew back to Beijing for the transfer, I called you and I felt that you were very surprised and very excited and said "Well, come back, I will help you!" I remember from September 20th to December 1st, for more than two months, I had stayed at home, worked hard to make up for English, practice piano, and finally I not only passed the TOEFL test pass, but I was admitted by the New England Conservatory.

Once again, at this critical moment, you used your experience and wisdom to grasp the direction and quality of the tracks. On the way back to the right path, you have given me the power to overcome myself and realize the pursuit of my true musical ideals. In fact, this kind of support, help and teaching has always been given to me by you and professor Gao for many years, so that I can regain my strong desire to pursue my dreams when I was in the lowest state!

Dan: It seems that the appearance of your girlfriend and her "inadvertently take you where you should go" helped you get rid of the dilemma of slumbering after graduation, and helped you blaze a path in your life. What a great turning point!

Tianqi, let us talk about the sunshine study life after you getting rid of the confusing dark night!

Du: I came to the United States and entered the New England Conservatory. I started a new, sunny life. However, the beginning of the school is not very smooth. Professor Chodos, a professional teacher assigned to me, had just stopped class because of a fall, and the first semester was taught by a substitute teacher. Since the substitute teacher does not have long-term planning and consideration, he can only rely on his own impromptu performance. Everything has two sides, no one plans for me, so I can freely choose the content of learning. What to learn? At this time, some memories of the past flashed in my mind... I used to listen to Bach when I was a child. His Goldenberg Variations is a song that I especially like to listen to. I don’t know why those music can always comfort me when I am bored. During my preparation for the exam, I found the score of Goldenberg to try to practice, but it was too difficult to play a few sounds and turn a few pages, so I gave up. At this time, I once again thought of Bach and his "Goldenberg Variations".

When I picked up the score again and sat in front of the piano, I didn't realize that when I played Aria's first G sound and was immersed in Bach music, I was finally led to where I should be. The incomprehensible knot and the painful glaciers lingering in my heart for many years have started to melt since then...

Part II - Chasing Bach, Meeting Bach, and bringing new life changes

Dan: Tian Qi, you entered the New England Conservatory of Music in the United States. To some extent, it was not your deliberate choice, but just like the chance of accidental touch, it is God's meaning. When you picked up Bach "Goldenberg" again, you are far from "putting a few sounds and turning a few pages too hard" to put it down, but "immerse the first G sound and immerse yourself in In Bach's music”. You feel that you are led to where you should be, erasing a "heart knot" and a "glacier" is melting. Your admired and loved Bach music will heal your mental and emotional pain. Bringing your new life turn is really significant! Let’s talk about how you formally started to learn Goldenberg!

Du: When I officially started studying this masterpiece, the first difficult I encountered was reading and memorizing the score. Since the loss of the competition in Japan due to forgetting the score, I have completely abandoned the previous memorizing method of passively relying on finger movements, and started to practice a harder, but more reliable method, that is, using the brain to memorize the score while reading it. From the beginning of September to the end of November, it took me more than three months to roughly memorize it for the first time. However, during this period, I had not started to do other works other than memorizing it. When I practiced, I did not have the time to adopt the principle you told me which is “using your brain and ears” that you have always asked us to follow. Therefore, many of these variations are unclear and not fully understood.

When I realized that, I began to try to sort out the lines, and gradually found the beauty of the pursuit among "Cannon" variations; found the three-based form of "Goldenberg"; found that Cannon can be developed to nine degrees. ..... This kind of wisdom has the magic power like a magnetic field, which attracts me to continue to explore, let me realize that all the work done in the works of the genius Bach is ingeniously designed. It takes courage and perseverance to understand and recognize it!

After one semester, I successfully transferred to Professor Meng-Chieh Liu to study. I didn't dare to play "Goldenberg" to him. He also had other plans for me, including exam tracks that must be studied according to school regulations. So the homework I faced was: Schumann Symphony Etude, Chopin's four narratives and some Mozart sonatas. Under the pressure of heavy tracks, I privately continued to study and explore Goldenberg...

Dan: Under such a great academic pressure, you can "work privately" to study and study this masterpiece, is it possible? What is the opportunity for you to finally decide to perform "Goldenberg"?

Du: There are a few things that have become a key factor in my decision to practice Goldenberg and present it at a concert.

The first thing is that just after studying with Professor Liu Mengjie, I participated in the school's honor competition (the competition between the students in the university). The competition was set up as a group. I participated in the first narrative of Chopin. group. I have been playing this piece for many years. It is a familiar experience. After studying Bach, I reanalyzed and dealt with it. I discovered many harmonies that I didn't notice and hear, and tried my best to construct a more stereo sound. But I did not enter the second round. I was puzzled and asked Mr. Liu. He said, "Your music is not artistic. There is only the shadow of your own learning. You need to listen to the opera, go to the dance, and listen to different instruments." After thinking about it, I decided not to play the works I didn't like anymore because there was nothing I wanted. During that time, I listened to a concert by Ma Youyou, and deeply touched by the moving musicality of the Algao Violin Concerto he played, but I don't think I am a musician like Ma Youyou.     The other one is that I returned to China that summer. I really want to let you to listen to me presenting Goldenberg. After I contacted you, I came to your temporary residence in Su Ma Dang and played "Goldenberg" to you. .

Dan: Yes! I remember that after listening to you, I was very surprised.

Du: Right! You said at the time: "I am surprised that you can learn such a song, and I think that you are playing very well with Bach's style" and suggested that: "If you graduate from graduate school next year, you should start a concert presenting Goldenberg returning to China!” I was encouraged. I also clearly remember that when I was in junior high school, I played Bach’s C tone Fuge and I was praised by you. “In all the students I have taught to study this fugue, you are the best, the voice is the clearest." This may be related to my talent and love for Bach. This time I received your approval and encouragement, and I began to believe that I have the ability to play Goldenberg.

In addition, the third reason: in the summer of that year, I read an article about Canon, "What is Cannon?" on an official Wechat account for knowledge. The video in the article cites the animation of Canadian animator Roman McLaren, and shows the relationship between Canon and the Mobius ring with the crab Cannon in The Dedication of Music. This greatly inspired me. I felt that the magic of the hidden wisdom in Bach's works is very compatible with many great reflections in history. They have a concrete presentation in front of my eyes, which triggered my interest to understand Goldenberg comprehensively!

When I devoted myself to the study of Goldenberg, my girlfriend broke up with me. Although I am gradually getting out of the haze after studying Goldenberg, the inner hollows are not instantly smoothed out, let alone expressing love and letting others feel love. This incident has become the most painful thing that I have experienced. When we were together, I unloaded all the armor and pinned everything on this relationship. After breaking up, I faced the real world nakedly and needed to wear on defenses one by one and restored psychological defense. After that, I decided not to pin myself on any feelings or any person that I can't control. I want to rely on myself and stick to the journey of chasing Bach and wisdom, and I resolutely decided: I will present "Goldenberg" and start my own solo concert!

Dan: It has been a long way that you’ve been through! Tian Qi, after listening to your successful interpretation of Bach’s masterpiece as a young pianist, many piano teachers in the industry are very much looking forward to knowing how you really get into the music. I hope that you can share some true stories you have experienced in the process of studying and research, and share your most inspired insights and gains.

Du: From the summer vacation of 2017 to the summer vacation of 2018, it is a year when I studied Bach seriously, and it is also a year to truly fill my inside black hole. In the two years of studying in the United States, through my study at school and my feelings about the atmosphere, I realized that piano is not an isolated skill. It is the carrier of music. Music is a kind of art. Art is a profound human science. It carries the past lineage and judgment of the future, as well as the philosophical thinking of the present world, and is one of the languages ​​that attempts to describe the world. Therefore, if you want to interpret Bach and his works, you must have an understanding of the world behind him.

Dan: What did you do when exploring the world behind Bach?

Du: First of all, I have a general understanding of his life through different versions of Bach's biography, and then read some bibliography and literature on Bach, such as Schweitzer's "On Bach", Christoph Wolff's "The Learned Musician" (No Chinese), Mr. Zhao Xiaosheng's early papers on Bach and 12-tone series have a crucial influence on my later progress and sublimation of Goldenberg. There are also books related to Bach and the art, such as "GEB" (note: "G" refers to mathematical logic expert Gödel; "E" refers to the outstanding contemporary painter Escher; "B" refers to the most prestigious classical music master Bach. The book points out that there is an eternal golden belt that connects the common laws of mathematical logic, painting, music and other fields, which forms the basis of artificial intelligence and life genetic mechanism, deeply connecting Bach's music with nature), "150 years of Modern Art" (including nearly 100 artists and their masterpieces, combing the origins of more than 20 modern art schools), Gould's biography With the collection of essays, it is also of great significance for the construction of the music world composed of tonality and atonality in my mind, as well as understanding music, knowing art, and finally returning to thinking about Bach.

Dan: In addition to the materials in the books and the literature, how did you learn about Bach?

Du: In the two-year postgraduate study in the United States, in addition to the compulsory music history and music theory classes, I also focused on a number of courses on Bach and Baroque music. "Music History Class", from the Middle Ages to modern music, and even African music, I had a certain degree of knowledge about them. I believe that the music of any period can not be viewed in isolation, but it should be put into the corresponding history, judged according to the cause and effect. "Music Theory Course", let me not only fill in the basic knowledge that was lacking before, but also let me systematically understand Schoenberg's theory; other techniques such as Baroque playing style, creative music and fugue, Hunter style research, Courses such as organ and vocal music have built a ladder for me to understand Bach music more comprehensively.

Dan: It seems that you have established a very good self-directed learning and research ability. It is very good! From the outside guidance, what kind of help and guidance did Professor Liu give you in the process of studying Bach "Goldenberg"?

Du: Professor Liu’s three key instructions are an indispensable part of my research on Bach: The first instruction is that I played the Italian Concerto. He told me: all the syntax, articulation, etc. have sources. They are not based on the scores or can be drawn conclusions according to the routine. And sometimes you even need to study the vocal skills, bowing of stringed instruments, etc., in order to come up with a solution. This pointed out a precise direction for my study;

The second instruction was when he gave me several variations in Goldenberg. He did not give an evaluation immediately after I finished playing, but told me the source and characteristics of expressionism. At the beginning, I was very surprised that he wanted to talk about this. After listening to it, I realized that it was because I had listened to too many Gould recordings before, and subconsciously imitated him. And Gould played Bach's expressive style. He disrupted the traditional relationship in Bach's music and reprocessed it according to his own feelings for each note, so there are so many different ways of playing and harmony. It is exactly the same as the expression of expressionism to amplify inner feelings and ignore real shapes. Professor Liu did not mention Gould's name in the whole process. In fact, he wanted to tell me that playing the piano needs to be artistically original. We need to consciously learn, think, and summarize our independent viewpoints and styles. We should not have a blind overall imitation of any artist.

The third instruction was before the performance, I asked professor Liu for a complete, perfect, and foolproof performance as a performer. (The loss in Japan has always been my psychological obstacle. Every time I go to the stage, I always feel worried, and therefore always I’m nervous.) He told me to establish a connection between the brain and the sound, not the fingers and the keyboard. All the music, not the hand popped up, was heard, but it was already in my mind before playing. This has benefited me a lot. In fact, you also guide us in this way, such as learning the contrast of music - when the disconnection changes, you also asked us to establish the imagination of music and sound changes in the brain beforehand. Unfortunately, I was not in the state at the time, but now I think they are the same!

Dan: After listening to you, I believe that these sentiments will also help you study the works of other composers!

Piano performance is a practical performance art. Any theoretical research must be practiced through hard training, so that it can be presented to the audience with perfect performance. So what kind of experience can you share with us during the practice?

Du: I used strong purpose to arrange the daily piano practice. For example, I have to deal with the distinction of the three parts of the variation today. This week, I will separately propose each line of the ten variations to memorize separately; this month I will recreate and finely construct the structure of the whole song...

It’s like repairing a building, watering the cement one day, sticking the curtain wall someday, or even discovering that the drawings are wrong on a certain day, need to be overthrown and rebuilt... When I need to let all of this music grow in my brain, I have a demand for music impression. Naturally, in order to achieve the impression in the brain, the hand, the skill will do the corresponding coordination, adjustment and training. Therefore, I can maintain a high quality overall in the later performances, not simply pursuing the result of sound quality or function relaxation, but pursuing the impression of music in the brain. When the perfect appearance of the three-part and four-voice polyphonic alignment allows the brain to secrete dopamine and gain intracranial pleasure, practicing the piano becomes training the brain, not just a practice of fingers. This process taught me to really listen to my own sound. It was not heard by the ear after the notes were popped, but through the complete music and sound established in advance in the brain to guide and adjust the playing on the hand. So, naturally, I will pay attention to what kind of sound I am playing and find out whether it is what I want to hear in my brain!

Dan: For how to practice the piano, what you just talked about is the truth of "using the brain and ears." I noticed that you said, "Learn to really listen to your own piano sounds, not to hear the sounds of your ears, but to complete the music and sounds established in advance through the brain to guide and adjust the playing on your hands." It proves the paramount importance of brain listening to the quality and effectiveness of the performance.

Du: Indeed, the reflection in life is another important way for me to approach Bach. I listened to Goldenberg by the sea, in the snowy snow, on the train, on the plane, on the Charles River in Boston, in the high-rise jungles of New York... I find the liveliness of it in every beautiful scene in the real world.

Dan: After listening to your story, I am attracted by these fresh and lively stories, most of which are purely personal perceptions and cognitions after your experience. I think it is very valuable. I believe that it is also for people who love music and especially for people who love Bach music to refer to.

Now, let's go back and take a look at your inner emotional changes. I want to know, when you chase Bach music, when did you find yourself starting to be cured?

Du: It was a late night this year that I really feel the relief. That night, I was reading Mr. Zhu Xiaomei's experience and biography. I learned that she had traveled to the United States and came to Boston. She unexpectedly found the biography of Goldenberg when she was practicing piano in a friend's garage. And she was obsessed with Bach. Later she was admitted to the New England Conservatory of Music and studied with Mr. Chodos. This story suddenly touched my most sensitive nerve, causing a strong feeling and my tears. Because I came to the United States after going through the rough and pain, and then came to Boston and the New England Conservatory to follow Mr. Chodos. At the end of day, I decided to devote my whole life to playing Bach music and become a fellow traveler who is obsessed with Bach... All this is a coincidence! When I learned that a well-respected predecessor was in the same place decades ago, and was unconsciously led to take this road, I found everything happens for a reason and I had been amazed by the magic of the world order! At that moment, I felt that the melting glaciers turned into a clear spring in the mountains, moisturizing all the films of my previous life, and all the pain was redeemed.

Dan: This is really your most touching and insightful reflection. For a person who is so thought-provoking and has experienced emotional suffering, this is the most precious treasure of life! I believe that it is the inexhaustible energy of these spiritual wealth that expands the potential of your genius life. You made this one - just the first milestone. Having said that, it seems that it can be closed, but we still have some interesting questions, can we continue?

Du: Of course!

Dan: You made a video before the concert. I heard that it is entirely planned and directed by you. I think this is a complete set with Bach, with Goldenberg, together with the concert. Why did you bring up this thinking or plan? Do you want to tell the audience what to expect from this video before the performance begins?

Du: The production of the video has two main purposes: one is to express the art as another form besides music, and the other is to make some functional popularity of Bach music to the audience before the concert begins. As early as the second year of college, I tried to shoot a short film for the first time. At that time, I was an avid Floyd advocate, and I took an experimental short film called "Ribiduo's Fantasy", although it seems a little childish now. But it is indeed the bud of an artistic attempt. Later, an accidental encounter made me ignite the idea of ​​shooting a video. It was in Boston. One of my science and engineering friends came to the school piano room because of curiosity and listened to me practicing the piano. He didn’t know anything about classical music. I was afraid that he was bored. I told him a lot about Bach, and then he listened to "Goldenburg" for two or three hours. Early the next morning, I received a WeChat from him. He said that after listening to my piano practice last night, he went home and listened to a lot of Bach's music. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep. I was inspired and thought that if I can introduce Bach and his music to the audience before the concert, it may be helpful for everyone to listen to. The video clip is undoubtedly the best way to carry this kind of intent, and I started to make it.

Dan: Before the start of your entire tour, the first time I saw your video, I got a rough idea of ​​what you would like to play Goldenberg, because the video reveals some of your attitudes and Cognition with profound meaning. I also found some ingenuity in your video. For example, the narration of the three different genders and people of different ages implies the meaning of polyphony. For example, your selection, illustration, etc., can you specifically talk about it?

Du: In the video production, my attitude in the whole process is to pursue the most realistic expression in my heart. I think that if the functionality of the short film is fully taken care of, it is not so important that whether these expressions can be understood by the audience. In fact, the same is true when playing "Goldenberg". Many things that you spent a lot of time designing and attention are almost impossible for the audience to notice or understand at the very first time, but I am not willing to deliberately make things that can be easily understood by everyone. I believe that even the most realistic expression can be passed on to the audience in the subconscious. Like this short film, I pay most attention to functionality and ritual. The shallower content is about introducing Bach, introducing Goldenberg and some of my understanding of them, and the deeper content is expressing rituals sense.

For example, the "polyphonic narration" you just mentioned is the six groups of narrations read by the voices of women, children and me (men) on the basis of three. Each voice tells different categories of content, which appear one after another. Sometimes they overlap each other for the sense of rhythm, but on the whole, all the voices telling the same story, just like the polyphony. Regarding the design of the video screen, I used the three different performance scenes to divide the whole story into three sections. When editing some of the shots, I even measured the adjustment on the computer screen with a ruler requiring absolute averaging and symmetry. These thoughts are hard to be captured by the audience, but abstractly make most people feel beautiful and comfortable. 

Dan: I admire you for having such extensive knowledge to support such extraordinary psychological construction, including what you foresee, people can or cannot understand. I also want to know more about your process of presenting Goldenberg. What do you think? What kind of emotional experience or expression? What design has been done technically? What is your greatest achievement in the process of second-time creation?

Du: Actually, when I was playing on stage, I devoted myself to the memory and follow-up of the sound. There was no concrete picture in my mind. And (at the time of performance) emotions are neglected, no excitement, no fear, only in the last Aria in Beijing to play the end of the Aria, I am full of gratitude, grateful to all the happiness that Bach brought me. In addition, the one and a half hours on the stage is as fast as ten minutes for me. After the story is finished, I will leave, so I can't pay attention to the technique of my hand. In fact, these have to go through a process of “melting”, turning all thoughts, emotions, and techniques into the imagination of the brain. Of course, this process is achieved through continuous practice, smelting, and performances.

Dan: Can you summarize your understanding and interpretation of Goldenberg’s meaning?

Du: Bach’s practical significance for me is like a dose of medicine that has cured my pain, confusion which has lasted for nearly a decade. Fundamentally speaking, it can be considered that Bach has given me the way and rules to think and deal with all problems. In my understanding, Bach's music is an objective description of things and emotions. This feature is seen in his life, not just by my intuition. Most of his life is serving religion, creating many religious music and vocal works. The works of ode songs, Contata, oratorio, and affluence are often based on original works or adapted religious works. Music creation is completely for the purpose of describing religion, and it is impossible to add too many subjective emotional factors. Therefore, in order to understand Goldenberg, I learned to observe, analyze and deal with the world rationally and objectively, like a "robot."

In the process of learning to understand Bach's music, I finally realized that Bach's greatness lies in the never-ending creativity and the thirst for self-excavation. Bach is a devout Lutheran, so his music often describes the pictures in the Bible: suffering, falling down, resurrection, sighing, the joy of heaven, the pain of sin, and the ocean, the wind, the waves... These religious elements require him to use music to describe objectively. There are some unique and fixed musical languages. For example, a small connection that repeats the second sound continuously for the second time is often used to describe the sigh; the continuous upward point is six degrees. It is used to describe the power of resurrection and perseverance, and so on. It is this unstoppable creativity and self-requirement for exploring the music itself that makes Bach's music infinitely close to the solemnity and ritual sense required by religion, which is called “close to God”. This feature is clearly visible even when creating instrumental works that do not require religious restrictions. Bach has been trying to discover a wider musical language, looking for more possibilities for music, such as where is the edge of tonality? In addition to reflection, mirroring, and reverse, what is the logic of music? The brain is for multiple voices. In the scope of the processing power, can it be six voices, seven voices?... In his various works, he can capture the thinking of such problems.

Bach explored the music itself with years of experimental research, depicting everything with his clear and unconventional musical language, and restoring the world as much as possible. What kind of contradiction is used to express happiness? What kind of melody is used to describe the waves? What kind of atmosphere can let the listener get the redemption of God? Even the speed of the wind, the rhythm of the clouds, the flow of water, the brightness of happiness, the tension of sadness. ..... In my cognition, Bach is such a musician. And my performance and interpretation of Bach is to explore these problems in his music and pursue the essence of the world.

Dan: "Goldenberg" has brought us a new feeling under your interpretation, which leads to infinite imagination in music, emotional, graphic and artistic... Many emotions are derived from the experience of life, which is even more like Bach's guidance in the universe. What do you think of the feelings that many listeners have felt after listening to your performance?

Du: I also think about the feedback I got from everyone. I have been crying many times in the process of playing Bach, but this kind of movement is not caused by anyone, any behavior, or feelings or things, it has no reason. For example, when I listened to "Goldenberg" on the uninhabited beach in Miami at night, I was moved by the rhythm of the waves. When I hit the last Aria before a performance, I turned around and saw the children playing on the lawn outside the window. Fighting, feeling tears for the good vitality... These experiences are not justified. And why my performance can impress some people, perhaps because I have moved these natural observations and emotional captures to the concert hall and restored to the stage. So I think, it’s not that my performance touched people, not even Bach’s music touched people, but nature, it’s the growth of everything that this big world carries.

Dan: This is the greatness of Bach! During the Baroque period, due to the limitations of history and musical instruments, the carrier of music was relatively backward, but Bach's creation was entirely for the music itself and not for some kind of instrument, so in modern times, after the historical tempering and forging a fine and perfect piano instrument. It is also possible to play another completely new interpretation of the version accepted by all. It can be seen that Bach's music is indeed one of the languages ​​that describe this vast universe and mysterious world!

Du: Yes, I just tried to express what Bach wants to express in my eyes. Bach is trying to express the world. His music can be said to be eternal and infinitely extended in the dimension of time and space. Schoenberg was inspired by Bach to jump out of the tonal world and get its inheritance. He is committed to returning music to the music itself and deducing the 12-tone system. Is this the embodiment of Bach’s influence on the world process after a hundred years? The abstraction pioneer Kandinsky listened to Schoenberg's concert and created "Impression No. 3", determined to boldly redefine art. Is this Bach's aesthetic pursuit across the barriers? Most musicians only enjoy, vent, and liberate in music, and I believe that the real artist is shouldering the responsibility given by the times and art. Like Bach, the true creation and exploration of the music itself. If music is a language, some people use to write pediatric books, some people use to write soap operas, some people use to write romance novels, and Bach is writing his philosophical reflection about art, aesthetics, humans and the world. This is why I am chasing Bach and Bach is worth chasing.

Dan: In the end, I want to know, what further plans do you have for continuing to study his music?

Du: I hope that in the future I will become a researcher in the piano literature studying Bach, polyphony and special styles. Bach's worthwhile research is as vast as the stars, so in my plan, I want to learn his works step by step, playing, performing, recording... It will take at least a few decades.

Dan: It is not easy for a person to do a good job in the whole life, let alone this is a big proposition. Unfortunately, I didn't have a thorough study of Bach, so I can't give you more specific advice. But I believe that you will take this plan as a starting point, and you will get more unpredictable gains when you go deeper from the very valuable "Goldenberg Variations" and then extend the study to other works. In my opinion, your performance already has your own personal content, different from the predecessors, but it is still too early to conclude. Now that you have a good start, I hope that you can continue to stick to this road!

Conclusions

Du Tianqi's Bach "Goldenberg Variations" special concert tour ended in July 2018 through Boston, New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu. The whole tour won positive feedbacks from audiences. The people who listened to him at concert halls in the four toured cities in China, regardless of the gender or age or professions, the crowds were too greatly moved to leave, and they continued to hang around for a long time. For me, emotions and appreciation are not enough to calm the inner turmoil, and I interviewed him in order to understand his heartfelt learning experience and to study the mental journey and sentiment of Bach's Goldenberg masterpiece. The harvest has now been compiled and delivered to the "Piano Art" for readers. And some of the comments that were picked up were included in the conclusion.

"In the whole night's performance, you can hear that Tianqi is free to cross in the comfort zone of his own... When he is in the air, he can land safely." "It awakens our mind and spirit and the more beautiful angels in this sacred and authoritative music, they are intertwined."

 —— from David Cieri, an American Culture and Art Commentator

“I am 83 years old now, and I am glad to have lived such a long life for listening to your performance tonight.”

—— An American listener on the Boston Concert

“He is touched by the God of Music and I am very proud of him.”

 —— Mentor, well-known pianist Meng-Chieh Liu

"Serious and intelligent performances, showing the strong (presenter) individual connection with the music, congratulations on his great achievements!”

—— New England Conservatory of Music Jury

“I have to compare Du Tianqi with the greatest piano genius Gould. In the crowd of piano geniuses who lived and left, Du Tianqi has forged his identity. He embraces avant-garde experiments and modern visual art, far beyond the professional development route of classical concert pianists."

—— The Theatre Times 

"His performance may not be recognized by all the performers or Bach experts, and I appreciate it very much, admiring his courage to show himself bravely and confidently in the face of works by countless famous artists who have become different classics and authoritative interpretations." The new original interpretation" "his independent interpretation is based on respecting the structure (technical level) and style foundation (artistiv level) of the original work, expressing his independent musical art thinking in Bach's musical vocabulary. And an independent artistic aesthetic."

——Su Lihua "China has got an extraordinary interpreter of the Bach Goldenberg Variations"