Conversations with Concert Pianist Andrew Tyson (Part One: Interviewing Andrew)

Winner of the 2015 Géza Anda Competition in Zürich and an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Andrew Tyson has been hailed by BBC Radio 3 as “a real poet of the piano.” His teachers include Claude Frank and Robert McDonald, and he regularly performs throughout the US, Europe and Asia.

In this conversation, I asked Andrew these questions below:

1 Can you please share about your experiences working with Mr. Frank?

2 As a traveling musician, can you please describe how that journey (experiencing different culture and encountering people) influence your artistry and worldview?

3 You have a thirst for old school playing. Can you please share some of your favorite artists/recordings?

4 We talked about how artists and audience members had a different ways of interacting with each other and with music. What are your thoughts on how we can revive that collective passion and enthusiasm in our time?

5 I wonder how you usually prepare/sculpting pieces of music (orders of instinct/structure, details/overall picture, subjectivity/objectivity... and so on)

6 What does music/art mean to you emotionally?

7 What do you hope the modern world can take from music/art?

8 What does Romanticism mean to you musically, artistically?

9 Can you please share some of your favorite books, movies and art works?

10 What is the meaning of life to you?