Next Tuesday gifted pianist CAROLINE CALLEJA is to play Beethoven’s 4th piano Concerto in G Major “the most remarkable, original, ingenious and difficult of all that Beethoven has written.” Marie Benoît asks her to talk about this particular challenge.

Pianist Caroline Calleja is merely 27 years old, born in 1980 she was the First Prize winner of various competitions and almost needs no introduction. Her musical talent became evident from a very early age. When she was eleven she also took up harp studies. In November 2000, Caroline made her debut as soloist with the National Orchestra of Malta at the Manoel Theatre to great public acclaim. Caroline Calleja is highly active in chamber music ensembles both as pianist and harpist. She has performed with internationally acclaimed artists amongst whom clarinettist Philippe Cuper and flautists Giuseppe Nova and Andrea Griminelli.

She currently teaches harp and piano at the Johann Strauss School of Music and has been the principal harpist of the National Orchestra of Malta since 1998.

Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 is a standard concerto in three movements: Allegro moderato, Andante con moto and Rondo. This was premiered by Beethoven himself at a private concert given in March 1807 at the palace of his patron, Prince Lobhowitz. The public premiere did not take place until 22 December 1808 in Vienna at the unheated Theater an der Wien with Beethoven again as soloist. This was a marathon concert which saw Beethoven’s last appearance as soloist and orchestra, as well as the premieres of the 5th and 6th symphonies.

Any particular reason why you chose to play this concerto?

This concerto has always been one of my top favourites out of Beethoven’s five piano concertos and the piano concerto repertoire in general. Unfortunately, the more famous Emperor Concerto (no. 5) tends to steal the limelight but nevertheless the fourth is still a masterpiece in its own right and remains one of my favourites. Moreover, I believe that it hasn’t been performed here in Malta for quite a number of years.

A review in a music journal of May 1809 said that: “…this is the most admirable, singular, artistic and complex Beethoven concerto ever…”. Mendelssohn loved it best and play it at his last London concert in 1846. What do you find so appealing in Concerto No 4?

I would say it was a love at ‘first hearing’ situation many years ago. I found its charm and poetry immediately appealing and as I delved deeper more recently, I could understand even better why this concerto had immediately struck a chord. The dreamy character of certain passages are just sublime, breath-taking ...

This Concerto does not require a full orchestra so which of the instruments will be accompanying you?

The score of the concerto calls for 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings. In the second movement orchestral forces are reduced to the string section while the trumpets and timpani are only used in the third movement to great effect.

The second movement has a widespread association of Orpheus taming the Furies (represented by the piano and unison strings, respectively) at the Hades gates. Do you think this association is appropriate?

This association of Orpheus taming the Furies has been universally acknowledged by various musicologists and great pianists. For instance, Claudio Arrau speaks in depth and detail about his vision of Orpheus losing Eurydice in the first movement and Orpheus at the gates of hell begging the Furies to give Eurydice back in the second movement. Despite the fact that this movement fits the Orpheus legend well, I rarely associate any such abstract descriptions with music unless it is specifically intended or spoken about by the composer himself. The greatness of this movement essentially lies in the resultant dialogue between the fierce and tragic declamation of the strings and the more expressive and pleading lament of the piano. As I feel that the spirit of the movement is clearly conveyed through the music, no further such associations are necessary.

No Concerto before, by Beethoven or anybody else began as the G Major does with the solo instrument playing unaccompanied, not only that but playing dolce and softly. There is none of Beethoven’s characteristic vehemence, yet Beethoven composed the Appassionata Sonata concurrently. These notes are a great responsibility for the pianist. Do you keep on practising them separately, again and again?

The short opening phrase, I must say, is one of the most musically difficult and delicate phrases of the whole concerto, not only because of its dolce and soft character that is no mean task for a performer to plunge into immediately after walking on stage, but even more so because of its important role in creating the right atmosphere of the whole first movement.

However, it is interesting to note that Mozart’s early Piano Concerto K. 271 had already anticipated, to a certain extent, the idea of introducing the solo piano surprisingly at the second bar.

Have you ever played this Concerto before, here or abroad?

No ... it is the first time I am performing this concerto.

How long would it take you to learn a new work, such as this?

I have been working on this concerto for about three months. However, it all depends on the circumstances surrounding any particular performance. For instance, I recall that I only had two months to work on Schumann’s Piano Concerto, another of my favourite works but which I had never played before. Incidentally, only a month before its performance, I had the final recital for my Masters degree in piano performance with massive works such as Schubert’s Wanderer Fantaisie and Chopin’s 24 Preludes!

How many hours a day of practice would you put in?

I would classify the preparation for such a performance on two levels: physical and mental. The former, that is the studying at the piano, takes an average of three to four hours every single day; more than that is physically impossible in a twenty-four-hour day which calls for all kinds of household chores, rehearsals, teaching, etc. The mental studying, that is the analysis of the work, the studying of the orchestral score and the memory work, take up the rest of the day ... and the night ... since the brains never seem to stop thinking and thinking and thinking!

Do you get special coaching from someone or do you do it all by yourself, listening to CDs perhaps?

Recordings of great pianists are certainly an asset, but a single hearing of each is enough for me to get hold of the pianist’s view of the work and by no means do I let any of them influence my interpretation. However, reaching the final satisfactory interpretation is a painstaking process. I share and discuss a lot of interpretative ideas with my husband Chris (Muscat), who is himself a very fine musician, composer and conductor. The final step before rehearsing with the orchestra is always a discussion with the conductor, in this case Michael Laus who was also an exceptional mentor during my student days at university and is always a pleasure to work with because of the superb musical, professional and amicable support he gives me.

Is there going to be anything else played next Tuesday besides this concerto?

This concerto will be preceded by Beethoven’s overture The Ruins of Athens while the second part will be dedicated to Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8.

Any comments about our national orchestra?

I must say that I always look forward to perform as a soloist with my colleagues of the National Orchestra who are socially and musically very supportive. Over the past few years the orchestra has made an impressive improvement thanks to the musicians’ determination, the professional guidance of its music director and the hard work invested by the Chairman and the Board.

The concert on 17th April at the Manoel Theatre starts at 7:30h. Tickets for this concert may be booked online on www.teatrumanoel.com.mt, by email on [email protected] or telephone 21246389. A limited number of tickets at a discounted price will be available for students and senior citizens on a first come first served basis. More information on www.maltaorchestra.com