Lifting the Lid: an interview with pianist, author, and publicist Frances Wilson
Concert pianist. Thanks to movies and popular culture, this job title brings to mind conflicting images of a starving artist, mad genius, or supernaturally talented magician who communes with the Muse—almost never the hardworking professional that a pianist must be in order to maintain a successful performing career.
Lifting the Lid: interviews with concert pianists seeks to change this. In this brief book, authors Michael Johnson and Frances Wilson give readers a personal, off-stage glimpse of some of the world’s most accomplished concert pianists. This thoughtfully-curated collection of interviews allows pianists the opportunity to talk about the music they love—and the lives they lead—in their own words. What emerges is composite picture of the joys and challenges of a specialized job, as well as the passion that pulls each of these players to the piano each day to wrestle with the music (and themselves) in their quest to bring moments of beauty to the rest of us.
Through her widely read blog, The Cross-Eyed Pianist, co-author Frances Wilson has interviewed hundreds of musicians the world over as part of her Meet the Artist series. I’m thrilled that some of these interviews are available in book form and when this book was published, I jumped at the chance to interview her for No Dead Guys. It is an honor to feature Frances Wilson and her book on my blog.
Congratulations on the release of your book, Lifting the Lid: interviews with concert pianists! How do you and your co-author Michael Johnson know each other and where did the idea for this book originate?
I was originally introduced to Michael Johnson through an American pianist and writer called Jack Kohl. Jack had written some guest articles for my site, and mentioned Michael to me. It was one of those serendipitous encounters that turned into a friendly and fruitful collaboration. Michael had contributed a number of guest articles for my site and it was he who suggested we collaborate on a book of interviews. This was in spring 2020 when we were in the throes of the first covid lockdown. I was without work and in need of a project and this seemed ideal.
Your Meet the Artist series of interviews on your extremely successful blog, The Cross-Eyed Pianist, has been a popular feature on your site for years. Why did you feel you needed to put some of those interviews into a book?
I had in fact been toying for some time with the idea of a book combining some of my Meet the Artist interviews with essays from my blog. A blog can seem rather ephemeral in that articles and interviews once published are quickly subsumed into the site’s archive; a book seemed a more concrete record of what I do.
How did you choose the pianists featured in this book from the hundreds of performers you’ve interviewed on your site?
First, we both interview pianists. Michael tends to interview people in person, at concerts and festivals, whereas my interviews are usually conducted via a written questionnaire. As I say in the introduction to Lifting the Lid, people have a great fascination with professional pianists, more so than any other musicians. We felt the interviews would go some way to debunking some of the entrenched notions about pianists and what they do all day, and offer some insights into the world of the professional pianist in the 21st century.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed about your Meet the Artist series is how you ask the same questions of each performer. Where did the idea for this format come from and how do you think these questions highlight the uniqueness of each player?
The idea for the interview format came from the Proust questionnaire and a contemporary version of it which appears in Vanity Fair magazine. I first came across this when idly leafing through a copy of the magazine at my parents-in-law’s home back in 2012. My blog was then two years old and I was trying to think of ways to vary the content. A regular interview slot with a pianist (or other musicians/composer) seemed a good addition to the site.
I think each interviewee brings something special to the series and the format of the interview allows them to respond honestly and in as much, or as little detail as they wish. I have often been surprised at the information which people are willing to share, especially in areas such as career challenges, the definition of success as a musician, thoughts on how to grow and retain classical music’s audiences, and treasured possessions.
Given that you’re a pianist who has interviewed hundreds of pianists, what do you think is the most common misconception the general public has about classical concert pianists?
That they live cloistered lives, secluded from normal life, practicing 8 to 10, or more, hours a day. Or that their talent is some kind of magical thing which they can summon at will, without any effort. Oh and that touring is very glamorous (it’s not!). The reality is of course far different. Most of the professional pianists whom I know personally are pretty down to earth people who have families, pets, mortgages or rent to pay. Their music is their 9 to 5 job – albeit a rather special job!
In your opinion, are there traits that all concert pianists share?
I think they are all highly committed individuals who freely acknowledge that one must put in the graft to get the work done. It’s not dissimilar to top-level sportspeople – practicing is the pianist’s “training” and without it, one is not able to give a convincing performance, nor cope with the physical and mental demands of learning, processing and finessing all those notes.
Beyond raw talent, what elements do you feel separates the good pianists from the great ones?
First, an ability to get beyond the physical self and the ego, and let the music speak for itself. This sounds like a massive cliché, but it is those people whose playing is such that you forget they are there who make the most impression I think.
The pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin said recently on Twitter/X “I want listeners to receive it [a musical experience] in the purest way, free from any visible sign of the performer’s intervention.”
This for me is a mark of greatness, and I admire Hamelin’s playing and approach for the reasons he outlines.
Secondly, those musicians who are able to shine a new or different light on very well-known repertoire, such as Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, without denigrating or debasing the fundamental message of the music, in a way that makes you prick up your ears and pay attention. It can be something as simple as a rest held for fractionally longer than indicated, a silence so well-judged that the next phrase may appear fresh or unexpected.
Finally – and this also applies to elite sportspeople – resilience, mental toughness and single-mindedness.
In your Meet the Artist and Meet the Composer interviews you also feature musicians who aren’t pianists. Do you plan any follow-up books featuring any of those interviews?
It’s possible…! And I would still like to put together a book of my articles interspersed with selected interviews with musicians and composers.
What do you hope non-musicians will learn about concert pianists through this book?
An appreciation of the importance of training and long-term commitment to the task.
Having interviewed so many performers for years, what advice could you offer young pianists who hope to become concert pianists?
That it’s very hard to make a successful career as a concert pianist today. The profession is incredibly competitive and pretty cut-throat (unfortunately, the conservatoire system does not fully prepare young musicians for the realities of the profession). They need to be prepared to work extremely hard, for not much reward (only a handful make it to the premier league, as it were, often through winning prestigious competitions), and be willing to pursue a ‘portfolio career’ which encompasses several roles, ideally within the profession. (In fact, I think the ability to run a portfolio career which may involve teaching, accompanying, session work etc., is the path to becoming a well-rounded musician.)
Frances Wilson is a publicist and writer on classical music and pianism under the pen name The Cross-Eyed Pianist.
Frances has established a strong presence in the UK classical music world through her blog The Cross-Eyed Pianist (founded in 2010) and her many contacts with musicians through the popular Meet the Artist interview series (launched in 2012). Highly active on social media, she enjoys a large online following (c14,000), and is a respected member of the UK’s classical piano scene.
In addition to her blog, Frances is a regular writer for classical music site Interlude HK, has contributed articles to Classical Music magazine, Pianist magazine, The Schubertian (journal of the Schubert Institute UK), and writes programme notes for the Barbican Centre. She has appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Music Matters programme to discuss the role of music criticism today and the effect of the internet on music journalism and writing. In 2019 she became Concerts Manager for Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts, a popular monthly recital series founded by British pianist Duncan Honeybourne.
Frances returned to the piano seriously after an absence of nearly 25 years and achieved Licentiate and Associate performance diplomas, both with Distinction, in her late 40s. She has studied privately with leading pianist-teachers Penelope Roskell and Graham Fitch, and participated in masterclasses and coaching sessions with Murray McLachlan, Stephen Savage, James Lisney, Charlotte Tomlinson and Alan Fraser. Frances lives in the west of England with her husband, two Burmese cats and a 1913 Bechstein Model A grand piano, known affectionately as “Bechy”.
Twitter/X @crosseyedpiano