Igor Lipinski on creative recitals, and why you never play the same chord the same way
The pianist and magician on talking to your audience, starting your own project and why no chord should sound the same twice.
Igor Lipinski is a Polish-born pianist who created Piano Illusions, a recital of music and magic he developed with Teller of Penn & Teller. He is an associate professor of piano at the University of Oklahoma.
Here are thirteen of his best tips, from his Piano Star Masterclass on creative recital programming on Piano League.
1. Never play the same chord the same way
Making sure that you never play the same chord the same way, unless there is a reason for it, unless you want us to feel we’re back, we’re back to the same place.
Igor Lipinski
2. Treat your audience like equals
There’s something to be said about understanding your audience and remaining relevant. Simple things, and they’ve been talked about for years now, but connecting, turning to an audience and treating them like equals, like they’re involved in that sort of communion of music making.
Igor Lipinski
3. Introduce the music in a simple way
Turning and speaking to them, introducing music in a simple but engaging way, knowing what you’re playing and then performing it would make a huge difference to a lot of young pianists.
Igor Lipinski
4. Practice painfully slowly, without pedal
Taking the moment and really practicing, one, without pedal and two, in an absolutely painfully slow tempo, to not only check if you have the control of the piece but also to remind ourselves how incredible some of these passages actually are, because they just go by so quickly.
Igor Lipinski
5. Practice the accompaniment with both hands
I remember Chopin would often tell his students to practice his accompaniments with both hands. They’re just so beautiful, and actually practicing it will make you find the sound that you want and then really reach for it.
Igor Lipinski
6. Build on a passion you really have
It doesn’t have to be unique like, for example, with magic and me. I just absolutely love magic and I studied magic and I still read books on magic and watch magicians and follow many. But it was very natural, it was very organic, it wasn’t anything artificial.
Igor Lipinski
7. Borrow other people’s talents
It doesn’t have to be all of a sudden a multimedia presentation where you’re doing something that you’re not quite comfortable. But it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be. You can find people that are great in photography, that are fabulous visual artists. You can do collaborations.
Igor Lipinski
8. Just start
The best way to do something unique is to just start it. You just do it and then start some sort of a project and then grow from there. You don’t have to reach the stars right away with it.
Igor Lipinski
9. Practice the switch from talking to playing
The hardest thing for me when I was starting out was the transitions. You do magic, you connect to the audience, you talk to them, then you sit down and it’s a completely different kind of art. Just presenting and talking, that’s very difficult, and it sort of takes you a lot of focus and refocus.
Igor Lipinski
10. Know what you’re doing every second
I also have a script. Everything is sort of written out. There’s a lot of audience interaction, so there’s some improv, but mainly I’m very much a proponent of knowing what you’re doing every single second.
Igor Lipinski
11. Magic and piano both need control
What you really need, and probably we’re gonna hear this today from the masterclass performance, you need absolute control. Control of your dexterity.
Igor Lipinski
12. Slow pieces are the hard ones
Some pieces are harder to play, especially pieces like this, in a slower tempo. Connecting the sound is just really, really difficult: connecting and really listening through and making sure that the line is sustained.
Igor Lipinski
13. Nothing replaces the room
I think there is something to be said about experiencing music in the same room, from the fourth row in your favorite seats, and getting all the vibrations of the acoustic of the room, and sort of enjoying that experience firsthand.
Igor Lipinski
Quotes are lightly edited for length and clarity. They come from Igor Lipinski’s 2020 Piano Star Masterclass on creative recital programming. You can watch the full masterclass on the Piano League YouTube channel.
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