#370: Giuseppe Guarrera (Pianist) (pt. 2 of 2)

This week on the podcast is part two of our interview with Italian pianist, Giuseppe Guarrera. He’s won major international awards, including prizes at the Cleveland International Piano Competition, The Rubenstein and Montreal competitions, and he’s a recent recipient of the Tabor Award at the Verbier Festival. As a performer, Giuseppe’s appeared in acclaimed concert halls throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

Join us to hear how Giuseppe’s staunch work ethic and collaborative approach helped him develop a thriving career.  https://www.giuseppeguarrera-pianist.com/

Transcript

Sponsor Message

Nick Petrella 0:00

Hi, Nick Petralla here. This episode is sponsored by Volkweins Music, a full service shop that's been meeting the musical needs of musicians for over 135 years. They offer a huge selection of instruments, accessories, music, and more. They also have an unmatched instrument repair department with some of the most experienced technicians in the business. For years they've serviced my personal and school instruments, and their attention to detail is why I and professional musicians from around the globe trust Volkweins to service their gear. Head over to Volkwinesmusic.com to see what they can do for you. That's V-O-L-K-W-E-I-N-S-Music.com, helping people discover music since eighteen eighty-eight.

Announcer 1:04

Welcome to the Arts Entrepreneurship Podcast, Making Art Work. We highlight how entrepreneurs align their artistry, passion, and vision to create and pursue opportunities to capture value in the arts. The views expressed by guests on the Arts Entrepreneurship Podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast or its hosts. The appearance of a guest on the podcast, the venture they represent, or reference to any product or service does not imply an endorsement or recommendation by the podcast or its hosts. The content provided is for entertainment and informational purposes only and does not constitute business advice. Here are your hosts, Andy Heise and Nick Petrella.

Andy Heise 1:46

Hi, Arts Entrepreneurship Podcast listeners. My name is Andy Heise.

Nick Petrella 1:50

And I'm Nick Petrella. Italian pianist Giuseppe Guerrero is on the podcast today. He's won major international awards, including prizes at the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Rubinstein and Montreal competitions, and he's a recent recipient of the Tabor Award at the Verbier Festival. As a performer, Giuseppe's appeared in acclaimed concert halls throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. I had the opportunity to work closely with Giuseppe over the past year in the Piano Cleveland Arts Entrepreneurship Residency Program. Among the many activities they do, participants develop their entrepreneurial mindset by completing a 20-hour learning intensive and creating an income-producing arts venture. We'll wrap up the interview with his thoughts on the residency and maybe get a peek at the venture he's been working on. We'll link to Giuseppe's website in the show notes. You can read more about his career and hear excerpts from his stellar performances. Giuseppe, thanks for speaking with us today.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 2:46

Great pleasure to be here. Thank you for hosting me.

Nick Petrella 2:50

So you earn a living by performing as a soloist and chamber musician, and as I mentioned earlier, you you recently won a teaching position. How do you stay on top of all of those activities?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 3:03

There is uh first of all a I would say the the the willpower is the element number one. You you you want to do these things, and then as uh I think it's an American saying, no, where there is a will, there is a way.

Nick Petrella 3:20

Yeah, that's right.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 3:22

That's that's I would say the element number one. You you because it then the rest falls as a as a consequence of this. And then it requires a certain degree of organization, and uh at times very important the capability of saying no. It's very important to understand where too much might ruin the quality of what we are doing, and that's why, for example, now I'm I've reduced the teaching hours because I saw that from a performing point of view I could still perform well, but a lot of my reflexes were slowly, you know, in a unperceptible way, but they were slowly slowly uh lowering down, and so I was okay. I can allow myself to teach a little bit less, I still want to perform at the peak level, and so I I reduced a little bit, and then you know, again it's a matter of flexibility, you have to organize a little bit, and then if you see that there are moments in which you can let's say practice a little bit more so that in the weeks where you are gonna teach, you don't have this time, you then you then do that, and it's uh you have to dance with reality.

Nick Petrella 4:40

Yeah, well, for sure you have to be a highly organized individual to do what you're doing.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 4:47

Yes, definitely. There are although, you know, I I can say for sure that I I've seen examples of highly in appearance disorganized people, where the appearance is very disorganized, but then for example, they have this capability that if they have to work on a project, they can sit from straight from 8 in the morning till 3 a.m. in the evening and work until it's done. So maybe they didn't plan accordingly, like, but they can also work in this way. They can do the work, yeah. So it's it's really subjective, I would say.

Andy Heise 5:22

Yeah. And do you think of all of these different things? Um, you know, recitals, uh orchestral appearance, teaching, those sort of stuff. Do you think of those all as separate things, or do they all sort of come together into a um, you know, does it all sort of make sense in your head, or is it just sort of as the opportunities come up?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 5:41

Yes. I have a scheme in my mind, okay, which is sort of ratio where I know that let's say 60-70% or 60% is solo recitals, and then I don't know, 20-30% is teaching, and then the rest is eventually other things like chamber music. Uh but this is, you know, just a way for me as a freelance to have a rough scheme of how how I want things to be. But one thing is what I want it to be, and the other thing is what the possibilities are.

Andy Heise 6:18

Sure.

Reaching Younger Audiences Through Access

Giuseppe Gauarrera 6:19

And then, you know, I have some principles on some little rules which I made up for myself, and I follow a little bit in order to know then if what I will accept goes in the direction I want, or it's a different direction. And then anyway, I can also decide to go in a different direction, but if I do it consciously, it's less problematic because then in the end, at least I know where things are going. But I must say that especially with concerts, you don't wake up one morning and say, from tomorrow, I want to have 40 concerts. You you wake up and you say that I wish to have 40 concerts, or I don't want to have more than 200 concerts, whatever. But and then you work with reality and you see how much you can you can go in that direction, and on this at the same time be open to every possible opportunity, because uh I would say the only thing uh which is damaging is to be uh non-active, to be passive. If I'm at home doing nothing, that's the the only thing which I shouldn't do. Already, if I'm home and I'm practicing, I'm anyway improving. And then you know you take a lot of opportunities because you meet new people, you keep learning new things, and in the end, uh of course, on one hand, it's about playing and playing at the highest level. This I think it's uh one shouldn't forget this because I I see now in the in social media, especially in social media, there is so much advertisement about uh how to do career and how to do this and how to do that. The professional life is important, but the most important is the work ethic and the quality of the artistry which we bring on stage. Then together with this, which is a not only a premise, it's it's like the most important condition. The other important thing to understand is that we live in a world which is made from and for people, and so to get to know people and to be collaborative and know how to work with them is the second important as important as uh as playing well in order to play concerts, I would say. I know a lot of musicians which are incredible musicians but difficult to work with, and then very often they suffer from from this. And by myself, I have done this I've I've done I've made this mistake. So I've learned from the fact that it's very important to be on one hand totally focused on the music, but on the other hand, uh also open to collaborate with people.

Nick Petrella 9:04

So yeah, yeah, both of those things affect your brand significantly. In our conversations, we've spoken a lot about your customer segments and how messaging differs depending on the audience. Given that the average consumer of classical music is over 60 years old, what can you and other artists do to connect and grow younger audiences?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 9:32

You know, my first sort of like a very instinctive answer which I uh which comes to my mind, and whenever I I was asked these sort of questions, is an active engaging with politics. Because I think that the the basically the politics creates the system in which we live and gives the rules for the system and gives a direction, especially to education. The fact that there are so not so many young people in the concert venues is due to the fact that many young people are not exposed to this sort of music, or if they are exposed, they are exposed in a way which is not necessarily a way that speaks to them. And so I would say first first and most important is the education, which is shaped by politics. That's why I said then the engagement with politics needs to take care of, needs to take care of this. So the root cause I think is it's uh in a way like political in the broad sense. I'm not talking about political in the sense of uh necessarily of being part of a political organization, but in the in the sort of Greek sense of being part of the police, being part of the community, and and working so that the community at all levels, young, less young, older people, they all feel somehow welcomed in this space which is the concert hall. And then I would say obviously it's also a financial financial problem. Because if you are um I don't know it's in the US, but here until age 30, you are you get a lot of discounts for going to concert venues. And then after age 30, basically you if you have to pay the full price of ticket, which is often very, very expensive.

Nick Petrella 11:36

Yeah, depending on the hall for sure.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 11:38

Depending, yeah, but I would say here it's very often something which I myself could eventually afford, I don't know, once a month, yeah, as a type of activity for with an average uh I would say with uh average income. And I think if you have a family, let's say if I would if I would have a family and I'd have to bring four or five people to the concert, this would be already like a big investment.

Nick Petrella 12:06

Oh yeah. Yeah, depending on the ensemble. Yeah, we my wife and I, yeah, we brought a couple kids to a concert recently. They they do have student discounts. So I think you know, all the way up to college students. So before we continue, do you have any examples of things that you've done to try and connect and grow with younger audiences? Or just just generally?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 12:29

Whenever I can and uh the concert venue allows me, I'll try to meet with the audience. So if there is a possibility to give a small lecture or wherever there is a possibility to meet with schools, I've never said no to such opportunities. Because it's very uh it's very beneficial for me to connect with them, uh, and generally, even if there is not a direct follow-up, maybe nobody will show up at the concert, or maybe yes. But anyway, there is a possibility for them to be exposed to this. And then you know somebody might go home and listen again to Tchaikovsky Concerto, and you know, from there maybe something will begin.

Andy Heise 13:19

Yeah, yeah, or buy person by a Disney keyboard from the grocery store or something.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 13:25

Yeah, yes, exactly. And you know, all all the I'm discovering only now. I'm finding out that a lot of the things which I'm uh I think are things which I speak to me and I decide for, for example, this love for Russian repertoire, let's say one might think this is innate, it comes from I don't know, but in the end I realized that for example, all the pieces which I uh later performed in life were all pieces without my I didn't do it consciously, but they were all pieces of a recital which I've heard when I was nine or ten of Evgeny Kissin. This is like greatest, one of the greatest Russian pianists. In he played in Catania, and I've never been to a recital in my life, and I was so lucky actually that the first ever recital was of Kissin, and uh this has shaped enormously my entire life without me knowing it, you know. So one never knows what the effect is.

Nick Petrella 14:37

Yeah, yeah, and that's that's a really astute and important statement, I think.

Andy Heise 14:45

At this stage in your career, Giuseppe, how do you define success as an artist?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 14:52

At a practical level, uh success for me as a concert pianist is to play um concerts around the world and to play them well. So that's a sort of the objective uh the objective criteria which I would use to define whether my career is or not successful. And uh, you know, then on a spiritual level, I think the the possibility to feel a connection between your ideas and how these ideas then are perceived and whether they might improve or I say it's it's difficult to to define this because um yeah the the objective side of the job is easy to quantify. You know, if I play more than 30 concerts, that's that's let's say I'm I'm happy. But the more the more the more uh spiritual aspect of whether this concert is touching people and how it is touching people and what kind of transformation it can bring, this is something which is uh first of all unpredictable and unmeasurable, but it's the most important. Sure. Because you know, I can have a very successful career on the external side and say I play 30 concerts, but if these 30 concerts don't touch a single person, yeah, then it's it's worthless. And I might, I don't know, play a small recital at my place, and I let's say invite my neighbor, which is I don't know, 80, and they have the I don't know, the best time of their month because they would see nobody and they can enjoy some music. That is for me as successful as uh having 30 concerts. So the impact uh of what we do, I think, is the most important.

Andy Heise 16:49

Yeah, impact is exactly the word I was I was thinking of. Yeah. That's great.

Nick Petrella 16:55

So we spoke a little bit earlier about doing the number of concerts that you do, and I and I know that you travel internationally, and that's grueling, right? So what do you do to make sure you're staying healthy on the road two or three things?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 17:13

Uh make sure I eat good food, and uh this as a as an Italian, it's an uncompromisable uncompromisable for me. Uh then um I try as much as I can to do sports in particular. I became very passionate about martial arts, and that's very good because it doesn't require external tools, so I can just go in the park and do it, and then I also try to whenever I can to do meditation, which is for me an essential aspect of for keeping everything into into place, and so this is important that because the traveling is changing the scenario all the time, that there are certain aspects of my routine which I can bring with me regardless of where I am that make me feel more at ease.

Nick Petrella 18:11

Yeah. Good advice. Gotta watch your hands though for martial arts.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 18:18

But you know, the once I was I was doing like a very violent brutal with the with my hands, and I sort of broke the broke the vein of one of my fingers. Oh no. And it started to swallow, and I almost lose consciousness because I but because that was no pain, I just was extremely fearful. And we had such a long conversation with the with the master who said, like, of course, you have to take care of your hands, but if you are obsessive about it, you will live in a constant state of fear, which will eventually limit you. So, you know, I try to be careful about it.

Andy Heise 19:00

Yeah.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 19:01

But uh you know, it's unpredictable. What can we do? We need to live our life, and it's true that we are more than our hands.

Nick Petrella 19:10

Right. Right.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 19:12

Much more much more than that in a musician. So but thanks for the advice of the R.

Nick Petrella 19:16

Well, I used to study martial arts, and that's so that's from experience.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 19:20

Yes.

Andy Heise 19:23

Just a bit this next question. We've we've sort of talked a little bit about this, um, but you know, the training in a conservatory and the competition model for a concert pianist, um, they're very traditional um and sort of reinforced through that, through the type of training that that you experienced, and uh, as you mentioned, still today. Um and the things that get rewarded through that process, um, and the things that um we're supposed to do that legitimize our art practice, um, the things that we're supposed to prioritize, those sorts of things, they get reinforced through those through those processes. Um and I was just curious, you know, based on your training, which of those um experiences still guide you as an artist, and which ones have you kind of deviated away from?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 20:14

I would say that the I see that there is a direct there is a direct link between conservatories and competitions nowadays. It's uh there is a triangle, I would say, where there is conservatories which are responsible for the education, competitions which are the gates for going eventually to the concert venues, and then the concert venues, which are how if one is interesting, if we are talking about performing, obviously, if we are talking about teaching or education, it's a different story. But if we talk about performing this triangle of conservatories competitions and eventually the concert venues, I think this metaphor holds true. What happens is that the I think the world of competitions, which is this in-between, because it acts like a filter, uh, is actually shaping enormously both worlds. It's shaping both the world of conservatories, which are looking eventually at what success in competitions looks like. And the concert venues and what we are gonna hear in the concert venues is also shaped by the competitions with because they decide who is gonna play. Like the result of a competition will decide in the end, not always, but in the majority of the cases who is gonna play. So I would say that this is why, even though I'm now not taking part to competitions, I keep uh I keep an eye on this competition. And I keep always referring and talking about them, and some people think that I'm a competition freak. But that's um it's not really for me, it's not about the competitiveness. I don't care about that. I really think that actually almost nobody cares about the competitive aspect of it. From what I can say talking to colleagues and having experienced it myself. On the contrary, you know, if somebody is playing wonderfully, it's not that because it's my competitor, I will think uh wish they don't pass. I always wished for the best players to win, no matter whether this goes into my is my advantage or disadvantage. The point is that the the shaping of the performing uh taste, that's basically the aesthetics of how we play, let's say, Chopin today in the 21st century, is really shaped enormously by the Chopin competition. And so it's it's and and uh you know whether I want it or not, if I will prepare a student for the Chopin competition, in the back of my mind, without me thinking about it, the fact that there is this event and how people play at this event and the people which have won this event play shapes what I'm doing. Whether I decide to go with it or I decide to go then in an opposite direction or a different direction, anyway, this stays there as um something which I can look and listen to and then make comparison and decide where to go.

Andy Heise 23:39

So I think I don't know if I answered precisely to your question, but no, that that I mean I I love your your triangle analogy and sort of how they they um interact um and sort of the which explains well helps to explain sort of why the tradition is the way that it is, you know, and and why it continues to to be that way. And then you're you're you're um talking about like like the Chopin competition as an as an example. It sort of grounds maybe that sort of repertoire, is that sort of what you were saying? It uh you it it provides a grounding uh of how that music is to be interpreted or played or whatever. Is that what you were saying?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 24:19

Yes, yes, exactly. And uh it also shapes the repertoire choices. Okay. Because you know, if in all major, let's say, if in all major uh competitions, even if you have free choice over the past 20 years, you see that Rachmaninov's third concerto, Prokofiev's second concerto, and eventually Brahm's second concerto always win first prize. I've tried once to go to a competition with Chopin first concerto, but I will not do it again. You know it's it's uh you just you have to understand the system in which you are, and then sometimes if you are lucky, you will break the system with something new. But mostly what people do is first try to enter the system, and then once you are in, they will do whatever they want.

Nick Petrella 25:15

Yeah. So there are age limits or age restrictions on maybe all, but I assume most competitions. What what are those restrictions?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 25:26

Do you happen to know restrictions of age? Uh uh right? I uh did I hear correctly?

Nick Petrella 25:36

Correct, yeah. I mean 27, 30s, I mean how what's the age limit?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 25:41

It depends. It depends. I think it goes from a generally minimum average of 16 to a maximum of uh 32.

Nick Petrella 25:51

Okay.

Andy Heise 25:53

Yeah.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 25:54

Some will stop at 28, some will stop at 30. Yeah. Uh but I would say the range is 16, 32, which also makes sense, you know. It's like basically 32 being the double of 16, and then you cover this range where you have the very, very high talented between 16 and 20, this sort of explosive natural talent, which is the best, usually the best moment to win. It's also the easiest, you know, you are just practicing in your life. There is a teacher who is taking care of you, and you can go and risk it, you have nothing to lose. Then there is this moment of uh I would say between 20 and 25, which is a moment of research where many people then you know start to change a little bit the way they play. That there is also in life a transition to adulthood, and then eventually, again, like the 25 to 30 or 32, where you are still young, you have the physical power, and you are anyway not anymore a teenager, and so there is more content. So I think this makes sense that there is this spectrum of possibilities all encompassed in one umbrella, which is between 16 and 32.

Nick Petrella 27:09

And of course, the maturity, the emotional maturity of someone older. I mean, it's like a 16-year-old probably doesn't understand love and loss and things like that, whereas you would as a more mature person.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 27:22

Yes, yes, and at the same time, you know, the incredible surprises of there are there are always surprises in competitions where you have some really uh teenagers which one think, okay, these are aliens. How can they have not only this technical dexity but this uh depth of understanding? Which was the case, for example, with the with the Korean winner of uh Van Kleiburn, Yoon Cham Lim, which at 18 was praised for not only for his unbelievably outstanding outwardly technical mastery of the instrument, but exactly for this maturity. So, you know, it's uh very interesting uh to put so many people together and then see what happens.

Residency Lessons And Art Of Listening

Nick Petrella 28:08

Uh yeah. Yeah. So before we get to the final three questions, um just want to talk a little bit about the uh residency program that I mentioned in the uh intro. So we spent a year working together in Piano Cleveland's new Arts Entrepreneurship Residency Program, and this is a two-part question. Which topics were most beneficial to you as an entrepreneurial artist? And if you're able to speak about your venture, uh do you want to do that or do you want to just wait until that's launched?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 28:42

Yes. I would say that for me the the whole process in itself was uh was a very beneficial process because I've always had a lot of ideas in my life in general. I had a list of ideas, I would have ideas every two months of something which I would like to realize. And um I think that now I can understand that it's very easy to have ideas if you don't then test them with reality, right? You know, because in our mind we can think it's the ideas are weightless, there is no weight, there is no form. So we can think about going to the moon, we can think about everything. And so for me, first of all, to have the possibility to stick to one idea for one year and to go through a process of discussion, analyzing the idea, and eventually developing it into a concrete, tangible form. But this was a unique experience. Uh and I don't know if you remember, but when you asked me at the very beginning, uh, what do you think can stand on your way between you and uh achieving uh realizing this project? I said the only thing which can stand on my way is myself. And the fact that I'm I don't have yet the tools to eventually be consistent and to work so that this idea becomes reality. So in that sense, I would say the process in its structure and in its length, and not only a specific moment where the the what was important, and then um I would say on one hand, this idea one of the things which I will anyway take with me also as a life skill is this idea of to not anchor. Yeah, so that I have to be, of course, on one hand to be consistent and to stick to the plan, but at the same time have the flexibility to discuss it and to reshape whenever necessary, and then at the same time, this um system of how to put it like to attack the idea, of course, on one hand to be welcome to welcome the idea in the mod this moment of brainstorming, but then once we select the idea to try to attack it from different sides to see if the idea will resist these attacks and eventually then we'll stand still still after all these possible um possible attacks. So um I can talk also briefly about the the idea which is uh called the art of listening. I will perhaps not go into detail of what it is, but just to explain uh that because it links to your question of what I'm doing to uh link and uh with new audiences and out like reach out to new audiences. I would say it's a way for people to experience the concert in a slightly different way. It's a it's a uh and it's an integration of uh the real experience of the concert and the possibility to experience also the music through lectures and through uh digital material so that then the experience of the concert is enhanced.

Nick Petrella 32:18

Yeah.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 32:19

I will I uh as I as I said, there is still like a lot of details which are in the progress of being uh shaped in their final form. So I think this is enough to understand basically a service for the audience for uh for for them to eventually enjoy the concert even more.

Nick Petrella 32:38

It's a great summary. Yeah.

Andy Heise 32:42

Well Giuseppe, we've reached we've reached the point of the interview where we ask all of our interviewees the same three questions. And the first question is what advice would you give to others wanting to become an arts entrepreneur?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 32:55

Yes. Once I was asked this question also from somebody, not necessarily about uh arts entrepreneur, but I I think the answer will still be the same, which is to have a lot of love and patience. But to uh and then I was thinking about this answer, and I would reduce it to love because patience is also a form of love, yeah. You know that's uh that I think that's all it takes. You really need to love what you are doing, and then the rest is uh the rest is a consequence. It might sound maybe banal, but you know the banal things, the banal things are the most important.

Nick Petrella 33:40

Simple, but not easy. Yes. What can we do to ensure the arts are more accessible and reaching the widest possible audience?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 33:52

As I said in the previous answer, I think uh to be more active politically and to have to make uh more political pressure so that there is uh attention and um not only attention but care for for what we do at a political level.

Andy Heise 34:15

And lastly, what's the best artistic or entrepreneurial advice that you've been given?

Giuseppe Gauarrera 34:24

Yes, uh, that is learn to do what you love and learn to love what you do.

Nick Petrella 34:36

That's great. Yeah, yeah, that's a great way to end. Well, Giuseppe, thanks so much for coming on. It's been inspiring to hear your staunch work ethic and collaborative approach to networking and and how that's helped you grow into a thriving musician.

Giuseppe Gauarrera 34:51

Thank you very much for uh listening to uh to my answers. I hope this will be of help or inspiration or even just reflection for whoever is gonna listen.

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