In the fall of 2020, the violist Georgina Rossi releases her debut recording, “MOBILI: Music for Viola and Piano from Chile” on New Focus Recordings. In this Insider Interview we spoke to Ms. Rossi and pianist Silvie Cheng about this project, as well as the inspiration behind the recording.
Classical Music Communications: How did the idea to make a CD highlighting the works of Chilean composers come to you?
Georgina Rossi: Compiling and recording these specific pieces was something I’d pondered for a long while—I’ve known the older ones for so many years and was so excited about the newest. In 2018, what made me drop everything else and decide to pursue the project full-time was that 2019 marked Orrego-Salas’s one hundredth birthday, and I knew I wanted to do something to honor him. At that point I’d been offering premieres in the US and abroad of Díaz’s and Cortés’s work, and found I really loved sharing these pieces with people. I loved that people seemed to connect with them and appreciate them so much no matter where I played. A cool thing happened once I’d decided to move forward with the established repertoire. Rafael Díaz, when he heard the news, e-mailed me another of his pieces for viola (In the Depths of My Distance for viola and piano) which I didn’t know existed and was so beautiful it completely blew me away. I had to add it to the list. I’m so thrilled to include that last-minute addition.
CMC: Do you think there’s a common thread amongst the works you’ve recorded which might be classified as a “Chilean sound”? If so, why?
GR: I’ve thought about this so much, and it’s really interesting to try to answer that question. I think the answer is mostly no (with a little bit of yes). Chilean classical music composition bloomed late, so it is extremely international and very modern, with deep European roots. I would say though, that there is an element to all of the pieces that points to an affection for a kind of magical realism so recognizable of Latin American art and culture. Chile has managed to hold on to some isolation amidst the globalized world thanks to the Andean range and its unique geography. The connection to a seeming otherworldly environment is an important part of the works by Díaz and Cortés especially: Díaz focuses on spirituality, nature, and the practices of indigenous peoples, and Cortés based his piece on the territory of Coquimbo and the world of astronomy available to anyone who visits there, just South of the Atacama Desert.
CMC: Which composers featured on the album have you had the opportunity to work with in the past?
GR: Both Díaz and Cortés, though all our communication has been long distance. I performed Cortés’s piece, Tololo, in several places, but most excitingly in Mendoza, Argentina, in its original form alongside string orchestra. Díaz had heard my live recordings of his work for amplified solo viola, the earlier of the two, performed in Holland at the Viola Festival and in New York when Joel Sachs did the Focus! on Latin America, and he has always been gracious and flattering, never once making any requests or inputting his opinion, which I find so amazing in a composer. He knows in his bones how the piece is larger than himself and doesn’t try to control anything – this philosophy is so reflective of his music, which grapples with seeking authenticity and connectivity to nature and that which is larger than ourselves. (That said, I would always welcome any suggestions and guidance from him, but it’s just not who he is.) The only time he agreed to input his specific opinions on anything other than compliments was when I was going back and forth with the engineer, trying make decisions to nail the sound effects Rafael describes in the score: he requests subtle electronic amplification with a touch of reverb, in attempt to evoke the sound of an echoing lone human voice on mountainous territory. It was great to get to ask him exactly what he meant with the digital work and the panning and what not, avoiding some of the guesswork for the engineer. As my wonderful engineer Ryan Streber said, that kind of work quickly becomes very compositional, so it’s a luxury to have the composer weigh in directly.
CMC: Tell us about your musical partnership with the pianist Silvie Cheng. How did you connect with each other, and what do you like about playing with her?
GR: Silvie and I were friends in college, while I was getting my bachelor’s at Manhattan School of Music. We ended up living together and were roommates for three whole years, right on LaSalle and Broadway. We’ve been close for what seems like forever, and I went straight to her when I knew I was going to move forward with this record. It was a privilege to work together and I always learn so much from playing together. She has a fabulous duo of her own alongside her brother, so I always feel lucky to steal her away for periods of time. Playing with her is a delight. Aside from being a masterful pianist and brilliant musical thinker, she brings to the rehearsal room (and to the stage) a serenity and joy that is contagious and reflective of her rock-solid values around music-making: the heart and joy, the sharing with others.
CMC: (to Silvie Cheng) What did you think when Georgina approached you about making this CD with her? Did you know any of the works or the composers, going into the project?
Silvie Cheng: I was excited and deeply honored when Georgina asked me to be her collaborative partner in the making of her debut album. The personal concept of the album struck me as universally relatable—like Georgina, I was born and raised in a country other than America, and I have experienced the same desire to connect more profoundly to one's cultural identity through playing the music from one's home country. Georgina and I had played some of Carlos Guastavino's works together while studying at the Manhattan School of Music, but otherwise I was delving into the language of most of these composers for the very first time.
CMC: (to Silvie Cheng) What challenges did you face in making this recording?
Silvie Cheng: When making an album of mostly world-premiere recordings, one inherently accepts the challenge of not being able to reference others while learning the pieces. This can feel daunting at first, as we're accustomed in the classical music world to not only know what a piece basically sounds like before approaching it ourselves, but also be able to listen to a plethora of recordings with varying ideas. Ultimately though, this gave us the freedom to explore authentic and genuine interpretations of these works through our own voices. In a way, Georgina and I are the first archaeologists of these scores to document our discoveries, and with the release of this album, now there IS a reference recording of these works for future generations!
We had been scheduled to tour in Chile the month before recording, but it was postponed due to the civil unrest there in the fall of 2019. We had been so looking forward to giving an album release tour instead this fall, but now COVID...seems like our biggest challenge is being able to bring and present this music on home soil!
CMC: What was the experience of recording and releasing an album during the COVID-19 pandemic like? Do you think the process changed how you think about these pieces, or had other effects on the album?
GR: Our recording dates were scheduled for three half-day sessions in December, so, just a few weeks before COVID entered our consciousness. Very lucky timing, because the phase that followed (mastering, producing, working with the engineer, working on liner notes, working with the label) can all be done remotely. I’ve been doing all of that work from my apartment in Hamilton Heights. I’ve thought to myself multiple times how glad I am that I didn’t postpone the recording date and went for it in the nick of time, because being able to focus on this work has been such an anchor now that there are no concerts and virtually no performing opportunities.
It affected how I think about the pieces in that my view of this work as important work has been so highlighted in my mind. Making recordings of these pieces was always a valuable pursuit, but now that we are even more disconnected than we were from each other, this type of artistic pursuit feels absolutely vital and it is a precious privilege to focus on it. A global crisis like this one is such a reminder of the value of art in society.
CMC: You are also a visual artist and created all of the album artwork yourself, including a series of 20 works on paper that are incorporated into the CD booklet and cover. What connections have you found between your visual art and music performances - how do they inform each other?
GR: In general, my musical practice and artwork don’t inform each other. I studied art from a young age in Chile with a Chilean painter who is to this day such a guiding light for me. Art was always this separate thing that I could fall into completely, without worrying about making mistakes or doing it wrong, so I’ve always enjoyed keeping it in a separate mental place. I’m not really all that interested in crossover projects, so it’s funny that Mobili is one in some way. But, crucially, I’m not trying to interpret any of the pieces through visual work. Those efforts usually come through poorly and I’m not interested in that intellectually or aesthetically. What I wanted to do was make a pleasing art-object in the production of this CD and LP. I really love reading through liner notes and exploring an album in its entirety while I listen to music. It’s lovely to learn about the pieces and about the people behind them, and when someone puts in the care to make that experience special by thinking through the visual work and design, it’s meaningful.
I allowed myself to approach the series of works I created for the Mobili album with more of a mindset on design over art --- much less pressure that way, and easier to make sure the work wasn’t about myself (how boring that would be). I made around 20 pieces in all, all of them works on paper. So, I tried to put on paper the architectural style of Orrego-Salas. I made dozens of “planet mobiles” using graphite, india ink, watercolor, and sometimes oil, in an effort to make modular pieces that could be picked up and moved around by the designer as he puts together the booklet. I tried very hard to keep the work lean, clean, and precise, the way his music sounds. The reason for the planets is an obsession that came around from Cortés’s astronomical soundscape, Tololo. It was a nice way to combine the two pieces of music and make something that is simple and attractive, without distracting from the music too much. Funnily enough, I gave the designer all of the works and allowed him to choose a cover. He ended up picking out one of the few works that did not represent a mobile. He’s the designer, not me, so I was happy to move forward with that one. His composition was beautiful, I’m thrilled with it. I like the planet mobile concept a lot though for the record and it’ll be visible inside the booklet. (The series will also be available to view on my website once the CD is out). The planet mobile, to me, is about how all these planets and celestial objects are floating around in space, not having much in common other than the universal fact that they are there, in time and space, together. That’s how I feel about the pieces on this album. They’re orbiting their way through the world, not always aware of each other, not always aware that certain delicate but powerful strings are connecting them across space and time: performers, harmonies, locations. It’s comforting.
CMC: Your father, Luis Rossi, is a clarinetist, and your mother, Penelope Knuth, is a violist, both professional musicians. How did growing up with this level of musicianship around you influence you?
GR: My parents are so special. What inspires me the most about them is their understanding of music’s role in society. They don’t talk politics much, so I never thought of them as political people at all. But when I think about how they understand music-making and how they live their lives, it’s very moving. It’s an unspoken non-careerism. Technically, in Chile they are civil servants-- all orchestral musicians are, they work for the state, and this is perfect in a way because that is exactly how they understand their work--- they are offering something to their communities and care above all about the music itself. This strikes me more than ever as a young adult in New York City trying to pave a way forward for myself—any way forward. My mother was my first teacher. She is a truly great violist who studied with William Linzer at Juilliard in the seventies, and she never stops encouraging me to pursue work that I love. She is never concerned for my finances, or securing a good job, only that I do work that I care about and that matters. This astounds me because she raised me on a violist’s income. I’m touched to have her behind me in whatever I choose to pursue, regardless of prestige or finances. She was so proud when I got into Juilliard in 2015. It meant so much to her, I think. I was rejected when I’d applied for my Bachelor’s. So much of it is luck.
My father was something of a prodigy and is a total legend in the clarinet world, a reputation so incredibly well deserved: he is one of those rare inspirations of a person, a virtuoso who also makes his own clarinets from scratch, and has sold hundreds of these amazing handmade instruments to professionals all over the world from his tiny little workshop in downtown Santiago. Totally amazing. He is my biggest musical inspiration and has been an incredible source of musical guidance and support for me in my twenties. I’m so grateful. When he tells me my playing is good and I know what I’m doing, I know he is telling the truth, and it has helped me build the confidence and inner patience with myself that is so important. Ultimately, as young musicians, you need that to be rock-solid within you, because a lot of the time, you’re working alone.