Garrick Ohlsson: The Occidental Pianist

Lisa Petrie on December 22, 2009

Garrick Ohlsson talks about performing as a musician from the West, dining out in San Francisco, performance rituals, and reviews.


You performed with the San Francisco Symphony in January. You will perform with the FOG Trio at Kohl Mansion on Jan. 3, and also do a solo performance under the auspices of Cal Performances on Jan. 10. Is there a sort of “home field advantage” you feel here on the West Coast?

Unquestionably, yes. When I play with both orchestras once a season, the audience gets to know me and gets interested in what I’m doing, and I get to know the orchestra well.

You travel so much; do you consider yourself really home in San Francisco?

Very much so. I’ve lived here since 1996 and had a time-share apartment for 20 years before that. When I was here in the 1970s, I fell in love with San Francisco, like so many people do, but I was lucky enough to stay.

What do you do in town on your days off?

I just love being here. I ride my bike in Golden Gate Park, enjoy the weather, the proximity to nature, and sitting on my front porch with the beautiful garden. All the things people love about San Francisco.

Do you have a favorite restaurant?

I tend to go for the classics, like the Hayes Street Grill. The only time I go somewhere new is if someone introduces me to a new place. I’m not at all interested in the hottest new restaurants because, in this town, you don’t have to stress about good restaurants.

Your schedule takes you all over the world. Where are your favorite audiences?

Unequivocally, Prague and Warsaw. Warsaw, because I won the Chopin Prize [there] in 1970 and I’ve been back there more than 50 times. I experienced Poland in all phases of modern history, including the Solidarity period and martial law, before Communism and after Communism, and I got to know it very well. For an artist to come from the West wasn’t the most convenient thing, or the most remunerative thing. But I felt involved with the public that helped me begin my career.

In my Central and Eastern European debuts, I was treated like royalty and played to sold-out houses. It was a source of tremendous personal pride, but also a responsibility as an artist. It made me give more of myself. Similarly, Prague has been a big career success for me; they’ve adopted me [there].

You have just as much a following there as here.

Yes, I think even more so, intensified by the Cold War. They were very pleased I kept coming back, even through the late ’70s when there was a clamp-down and many Western artists pulled out. My Prague friends said, “We know you’re not the devil with a militaristic capitalistic agenda. You come to play music, and we love you. If you don’t come back, the government wins.”

Do you enjoy solo repertoire, chamber music, and orchestral playing equally?

Yes. Music is a unity for me. It’s all one thing. The sensibility and musical intelligence used in playing a Beethoven sonata are no different from [those used] playing a Beethoven concerto or a trio. Playing with an orchestra, you have great nuances, but there is a sheer mass of sound that can swallow up your softer possibilities. With chamber music, you have a responsibility to other individuals, which is very exciting when it works well. Solo music puts the entire burden on you to create the mood and atmosphere. It’s actually the most tiring. They’re all wonderful experiences.

Do you have any preperformance rituals?

They’re pretty boring. I like to have a nap in the afternoon and then have a little exercise and something light to eat so I’m not thinking of food during the concert. I’m not nervous, usually, when the concert starts, but I can be anxious earlier in the day. One tip for young musicians to combat stage fright is to be very prepared. It sounds pedantic, but your preparation has to be rock-solid.

I’ve never read a bad review of your performances. Have you ever received one?

Yes, I have gotten a few awful ones that stand out. I played a Mozart concerto here many years ago and the reviewer said, “If Ohlsson had ever learned this concerto it was not apparent to me. He played it as if he were walking through a cow pasture and trying not to step into anything.” The same critic called me the world’s foremost expert in Mozart interpretation four months later.

What special projects are you looking forward to this year?

I’ve been giving Scriabin well-deserved attention, including two concerts with San Francisco Performances, and I’ve just released a recording of all of his études. The year 2010 is the 200th birthday of Chopin, so it will be an exciting year for celebration concerts around the world. My 16-CD set of the complete works of Chopin will be released on the Hyperion label, as well. I’ve helped commission a piano concerto from Justin Dello Joio [son of composer Norman Dello Joio], and I’ll premiere it in 2011 in Paris with the French Radio Orchestra.