Q&A with Yulianna Avdeeva
When pianist Yulianna Avdeeva makes her Orchestra Hall debut on October 18 and 19, it won’t be in a performance of a flashy concerto by Chopin or Rachmaninoff, but rather in Leonard Bernstein’s contemplative Symphony No. 2—ominously subtitled The Age of Anxiety after W.H. Auden’s book-length poem of the same name.
To get ready for her Orchestra Hall debut with conductor Robert Treviño, Avdeeva answered a few of our questions to let us know about how she’s preparing for her MinnOrch debut, the influence of Shostakovich on her musical life and how meaningful it was to connect with fans over the music of Bach on her YouTube channel during the pandemic.
You have a unique role in Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety Symphony. Can you talk about what it’s like to prepare and perform this piece and how it might differ from getting ready to perform a concerto?
Bernstein composed this amazing work, The Age of Anxiety, after a poem of W.H. Auden in which four protagonists, who don’t know each other, meet in a bar in New York and start a conversation about their lives and philosophies. According to Bernstein himself, the piano should not be just a virtuoso solo role, but also an element incorporated into the entire story telling of the symphony. This was the reason why he titled the piece as a symphony instead of as a concerto for piano and orchestra.
The piano in this symphony takes on many various roles—sometimes it is in a dialogue with orchestra, sometimes it competes with it; there are also beautiful solo, cadenza-like parts.”
Nevertheless, the piano is always an essential part of the action. As I am convinced that the role of the orchestra in any piano concerto is very important I always very carefully study the orchestra score before performing a piece, so preparing and performing Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety does not feel so different to me. The orchestra score in this symphony is very rich in detail and it involves a huge amount of instruments; it’s a very exciting puzzle to put together!
You’re performing Shostakovich’s complete Preludes and Fugues in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his death in spring 2025. What, to you, makes his music special?
My first encounters with the music of Shostakovich go back to my childhood, as I performed some of his pieces—for example from the cycle Dances of the Dolls—for children. These works were full of delight, humor and dance, so my first impressions of his music were very luminous.
Later I realized that these were quite rare examples of this mood in Shostakovich’s music, but they exist, alongside with very dark and desperate moments.”
I think that Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues represent the entire spectrum of his soul. There are 48 various characters in this cycle, some pairs of preludes and fugues are more similar, some of them are built on a great contrast. In my opinion, this cycle is a kind of final statement, where he expressed all his deepest feelings and thoughts very honestly, without affectation. Maybe it was also the influence of the music of J. S. Bach, which inspired Shostakovich to start working on this giant cycle after his return from Leipzig—where he was invited to be a part of the jury of the first Bach Competition in 1950, which marked 200 years after Bach’s death. In any case, for me personally, it is one of the greatest cycles for piano, and I am so honored and excited to perform it in different parts of the world next year!
Tell us about the inspiration behind the #avdeevabach project, a series of videos you posted on your YouTube channel in 2021.
My last public performances before the lockdown in 2020 was with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where in addition to the orchestra performances I played a chamber music concert with the musicians of the orchestra. They asked me to share some thoughts with the audience about a piece by Mieczysław Weinberg. That was the moment when I realized how exciting it was for the audience to hear a few words about this wonderful composer as well as my personal reflections on his music.
As the lockdown started and it was not clear for how long we will not be able to see each other at the concert halls, I felt a desire to stay in touch with my audience. And thanks to the technology we have, the first stream on Facebook took place on the second lockdown week. It received a huge response so that from that Thursday on I was going “on air” for 60 weeks, discussing and performing music with a fantastic enthusiastic audience!
The idea to present all 48 Preludes and Fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach came to my mind during one of these first streams. It was an amazing and very inspiring experience for me, also because it was a unique chance for me to "e-meet” the people who go to the concerts and love the arts, and to read and think about their thoughts on music and life.
I am so grateful for these unforgettable hours, which gave me enormous support during the lockdown!”
What are you looking forward to most about these performances?
My upcoming concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra and Robert Treviño on October 18 and 19 will mark my debut with this wonderful Orchestra, and I am most happy to perform Bernstein’s Second Symphony Age of Anxiety for you so soon!
Video: Yulianna Avdeeva and Robert Treviño take an in-depth look at Bernstein's score.
Learn more about Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety in this video discussion between Yulianna Avdeeva and Robert Treviño, then get your tickets to see them in action with MinnOrch!
