Pianist who tweaked concert format playing in Bengaluru

Karl Lutchmayer, Goan-British pianist, will be in the city to launch the Aruna Sunderlal memorial concert series.

The purpose of the series is to create a fund to empower talented students who would otherwise have no access to quality music education.

Aruna Sunderlal was the founder of the Bangalore School of Music, and passed away last year after gifting the city its first, and India’s third, Western music school.

Lutchmayer will present a recital showcasing the works of Beethoven, Liszt, Ravel and Bartok. He will then interact with students and music teachers at the The Bangalore School of Music-Trinity Laban Annual Summer Academy, and give lectures on piano and strings with fellow musician Andrew Sherwood. Violinist Sherwood, who will join Lutchmayer for two duet performances, was born in Kenya and educated in Zimbabwe.

Born in London to Indian parents, Karl Lutchmayer started playing the piano when he was just seven. “While there was a piano at home which my mother played from time to time, my first love was ballet, which I studied from the age of three,” he said. When he was 10-11, he began to focus on music. Playing at Wigmore Hall, London, has been a high point in his illustrious career. “It has an amazing history and wonderful acoustics,” he said.

Lutchmayer is known for his Conversational Concert series, which encourages people to discuss the music they hear. The idea came about after he noticed art galleries were more popular than concert halls. At the galleries, people could discuss art in real time, while they could not discuss music at a concert.

“Art galleries often provide audio guides to the art. So the Conversational Concert came about in order to provide a guide to the music being heard. We couldn't have real-time conversations, and in London, instead, we have two intermissions, so people can chat,” he said.

Lutchmayer, named ‘Steinway artiste’ in 2012, says it is wonderful to be part of the highly regarded piano tradition. The title is given by Steinway and Sons, famed piano manufacturers, to outstanding young pianists. “To be the only Indian Steinway artiste is a great honour, although I very much hope that many more Indians will be added to the roster.”

Lutchmayer is also director at the Trinity London Summer Academy, and will give piano masterclasses in India over two days, while Sherwood, a fellow musician conducts the strings workshop. “Teaching sort of crept up on me. I was invited by my alma mater, the Royal College of Music, to take up a fellowship when I was 27, and I started lecturing,” Lutchmayer said.

His advice to budding pianists is to work hard, and listen to a great deal of music, not just the piano. “If you want to take music seriously you need a well-qualified teacher,” he said. If he hadn't become a pianist, Lutchmayer believes he would have been a ‘rock God’.