Sarah Chang Paints Stage ‘Vibrant Red’
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Sarah Chang. The child prodigy who, in less than a year after first laying her hands on the violin at the age of four, was playing alongside Philadelphia orchestras. Now, at 26, with 17 albums and a string of concerts with major orchestras under her belt, she continues to captivate the world as a young artist with her own color.
"I'd like to think of myself onstage as vibrant red," she told The Korea Times, when asked which rainbow hue she'd describe herself in an interview at a Seoul hotel, Wednesday.
"People take the time out of their evenings to come to concerts because they want to hear something live. You get an energy and some sort of excitement that you just don't get from a stereo. And I think they expect 120 percent from you and to be emotionally moved, whether it's something very beautiful, very powerful and strong or depressing depending on the composer. You want to move them in some way or another," she said.
"There are concerts that stay in your head two days afterwards. I know that's a concert that's worth remembering," she said.
The violinist has awed audiences all over the world, notably her Carnegie Hall debut and performances in all corners of the world.
Playing Bach in Berlin and then Prokofiev in Tokyo the next day, Chang leads a hectic life. "You start waking up in the middle of the night and not remember what city you're in," she said, saying how she has given up on keeping track of time and just follows her own rhythm. "If I want breakfast at three in the morning, I'll order breakfast at three in the morning."
Yet despite the endless travel and enervating performances, she cannot imagine a life other than that of a musician. "I actually can't. This has been embedded in me for so long, it's what I do. And it's something that I really enjoy now more so than ever, because I think I finally learned my body, and what works and doesn't work for me," she said.
Chang has matured into a colorful artist whose musical insight, technical virtuosity and emotional range continue to expand, especially now that she is at the helm of it all.
"I think things are simpler when you're young and you don't know what's really going on around you, and everything was really fun and new, and you've got your parents looking after you. You've got other people making decisions for you, but sometimes it's the wrong decision. And then you go through your teenage years and you sort of make stupid mistakes," she said with a laugh.
"That whole process of starting to take control over the calendar, the schedule, the repertoire and the creative process of recording -- what do I record and who do I work with, and the creative control over the packaging and the photos,'' she said, but leaves the dry financial responsibilities to her mother. "I think that whole transition (into adulthood) came fairly painlessly because I had a great group working for me," she said.
So what does music mean to her? "Music, it's a huge part of life, it's my work, my career. I think being a musician is almost like being an athlete in that you need to dedicate so many hours into it, every single day. It becomes your life and affects every decision I make, because I plan everything two to three years ahead, so I know where I'm going to be December 2010, for example. You have to learn how to work things around it,'' which she said isn't always easy of course. "There are days when bad things happen, I mean, just life. Sometimes you can have a huge fight with someone right before a concert and you have to learn not to let it affect you," she said. "I think everybody has (a stage persona), and has to, because it's not a normal life."
An interesting habit of Chang's while onstage is observing the observers. "I like to check out my audience," she said, explaining how it's important to eliminate "the differentiation" between the stage and the audience. "That adds a bit of a sparkle to your concert. I love recording, but the hardest part about recording is that you're in a studio and you're playing for no one. To capture that sort of life energy from a live audience is what we try to get at a studio recording. But at a concert it's right there, so I try to acknowledge it," she said.
"Korea has a very knowledgeable audience. They know what they want and what they're getting. But they're very warm," she said. "Musicians are usually excited about visiting Korea, which they say is the Italy of Asia. Koreans are very much like Italians in terms of personality and friendliness."
But the Philadelphia native was in town not to make magic onstage, but to promote her newest album, "Vivaldi: The Four Seasons."
The new project is special for Chang in many ways. "It's a 180-degree turn from the heavier Schostakovich. It's lighter, it's more a feminine piece," she explained. Unlike many musicians, Vivaldi is a new playing field for her. "I stayed away (from Vivaldi) on purpose as a student because everybody -- and their grandparents -- was doing it. It was only three, four years ago that I've gotten myself into it.
"(Vivaldi's pieces are) in a way a little simpler because (Vivaldi) gave the poems to go with the music. And he gives you really specific instructions," she said, explaining how wanted to stay true to the original score.
"Every performer has the responsibility to be the best version of themselves and be the true version of themselves. Myself personally, it's really important to do (Vivaldi) justice and put the composer above yourself, and not be so much 'Sarah giving her version of Vivaldi' but Vivaldi being the main focus," she said.
She expressed much respect for the celebrated Korean pianist Paik Kun-woo. "He's a true musician's musician, with no frills, no smoke in the mirror.?
Chang is one of the few women to receive the prestigious Avery Fisher prize and was the youngest person to win Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame award in 2004.
Yet, her long hike in "the never-ending process of music" continues. "There's no set score. Everything always can and has to be better. You're only as good as your last concert.
"I've probably 30, 40 years onstage. I've gotten bad reviews and certainly will get bad reviews, absolutely, and I expect it. Everybody in this industry learns to have a tough skin.
"Everything's about interpretation. As long as (the audience) has an opinion, like love it or hate it, it's OK. The worst thing is to have some wishy-washy, not caring sort of attitude," she said.
Chang left for her tour in Japan Thursday, accompanied by her mother and grandfather, with whom she shares a very close relationship. "At the end of the day, I want to be proud of my work and that my parents and grandparents will be proud, too. I guess I do have a bit of an old-fashioned chord than most people think. As long as you keep in mind that your family is important you're not going to do anything to stupid."
But before leaving, she was determined to explore Seoul -- for the first time.
"Korea is really funny, in that there are all these 'don't's' -- things that you can't do -- but then you hear about this incredible night life, and all my cousins tell me about it. So hopefully tonight, hopefully tonight," she said, ecstatic about visiting Apgujeong-dong and Hongdae with her relatives.
Chang may be painting the stage crimson with her musical fervor, but in person she was like any other young urbanite wanting to have some fun. Yet, her remarkable stage persona seems to translate into Sarah Chang the person, who, despite her heavy interview schedule, glowed brightly with an incredible energy that seems to come from within.