Madeleine Brown, pianist

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

It’s hard to pin down the moment in which my life and the piano became inseparable. There was never an epiphany in which I “realised” that I wanted to pursue this career – I think it was a kind of gradual growth and integration of an inclination I had for music since I was young. Both of my parents are musicians, and I have vague memories of my mum playing the Prelude from Bach’s English Suite No.2 on our old Cramer upright when I was young.

I first fell in love with performing when I was around 12 at my secondary school. I had a fantastic teacher, Tau Wey, who always put my musical creativity (no matter how unconventional!) above all else. This level of freedom I was given to express myself made me become so connected to the instrument, and from there I began exploring the repertoire and getting to know some of “the greats”. I never much liked school, and found piano to be my escape from it. At 16, I moved to Chetham’s School of Music to study with Helen Krizos – with whom I am studying for my Masters – and I truly believe I wouldn’t be doing any of what I am now without her. Her nurturing and teaching me has been, and continues to be, invaluable.

A most significant inspiration is my dear mentor Lora Dimitrova, a formidable pianist and teacher and something of my “musical other half”! I am eternally grateful to her for supporting me and giving me the confidence I struggled to have for a long time. I also feel extremely fortunate to have the advice of Stephen Kovacevich, whose playing I have admired since I was a teenager: he is so insightful, passionate, and gives any piece I take to him a maturity it didn’t have before.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

So far, I have always had the challenge of balancing academic studies with my performing life. I had the immense privilege of doing my Bachelors degree at Trinity College, Cambridge, which was so musically enriching and complemented my pianistic studies beautifully. However, it is no secret that finding the time to both write essays and practise several hours a day is extremely difficult!

I often find myself having to explain to people why I would go to a place that would make this work-piano balance so hard – or, indeed, why I wouldn’t just do a performance-focused degree – but the knowledge and skills I have acquired have enhanced my playing in a way I couldn’t have imagined. It truly was worth it.

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

To date, I am most proud of my performance of the complete Goldberg Variations by heart. It was a huge test in stamina, both mental and physical – the sheer length of it is enough to be scared! – but I absolutely adore the piece and found it so rewarding to prepare. Performing it was quite the spiritual experience, only enhanced the surroundings of Trinity College Chapel, so the reward was certainly worth the effort!

Which particular works/composers do you think you perform best?

I think when you perform the music you love most, you will always perform at your best. As such, I can only list my favourite composers: Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Rachmaninoff. Though perhaps others may think differently!

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

I usually cater my programmes to suit a number of requirements: between playing music that I have always wanted to play, learning works from new composers and genres to expand my repertoire, alongside any pieces that have been requested by concert promoters.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

It is hard to say since there are so many I haven’t played in! However, my favourite so far would be Steinway Hall, London. Simply stepping into the showroom is an inspiring experience in itself, so to perform in a place embedded with such prestige was a real privilege. Not to mention the beautiful pianos!

What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage?

I think anything one does off stage can be a source of inspiration for their art form. There is something to be said for the beauty that can be found within the simple, even mundane tasks of our day-to-day lives. I love going on walks – this is always when I feel most at peace. Of course, it is always important to explore and interact with other art forms outside of music: I read a lot, I enjoy visiting art museums and I really love seeing live theatre productions. Ultimately, though, I often find myself being inspired by the conversations I have with friends and fellow musicians. Talking with people who understand what I do and discussing something as subjective as music always opens my mind to new perspectives which is so refreshing.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

As an audience member, the most memorable experience was seeing [Maurizio] Pollini at the Royal Festival Hall in June 2023. I’d had the tickets booked for months, sat only a few rows away from the piano, and I was so excited. Pollini hobbled onstage to the piano to play the Schumann Fantasy in C – one of my all-time favourite works – when we all witnessed every performer’s worst nightmare come to life: memory loss. After fumbling around the keys for a little while, he dashed off, retrieved his score, and re-entered the stage as we clapped and cheered him on in encouragement. With no page turner to help him, with pauses in which the pedal was held and two bars’ worth of notes were blurred as he fought with the score, Pollini worked his way through the piece, and I found myself crying for the entire duration of the work. There was something
so humane, so sad in what we were witnessing: a musician wanting more than anything to play music, and fighting to do so. In the midst of this struggle, particularly in the third movement, there were moments of sublime beauty, within which the young and vibrant Pollini was still with us. It was an intensely emotional evening that I will never forget.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

To me, the times I feel most successful are those when I walk offstage feeling as if I have said everything I wanted to say – when I have stayed true to myself. I think this is the greatest success one can feel.

What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?

I think classical music needs to be introduced to young people as something that is filled with a vibrant creativity and freshness, not something that is stuck in the past or “outdated”. I think to teach an appreciation of the history of music with regards to its cultural and social significance – how music reflected a culture, how it connected people from vast geographical spaces, how different styles came together to inspire new ones – can not only show people the power that classical music can have, but why it is still valuable and pertinent to the present day.

What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be?

Something I’ve always found complicated – but enjoy discussing – is the way recordings have impacted the expectations people have on live performance. Recordings in themselves are fantastic to preserve a performance history of the repertoire, but the level of engineering and editing that is available to a recording is far from what we have as musicians onstage. It’s scary to think that some people may go into a concert expecting a level of perfection that is ultimately impossible!

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

I think there are three key components to developing as a musician: to always be yourself, to unequivocally love what you do, and to have a strong support system who can be there for you. To have a few people whom you know you can trust and go to for advice is invaluable, and I am so grateful to those in my life who do this for me.

What is your present state of mind?

It is the summer holidays right now, so I would say calmly focused. No imminent deadlines, but plenty of exciting projects in the works!

madeleinebrown.co.uk