Duo Atlantis

Duo Atlantis are: Jack Tyndale-Biscoe (pianist) and Rachel Youngberg Payne (mezzo-soprano)

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?

JTB: There was always music in the family. I just discovered recently that my great-grandmother on my father’s side was also a classical concert pianist. I’ve also heard many tales about my great-grandfather on my mother’s side, who was always at the keyboard playing songs that were popular at the time. I still have a tattered book of some of the tunes he played on the road, which was certainly an early inspiration for me. I also had a number of inspiring teachers over the years. While I was largely self-taught, I would like to acknowledge the early training, tutelage and patience of Elisabeth Waterhouse (pioneering Suzuki instructor in London), Harriet Bushman, and my parents, who provided these opportunities while we lived in London. A growing love of music collaboration and performance developed within me in North London as I played the violin in various ensembles.

I was extremely lucky to have had Dr. Stephen Thomas as my professor for 4-5 years in the United States. His intelligent insights were always in the service of producing art with a sincere reverence for the composer and the score. In every instance in the study of my repertoire, he was able to help me overcome technical challenges and deficiencies, by focusing primarily on the musical aspects of phrasing, voicing, dynamic shading etc. Apart from this, his knowledge of how to approach the keyboard physically was instrumental in correcting my rather unorthodox habits I had developed in all my years as an autodidact.

In an aim to pursue added training, I attended the Rebecca Penney’s Piano Festival in Florida during the summers of 2017 and 2018. This truly is a unique festival in that you receive nearly a term’s worth of lessons in just three weeks and it made such an imprint on my approach to piano.

What’s more, being in London, surrounded by so much art, history, architecture has also been eye-opening. I have been able to connect many of the principles found in these fields to my own pianistic education and preparation. This perhaps is one of the greatest lessons Dina Parakhina, (while studying at the Royal College of Music) could have ever given me. Her passionate and inspiring explanations of composers, pianists, art and life in general has given my imagination wings to soar and I connect the arts in ways I never would have before.

My last and most important inspiration has been my wife, Catalan pianist and pedagogue, Marta Brossa Ordóñez. The way she plays and sight-reads with ease, as well as her encouragement and support throughout my formative years, were beyond measure.

RYP: Music chose me. It isn’t a choice really, it’s a part of my daily expression of being a human. My parent’s support has always been a huge influence. My dad chose engineering over music and has started to get back to his first love over the last few years and watching that part of him come alive has been really beautiful.

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

JTB: At about age 14, I transitioned to the piano from the violin, being primarily self-taught, with my family’s circumstances driving this change. Another major factor in switching from one instrument to another was our sudden move to Andalusia, Spain, which played a huge role.

However, looking back, the main reason was due to the fact that my local church had no organist or pianist, the only person with a musical background was myself. I was asked to become a pianist (with not a lot of knowledge!) and to play three hymns each Sunday. The Treble Clef was obviously easy to read for me, but I recall that for about 6 months we were singing the same tunes week in and week out!

Throughout this experience of playing 4 part chorales, I developed a fascination with the language of harmony and its ability to paint a tonal picture in sound. The realisation that at the piano, I could be master of both melody and harmony, and control the entirety of the musical narrative was something that I was eventually drawn to.

RYP: I think balancing life and work is a challenge for everyone in every field and for me this has been true of music. I have a friend who is a mother and a fine artist, and she limits herself to one day in the studio because she says she doesn’t want to resent her children for taking her away from her art. I find this response so fascinating. Balance is essential.

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

JTB: I would like to record more. In fact, Duo Atlantis will be preparing our debut album soon.

Perhaps my Bach at the Jacqueline du Pre Concert Hall at the University of Oxford, as there were some magical moments at least in the live setting of that hall on that day. Also, a Rachmaninoff etude, which has a slight slip in it; however, there are some expansive moments that I feel really reflect the composer’s intentions.

RYP: I recorded a piece several years ago as a tribute to parents who have lost children to SIDS. This was very meaningful to me.

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

JTB: Brahms, Albéniz, Rachmaninoff… I love them all!

RYP: I think anything that is written with honest expressions of the human experience – especially works in the Romantic period and early 20th century. I also really enjoy being funny and having a chance to act on stage.

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

JTB: Take long walks along the Thames. Visit the Cotswolds twice a year. Think about the music from different literary, art and architecture perspectives. Write about the repertoire from a personal standpoint in my piano journal. Write different characters, sentiments, adjectives, moods in the music and attempt to decipher what the harmonic language is telling me.

RYP: I try to live a full and rich life because everything we do becomes a part of the story.

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

JTB: There needs to be some contrast and variety, after all, it is the ‘spice of life’!

RYP: I’m always looking for inspiration. Pieces which speak to my soul and I hope will also speak to our audiences. I’ll usually know within a few bars of listening if I’m going to need to perform it. And it does become a need.

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

JTB: I have never performed there personally but have gone so many times and lived the music so intimately with so many musicians, I feel I almost have and hope to one day soon; Wigmore Hall.

RYP: I always love a big house. Big enough to be heard and seen easily but not so big to lose subtlety of expression.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

JTB: Among the many highlights was performing at the Royal Albert Hall (Elgar Room) to a sold-out audience and winning the BYU-I Concerto Competition, and performing the famous Grieg A minor Piano Concerto with the Symphony Orchestra.

There have been so many to choose from, however, there was one occasion, many years ago, when I played a lunchtime concert in the city… I can’t even remember the name of the church! There were 3 people in attendance. I distinctly remember, because for some reason, that day, on that piano, it was probably the most inspired I have ever been while performing, and the three people in attendance told me that the music totally and entirely ‘transported’ them to a different dimension.

RYP: Dvorak Piano Trio no. 3. The 3rd movement was an especially poignant part of my listening experience for many years, and I had the opportunity to hear this trio in person several years ago. I was holding my breath for what felt like the entire time. I loved hearing the similarities and differences from various recordings I had listened to. Especially the opening bar. It holds you. Music has such power to speak when words fail us.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

JTB: Being able to effectively communicate the music as a vessel to the audience, in a way that profoundly moves them.

RYP: If I know someone has felt changed or moved in some way then I feel I have done my job, whether they have cried or had goosebumps or feel they have been given a gift from a performance then I feel it is a success. I think we have to judge each individual performance on its own merits otherwise the overwhelming nature of expectation can become too much.

What advice would you give to young/aspiring musicians?

JTB: I think this is the most important question of all.

I would hope that this advice speaks to all of us, not just ‘beginners’. I feel the more I study music, the more I believe I’m at the beginning of a long journey, hardly scratching the surface and not just in terms of repertoire!

Be kind and forgiving to yourself. Eventhe sun has spots. It’s OK to be human and fallible. That is precisely what will breathe life into your music.

However, strive consistently, efficiently and intelligently for the highest level of musicianship and artistry you can muster. Promote your strengths in the repertoire you choose, recognise your weaknesses also and work on making them into strengths. Choose pieces that speak to you, in recommendation with your teachers as they’ve been in this business for a long time!

Learn all that you can not only about the pieces you are working on, but about the composer’s oeuvre in general, whether orchestral, chamber, piano solo or vocal to get into the composer’s skin.

Think before you act in the practice room, focus on musicality and phrasing before, during and after you play.

Most of all, focus on the music and it will reveal itself.

RYP: If it is in you, you must. Find a way to keep going and keep the joy.

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

JTB: Make it an interactive, participatory experience. Provide Context to the repertoire, engage with your audience.

RYP: Experience the music as new because it will be for a new audience and that discovery can be magical.

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

JTB: Mental Health

RYP: AI! I think we need to look at how this will change what we are offering musically in the world.

Duo Atlantis, an exciting duet collaboration from the UK and USA, perform at London’s King’s Place on 1 May in a programme entitled ‘Echoes Across the Atlantic: A Tale of Two Worlds’. Find out more

https://www.duo-atlantis.com/