Janneke Brits, 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? 

Without any doubt, the most profound influence on my life as a musician was my mother, Marietta Brits, who sadly passed away 2 years ago. She was professor of Harmony and Counterpoint at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and she had a formidable, highly analytic mind when it came to music. Despite her somewhat fearsome reputation among her students, she was hugely respected for being able to combine in-depth analysis with extraordinary imagination in her teaching. She was always fascinated by how composer’s minds work – trying to “see behind the curtain”, as it were. I remember that even as a complete beginner around the age of 5, we delighted together in discovering the pleasing logic of how my little pieces were constructed. Over time, she would guide me in exploring the myriad ways in which composers, each in his or her own unique way, would break away and usurp so-called standard harmony and construction. Finding this highly imaginative “jumping-off” point in every piece of music is what still fascinates me. 

As a teacher yourself, how do you now reflect on your own teachers?

My teachers have all set an incredible standard for me to follow. Without exception, they have been warm-hearted, generous and incredibly supportive parental figures for me. As a beginner, I had lessons with an extraordinary teacher called Claudine Van Breda, who is still an absolute wizard at understanding how children learn. I still hear her cheerful, calm voice in my head whenever I work with my elementary pupils. Joseph Stanford, who was Professor of Piano at the University of Pretoria, also taught me how to play with a strong inner sense of pulse and with a bit more flair in performance as a young teenager. Thomas Schumacher taught me at the Eastman School of Music when I was an undergraduate, and he did one of the best things any piano teacher can do for a young aspiring pianist: he encouraged me to learn and perform as much of the piano repertoire as I could, including chamber music, contemporary music, and even pursue harpsichord studies. It didn’t all need to be perfect or at performance standard, but with his guidance I gained a really good grasp of a large swathe of the gargantuan amount of the pianist’s repertoire.

In 2005, I was lucky enough to meet both my future teacher Charles Owen, and James Kreiling, my future husband, at a music festival in Switzerland. John York very kindly awarded me the scholarship to attend for free. Charles’s teaching there reminded me so much of my mother’s and I knew straight away that I should seek to study with him at the Guildhall School of Music for my Master’s Degree, which I did in 2007. He taught me a great deal about disciplined practice to improve technique – I realised that our hands and fingers can really be fine-tuned to perfection and that we all have little weaknesses that need targeting! However, my overarching memories of our lessons is that they were always hugely inspiring – we would cover all sorts of topics including painting, literature and the natural world. I recall him challenging me to create the sound of howling, nightmarish winds in the final movement of Schubert’s C Minor Sonata and succeeding in giving us both goosebumps!

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

Without a doubt, finding a home, starting a family and then continuing to make a living as a musician in an expensive part of the country has been immensely challenging. Finding a balance between teaching, running a piano department, caring for my children, making space for friendships and finding the energy to be creative feels overwhelming at times, but I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to talk and think about playing the piano every day. 

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

It’s hard to objectively say which composers’ works I play “best”, but I certainly feel a close affinity to Bach. His choral music has always been a huge part of my life since my childhood days in South Africa. A particularly strong memory for me is the sound of Bach’s St Matthew Passion being played in our living room, rather incongruously, on hot summer days after a barbecue lunch and a dip in the swimming pool! Bach, in particular, has always provided me with deep musical nourishment. The first time I heard the Prelude of the G Major Cello Partita was another “lightbulb” moment. The sheer elegance and beauty of this music immediately gripped me. Of all composers, Bach is the one that I could never go without for more than a few days, and I dream of having the time to learn and perform all his keyboard works.

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

Teaching is hugely inspirational to me as a performer. Having to communicate what performing is all about to young pianists for quite a number of years now has helped me distil many of my thoughts on performing. Is the performer utterly committed to the music, and are they finding a way to connect to their audience? Another hugely important source of inspiration is doing in-depth research on a particular composer or particular time in history, and then giving a lecture-recital. Seeing a piece of music placed within the highly personal context of a composer’s life and then zooming out to its historic context always gives me a renewed sense of wonderment. Of course, visiting museums, reading great books and being in the great outdoors feeds the artistic soul too and I try to fit these activities into a very busy life whenever I can! 

What is your most memorable concert experience? 

Some of the most memorable performances I’ve had in my career have been playing two-piano repertoire with my husband, James. We seem to have a kind of telepathy, where it feels that we can play together as one. Particular performancesthat stay in the mind include our first performance Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring for 4 hands – it felt like the air around us was electric and the audience on the edge of their seats. Messiaen’s Visions de l’Amen was another epic work to perform and a tremendous musical journey to experience together on stage. We were lucky to perform Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with conductor and percussionist David Corkhill, who helped us transcend the painful technical difficulties in it and perform it with utter conviction, relishing this music’s extraordinary character and rhythmic vivacity. I can’t wait to perform an arrangement of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite for two pianos in October at King’s Place in London as part of the London Piano Festival. Michael Morpurgo will be narrating the story and it will be pure magic, I am sure! 

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

My family and I recently moved into an old cottage in Surrey and my husband James and I will soon be giving our first house concert there. Without a doubt, playing to neighbours, friends and family (whilst they have a glass of wine) in our own home will be immensely enjoyable. I find that the setting of a concert within a home is hugely inspiring, precisely because so many of the great composers most likely performed just like this to friends and acquaintances, much of the time. Larger epic works by Chopin and Beethoven, especially, take on a new level of drama when heard up close, rather than from afar in a concert hall. I also really enjoy speaking with listeners and building relationships with them, rather than leaving through the back door of a concert hall, never really getting to know those who made such an effort to be there.

Do you enjoy teaching as much as performing? 

I have been a teacher of young pianists for almost 17 years now, and I am also a mother of two young children. Compared to most people, I probably spend an unusually large amount of my time thinking about how music-making can play a genuinely profound role in childhood development. It is an immense privilege to help grow a love and appreciation of classical music in young people, and it is also a responsibility I take very seriously. Having years of teaching experience behind me has undoubtedly made me a more imaginative and communicative performer at the piano. Being a good teacher means that you need to be unfailingly sensitive pupil’s needs, which will be in flux from week to week. 

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

In our age of AI and the transformational digital revolution, I really hope that true creativity and the arts will become more highly valued than ever. Most people know that studying an instrument has great intellectual benefit, however, making music is crucial in honing precious creative and spontaneous thinking. It pains me to see the study of classical music used purely as a way to climb the academic ladder in some educational settings and I always endeavour to focus young minds on their own personal journey, rather than one which is dictated by grade exams. Having an outlet for self-expression is enormously important to young people, and the unique boon of the pianist is that we can do this all by ourselves without ever needing an accompanist.

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians? 

Aim to have a portfolio of skills and learn how to speak to your audiences. As we all know, there are a plethora of phenomenal pianists out there, but what can set one apart is the ability to communicate and connect with audiences. I can always sense the audience hanging onto every word whenever a performer unexpectedly speaks at a recital – people are fascinated to find out more about the person behind the instrument and what they think. Don’t hide behind your instrument! 

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

That is a tricky question! Success is a hard concept to define as it will mean something different to everyone. For me, I would consider my career a success if I managed to balance my ambition and work with family life. If I can continually strive to teach and perform with humility, imagination and enthusiasm, winning over listeners in the process, then I would consider that a worthy achievement and use of my time.

What’s next? Where would you like to be in 10 years?

Having already lived in three countries in my life so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if another big move came my way in the next 10 years! However, I absolutely love living in the Surrey countryside with my family and it would be somewhat inconceivable to change that. I recently became a UK citizen, which was a profound moment for me. However, I firmly believe in “never saying never”! Professionally speaking, I absolutely love my current teaching job and I feel that I still have so much more that I can do in the coming years. My dream is to perform more two-piano concerts with James and for us to create further transcriptions of orchestral works – there is nothing better than making music together with someone you love. 

Janneke Brits performs at the 10^th anniversary edition of the London Piano Festival at Kings Place (9-12 October), performing an original arrangement of Stravinsky’s The Firebird with James Kreiling. Find out more