Ophelia Gordon, 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?

My family without a doubt. I was born into a musical home – my mother is a pianist and saxophonist, my grandfather was a pianist, and my great grandfather was a concert pianist based in Paris. As soon as I was old enough to sit up, I was sitting at the piano. I have memories of my mum waking me up at 5am to practice everyday, and I’d watch the bin-men on their rounds outside, and I loved it. She’d put a glass of milk and biscuits next to me and just let me get on with it! She used to put on Jazz FM when I’d go to sleep too, so music was everywhere – morning, noon and night.

Also, my Dad has been a huge influence recently. He passed away in 2020, but just before he died, he created a playlist for me and my siblings called ‘Ophelia’s Education’. On it, there’s Steeley Dan, Led Zeppelin, Art Tatum, Jeff Beck, Madonna, the list goes on. Not much classical genre, but deeply important music. I often look way beyond classical music for my inspiration. It’s the artists who have something to say that I resonate with, the ones who push boundaries and challenge listeners, regardless of genre.

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

Recording my debut album of 20 Kapustin tracks, all whilst navigating a difficult divorce and studying a full-time masters degree. Often the biggest life challenges aren’t separated from career – well, not in my case. They are quite heavily intertwined. The music of course is challenging in itself, but it’s the balance of life and art which is the greatest challenge. 

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

Learning both parts of Kapustin’s Paraphrase on Dizzy Gillespie’s Manteca for my album was one of the most intense challenges of my life — deciding the exact type of swing I wanted and layering both voices simultaneously. It took two full days to record, but I’m thrilled with the outcome.

Last year, I was also invited to be the resident pianist for the Art Song Preservation Society festival at the Manhattan School of Music. I had only a few weeks to learn at least 60 different art song pieces, and worked through them in masterclasses with wonderful singers. It was an amazing experience and I learnt so much about my own playing too.

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

Have you guessed it yet? Kapustin! (Although I’ve always been comfortable with Rachmaninoff and Ravel too). When I first heard his music, I just totally fell in love and now I’m completely obsessed. I’ve always had a thing for jazz, but most of my training growing up was classical (so I never learnt how to read a lead sheet, chord voicings, improv etc) but I played tons of notated jazz. So in comes Kapustin and it’s a language I just understood immediately. I feel very much at home in his sound world.

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

I usually wait for new pieces to come into my life. I’m now learning Steve Reich’s piano phase, because it came to me during a lecture. I wait to feel deeply moved by something. I never play something just because it’s in fashion, expected, or an anniversary (that’s just a bonus). I’ve got to be connected to it from the get go. I also try to work around themes or narratives. The Reich for example is part of a programme I’m putting together with Ravel and Kapustin called ‘Time’, where I challenge the audience’s perception of time in motion. 

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

I recently performed at the Stoller Hall in Manchester, and that was a wonderful experience – the piano was gorgeous and it was a superb hall. It was particularly special because I have seen so many amazing pianists perform on the same stage, through the Chetham’s International Summer School, so to be playing extracts from my album at their summer school this year was very special. Also, I’ll be performing Kapustin’s 5th concerto at Cadogan Hall next July, so I’m really excited for that!

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

I do a lot of yoga, and I find after a challenging hot class, my body is super grounded and relaxed. The breathing exercises, coordination and strength that you gain from yoga is essential for being a musician I think. But to be honest, inspiration comes from life, right from relationships to the mundane everyday things. Whatever is happening in my life always feeds into my playing. All the up’s and down’s of life come together in my music and I’ll never be able to separate the two. My teacher at Trinity, Ji Liu, recently said to me ‘Music is about life, but there is more to life than music’, and it’s true.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

My first concerto experience back in 2017 was to roughly 1000 people at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon – I was so nervous! Also, I finally managed to encourage the audience at my Stoller Hall performance this summer to cheer whilst I was playing, which is something I’ve been trying out at my concerts recently. I am actively working to challenge the rigidity of classical music, and this concert proved that it is possible! It was very experimental and I will remember that as the first time the audience actively participated in one of my concerts.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

If you have moved someone with your playing, then that’s success. Also, if you’ve been able to create something that is entirely yours, purely authentic, and if you are playing from a place of pure emotion, that is success.

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

We need to pull away the pedestal that classical musicians seem to get put on. We are all humans, and the virtuosos on the stage are also humans who experience pain, love, trauma, heartbreak, if they are lucky enough! I also think there is too much separation between performer, composer and audience. Take Adele, for example: people connect with her because she sings about real life. Classical musicians could learn from this — bring your own story, not just Beethoven’s, to the stage.

Classical musicians need to be themselves, authentically vulnerable, and express why music means so much to them, so the audience can relate. The audience needs to be encouraged that the performance is about their experience too, and for too long, classical audiences are told to be silent, only clap when appropriate, and it can be intimidating. Sure, silence is also music, and it’s important that we listen carefully, but it’s amazing how people struggle to applaud during a piece, even when given permission. It’s like a social conditioning that’s happened over hundreds of years. It’s an elitist culture that quite frankly scares people off. 

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

Mental health and abuse. Sure, they are not new topics and they come up every now and then, but does anything actually change? Gatekeeping, elitism, misogyny, and pupil teacher abuse are very real things that I have experienced first hand.

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

Use your life to enrich your music. Ask yourself why you play, and don’t ever let anyone take that away from you, no matter what. Music is for everyone, regardless of talent or skill. Play like your life depends on it. Go out and live fully, and then bring all of it to your instrument. Channel every lived experience through each note.

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

I’m thinking of another Kapustin album – with lots of unrecorded repertoire including some works for piano and big band. I’d also love to collaborate with more jazz musicians on Kapustin’s music, with arrangements and improvisation. It’s a long term project I’m working on, but I think it has potential. Hopefully I’ll travel a bit more and keep doing my best to change the classical industry one concert at a time!

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Rain outside, a cat curled up on my lap, and a piano under my hands.

What is your most treasured possession?

My IPad! Seriously, I have thousands of scores on it and I don’t know what I’d do if something were to happen to it!

What is your present state of mind?

I’m a little nervous – my album is out November 14th, and I’m curious to hear the feedback, but I’m excited. I’ve also got the final year of my masters at Trinity Laban to get through, so it’s a busy time!

Ophelia Gordon’s debut recording ‘Kapustin: Between the Lines’ is released on 14 November on the Divine Art label. Ophelia is the first BRIT School alum to release a commercially recorded classical album. Find out more