Prelude with Chilly Gonzales

Chilly Gonzales shows intelligence with eccentricity: a way to get close to his audience when he enters the scene wearing his dressing gown and his slippers, to let them come in his privacy. His compositions are played on the piano with happiness and humor; they are universal although difficult.

What relationship do you have with the piano? When did you meet him for the first time and how did this relationship develop? Has he become a friend, sometimes an enemy? Are you arguing with him?
I met the piano when I was very young, thanks to my Hungarian Grandfather. The latter had an extremely respectful attitude towards the instrument. So I showed mimicry at first. Then one day, I realized that to incorporate a creative dimension into this relationship, I had to disrespect him from time to time and the object came down from his pedestal where my Grandfather had installed it. Idolizing an artist, where the relationship becomes almost religious, prevents me from finding his own voice; I don’t believe there are living gods of music. I accept that an artist whose music I appreciate can compose a song that I don't like.

It's a bit the same with the piano: I accept that there are days when things go wrong with it. I obviously prefer it when it goes well but I will not say that something sacred is happening. My relationship is more defined in the following terms: I get up in the morning and exercise my routine. The morning mood will have an impact on the instrument because I play every morning.

For about three years now, I’ve always started with an hour of reading music that I don’t know in order to improve my reading skills. And then, if I'm not on tour, I will continue one or two hours of composition or rehearsing songs. At times like these, I don't expect something magical, nor do I expect inspiration on every occasion. You have to have a long-term vision: by dint of playing every morning, it is only in retrospect that you realize then which idea was the right one.

So the piano and you are inseparable?
Yes, I play every day. When I'm on tour, I try to play at least an hour to an hour and a half with the instrument in the concert hall. But sometimes I can't do it. This morning, for example, I woke up in Lucerne, I hopped on the train to come here and I have to leave for Paris afterwards. Today is therefore a day when I have not had the opportunity to touch a piano and I feel it. I'm more irritable… And despite the fatigue, I think I would feel better if I had had the opportunity to do so.

It's a bit of a concern for amateur and professional pianists, I guess. The instrument does not fit easily in our luggage.

Yes but at the same time, as I did not bring the instrument on tour, I have the joy of discovering other pianos. And this feeds my creativity and allows me to get more involved unlike playing always with the same instrument that I know by heart. I have an open relationship with my piano; I have the right to touch other pianos.

This instrument which he knows by heart and with which he maintains an open relationship is, contrary to what we (his audience) might think, a Bechstein upright piano. Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner were loyal to the Bechstein grand piano, as were Claude Debussy. But Chilly preferred an upright piano to him because he does not consider himself a concert performer. He sees himself as an "underdog".
Getting an orchestral sound with an upright piano is no small task: he admits to enjoying the challenge since he has played more than 27 hours in concert among other things. The pressure I experience when I leave at a disadvantage allows me to push myself, to learn and to find intuitive solutions. Often the competitive side is denied by the musicians. For me, it is an integral part of my approach.

How would you present Chambers to someone who doesn't listen to classical music, whose chamber music means nothing and who listens to Busta Rhymes most of the times?
Chambers is pop music composed with a string quartet and a piano. This instrumental music is a translation of my tastes in modern music - rap, electro, pop - in another form of older music, dear to Brahms. It's an invitation to take part in an experience, a little conceptual, and to believe that the music can be translated. Some people will see pop there, others who have a classical training will see a kind of miniature from the romantic era. These miniatures are often snubbed by the great masters of classical music: too light, they prefer monumental works such as symphonies, operas or concertos. I think of Mendelssohn's song without words on the piano, the cello duos of Offenbach, which can be considered as furnishing music. But I believe in this kind of music, all co even I believe in passive and active listening. I sometimes have passive listening when I do the dishes and it seems legitimate to me to enjoy good furnishing music. My included albums and "Chambers" are made for these two types of listening. "That’s my pitch".

And what a pitch! There remains, however, an enigma concerning Chilly Gonzales that I cannot solve. Why not a BO signed by the maestro?

... Well I tried to do it ... In fact, signing a soundtrack doesn't work very well with my way of working. You see, as soon as an idea seems right, I get involved. And I never let go. A soundtrack is an extremely collaborative work, too collaborative. I cannot adapt to new ideas, to the changes that take place in the film when I started to get involved in a process from the start. It is too dangerous and the risk of rejection is too great. When I compose my own albums, no one has the power to tell me that the idea I have invested in must change. An idea is like a child.

There is one exception: I composed the soundtrack for "The Piano Room" by Igor Ivanov Izi. I described with precision to the director how I wanted to work, I took a risk by trusting him because many directors agree with my way of working then I realize that in fact, this is not the case . My approach is certainly too one-sided for this kind of project.

As Rick Ross would say, "I am the boss"

In order to conclude, Nietzsche wrote in his work “Crépuscule des idols, Maximes et pointes” that life without music would be a mistake. What would Chilly Gonzales say?

A mistake??? Oh that's a little strong. I would say that you shouldn't take music too seriously. I take it seriously because I devoted my life to it but it's my choice, my own pleasure. I can imagine that some people are not sensitive to music and that is not to say that I believe that their life is dark and uninteresting.

Life cannot be a mistake, with or without music. What is important are stories of life and death. Music is not a story of life and death, it improves the quality of life for most of us. Few people are nevertheless insensitive to music; however, I have known a few people for whom music means nothing. And I don't judge them. I myself am insensitive to many things; for example, I am insensitive to contemporary art. Galleries and museums annoy me.

So I try to imagine the interior of Chilly Gonzales, without a single painting hanging on the wall ... He will answer me that he only has a Brahms painting, for reasons other than his visual qualities.