In this first episode of the new International Beethoven Project podcast series, George Lepauw interviews Ton Koopman, Founder and Director of Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir as well as a virtuoso organist and harpsichordist. This interview was made on the way to the airport following Ton Koopman two harpsichord performance with his wife Tini Mathot the previous evening at Chicago's Fine Arts Building Studebaker Theater, under the auspices of the International Beethoven Project.

IBP Podcast Episode 1: Ton Koopman

Produced by the International Beethoven Project, and hosted by George Lepauw, Through The Stage Door is a new podcast that gives listeners unequalled access to the artists behind the art, to the leaders who shape the art world, and to the radicals past and present who continuously redefine art, and in so doing, our entire world.

This podcast is for anyone curious about the arts, whether you are an expert in an art field or just an onlooker. There may occasional expert speak, but these conversations are typically informal and designed for the general public of all ages.

Episode 1 is a long-form conversation with the YouTube stars Anderson & Roe, who form a radically new kind of piano duo. Described as “the intense synchronisation of genius” (ThirdCoast Digest) and “the most dynamic duo of this generation” (San Francisco Classical Voice), the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo aims to make classical music a relevant and powerful force around the world. They have made several recordings for the Steinway Label, have appeared on NPR and MTV, and tour the world.

In this interview, we broach their individual and collective backgrounds, their professional story, the making of some of their key music videos and recordings, and their thoughts on music and life. We also explore some of their interests in and out of music. It is a very personal and in-depth interview that is even more about their human journey than their musical career. As Greg Anderson said in this conversation, "we allowed the serendipity of life to take its course."

Please enjoy.

PS: This podcast series will be available on iTunes in Fall 2016. This Soundcloud version essentially gives an early-bird taste of this new series to those listeners who find us here first. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, advertiser, or even just a donor to help support this endeavor, please send an inquiry to ibp@internationalbeethovenproject.com for more information.

You can also learn more about Anderson & Roe at www.andersonroe.com and more about George Lepauw at www.georgelepauw.com. 

Through The Stage Door Episode 1: Anderson & Roe

The second episode of the International Beethoven Project's new podcast, Through The Stage Door, is an in-depth interview with Tony Karman, Founder, President and Director of Expo Chicago, the International Exhibition of Modern and Contemporary Art. Now in its fifth year, Expo Chicago brings over 140 leading galleries from over 52 cities in 23 countries. Karman's vision for Expo Chicago is to create one of the best markets for art in the world while fulfilling a civic duty to engage with the city in full. In all his years of work in the art world, Tony Karman has learned that collaboration and service are key to genuine success. 

As a side note, the introduction to the podcast unfortunately contains a couple of slight factual errors. Art Chicago was not the original name of Chicago's first art fair, but was the new name given it in the 90s. The original name of what was the first international art fair in North America was "Chicago International Art Exposition". Also, it was not launched in 1980 but in 1979.

Lastly, the music you here in the podcast includes a live performance of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata I did at the Beethoven Festival in 2011, as well as a track by Lee Rosevere called "Say Something Like That".

Enjoy this episode, share with your circles, and let us know what you think!

Through The Stage Door Episode 2 - Tony Karman of Expo Chicago

Raising money for art projects is a complex but necessary aspect of any creative person's life, including entrepreneurs. Here, I broach the subject of fundraising from both the artist side as well as the patron side, in an attempt to generate a healthier conversation about the necessary, and potentially wonderful, relationship between receiving and giving, between the creative idea and the means to turn it into reality. I use some biographical examples from Beethoven's life as well as from the Roman patron Maecenas. Enjoy!

Through The Stage Door Episode 3 - On Patronage

First podcast interview with French pianist Lucas Debargue in English! He is someone who just leaped onto the international classical concert scene almost out of the blue during the summer of 2015, when he became the most talked-about artist of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition, despite coming in last in the winner’s circle, with a 4th place ranking! Indeed, pianist Lucas Debargue’s playing, both in musical and technical terms, was so unconventional that the jury was bitterly divided over how to judge him, and yet the Russian audience of thousands who got to hear him live during the competition fell head over heels for him - and it cannot be said that Russians do not know about music.

He studied for four years with Professor Rena Sheresheskaya at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, following what he made his big splash in Moscow, which was not only attended by the local audience, but was watched live on Medici.tv by over 10 million people around the world. In classical music terms, this made him an immediate global sensation. Despite being placed 4th, his muscular and intellectual playing, combined with an intensely poetic and lyrical gift for phrasing, earned him the coveted Moscow Music Critics’ Award as ”the pianist whose incredible gift, artistic vision and creative freedom have impressed the critics as well as the audience”. He was the only musician across all disciplines to earn this recognition. Soon after the competition, Debargue was signed by Sony Classical, with whom he has now released two albums. One of his new supporters is the Russian superstar maestro Valery Gergiev, who has taken him under his wing and invited him to perform concertos with him several times already with many more dates programmed. Lucas’ new career has truly taken off at record speed and he is now constantly touring around the world. In fact, this past year he even had the opportunity to tour with the legendary violinist Gidon Kremer, something we talk about in this interview.


A performer of fierce integrity and dazzling communicative power, Debargue draws inspiration for his playing from many disciplines, including literature, painting, cinema and jazz, which is one of the reasons I have really enjoyed getting to know him! It is also why Lucas has a lot to say about music and its place in the world of creative pursuits, and it is why this short conversation with him is meant to be only the first of two or three. This particular conversation took place in my car as I drove him to the airport after his Ravinia debut near Chicago this past August, 2016.

Enjoy!

Note: Photo by Alexandre Switon, of George Lepauw looking over Lucas Debargue's shoulder as he plays through some music sitting on George's home piano in Chicago, August 2016.

Through The Stage Door Episode 4 - Lucas Debargue

This 5th episode of Through The Stage Door, a new podcast produced by the International Beethoven Project and hosted by George Lepauw, is dedicated to Beethoven’s 246th birthday. Biographical details of Beethoven’s birth and early years precede the reading of several revealing letters he wrote to patrons, friends and family. Toasts by the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chicago, Mr. Herbert Quelle (and a harmonica riff on the Ode to Joy), and the Commissioner for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events of the City of Chicago, Mr. Mark Kelly, are included in this podcast episode, which concludes with a performance of Beethoven’s well-known “Tempest” Sonata Opus 31 Nr. 2 in d minor, as performed live at the Beethoven Birthday Bash, December 16th, 2016, at the Chicago Cultural Center, by pianist and this podcast’s host, George Lepauw. Because some of the recordings were made in live situations without full audio control, the quality of some segments is less than ideal. But the goal is to make you, the listener, feel part of the event, and we think you will get that sense. This last Beethoven Birthday Bash event is the 7th annual such event organized by the International Beethoven Project in Chicago.

Through The Stage Door is a podcast produced by the International Beethoven Project, a Chicago-based non-profit organization dedicated to creativity, engagement, and progress in the arts, inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven’s groundbreaking example as an artist and force for good.

Through The Stage Door Episode 5 - Beethoven's 246th Birthday

An interview with WZRD Radio with founder and president of the International Beethoven Project George Lepauw and Artistic Director of the Beethoven Birthday Bash Tonika Todorova, discussing the story of Beethoven, of the 10 year old birthday bash, of the upcoming program for Beethoven's 249th, and of the kickoff to the Beethoven@250 Year. In addition, there are music tracks by HJ Lim of Beethoven sonatas, George Lepauw of his upcoming Bach48 Well-Tempered Clavier album, and from the band ODE which will perform at this year's Chicago bash.

WZRD 249th Beethoven Bday Bash Interviews with George Lepauw and Tonika Todorova

Chicago-based organization dedicated to creativity, engagement, and progress in the arts, inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven’s groundbreaking example as an artist and force for social good. 


International Beethoven Project

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