56. For a Star of Classical Piano, Languages Hold the Key

Andrew von Oyen is one of the only Americans in his field who brings bilingualism to the concert stage.

“You never dreamed, did you, that a piano could be made to express all that?”

That’s Marcel Proust, the early 20th-century French writer who penned In Search of Lost Time. How was he able to time-travel into the future and know how perfectly those words would describe the work of the classical pianist Andrew von Oeyen?

Despite the Old World surname, Andrew is the product of a Southern California upbringing who now has a home in Malibu. But that’s where any suggestion of laid-back SoCal stops. It’s worth a wager that this graduate of the famed Juilliard Conservatory has the only home in Malibu where the music of Beethoven, Bach, Debussy and many other classical composers is a constant counterpoint to the rumble of surf.

A language ‘premonition’

Andrew’s dedication to classical piano started young: at the tender age of 5. At 10, he had his solo orchestral debut. By the time he was 16, the age when many SoCal kids are learning how to drive, Andrew was playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He now performs with symphony orchestras all over the world.

For almost as long as he’s been practicing piano, Andrew has been practicing another skill: speaking a second language. Now in his forties, Andrew speaks three: Spanish, German and French.

“Perhaps,” he muses, “I had the kind of premonition that language would be important for my future.”

Andrew will often address audiences in their native language, as he did when he performed in the Vienna Concert House, featured here and in the inset.

HEAR THE STORY

You’ll hear about his reasons for learning each of those languages in this episode, along with Andrew’s thoughts when asked if speaking another language influences his musicianship. Is there a connection? His answer might surprise you.

Listen on iTunes by clicking here: America the Bilingual by Steve Leveen on iTunes. Or on SoundCloud here.

Enjoy Episode 56, featuring Andrew von Oeyen in conversation with America the Bilingual founder Steve Leveen. Bonus: in the background, you’ll also hear Andrew in concert, as he performs the works of various composers. (See the playlist below.)

Then watch this short video of Andrew speaking to the audience en francais at the Royal Opera of Versailles.

Andrew’s playlist

Most of the music you hear in this episode is, of course, courtesy of Andrew at the piano. Here are the selections:

• Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin 
• Coda to Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
• Leonard Bernstein’s “Age of Anxiety” performed with the Slovenian Philharmonic
• Brahms, Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118