Master YURI, if you were to say something to our Italian readers, such as Musician and Artist, what would you tell them?
With an average and growing internet usage at 3.5 trillion people, every discrete and dedicated artist around the globe can be discovered and followed. The world now has no more boundaries, for the better part of it ... it means we can reach the whole planet with our creations. And beauty is beyond words, you are not limited by the language barrier. It is a beautiful time to be an artist.
When you found to possess your talent as a musician and composer? Which is your artistic story you would like to tell Italian musician lovers?
As far as I can remember, my piano teacher used to smack me with a ruler to bring me back to the piano program, I was always playing my own compositions instead of my piano homework. Since then, composing has been part of my daily routine for 20 years.
The incredible part is that why and how I abandoned my music dream for 10 years.
I was raised with my five brothers by my father alone which is a chemist. To keep our moral high, he uses to tell us that we could achieve anything we wanted in life. Since I was not a very good student I decided to aim for music composition. It was at the age of 18 when choosing a music university that my father sat me down on a little wooden chair and told me something that would change my life for the next 10 years.
He told me that art was not a the way to go and that artists starve all their life. He told me he couldn't let me trash my life like that. For my good I was force into my second most interesting field, psychology. This is the beginning of another perilous adventure that lasted 10 years, but to make a long story short, the moment I went into psychology I accepted peacefully that nobody would ever hear me play in this lifetime. This situation gave me a beautiful teaching about the true nature of art.
One of the big question for me was "Is art still relevant when nobody is seeing what you bring into the world?". This, I will answer during this interview.
So, I composed and played each day, accumulating a lot of creations that maybe my grandchildren would find one day. I always felt inspiration to be this incessant flow of fullness into which one can tap. It is a natural part of most people. Inspiration can use words, ideas, sounds, emotions, it is there no matter if you play an instrument or not. I don't think it must go through one channel in particular.
In January 2015, I decided that I would create my first music album with all my piano compositions of the year (Walking on Water). Same thing for the year after. It was really the second one, "The Tree of Life" that got me a lot of attention around the globe with the internet. I'm now preparing the 3rd album that is an awesome process.
If it was not for the overwhelming feedback I received from my fans I would still have no clues that there was a place for my music in the world. I never expected that. I take it as a call from mother destiny.
I still feel incredibly humble and lucky about the turn of tides.
Some musicians are more talented at interpreting, others are more on composition side. I accepted very early on that I would not be an interpreter. It was in front of majestic and beautiful music pieces that I decided to go for composing. Strangely, for many years, it composing was one of the main ways to feel emotions at all.
In the composition process I like to create first the atmosphere, then the melody come out of that. I seldom begin otherwise, that is a second nature.
A great innovator of classical music at the end of '800 and '900 was the great pianist and French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). In your compositions there is something that is inspired to the Debussy's music?
Debussy was a friend of Satie although much younger. They found both inspirations in one another. Funny enough, what I found the most interesting pieces from Debussy is the Debussy side that is more alike Satie's work. There is something mysterious and secret about the pieces of Satie... particularly the “Gnossiennes” and the “Gymnopedies”. My favorites Debussy's is Claire de lune. With respect, I interpreted some of his works but and I'm less inclined to his music overall.
Before Satie, all piano compositions that wanted to be taken for granted had to be a demonstration of virtuosity. He dared to aim for the deepest places, where the true questions come in. Who am I? What is my purpose? Every person suffers these questions more than one would admit.
Have you ever done concerts in what is called the “Bel Paese” (the Beautiful Country) that has a history and an important classical music tradition? Great artist like Antonio Vivaldi, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Nicolò Paganini, and many others. What do you think about Italian classic music made by these great names?
I gave some privates concerts but never in other countries. I wouldn't be surprised to organize this very soon. Otherwise I consider the Italy to have hosted the cream of the crust of composers. Very seldom do you get that many incredible musical legend from the same womb. Most of these masters have still today, never been equaled in their field.
Unfortunately, in Canada we didn't got any history of the sort, it's a loss.
When will you come to Italy for a concert tour? If yes, when and where will you do your concerts so that our readers can come to hear your amazing music?
It would really be an honor.
The last time I thoughts about touring was when I was a dreamy teenager, now you take me by surprise. Next time we see each other may well be into one your historic concert halls.
If two children aged ten years come to you to ask with spontaneity, innocence and curiosity: "Master YURI please, explains us what is the Art?", How would you respond to this question to make them understand what they want to know?
If I listen deeply to my intuition would say that Art is to Give a form to the unseen. It's a process of being aligned with your inner purpose. When the personal identity is aside, there is a place for spontaneity, inspiration and clarity. That is where art lives.
Master YURI, Thanks so much for giving me this interview ... I hope to see you in Italy … thanks again and … break a leg!
Lol Thank you Andrea, I hope too, Italy is one of the country I'm most envious to go (He smiles!).
For those who would like to know more about Master Yuri Lamarche, here are some links:
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Author of the interview, Andrea Giostra: