A Luxembourgian finds her Mysterious Muse in Miaskovsky

Breathing Life into the Works of an Overlooked Master

When we find something meaningful that takes us on a journey of spirit, leading us through a labyrinth towards an unknown, inevitably this path leads us to our purpose. For musicians this is a constant journey to make the connection from inner self to purposeful expression. It is through music that we come closer to ourselves and in some cases to our humanity.

The pianist Sabine Weyer has been on a mission for which she brings a remarkably deep empathy to her subject: finding and exploring the works of the composer Miaskovsky.

Through a synthesis of the historic context and interpretation of the music of Miaskovsky, we experience the emergence of the artist in her own voice. There is something about Sabine Weyer…

We are invited to go along on her quest. Let’s see where it takes us…

Kathy Geisler: What is your current job in the field of classical music? What are you currently working on?

Sabine Weyer: I am a pianist and professor of piano at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg. I have been working on a new recording of works by Miaskovsky and Bacri called ‘Mysteries.’ It was an incredible project that took me to Moscow to explore the life of Miaskovsky and his determination to create despite the overwhelming challenges. I’m very excited to be able to announce that the release will be in the beginning of 2021 on the ARS Produktion label.

Kathy: What were some of your early experiences with music?

Sabine: I started studying piano in Luxembourg, my home town. There is a funny story that I almost never tell anyone. When I was seven or eight years old I participated in a class concert in which I was to play a rather difficult etude by Carl Czerny. The etude starts in the middle register of the piano and proceeds to travel down the keyboard in fast long scales and arpeggios ending on lowest keys on the piano. It is quite a feat and I was proud to be able to handle it so well at that age. At the concert, eager to start showing off my skills at the piano, I didn’t look where I was starting from on the keyboard, and surprise—I had started one octave too low! I was playing the scales going down and all of a sudden there were no keys left on the keyboard — I had started too low and ran out of road. I was so embarrassed. I stopped and declared to the audience: “there are not enough keys on this piano,” then I laughed and began again!

Kathy: What is one of your favorite places and why?

Sabine: I love Brussels. I have so many memories there. I was in Brussels studying at the Conservatoire. During that time I experienced a profound opening of my musical horizons. There were a wealth of experiences that came from my time there. It would be unfair to talk about any memory in particular— they are all so wonderful that it would be impossible to leave anything out!

Kathy: What is one of your favorite pieces and do you have a favorite performer or experience of it?

Sabine: I have so many favorite pieces!! One of my most favorite composers of music for the piano is Schumann. I especially admire Sokolov’s approach to Schumann. He has given me deep insights into the beauty of Schumann’s music. I remember a concert with Sokolov at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg, and another one at Bozar in Brussels. Both times I had the feeling of being completely overwhelmed during his performance, as if my soul was about to quit this earth and to ascend to heaven. It is impossible to express this feeling in words. Both times the concert ended with me being in tears and unable to speak to anyone for several hours afterwards, completely overwhelmed with emotion. After the Brussels concert, I tried, some days later, to write down my emotions in the form of a poem, which I still have, but which could reflect only such a tiny part of what it was like to be in front of this pure and deep musician.

Kathy: Is there an artist no longer living who somehow made an impression on you?

Sabine: Of course, many! Among the pianists from the past, I particularly admire Horowitz, Michelangeli, Gilels, Arrau, and Richter, to name a few. For one, I am fascinated about the way that Michelangeli approached the piano. Although he might be considered by some people as too introverted or as a ‘cold’ pianist, I very much like the extreme concentration and control that he brings to the keyboard. Yes, he is very intellectual and cerebral, he controls the smallest details of everything, but nevertheless he is deeply musical, sensual and sensitive — and that’s what I like about him. For me he handles exceptionally well the ‘mastering of the absence of control,’ meaning that he finds the perfect balance between control and freedom. He has been a huge inspiration to me.

Kathy: What is one thing you think will be different about classical music 100 years from now?

Sabine: I’m afraid that in 100 years the classical concert as we know it will have disappeared and music will be made more or maybe exclusively via streaming—which I don’t approve of at all. I think that the relationship of the artist to the public will change a lot over the next years.

Kathy: What is something about your work that you think most people have no idea about?

Sabine: I think that people who perform (music or any other form of art) can understand deeply what is meant by ‘control’ and by ‘letting-things-go.’ I believe that the public doesn’t always perceive the tremendous challenge that this implies. When you are controlling what you are doing, you are not able to communicate that feeling of being in a dream-like state—the feeling of being in a dream is so important. This is why the goal is to achieve the mastering of absence of control.

When your attention is completely focused on dreaming inside the music, it means the control part of the work has already been accomplished to a greater degree prior to that — you are freed from thinking about technique.

Kathy: Did you have any life-changing experiences that put you on the path that led you to be doing what you’re doing today?

Sabine: I think that my life-changing experience happened when I was a child, around 4 or 5 when I heard music being played on a piano on the radio for the first time!

I felt deeply in love from the first moment and knew that this was “it” for me!

Kathy: Is there anything else you would like to say about yourself, your work, or classical music?

Sabine: As the world is about to change (and obviously the business of classical music as well), I would like to express a wish:

Let us all be aware of the tremendous chance we are given each time we are playing or listening to music, because it is one of the few things that no one and nothing can ever take away from us. The joy of communicating through music, of connecting to our souls with music, is eternal and we should appreciate its value more and more!

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