Last week we shared with you a two-part interview with Ovation Press editor Helmut Lipsky. In the second part Mr. Lipsky discussed teaching and pedagogy, exploring the relationships he has developed with himself as an instructor and with those students he has taught. Mr. Lipsky also talked about the musical influences that helped to teach and shape him.
For most musicians, there has been a powerful and influential musical figure in their past that helped make them who they are today. (This week we interview the two violinists of Duo Philia, who as you will see also have one such person).
But what about those whose musical development was cultivated through less-traditional means? Usman Riaz, a TEDGlobal Fellow, could be considered one of those people. A musician and composer, he performed at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh earlier this June.
And he learned his music from the Internet!
The Internet is the largest collection of humanity’s knowledge. Through my work in music, I want to show people that the Internet can not only break down barriers but also redefine the limits of what is possible.
The polymaths and Renaissance men of yesteryear had to devote their lives to the pursuit of the same knowledge that we can access with one click.
I am fortunate to come from a family inclined toward the arts — thanks to which, they are all very difficult to impress. My great-grandfather was an Eastern music scholar and multi-instrumentalist. He played instruments like the sarangi, the harmonium and the violin. He traveled throughout Pakistan and Britain to develop and refine his musical style.
My grandmother, choosing to follow in her father’s footsteps, became an Eastern classical musician and a stage performer. Her brother, my great-uncle, is one of Pakistan’s last remaining orators — professional storytellers who read old stories written by famous writers of the Subcontinent. His wife is one of the country’s leading Kathak dancers. Their son, my cousin, is one of the country’s greatest percussion and tabla players. My parents were also stage performers, and recognized that I had musical aptitude at an early age. I was classically trained in piano since age 6 — which is how I fell in love with Western classical composers like Mozart and Chopin.
As I got older, I wanted to branch out and experiment with other instruments. But I felt very limited in Pakistan. Music teachers there are in great demand and tend to focus only on Western classical or Eastern classical music.
It had taken my great-grandfather his whole life to master and play his chosen instruments. Now, I had no choice but to let the Internet be my teacher…
Usman Riaz discusses these ideas in the below video:
Read the full article – The Internet was my music teacher
Other stories from the classical music world
- Changes abound in the musical landscape of Portland: an icon of its music scene is eliminating its classical music store. “After more than three decades, the sounds of symphonies and arias within Music Millennium will soon be silent.”
- Remember that classical album based off of the feverishly popular “Fifty Shades of Grey” book? Now it’s topped the classical music charts!
- The Museum of Russian Art’s latest installment of its Music at the Museum series this past weekend featured a very rich blend of gypsy tunes and folk dances that are key aspects of Russia’s musical heritage. Check out this article which details the event and features some awesome photos.
- Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, another Eastern European classical music tradition began over the weekend. The 42nd annual Varazdin Baroque Evenings classical music festival started on Friday in the northern Croatian town of Varazdin. Nearly half a century since it first began, this festival celebrates the Baroque style and the town of Varazdin as the “capital of Baroque.”
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