Additional Information
Last year, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko was the first Canadian winner of an instrumental edition of the Montreal International Musical Competition (MIMC). Another epic achievement in the same vein in 2024: The Leeds International Piano Competition, no less. In 2021, the CBC had named the pianist one of “30 Canadian classical musicians under 30”. This prestigious status comes on the heels of numerous awards, accolades, appearances with many renowned orchestras and conductors – in short, all the events that define a great artistic rise in the classical world. Four years after the CBC revelation, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko is having an international career, Montreal piano music lovers will attend his Sunday afternoon recital at Pierre-Mercure hall. This is exactly why Alain Brunet had a chat with this more than excellent player.
PAN M 360 : What real impact has this significant recognition had on your career since then?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: I consider myself extremely fortunate to have a very full concert schedule and to be able to share my music with wider audiences around the world.
PAN M 360 : Beyond your remarkable virtuosity, how do you define your pianistic personality?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: It’s quite difficult to characterize one’s own playing, but I consider myself a serious and introverted performer. I love to present large-scale works with ambitious and monumental musical narratives.
PAN M 360 : What do you consider to be the most obvious characteristics of your playing?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko : I believe that one of my pianistic strengths is layering: maintaining clarity and independent shapes in multiple simultaneous melodic lines. It’s a quality possessed by my favourite pianists, and one that I have worked very hard to cultivate in my own playing.
“Born in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Jaeden earned his Bachelor of Music at The Juilliard School with Yoheved Kaplinsky and his Master of Music at the University of British Columbia with Corey Hamm. He is also a former student of Ian Parker. He currently studies with Jacob Leuschner at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.”
Q: Who were the most influential teachers in this selection of authentic masters?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko : I am extremely fortunate to have benefitted from the invaluable guidance and expertise of many exceptional teachers. I am exceedingly grateful to all of them for the imprint they have left on my musicianship. Perhaps the greatest influence has come from my mentor, Dr. Corey Hamm, who mentored me during my formative years while I was a teenager, and guided me through my first international competition experiences during my Master’s degree.
PAN M 360 : Where are you based now?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko : I currently reside in Germany, and frequently travel to Rome for lessons.
PAN M 360: Let’s share your overlook on the Montreal program on Sunday April 30th.
JEAN-SÉBASTIEN BACH (1685 – 1750) Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828
PAN M 360 : What is your own experience with this work? Where do you place it in your repertoire?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: When participating in competitions, I was often advised, like many pianists, to refrain from playing Bach, as it is considered risky and potentially divisive. Although I did not always heed this advice, I did find it difficult to program Bach’s music in competition programs due to time constraints and repertoire guidelines. Now that I have concluded the competition period of my musical journey, I am eagerly programming Bach’s music again!
PAN M 360 : And in Bach’s keyboard repertoire?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: The fourth Partita is truly a remarkable and sophisticated work. The seven dances take the listener through a profound and varied emotional journey. Some movements, like the Overture, Courante and Gigue, possess a lighthearted joyfulness, while others are more introspective, even sorrowful. Particularly ambitious is the Allemande, the longest dance of the Partita, which sustains a beautiful, highly chromatic lyricism throughout the expansive movement.
SERGUEÏ RACHMANINOFF (1873 – 1943) 10 Preludes, Op. 23
PAN M 360 : Great piano music by Rachmaninoff ! Where do you see this work in your repertoire and that of the composer?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: The Preludes are an early work in Rachmaninoff’s oeuvre, yet they are burgeoning with emotional depth, lyricism and originality. I have performed many of the Preludes as encores, but I love the grand musical narrative that is produced by playing all ten in succession.
PAN M 360: How do you personally approach it at the keyboard?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: One of the qualities that I most love in Rachmaninoff’s keyboard music is his wonderful pianistic sensibility. When playing his works, one is struck by his technical mastery and his innovative pianism. As a singular virtuoso himself, Rachmaninoff had any possible technical device at his disposal, and he knew how to utilize the instrument to obtain the greatest possible energy, force and sonority. I am lucky to have large hands. As a result, I find Rachmaninoff’s writing very pianistic and idiomatic, despite being full of innumerable technical challenges.
ALEXANDER SCRIABIN (1872 – 1915) Fantasy in B minor, Op. 28
PAN M 360: You obviously love the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, including of course its Russian variations. Right ?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurco: That period was marked by a number of composers who, alongside their distinctive and powerful compositional voice, were also exceptional soloists and interpreters (in particular, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Medtner). As a result, their music is crafted perfectly for the instrument, and written with an intuitive sense of the concert stage.
PAN M 360 : What do you like best about Scriabin? Why did you choose this work?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: Scriabin’s music is highly evocative and original. The transformative creative evolution he underwent over the course of his life reveals the idiosyncratic artistic spirit that he possessed. If I had to identify a single element in his music that I love most, it would be his remarkable gift for melody (the lyrical, second theme of his Fantasie is among his most exquisite).
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810 – 1849) Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
PAN M 360 : Chopin is a must for all pianists of good, excellent or exceptional level. What place does he occupy in your own tastes?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: I must confess that interpreting Chopin’s music does not come especially naturally to me. I find his use of the piano quite challenging, and occasionally awkward to execute. Nonetheless, his writing possesses a unique elegance, gracefulness, and poignant lyricism that I truly adore.
PAN M 360 : As one of your great pianistic qualities is the fluidity of your phrasing, which defines its exceptional refinement, we imagine that Chopin was a pianistic model in this sense. What are your thoughts on this?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: Certainly, written testimonies of Chopin’s interpretive style and approach to playing the piano are wonderful sources of inspiration for me.
PAN M 360 : In your recording for the Leeds International Competition, you also play two studies by Ligeti, which brings us closer to the present. What is your relationship with Ligeti?
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko: I do not have extensive experience playing Ligeti’s music, but I am fortunate to have received the guidance of my teacher, Dr. Corey Hamm, who has playing Ligeti complete oeuvre and has remarkable insight into his musical style.
Voilà! Enjoy your stay in Montreal and have a great concert!
