INTERVIEW WITH ETHAN HAWKE
How did you first meet Seymour?
I met Seymour at a dinner party. We
were seated next to one another and I began confiding in him immediately. There
is something magical about him that invites honesty.
When you first met Seymour, did you
immediately think, "I should make a movie about this man?"
It wasn't really my idea. He
invited me and a few friends over to his apartment and he played for us. I was
transported. His friends seemed to have the same reaction. We knew he wasn't
giving any more public concerts - so a documentary leapt to someone’s mind, who
started pressing me to do it. I thought I would find someone else to do it, but
then slowly realized I wanted to.
Had you ever considered making a
documentary portrait of anybody before?
I'd written a profile on Kris
Kristofferson once for Rolling Stone and enjoyed that – it felt a little bit
like making a doc. I enjoy the process of meditating on the lives of artists
that I admire.
How did Seymour react when you approached
him with the idea?
We just talked about it once. He's
a teacher- he's always excited to teach.
You've made several fiction films
previously, and you've been an actor for decades. Was it a much different
experience directing a documentary?
It was more different than I could
have ever imagined. I felt really lost with it. My respect for the form has exploded; it’s much more like writing,
easy to get lost.
What's your musical experience - do you
play any instruments?
I am a simple fan. I love music
like some people love church.
Do you have to be a musician to benefit
from Seymour's lessons?
My hope is no. My hope is that by
watching anyone excel in life there are profound lessons to be gained. Playing
the piano, throwing the football, building an engine… if you do anything well
the secret to the universe seems momentarily unveiled… My hope is that what
Seymour has to say about the piano- could be relevant to being a good parent,
friend, co-worker, anything…. and if you are interested in the arts – I have no
doubt that what he has to say to speak to you.
INTERVIEW WITH SEYMOUR BERNSTEIN
How old were you when you first started
playing piano?
When I was three years old, my
parents took me to visit Aunt Ethel. There I had my first encounter with a
piano. Sounding tones on that old upright brought me into another world, a
world where I somehow knew I belonged. When I was six, I begged my mother for
lessons. Someone gave us an old player upright piano, and it was not only that
my lessons began; as it seemed to me, my life also began at that moment.
What was performing publicly like for you when
you were younger. What can you tell us about when and why you decided to stop?
I performed a lot in school. But I
didn't perform publicly until I was in my teens. My career advanced quite
rapidly and very successfully. Soon I became very disillusioned with the managerial
world and with the commercial aspects of performing. I also longed to have more
time to compose and to write. With practicing 6-8 hours a day and teaching, I
had very little time for creative work. So at the age of 50, I decided to call
my performing career to a halt. I arranged a farewell concert at the 92nd
Street Y. My final piece on my program was a major composition I wrote entitled
AMERICAN PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION. Of course I continued to give lectures and
master classes and performed a great deal during them. I have been exceedingly
happy ever since.
What in your career do you take the most
pride in?
I take pride in my ability to
interpret music. I have a sense of intuiting what the composers had in mind in
expressing human emotion. I also take pride in my ability to impart my
knowledge to my pupils. My greatest pleasure is to help my pupils feel good
about themselves.
Do you remember the first time you met
Ethan, and what your impressions were of him?
I first met Ethan at a dinner party
hosted by my pupil Tony Zito. The conversation that ensued at the dinner table could best be described as
revelatory and explosive. Being
performers, we shared to pros and cons of our profession. I was struck by Ethan's openness with me, even in
discussing performance anxiety, which plagues all performers. I immediately felt a deep kinship with him. Of course
I never dreamt that this would lead
to Ethan directing a documentary about me. But in a sense, it is also a documentary about Ethan, since we
have probed the deepest areas of why we have
devoted ourselves to our art, and how that devotion has influenced our lives.
What did you think when Ethan approached
you about the movie?
I was dumbstruck when Ethan
approached me about making a documentary. I wondered why I was so special to
receive such an honor. He explained to me very succinctly that his intention
was to demonstrate to the public, and especially to young people how a devotion
to an art form can influence our lives. He then asked if I would agree to give
a recital for his theater group. I was 84 at the time and hadn't given a public
recital in 34 years. Something in Ethan's manner, his interest in me, and his
desire to share something with his colleagues made me say yes. I practiced for
that recital exactly as I did for my New York debut. Saying “yes” was one of
the best decisions I have made in my life.
What was it like having cameras tailing
you?
The first session was somewhat
unsettling, as this was the first time I was part of a serious film. But after
around the 3rd shoot, I enjoyed every aspect of it, especially my rapport with
Ryan, Heather, Greg, and Ramsey. We enjoyed a combination of seriousness and
humor. Of course I was extremely nervous in anticipation of my recital. But I
became deathly calm once I entered the Steinway rotunda. There was Ethan who
gave himself over to each aspect of the documentary with the dedication and
zeal that informed his own extraordinary performances. There was no way I would
let him down.
What do you hope most that somebody would
learn, or think, after watching
this introduction to your life?
I believe that the essence of who
we are reveals itself through whatever talent we have. I want people to know
that a dedication to that talent, or whatever passion interests us, has an
ultimate reward: by integrating our emotional and intellectual worlds, and in
the case of instrumentalists, actors, and dancers, our physical world as well,
we can actually integrate or harmonize our personalities.