Blind pianist learns difficult pieces by ear

Spanish virtuoso Ignasi Cambra has never forgotten the first time he heard Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

“I was very young when I heard Beethoven’s Third Concerto at a piano camp in Indiana,” said Cambra. “The melody of first movement is easy to remember. It has all of the Beethoven elements. It’s great music.”

Fascinated by the concerto, Cambra went on to learn it in college. He will make his debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, playing the piece with the orchestra in this weekend’s concerts.

Learning a complex piece of piano music by one of the greatest composers of all time is considered a major achievement by any pianist, but Cambra has gone an extra mile to do so, because he is blind from birth.

“I learn by ear,” remarked Cambra, speaking over the phone from his home in London. “I can use Braille music. But it is slow to read. It is hard to sit down with the Braille score to learn new pieces. I learn by ear with little chunks of music, for one hand and then for the other. Most of the time you are playing melody in one hand and accompaniment in the other.”

Cambra lived in the United States for eight years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music and an artist diploma from Indiana University and studied at Juilliard. He has burnished his reputation by winning several piano competitions, and his orchestral appearances included a concert with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra.

“The first and third movements of Beethoven’s Third are straightforward, but technically not easy,” said Cambra. “There is a feeling of being insistent in the first movement. The figuration keeps repeating itself. It stays in your head. The process of the main theme is so simple. It is how Beethoven plays with it, and it keeps reappearing throughout the movement that is so interesting.”

According to Cambra, the second movement is the most challenging.

“For me, the second movement is one of the hardest movements of all his concertos,” said Cambra. “The way it is written is exceptionally weird. It is written in a 3/2 time signature. So, some of the music looks like it should be faster but it is actually slower. For example, the 1/32nd notes end up feeling like 1/16th notes. Anyone who reads music knows that it is sort of strange.  But it works. The relationship between the piano and orchestra is very delicate and exposed and the result is beautiful music.”

Barcelona connection

Salvador Brotons, the orchestra’s music director, has been aware of Cambra’s talent, because both are Barcelona natives.

“I have known Ignasi for about 12 years,” said Brotons. “He played my Piano Trio in Santa Barbara, Calif. I was speechless. He is blind, and my piece has lots of sudden skips. He did not miss a note. Later I listened to him under Gergiev conducting in Barcelona as well as several solo recitals. He is very talented.”

The orchestra will also play Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony. Generations of music lovers have described—and sometimes dismissed—Beethoven’s even-numbered symphonic works as lyrical and relaxed compared to the spunky, odd-numbered symphonies.

However, when asked about the Fourth, Brotons offered another explanation.

“Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony is not performed as often as the Third or Fifth because it is smaller in concept,” said Brotons. “However, it is a very fine and complete symphony. Shorter than the Eroica, but it is a very coherent symphony and, in all, a very enjoyable piece to listen to. The first movement and the Scherzo are my favorite ones.”

The concert will open with the Overture to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” The Overture is considered one of the most outstanding orchestral works of the 18th century. Rich in sonority and melodic invention, concise in construction, and masterful in the use of harmony, it balances the seemingly polar opposites of the opera — profundity and comedy — with surpassing ease and conviction.