Interview With The Artist
RACHEL NAOMI KUDO
“ARTISTRY BEGINS WITH INTENTION”
I first met Rachel when her then, future husband, Luca, introduced me to her at a concert at the Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Italy. She was living in New York City at the time, but was spending a fair amount of time in Europe. As most of us do these days, we asked for each other’s social media information and we wished each other a nice evening.
When I found her on Facebook later that evening, I saw that we had many friends in common. All of them musicians. So I wrote to her and that started a correspondence that has continued more face-to-face than through cyberspace. I should say that she never mentioned that she was a pianist. One day I happened to see an advertisement for a classical music site and I saw a familiar face. It was Rachel! She was with none other than renowned pianist Leon Fleisher. After a quick internet search, I found that Rachel was the real deal! Mr. Fleisher was her teacher.
I then discovered that Rachel had many videos posted on Youtube, so I sat down to watch. For me, listening to piano music is not just an aural experience, but a visual one as well. I was struck by the way that Rachel approaches the piano, but also with the way that she ends a piece. She has a reverence for the instrument that I cannot describe - it has to be experienced.
As I had known Luca for many years, I wanted to get to know Rachel better, so I invited them to my home for dinner. There were other people in attendance but none of us talked about our jobs. One of the things that I love about living in Europe! No one cares! But after Rachel and Luca left, I mentioned that Rachel was a pianist, and one of the other guests said “I knew it! You can tell by her fingers!” And yes, it is true! Rachel’s hands scream “PIANIST!”
During another dinner at my home, I mentioned that I wanted to start lessons again, and Luca, Rachel’s husband, mentioned that he knew a good teacher, and he looked at her. I was a bit surprised. This is Rachel who studied with Leon Fleisher, Rachel who won first prize at the Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, Rachel who was a correspondent at the 2021 Chopin Competition - would she REALLY be interested in teaching me?
She was! But I think one of the things that really struck me about Rachel that evening was when we discussed our respective travels. She told me that she had performed in a city in Russia called Khabarovsk. I was shocked senseless as I had been there myself. I was surprised a non Russian had even heard of that place! Granted, she was only 13 years old when she performed there, so I can only imagine the culture shock that she experienced. That conversation sealed the deal for me! I know that I wanted her to teach me!
I really wanted to learn Chopin’s BALLADE, Opus 23, written in 1835. Although I had started learning it on my own, my pages were scribble free. Not a single comment about how to play a passage, not a single note circled to remind me that it was sharp or flat, not a single remark about how a passage should be voiced. Well, a few months later, my books look like the manuals of someone who has been well trained! In addition to markings about tempo, volume, dynamics, my pages are filled with notes and statements such as ARTISTRY IS INTENTION, DEFIANCE, FATE, CRYING, SYMPATHETIC, RESIGNED, DRAMATIC, LEAN BACK, and my favorite, JUICED!
Each lesson with Rachel is much more than rote repetition. She breaks down a passage in such intimate detail that I can actually hear the yearning of Chopin as I attempt to interpret what he composed. I hear the defiance. I feel the sympathy. I sense the resignation. I leave the lessons JUICED!
Rachel has an incredibly beautiful approach to performing. I have watched her concert performances where she approaches the piano and seems to communicate with the keys before even touching them. Her art is not only audible, but the visual approach is also stunning. I am moved each time I see her perform.
Rachel has been praised for her “sincere, courageous and perfect” performances. She has been described as an emotive artist who demonstrates a technical and precise perfection in even the tiniest details.
After her orchestral debut with the Chicago and Forth Worth Symphonies, Rachel performed as a soloist and as a chamber musician in places such as the Bach Fest in Leipzig, Germany, The Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, the Salle Cortot in Paris, France, the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, The Museum Of Art in Tel Aviv, Israel, the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdroj, Poland, The Tivoli International Festival in Denmark, the Bergen International Festival in Norway, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., and at the Alice Tully Hall, the David Geffen Hall and at Carnegies Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York. She received the Gilmore Young Artist Award, was a Davidson Fellow Laureate of the Davidson Institute of Talent Development and also received the Salon de Virtuosi grant. In addition, she won scholarships from the National Young Arts Foundation in the United States and from the Rohm Music Foundation in Japan. She won numerous prizes at the National Chopin Competition in Miami, Florida, and was also a finalist at the 15th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland.
Born in Washington, D.C., Rachel began her piano studies with Emilio del Rosario at the Music Institute of Chicago. After spending much of her childhood in Japan, she returned to Chicago to pursue a musical life, performing chamber music and playing the violin.
Rachel won the Arthur Rubenstein Prize, the Chopin Prize as well as numerous others.
She has worked with Richard Goode at Mannes College of Music, with Gilbert Kalish at Stony Brook University, and with Leon Fleisher at Peabody Institute. She participated in Master Classes with Robert Levin, Emanuel Ax and Sir Andras Schiff.
Rachel believes in sharing the transformative power of music with as wide an audience as possible in order to promote cultural commitment and human connection.
As an educator, Rachel is passionate about assisting the next generation of young musicians and has conducted Master Classes in many parts of the world.
You can discover more about Rachel at rachelnaomikudo.com.
YouTube: youtube.com/c/rachelnaomikudo
Facebook: facebook.com/rachelnaomikudo
Instagram: instagram.com/rachelnaomikudo
Rachel in the Fazioli Concert Hall
