Conducting seen as a challenge

Press, 13 April 1989, Page 7

Conducting seen as a challenge

By JENNY SETCHELL Michael Houstoun, pianist, became Michael Houstoun, pianist-and-conduc-tor, only because someone once asked him, "Would you like to have a got at it?”

He did have a go at it, enjoyed it, and five years later will present an allBeethoven concert as both soloist and conductor with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in the Town Hall this evening. The programme includes the “Coriolan” Overture, the Second Piano Overture, and the Third Symphony (“Eroica”). Until now every concert in which Houstoun has metaphorically taken up the baton (in reality, waved a hand or nodded his head while at the keyboard) has included works by Mozart. “I consciously chose works which avoid too many technical conducting difficulties and am working my way upwards,” he said. But there was only so much that a conductor could be taught, he claimed. The rest was innate and was in the ability of a conductor to project his musical personality to the orchestra. Even'though as a pianist he is already known for his interpretive insights into Beethoven, conducting the orchestral works has clarified his thinking.

“As a conductor you have to know how to explain yourself to the orchestra. You have to know what you are really trying to say.”

Fans of Houstoun, the pianist, need not fear losing him to the conductor’s rostrum for good. He plans to continue his career as a concert pianist and would not even mind if he was not asked to conduct again. From a performer who fulfils 20 to 30 engagements a year, there is much to look forward to. He would like to perform all of Ravel’s piano works and even the 32 Beethoven sonatas, although he wonders if audiences would be willing to com-

mit themselves to such a marathon cycle. Although Houstoun does not teach privately, he conducts master classes and seminars. “It can be quite frightening because work is not guaranteed. I work from day to day,” said the pianist, who has built up a formidable following since he gained third place and an international reputation in the Van Cliburn Piano Competition. Many of his audiences have come to see him as an old friend, a feeling he warmly reciprocates. i That, in itself, is “quite a responsibility, but it’s very stimulating.” i“lt’s different from playing in one town, then moving on the next day,” he said. “If you’re playing again .and again to the same audience, you can’t afford to play badly.” He has lived permanently in New Zealand since 1981 and is doing his best to dispel the myth that overseas artists are better than local performers. “Everyone has to be taken on their own merits. Get them to do it and only then judge whether they are better or not.” Meanwhile, Houstoun is determined to maintain the high musical standards he has set himself and his audiences expect.

"There are no laurels to be rested on in New Zealand.”