 
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
              
|
Past Prodigy: Violinist Sarah Chang Sarah Chang is finally old enough to vote, and she's got some decisions to make Friday, December 03, 1999 By Andrew Druckenbrod, Post-Gazette Classical Music Writer
When violinist Sarah Chang does an interview, the conversation usually centers on such figures as composers Felix Mendelssohn or Ludwig Beethoven.
But Bill Bradley and Al Gore?
That's the direction this conversation went, as Chang recently spoke from a hotel in London a day before her European tour with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Why? It's because the prodigy has turned 18. She's an adult and, after all these years of being appreciated because of her youthful prowess at the violin, she's champing at the bit to do adult things. Chang has had a strong voice as a musician for so long, and now she's excited about adding different types of expression to her life, such as casting a ballot.
"I can actually vote, that is so cool," says Chang. "I was so gung-ho to get my driver's license, which I got last year, and now I can vote." Like most of the recently legal, she really doesn't have a clear picture of the political landscape, but Chang has a good excuse. About half of the year, she isn't even in the United States, instead roaming Europe, Asia and elsewhere on tour. While Chang says she'd likely vote Democratic, she's not going to do so automatically or blindly. "I'd have to do my homework before I could say who I would vote for," she says.
That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Chang, like most child wonders, has done plenty of homework -- practice, that is -- to get where she is today. Talent, even immense talent, only goes so far. Dorothy DeLay, Chang's long-time violin teacher at the Juilliard School, recalls Chang telling her that "Most kids in America watch TV five hours a day. I practiced during that time."
Obviously, it's not easy being a prodigy. It's rough being part of the rough-and-tumble music industry at such an early age. "There's a lot that I don't want to know about this business," says Chang. "It's not all about the music like I would like it to be." It can be even more difficult to make the transition out of those early years. Many talents burn out when they leave the teen years: You need far more artistry to stand out among adult musicians than you do children. It's simply harder to appear special as an adult.
So, the question is, can Chang make her adult career as or more successful than her wunderkind years? And does she even want to, now that she gains total control over her life as an adult?
DeLay, 82, who has helped to nurture such phenoms as Itzhak Perlman, thinks Chang will be just fine. "I think that everybody has to go through a period of challenging what her parents want," says DeLay. "[But] she's been just beautifully raised. Every one of the kids who do really well in music has one parent at home who is supervising and giving support and encouragement." Chang's parents split this duty, even in regards to accompanying her on tours. "Dad does one-third and Mom does about a third," Chang says.
To DeLay, Chang already exhibits a great deal of maturity. "I think in many ways she has been [an adult]," she says. "I don't think emotionally, but in her intelligence and her understanding of people." And how many 18-year-olds care to read up on the candidates? Chang indeed radiates a maturity beyond her years. While her parents are a factor, perhaps a greater reason is she has hung out with people older than her years for much of her life.
"I have been in that position for years," says Chang, who the age of 8 astonished Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti in a now-famous audition that led to her debuts with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. "I have always been the youngest on stage. To be blunt, most of the youngest ones are in their 30s. I've grown used to it. It bothered me a little more when I was young."
But before Chang completely grows up, she still has some youthful endeavors to attend to. She likes pop music -- "I have a whole stack of CDs that are mostly pop" -- and she wants to go to college. The biggest decision that Chang will have to make is a common one for many 18-year-olds: what college, if any, to attend. But unlike most teen-agers, she has a tiny little scheduling problem. She is completely engaged through the next two seasons with concert appearances.
"The classical world books ahead several years," Chang explains. "You try to work your life around your work. [But] I just want to go to college. I know that a degree would be amazing to have."
Schooling to this point hasn't been easy, either. Chang has been taking classes long-distance.
"I have to do most of my work by e-mail and fax," she says. "I am going to Juilliard [originally enrolled in the conservatory's pre-college program and now taking classes in the college along with lessons with DeLay] in addition to high school. Juilliard has been flexible." But universities are not as adaptable. "The Ivy League schools offer great programs, but they would cause me to pull back with all the projects and concerts I have," Chang says.
So with extended studying during the next two years out of the question, Chang has to choose if she'll ever walk a university quadrangle as a student or if she'll pass on it to keep her career cooking. "It's a 50-50 chance," Chang says. "I am going to make a decision soon." But it seems more than half of her pines for the opportunity to experience the collegiate atmosphere. If she goes, "In 2002, I'll try to be spontaneous with the rest of the kids," she says.
The reverberations from Chang's decision will be felt throughout the musical world, especially if she does significantly pull back her appearances. If DeLay has an inside track on Chang's thought processes, she wasn't telling. Instead she offered unconditional support to her prodigious student.
"I think she would like to do other studying, as we all would," says DeLay. "It's not easy to do that. It's up to Sarah. I wouldn't be disappointed. I would be disappointed if Sarah didn't do what Sarah wanted to do."
One thing Sarah does have going for herself is the longevity that many classical musicians can have relative to most pop musicians -- witness Isaac Stern's newly published memoirs, "My First 79 Years." "I kind of think that I am lucky in classical music," Chang says. "We have longer time spans. You have to put everything into perspective." She feels that in this respect, pop prodigies of her age, such as Britney Spears, have it worse.
"I am so sure that she is working so hard because Britney's audience is younger than what I have. In the pop world the entire package seems to be more important. The visual aspect is more important than in classical music." In other words, for the vast majority of classical music lovers, image isn't as important as sound and interpretation. So, Chang has time on her side to sneak off to college or any other project and return with a long career ahead of her.
And don't forget, though it is still amazing to realize, Chang already has a decade -- repeat, a decade -- of major concert experience behind her.
The present is at hand, however, and Chang is thrilled to be performing again with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. "I was 10 or 11 the first time I played in Pittsburgh," she says.
Chang holds a special relationship with PSO music director Mariss Jansons, with whom she recorded the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in 1997. The two will be reunited to perform this piece this weekend. "He's such a sweetheart and such a hard-worker," says Chang. "He's got such great musical ideas." Jansons is one of Chang's favorite collaborators. "I think that every soloist has certain conductors they really like." Making a CD together really helped their relationship, she says. "Recording really brings you closer together."
The Mendelssohn is another old friend for Chang. "It actually is one of my favorite pieces," she says. "It's been one of the most-loved concertos for years. Sometimes it's hard because every master of the violin has mastered the work. You feel comfortable on stage with it, but sometimes it's hard because everyone is going to criticize you because they know it.
"I think it's inevitable that you put your own personal stamp on it," she says. "It is impossible to sound like others. I think the worse thing you can do on stage is to try and copy things on stage. You should really do what you feel."
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Program: Chang performs Mendelssohn's Concherto in E Minor for Violin and Orchestra. The PSO also performs Rossini's Overture to "La scala di seta" and Stravinsky's "Petrouchka."