Laer yyy = 7 e ¢ E ay . he Fin Se ETL if h Aes a ETRY ae PUL LAU Teas ANLUIS ZEA THE FREEDOM OF THE ARTIST Interviewed by COLIN COOPER ‘A SEMINAL influence for the Venezuelan guitarist Luts Zea was his contact with Konrad Wolff in New York. Wolff, the author of The Teaching of Artur Schnabel, one of the most distinguished works on musical interpretation ever published. responded to a letter written by Luis Zea's wie pianist Clara Marcano, and a friendship ensued Another book recommended by Luts Zea is Zen in the Art of Archery. by Eugen Herrigel, which could just as easily have been called ‘Zen and the Art of Guitar Playing’ in his opinion. More of that later, Then there was the contact with Edith Vogel, a great piano teacher, and with the critic and musicologist Hans Keller Luis Zea has practised yoga since 1976, and this too has had a profound influence in hi artistic development. Artistic freedom is at the Foot of it; without freedom, an artist can do nothing, Or nothing of any significance ‘Sometimes I taste some of this freedom. It's worth all the trouble you go through in order to try to be a musician, to be an artist. It's what Picasso was demonstrating. He became free. He ‘came back in a circle Luis was delighted to be back in England after many years — a circular dimension in his own life, you might say. He regards England as his, second home. having lived there for almost nine years (even getting married in Reading). He was born in Caracas on 21 March 1953. JS. Bach ‘was born on the same day, 268 years previously That makes them both Aries —a flery sign, the most active and energetic of all, the sign of creativity and optimism. From 1984 to 1986 he worked for State University, New York. They have 60 colleges in NY State, which makes it perhaps the biggest ‘university in the world. He also worked in Walkall prison, and found it very rewarding, ‘It was a minimum security jail.” he says, ‘so | couldn't discover whether murderers or rapists made the best guitarists.’ But the prisoners were delighted to be able to have guitar lessons, and time was set aside for practice. ‘Now he teaches in Venezuela, at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales, where music students undertake a four-year course But most of his teaching {s done travelling around the country, in the format of workshops. masterclasses and festivals. He is fortunate enough to have the support of a large food company, Mavesa, whose president, Jonathan Coles, is himself an accomplished amateur guitarist, Mavesa’s Proyecto Cultural is Specifically designed to support the guitar tradition in Venezuela, and Luls Zea 1s not only one of its chief beneficiaries but also one of its most active workers: he has held some 100 ‘workshops since the beginning in 1987. He plays about 25 concerts a year in Venezuela: ideally the total would be between 30 and 40 a year in general. A generation ago Alirio Diaz had to work in Europe to make a living: now a living can be made out of the guitar in Venezuela, thanks to private sponsorship. There had been a time when Luis had thought of giving up, so difficult was the work situation: a poor market, no teaching position, few concerts. ‘Away from home, he has taught and performed at the Cannington Summer School of Guitar, has been on the jury in Alessandria and in Havana, taught for two years at the State University of New York, and recorded. in 1983, his first album at Abbey Road Studios, London, More recently he has completed a CD with music by Dowland Gtanoncellt, Holborne, Bach, Barrios Mangoré, Riera, Castellanos and some of his own music. Luis was the first musician in his family. His father was a painter and poet — a Don Quixote, said Luis; a bohemian with his head in the clouds much of the time. His mother played the part of Sancho Panza — feet on the ground. She Iiked classical music, and Luis remembers thathis first listening experiences were at home: Beethoven, Wagner, Chopin. He was never particularly attracted to it at the time, and was happy enough playing the cuatro. ‘Then one day I heard on the radio some aguinaldos. played by Alirio Diaz, harmonised by Vicente Emilio Sojo. That was the hook, what really turned me on to the guitar.’ He was between ten and 13 years old at the time. He knew they were Christmas songs, he knew the tunes, but he had never imagined that such ‘wonderful harmonisations as Sojo's could exist. ‘Tonly knew that I loved what I was listening to T never had a chance to listen to them again. 1 had some friends with guitars, but they only ‘strummed: It didn't appeal to me somehow. 1 borrowed my brother's guitar and tried to learn by ear. I bought a record by Alirio, with music by Barrios on one side and Venezuelan music on the Carrefio and Ratil Borges were others. Diaz was never a student of Sojo. neither was Rodrigo Riera: they were students of Borges “The lessons usually started around 7 pm. No fone had a specific time to arrive. We would all arrive, and decide on the spot who would be first There was an air of informality about st which was very special. I wouldn't say this in a pejorative way. You knew that you would get there at seven or just after, and that you would be there the whole time with Lauro. He never had a specific time to leave. On more than one occasion we stayed on after twelve, talking, listening to him play, enjoying ourselves. That gives you an idea of how generous he was. He simply enjoyed being with his students, talking about musie, listening to music. And he would invite us over the weekends, if there wasn’t ‘enough time during the lesson. So several of He began to take things off the ‘T believe in morning, we would listen to record spending whole eae ect gente eemettte apy menos ave ree ci Sa eee some time he was able to find a | always with have a great hunch prepared by friend who took him to meet Diaz in Caracas, ‘His name is Carmelo Rodriguez. I like to ‘mention his name, because that was an important moment for mind. musical goals in I would even say his wife Maria-Luisa, We would have a really wonderful day. ‘Sometimes he would start talking ‘about composition, and he would give us a beautiful lecture. It was me.” that meaningful | very special, what happened to So, it was not so much the uss students of Lauro, sound of the guitar but Soje's | technical Lauro was quite good player, arrangements that hooked him. | problems are Although he never achieved the He loved the counterpoint, he level of a professional concert loved Sojo's unique and very | lO musical artist, as Alirio Diaz did, he did personal way of harmonising | problems at the | have a very good standard, You Venezuelan melodies have to remember that we are same time. falling about the 1930s and the ‘The Lauro influence So much so, that | 1940s, where maybe the Alirio Diaz recommended study standard of playing compared to with Antonio Lauro, and a | YOU Solve the | tne"technique of young players friend, Roberto Todd, took Luis | musical problem | today is not the same. But Zea to meet the great man. nevertheless he was able to make Twas so lucky. Lauro admitted | YOU Could solve t | irisic."That was the important me as a student — although | | he technical thing. Especially when he played went to meet him halfway through the year. 1971, 1 think. It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Lauro was such a special man in many They go problem with it. together.” his own music. There was something 0 special about his thythms, Something that Alirio has always tried to capture, and that I have been trying to ways. First of all, he was a generous person by nature In many cases he played the role of father to his students. 1 Suppose he inherited that from Sojo, because Sojo was the great pioneer in Venezuela as far as classical music 1s concerned. Sojo used to give away his salary to his students, He would sleep at the school, on a bench. He created a whole ‘movement.’ Lauro had been one of Sojo's students. Inocente capture. It's so elusive. I think {t's Just something very special about him, something unique. Certain accents, certain very subtle inflextons in the way he phrased the Waltzes. To me he was a very good performer. He didn’t have a very good technique by modern standards, but when it comes to music making, you need fo say something. If you say something, then you are a musician. And he was a fantastic musician, u