Jan Simon - Tchaikovsky plays second fiddle
The classic image of the piano virtuoso is of a dishevelled eccentric, devoted only to his music and detached from the concerns of everyday life. But the 36-year-old Czech pianist, Jan Simon, is different. He is one of the Czech Republic's best-known contemporary performers, and is both pianist in residence and artistic director of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is also a devoted family man. Here he looks back to the birth of his daughter nine years ago, a time when he realized that not even Tchaikovsky has quite the appeal of a newborn daughter.
The classic image of the piano virtuoso is of a dishevelled eccentric, devoted only to his music and detached from the concerns of everyday life. But the 36-year-old Czech pianist, Jan Simon, is different. He is one of the Czech Republic's best-known contemporary performers, and is both pianist in residence and artistic director of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is also a devoted family man. Here he looks back to the birth of his daughter nine years ago, a time when he realized that not even Tchaikovsky has quite the appeal of a newborn daughter.
"Me and my wife - we were expecting a baby. It was exactly nine months after our marriage and both of us were looking forward to having a child. During my wife's pregnancy we led very long discussions about my presence during the birth of our daughter. We were discussing why, what, and we agreed so I was very excited and we wanted to experience this very important point in our life. There is a proverb in the Czech language that 'the human being thinks, but life changes'. So we had a date for the birth of June 14th and I was supposed to perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto with the Brno State Philharmonic on June 16th. So I had some rehearsals with the orchestra in Brno and Prague and it's necessary to practice before this performance. So I was in touch with the hospital and the doctor promised to give me a call when it was the right point to come. So I was very nervous on Monday morning when they announced that my wife was ready for the birth, but they told me I have plenty of time, so I can practice. But I wasn't able to practice. I was very excited. I was stepping outside my house and waiting for the final call just to leave my house to the hospital. But they always said - you have plenty of time - so at about half past twelve in the morning I finally decided to practice a bit. My mind was with my wife, but my fingers were moving. But suddenly I spent more than one hour. No call from the hospital, so I continued my practicing and then I got a call from the hospital - you have a very nice daughter. You know, I had very mixed feelings. On the one side I was very happy, on the other side I was a bit upset, because I think my wife was expecting me as well to be present. But these are the points in a human being's life that you change your priorities and at that moment I wasn't thinking about Tchaikovsky that it's so important. I was more thinking about my child."
