The Mind Over Finger Podcast - 030 Kerson Leong: Musical Eloquence Through Heightened Awareness & Directed Thought

Starting point is 00:00:00 You're listening to the Mind Over Finger Podcast, episode number 30. Welcome to the Mind Over Finger Podcast, discussions on mindful music making, efficient practice, and building a purposeful career. And now, your host, Dr. Renée Paul Gaultier. Hi, everyone. I hope you're having a wonderful morning, day, evening, wherever you are. Well, I'm having a hard time believing it, but today is the last episode of season one of the Mind Over Finger podcast. And before we dive in, I want to give a huge shout out to all the incredible guests that came on the show and were so generous with their time and insight.

Starting point is 00:00:56 I appreciate it so much and I had a fantastic time speaking with them. Also, a huge thank you to all of you for being a super supportive and enthusiastic audience. I deeply, deeply appreciate every comment, every DM, text, and every email you've sent me. I love you guys so much and I'm so happy that you're enjoying my guests and the valuable information and wisdom they give us. I also want to thank composer Jim Stevenson for providing us with the awesome theme song of the show, which is the opening of the second movement of his concerto No. 1 for trumpet and chamber orchestra. I fell in love with this piece the moment I heard it, and I was so excited that he so graciously let me use it. And you can find more about Jim and check out his impressive discography by going to composerjim.com.

Starting point is 00:01:55 And last but not least, much love and gratitude to my amazing producer, Bella Kelly, who's worked so hard all season long, and this made me and my guests sound so good. This show would not be possible without her. And so, to go out with a bang, I'm bringing you another spectacular artist. Today, I speak with violent sensation Kirsten Leung. Kirsten first took the music world by storm in 2010 by winning the Junior First Prize at the prestigious Menuhin Competition. Since then, he's astonished and won over both fellow musicians and audiences alike with his rare and innovative mastery of his instrument, his natural ability to convey the subtlest of emotions, and the colossal scope of his live performances.

Starting point is 00:02:48 He's been called Canada's next great violinist, and he's recognized as one of the most brilliant musicians of his generation. Kirsten has played in some of the most prestigious concert venues, from Carnegie Hall to Wigmore Hall, and he's in regular demand as a soloist with orchestras all over the world. As you'll see, Kirsten has an amazingly authentic and profound approach to music making. We talk about his terrific YouTube series, The Art of the Etude, his wise and meaningful practicing methods, and how he approaches violin mastery and musical expression.

Starting point is 00:03:26 It's an inspiration and information-packed episode, and I know you're going to love what's ahead. And to let Kirsten and I know that you're listening and give us the opportunity to thank you for tuning in, please take and share a screenshot and tag us on Instagram. After the interview, stay with me for details about some very exciting bonus episodes that will be coming up for you in the next few weeks and about the wonderful guests that you can expect in season two. Let's go to the show.

Starting point is 00:04:07 Curse on Leong, it's such a pleasure to have you on the show today. It's a real pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me. Kirsten, you and I first came across each other when you were very young, I think maybe 10 years old, back in Ottawa, Canada. And already then it was obvious that you had a bright musical future in front of you. And it's been so wonderful to watch you grow literally, both as a person and an artist and see your career blossom into something very spectacular.

Starting point is 00:04:38 Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. I mean, I do remember very fondly actually us doing outreach projects together and going to schools, for example, and playing for the kids. And I do remember that actually from way back, I mean, when I was probably, as you said, 10 or 11 years old. And it's just, it's really great that, you know, to be speaking with you again and, yeah, to talk about all these, you know, fascinating topics. Yeah, and already then you sounded fabulous. I believe you guys were playing the Handel Iverson, that's like, oh, yeah. That's right. Yeah, that's right. I do remember that.

Starting point is 00:05:14 So would you please start by telling us the story of this incredible musical journey, how you got started and how your artistic path has unfolded? Yeah, sure. So basically, I started playing the violin at age four and a half, but I came from a very musical family. So even from the very beginning, I think I was surrounded by music, the sound of music sound of recordings especially because my dad is he's not a musician but he's a very passionate music lover with a cd collection to boot so i you know at the beginning i was always surrounded by by the sound of music and also my mom being a pianist sat me down on the

Starting point is 00:05:54 piano even earlier actually at probably around the age two you know age of two just to to um you know to start to have a little bit of interaction with musical instruments and yeah with music just to kind of start involving me I guess in that I started violin when I was four and a half and you know at the beginning I think with as most things are at the beginning it was just something you know something to keep me busy after school or just something that that was fun sort of side activity basically I think in the very beginning there wasn't you know one particular moment or you know some sort of one spark of inspiration or like the sound of the violin i guess that that really uh you know captivated me and convinced me to go you know to start the

Starting point is 00:06:40 violin but i think it was more something that uh that really developed over time that it really developed into a very important medium of expression and self-discovery for me and um yeah so basically it became more serious as um during my younger years as it went on i started away winning national competitions here in Canada and but the big the big thing that has really sort of set me on the path that I am on now is was winning the Menuhin competition at the age of 13 in 2010 and which was a which was a really big deal for me because it was just you know a complete first of all it was like an eye-opening experience towards a new world but also just being thrust immediately into the musical spotlight and for the next few years after that it was I went through

Starting point is 00:07:30 this very challenging but also formative time where I was trying to to catch up I guess with with a standard that I set for myself and to just keep up with the flow I guess or the the amount of musical engagements that I had and also just to to continue to develop I guess my level of playing and to maintain all of that, I guess. At that time, I was studying with Jonathan Crowe, actually concertmaster of Toronto Symphony. Yeah, he was definitely my rock during those years. And he has a special place, you know, in my heart for being there

Starting point is 00:08:05 and for being that stable force. But also, I think, you know, because of the nature of, you know, how fast things sort of rolled and, you know, the immediacy of everything i find that it really also was a time that forced me to sort of develop my own independence in terms of how to think about music also to find my you know solutions to my own technical problems for example and uh yeah just to develop this resourcefulness i guess and to for example not be afraid to to question things or to try and follow my own instinct or my own my own feeling regarding things and uh yeah i feel like that that was uh you know winning the

Starting point is 00:08:45 menu and was was the start of a very long process yeah that's incredible i really love how you talk about developing your own independence your own voice and finding solution to your own technical problems and you use the word question and that is kind of the essence of what i feel like mindful practice is because so often some young musicians have a very passive attitude towards learning the instrument and practicing in the sense that they will just kind of try to do only what their teachers tell them and they will wait for the solutions to come from an outside source but I love hearing that you um really went the route of questioning and following your instinct and i think that explains a lot about your success this is absolutely wonderful oh thank you yeah

Starting point is 00:09:44 yeah basically i think that was just um you know the theme there was was to in order to because i guess we come from a grand tradition of violin playing of things that you know recordings from 20th century of all these great people who have been doing these things before us and of course there's always this element of tradition of you know trying to in a way emulate the feeling or the the sort of sensation that we get from listening to those past players or from from trying to uh yeah trying to uphold this uh this tradition but i think there's just there's really something to be said about just really really thinking for yourself in that sense and um yeah as you said, and, uh, questioning about, about everything that's put in front of you and in

Starting point is 00:10:27 terms of, you know, what kind of decisions, whether musical or, you know, anything to do with the instrument or otherwise, you know, that's that, that is in front of you and to, yeah, to really treat things in, in, uh, with, uh, with this in mind, I guess is, is, was very important and still is, I think what, what defines me today. Kirsten, your solo career, it takes you across the world and I can see that your calendar is quite full. And I really wish that you and I had a few hours to cover all the topics related to practice and performance and building a meaningful life in music. But unfortunately, we don't have hours. But I thought that we could use a really awesome project of yours as the starting point

Starting point is 00:11:10 for a conversation about mindful and efficient practice. And I'm talking here about the Art of etude video series on youtube which you started about a year ago if i'm correct yeah absolutely and by the way i really encourage all of you listening to visit kirsten's youtube channel i will of course put a link in the show notes you will find so much fantastic content there terrific playing insightful info and really applicable musical tips but anyway going back to the art of etude you um actually why don't i let you tell us more about the art of the etude what what is the art of the etude and what was the motivation behind that yeah so basically the art of etude is is a video series that i started on my youtube channel and in the beginning it was

Starting point is 00:11:58 just a way for me to as a way of giving back i guess and and also paying tribute or giving thanks to the people who have influenced me and the people who have helped me regarding, let's say, my relationship towards the instrument or in general as musical mentors, just to give thanks to them and to share that kind of knowledge, I guess, with the camera so that it could really sort of reach the next generation. And I think for me, it's become a way for me to also talk about certain technical topics or certain whatever topics regarding the violin or music that I'm particularly passionate about or the things that perhaps may be a little bit more specific or may not be as talked about as much. So in a way, it's a real blend, I guess, of information.

Starting point is 00:12:56 And the nice thing about etudes is that basically they have a lot in common with actually the pieces that we perform daily. But at the same time, these are pieces, these etudes, we would not necessarily, or caprices in this case, would not necessarily perform. So in a way, it allows for us to use these caprices to work on whatever we choose in our technique or in our musicality, which is great because there is that element of musicality there in certain etudes, especially the road caprices, which I'm covering currently. i'm doing actually um the a marathon of the 24 caprices of road on art of etude at the moment and um i just feel like there is that musicality there so but at the same time being something that you work on privately in the practice room it does you know offer you you know in the same in the same sense that you know it can be a real canvas to work on technical aspects but also for you to to experiment and to explore different musical ideas and how to implement them in

Starting point is 00:14:01 relation to the violin i really love in the videos how you begin by playing the caprice and then you caprice and etudes and then you offer tips and tricks and suggestions on aspects that we can explore a little bit more and i find that so inspiring and of course you're playing a stellar So this is really, really nice to hear it. Very inspiring and very motivating. Would you say, I'm curious, would you say that etudes were a big part of your journey as you were growing up? Yeah, definitely. I would say that, you know, especially in the lead up of the Menuhin competition in 2010, It was just, you know, etudes really played a very significant part in helping me, you know, sort of quickly develop a lot of the technical tools that I needed and to develop, I guess, you know, that technical standard, I guess, that I needed for that competition. and it was just yeah it was a real grounding force at that time and for that reason I think

Starting point is 00:15:09 a lot of these um a lot of these etudes or caprices especially these road caprices which I did a lot then have a very special place for me so um yeah that's that's it's it's also why you know it's it's it's great it's a it's a real pleasure for me to to be using these etudes to talk about you know certain topics uh these days in my in my series I like them because I find that they, you know, of course, they teach us how to learn, they teach us how to practice, and they really help us maybe tackle some technical elements. Etudes are so, no pun intended, but instrumental in teaching us what we need to learn about mastering our instruments. And, you know, so many students, well, first of all, don't like to learn etudes because they don't always see the

Starting point is 00:15:58 reason why and how beneficial they can be for them. But also I find that most students play etudes very mechanically and they focus only on the technical aspect. And that's something you just mentioned. You are such an eloquent musician, so musical. And even when you play these etudes at the beginning of the videos, they are so beautiful and artistically played. So please, can you tell us a little bit, how do you see the etudes as contributors to expression? How can we use them to develop this musicality that you're talking about yeah basically i think um you know that's that's a real theme in in my series i think in one one particular video i did mention that that these caprices sort of become your playground in terms of you know whatever you want to to uh

Starting point is 00:16:47 to try to express to experiment you know with sound colors or whatever in order to produce a certain musical intention i guess that um and these caprices really allow you to do that because they are in a way musical pieces you know but uh in a way it's just that this this relationship to you know the fact that you practice these in the practice room that they really become sort of vehicles with which you can really experiment you know and do all sorts of different things you know perhaps a little far-fetched things you know just do your own experimentation you know in the practice room in the privacy of your own practice room so that you can really understand sort of you know what exactly you're going for and and how to achieve it so i feel like these

Starting point is 00:17:37 caprices are just um yeah super powerful in that sense in that you can you can take it in any direction. I really love that you call it a playground for experimentation and a vehicle for experimentation. That's really great. And what has this project brought to you personally? I know that you were mentioning how it was a way to pay homage to your teachers and your mentors, but what are you getting out of this, doing this challenge? Yeah, so basically, as all acts of teaching or sharing of knowledge i think that's just something that's that's become very very important to me that i've become very passionate about even now doing more and more teaching doing more master classes you know being at the jacob school of music for example in indiana u doing

Starting point is 00:18:25 you know things in a summer academy or even in in finland i guess probably by the time that this episode is going to be released i'm going to be in finland working with students um you know in Finland at the Sibelius Academy and elsewhere. I think it's just, there is something really, really beautiful about sharing knowledge, first of all, but also about being able to concisely explain certain, you know, certain concepts in words. I think that's very, you know, very valuable and in a way can help us understand more of how we feel inside about certain things or you know what we want to do i think that in order to to be able to explain things in words is is a great exercise in a way and i personally i mean every time that i put

Starting point is 00:19:17 together one of these episodes for art of etude i also get a little bit more enlightened about a certain topic or you know even learn something new so for me it's just a constant feedback loop I guess, you know, trying to, to really share my knowledge, and in the process, enlighten myself and to really reinforce certain things or to even learn new things. That's great. You know, Carson, your mastery of the violin, so astounding. And like I said, you're not just a brilliant technical player, but also wonderfully expressive. And I'm sure my listeners are curious about the practicing secrets behind all of this. So would you mind tell us a little bit about the process in the practice room how does that work yeah for sure

Starting point is 00:20:03 so I think um recently I think my process has always been to really go into the practice room already knowing exactly what my goal is and I think by what I mean by that is is sort of having let's say if I'm approaching a particular piece so that I have to get a piece ready that I have this you know incredibly vivid image you know of how I want things to sound and in a way a sort of also a burning desire of wanting to achieve if not exactly but as closest to what I imagine in my head in terms of you know what kind of sound or what kind of phrasing what kind of a you know what kind of a phrase do I want to hear you know in all of its its subtlety So I think, you know, that's really the theme here for me is whenever I go into a practice room, it's always been, you know, to really, first of all, to have this vivid idea in mind and to really try and do, you know, whatever you can to try and reach that goal.

Starting point is 00:21:12 So in general, I think that's in a way why I would think that something that has benefited my technique quite a bit in recent times is just this sort of developing my technique to achieve exactly those specific things that I have in mind, instead of just, you know, sort of, you know, practicing my technique or practicing passages, you know, for the sake of being able to do certain things later. But I think that's sort of the thing for me that I found out that if I really already have this, you know, specific thing in mind, that it really becomes much clearer, I guess, the mission or every time you go into a practice room, what to work on. so so that's really the general idea in terms of whenever i need to pick up pieces and to keep let's say multiple pieces in my fingers at one time i think it's important to always even though you know we have to work on certain passages and we have to always know what our weaknesses are and where we need to work on to always keep the overall the overall in our heads you know regarding all these pieces like the overall structure the overall arc that you want to you know project and um and yeah i guess that it really comes down to um you know your practice being dictated by

Starting point is 00:22:30 a very strong idea or a very strong you know even just the very you know the very strong desire to achieve a certain something mind over finger yeah absolutely and when you are let's say approaching or working on a difficult passage and you're trying to achieve what you were just talking about really get to this close to the goal of what you have in mind would you please unpack it for us a little bit what that might look like yeah so if i'm if i'm approaching let's say a difficult passage as in maybe something fast or a little bit complicated you know finger wise something a little you know something that could tangle your fingers or or just be awkward i guess It's always, for me, it was always important to, you know, during slow practice to still keep sort of the transitions between notes, whether it be, you know, a finger coming down or coming up or a shift or, you know, whatever between a note.

Starting point is 00:23:34 that that sort of little splits you know element still is executed as it would be executed at full speed so that's really one thing that i've that i've relied on to get things you know quickly into my hands of course i work rhythms as well i work different you know um whatever passages and rhythms different rhythms i think that's always been a very solid tool um to uh to to to really get something familiar or or planted in your fingers but i feel like you know just this awareness i guess of really making sure that the transitions are are still extremely fast and nimble and that you're always aware of let's say i guess you know how relaxed you can be in executing a certain motion um that that's that's really the most uh the most important

Starting point is 00:24:29 things so that when you reach let's say full speed or in the process of reaching full speed that you really um that you that that yeah that the facility sort of remains i guess and that all these transitions still you know still have it's a higher chance of maintaining that clarity and um in terms of uh yeah i guess when it comes to to performing or to sort of working i always find that if there's something complicated in the left hand to always think right hand i think that's uh that's always been a very a very um useful you know mentality to always focus on what's going on in the right hand because after all that's what's the most important so um yeah so that's that's pretty much my process it's so true what you're saying i find that this is where some

Starting point is 00:25:26 musicians and students and you know i'll put myself in in this group as well this is where things get lost a little bit is when the slow work is not reflective of what happens in real life in the real tempo and it's what you're talking about paying attention um in these moments in between how the movement happens and how it you know how it reflects how it would be in real tempo yeah basically i think that's uh you know i find that you know the transition between notes or just the space in between or just maybe the last you know the last little bit you know of a note or just the very beginning of a note you know that space between notes is just the most important i find that there is really where you can find in practice first of all the most effectiveness and

Starting point is 00:26:20 if you want to develop nimbleness and also develop sort of ease in executing certain passages. But also, I guess, when playing lyrically, that, you know, the space between notes or just at the very end or at the very beginning of notes, that's really where I find the magic happens. One of the things I really love about watching your videos playing, unfortunately, I've not had the chance to see you perform live recently. So I hope that you either come to the Chicago area soon, or I have a chance to go hear you wherever you are in the world. But what I love is really this ease that you seem to have on stage. It really feels as though the music is flowing out of you. Can I ask you, I hope that's not too, I don't know that word in English,

Starting point is 00:27:13 actually i hope it's not too nosy of me but um what goes on in your head while you perform i would say it depends of course on on the particular piece but um certainly a lot is going on in my head i think what yeah i mean in terms of actually going back to what you mentioned about about sort of you know the ease and everything i think that just comes from you know i guess the emphasis that i put on relaxation in my technique but also just the relaxation of body and the efficiency of motion that sort of has really influenced um i guess my the way i play but my posture especially on stage i think over time that has really reflected that but in terms of i guess all the activity you could say is in is in the mind of course that that really is the

Starting point is 00:28:01 origin of everything and the driving force technically i don't i don't really put images in my head like any concrete images or stories or whatever in my head but i sort of try and really um get myself involved in in sort of you know the push and pull of within a phrase or of the arc and also just being able to anticipate exactly you know what i want to hear um play um just moments before i play it i find that's just uh it's it's quite a demanding mental exercise but i find that um there has to i guess it contributes to this to this sense of will or willpower that is necessary to achieve a certain you know a certain color but a certain energy also or insistence i guess in in your playing so um yeah i just in my mind i try and you know

Starting point is 00:29:00 Everything at this point is quite metaphorical, but I just try and really get myself busy with how to, I guess, imagine the exact shape of something or exactly how I want this gesture to go as if I was speaking, as if I was speaking a language that I didn't know. I love that. That's very great. And if you allow me to take you back a little bit, I really love what you said about this efficiency of motion. And I really feel like you have such an acute awareness of everything that happens in your body, the motion, the kinesthetic aspect of playing and this relaxation that you mentioned. And much more so than in many players. How did that get started with you? i'm not exactly sure if there was one point where i thought you know because fortunately i've never been injured in a major way so that's you know that's just really been very lucky but um but there's i think a lot of it has to do with when i switched off shoulder rest actually um that that was really a humongous turning point for me in many ways when i when i started the process of being able to play without shoulder rest you know and and within that process i guess that um

Starting point is 00:30:25 it was really it was really necessary for me to as i found out as i went along to develop all these new awareness about you know certain muscle groups that weren't being used before or you know the extra role everything in the left arm on the shoulder and the left hand plays when you when you play without shoulder rest you know and in that sense i think when i was really trying to understand my body and also the process of how i can achieve this this balance i guess when you play without shoulder rest between the shoulder and the left hand that everything serves you know a multi-purpose but at the same time that there is enough you know nimbleness and enough flexibility for you to get by i think that was just also the you know the starting point of you know thinking

Starting point is 00:31:18 about exactly what role each part of the body plays and how and what effort is how much effort is actually needed i guess in every in every motion and that's very important yeah yeah absolutely i think um in a way playing without shoulder rest has really has really freed me up you know before when I was playing with with shoulder rest of course everything was going fine but but I had you know aches and pains and everything I think it was just the lack of of awareness you know towards the full the full picture I guess of playing because I think yeah just the idea that playing without shoulder rest when you play let's say at the very beginning I was trying to play with no pad whatsoever so bareback but at the same time very extreme of me

Starting point is 00:32:06 um but to to never let the back touch my shoulder of the back of the violin i mean um it it really just forced me to learn so many other different motions and certain subtle subtle activity in the left hand or in a certain you know and uh you know that a lot of these smaller muscles have this much more significant role i guess in playing and that pretty much also influenced my sound in the way that uh that you found i found a lot more sort of subtlety i guess involved in in the making of sound but also what is reflected in the sound that there is you know that you can really hear i guess a lot more subtle a lot more little micro motions i guess that are happening in the left hand or in in the bow in that sense and i think it freed you

Starting point is 00:33:02 up though because you had the interest and the determination to really find the most effective way to utilize your body to you know really get the most uh but most bang for your buck i guess is the expression i would use yeah because not everybody has this instinct to search and really assimilate the new position and the new setup in the way that is uh maximizing everything the way that you did so this is really to your credit yeah it was basically i mean very simply put i think it was just a desire to to play pain-free and to to to make it so that you know if this was something that i would be doing for the rest of my life and doing every day and tons of it i guess um that it becomes something you know as natural as eating or brushing your teeth you know

Starting point is 00:34:06 that it was just this desire to be yeah to to not have pain but also to reach this level of of naturalness i guess and of course that was quite an audacious audacious sort of ambition back then but it still very much um you know influences uh you know my playing and the way i work now you know it's really interesting how uh we've had some guests on the show in the past that have talked about uh you know they said their brass players talked about changing embouchure and or going through career changes and i think that the common theme i see there is that this event is a catalyst for a very uh thorough inner journey where if you are willing to go all the way and really search deeply inside you can really to use the expression that that you used

Starting point is 00:35:00 earlier, you can really free yourself in this process. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. I think it really often only takes one particular spark or one particular click in your mind. And that can really spark something that becomes so significant that it still informs who you are and what you do today. Yeah. Kirsten, I bet you're flying somewhere early tomorrow morning. So I should probably let you go are you ready for a round of rapid fire questions before we wrap up yeah definitely so for the people who are dreaming or considering a career that resembled yours can you tell us a little bit about what your life looks like definitely a lot of playing a lot of juggling of repertoire you know a lot of uh a lot of pieces in your fingers at one time uh you know and of

Starting point is 00:35:56 course the effort to maintain that um and also tons of traveling um exhilarating but also sometimes can be extremely tedious um and also just uh you know a balance of of uh yeah of exhilaration on stage but also i guess solitude and perhaps sometimes even loneliness off stage so uh yeah there is that there is that definitely that that duality there what skills do you think young musicians studying today should acquire in addition to learning to play their instruments i think in general you just have to to be curious and to to learn as much as possible regarding life about about art about whatever you're doing you know about about music about other you know about the art that other people practice. I think that, uh, that very much things that we learn

Starting point is 00:36:53 perhaps in other subjects or, you know, that we can always make connections and have a lot to do with, you know, the material that we, that we draw from in terms of expression and, and musical ideas. And I think it's just, yeah, it's just in general, I think it's, it's really important to, to go outside to to live life and to really uh to to be curious and to learn as much as possible about anything that you think could complement your your instrument and is there a performance that has stayed with you throughout the years uh let's see this one i think there's just been been a lot of a lot of performances that have influenced me the years but i think probably off the top of my head i would say when i heard gregory sokolov play live for the first

Starting point is 00:37:41 time this was in brussels i think and uh in 2016 and i just you know i just learned about him sort of the previous summer when i was in verbier uh for the verbier academy yeah that was definitely you know a really incredible moment for me and also just you know as a you know sokolov's playing It's just really grown on me, I think, since then, that, you know, just this will, this incredible commitment and this strength of personality and strength of character. I think that's really an example for us musicians. Kirsten, do you have a favorite tool in the practice room? I'd just say my brain. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:38:23 It could be, you know, as long as I have, I guess, the willingness to practice and sort of the mental fortitude. and but other than that i would say metronome but that's a great answer i really like that answer a lot yeah yeah i was hearing someone on the radio the other day say that no one on the planet could afford a tool or a machine as expensive as a brain would be if someone could manufacture them so yeah absolutely i think that's just the most important thing i guess is just to be able to go into the practice room with a with a particular goal or with a particular idea you know and to have the willingness to work towards that i think that's just you know that's what makes practice what it is and that's what makes it useful do you have a favorite book that you would recommend to

Starting point is 00:39:15 our listeners i don't have a particular favorite book that book that comes to mind i mean i i read but nowadays i don't have as much as as much as a chance to read as much as i would like but uh i would definitely just go ahead and read as much classic literature as you can yeah that's very useful yeah absolutely you know i'm curious about one thing and because you mentioned a little bit earlier i know these are supposed to be rapid fire questions but i i have to while i have you on the line um because you were talking about spending so much time traveling is mental practice something that you do while traveling sometimes on the plane yeah for sure i mean you know it can be anything from from you know just thinking of a new idea or just thinking oh how how can i phrase

Starting point is 00:40:03 this slightly differently or just you know very informal informal gestures like that but i think that um in a way has a very has a very powerful effect on the subconscious i think when you go back into a practice room at least i find that even even on days where i don't really touch the instrument much or on days perhaps that i've performed a lot you know in a certain period and i've let go of the instrument for for a bit of time you know just to just to recuperate a little bit um but coming back i mean after all of this you know stuff that goes on in your daily mind that things do change that that you feel that there is a change um based on the ideas that you've that have come to your mind or that sort of little little games or little uh yeah the

Starting point is 00:40:47 practice that that you've done in there i think it's very important yes and i find my mental practice is such a a complex topic to discuss and try to explain or encapsulate for people who've never done it before because no one really knows where to begin if they've never done mental practice yeah absolutely i think i think again it ties down to this idea that um that you really have to to first of all have the will to to to make something happen musically and to be able to sort of you know map it out in your head before ever even touching the instrument i find that um that going into the practice room with all of that already set is is is just so um so important not only for efficiency of practice but also just um you know being as effective as possible and

Starting point is 00:41:44 being able to to uh you know give yourself as many answers that you thought that you might have not not even seen so yeah and when you talk about mapping do you think about structural uh the form of the piece and musical ideas or does it go even further yeah absolutely it can be anything from sort of experimenting with with phrasing like to imagine a phrase in your head or to experiment with pacing for example or to you know but at the same time it's as if you know sometimes these things happen but you just associate you associate a certain a certain phrase perhaps you have in mind with with a certain state a certain emotional state or a certain a certain sensation i guess and and what's funny is that i find that um you know a lot of

Starting point is 00:42:36 these a lot of these you know so-called states or certain certain feelings i guess come from certain memories i've had over the years whether it was out you know walking in a certain city or just you know being with people or you know like i guess all all of these all of these experiences that we have in daily life sort of generate these these um i don't know yeah these these i don't even call it images because it's not that concrete but just these sensations or these these um you know mental states that you that that you sort of record i guess and um and and oftentimes i find i find myself you know um like like it's irresistible to sometimes associate one of these states with with uh with the phrase that i have in mind and this is what

Starting point is 00:43:26 gives i guess um that particular phrase the way i play it it's expressive content this is really wonderful thank you for allowing me to jump back there no worries no worries yeah what is a piece of advice that was given to you and that you would like to pass on to the listeners this is something that augustin jume has sort of i mean i guess his general message that um that he's told me over the past four years that i've been working with him in belgium that i guess to along the lines of um of you know think in terms of the music not in terms of the violin so i think in other words i think just to to not allow to not allow sort of whatever limits there may be in the violin to to limit your musical ideas or your musical will and to to ask yourself

Starting point is 00:44:22 the question of of you know what can the violin do for me for me to um yeah for me to uh to accomplish this certain idea that i have in mind that's great garson how about a quick actionable tip that listeners could implement today in their musical lives yeah i guess uh today i'd uh i'd like to challenge people to just really think but also think as in to really have a mental image before doing everything, before, I guess, to have an intention already in mind before practicing or before playing a certain phrase, because I feel like that would immediately, you know, help in speeding up practice in terms of, you know, making it more effective, more efficient, but also can also help find your expressive voice and your own voice, in fact, over time and just being able

Starting point is 00:45:18 to, I guess, having the confidence to embrace, you know, the particular musical message that you want to bring forth. This is great. Kirsten, how about some projects? What is happening for you in the coming months? Yeah, basically a lot of great projects in terms of concerts. I'll be in the Canary Islands later this month to do the Bach Festival there and will be in Finland to work with students at Sibelius Academy

Starting point is 00:45:47 me and to uh to play uh play Mozart with the chamber orchestra um as well as you know making my debut with the Vancouver Symphony but uh I think what's really really exciting for me uh coming up is just you know because I I'm always someone who I guess really likes to be challenged with you know something new or something something different and to always you know think in terms of connections regarding um you know regarding how how certain things can connect back to what i do or how let's say um yeah that that something could really from the outside could benefit my playing so i think a lot of things will be happening um you know more and more on my social media for example i think that uh in that sense i'm just going to be you know so

Starting point is 00:46:37 much more more active in uh in in promoting the music that we play but also in just sharing you know sharing good vibes and to you know sharing all of this uh all of this uh what we're what we're so fortunate to do and we are all gonna benefit from that i'm sure yeah it's my pleasure it's my pleasure and where can people find you on social media i'm gonna put all these links in the show notes but for the people who are just listening right now and not able to take a look yeah for sure so i mean i have a you can find all sorts of information on my website my concert schedule um which is very exciting you know any news or you know anything that you can find on my website i'm active on on facebook as well and particularly on instagram and uh

Starting point is 00:47:27 yeah on twitter you can find you can find all of that just basically my handle is uh, at Kirsten Leon. Uh, and I just, uh, yeah, I'm really, I'm really happy for the support that I've had over, over the, you know, and really thankful for, for, for the support that I've received. And I'm just really looking forward to interacting with, uh, with more musicians and music lovers, uh, in the future. Kirsten, as I said, I wish we had hours to talk about everything, music, violin, performance, career, you name it. And I hope we do at some point in the future. I'm so honored and happy and grateful that you took the time to share your insight with me and my listeners today. Thank you so much. Thank you very much for having me.

Starting point is 00:48:10 And I look forward to the next time. and there you have it i hope you enjoyed this episode with one of my favorite violinists carson leong and this is it for season one of the mind over finger podcast well i guess not quite because as i said in the intro i have several pretty incredible bonus episodes coming your way in the coming weeks. I'm really excited to be on site at Notre Dame University as one of the official podcasters covering the 46th annual Fish Off competition from May 10 to 12. And I thought it would be really fun to bring you guys five former winners of the competition to talk about their experience preparing for and competing at Fish Off and

Starting point is 00:49:05 what wonderful adventures and opportunities have come out of that. So starting this Monday, you can hear all about the Fischhoff effect with my guests Blaise Magniere from the Avalon String Quartet, Matt Landry from the Acropolis Reed Quintet, Dorival Puccini from Axiom Brass, Christopher Whitley from the Thalia String Quartet, and Lydia Ray from the former Cairo String Quartet. So make sure to subscribe and tune in on Monday because those conversations are bursting with inspiration and extremely useful information you can also expect episodes from the competition coming later in may now season two of the mind over finger podcast will be back on friday september 6 2019 and i have for you another lineup of amazing guests to only name a few get ready to

Starting point is 00:50:00 hear from solo violinists Lara St. John, Arno Sussman, and Sarah Whitney, concert master of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, Robert Hanford, principal violist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Milan Milisevlievic, principal cellist of the L.A. Phil, Robert Domaine, principal flute of the Seattle Symphony, Demare McGill, Northwestern University bassoon professor and author David McGill, principal trumpet of the Met Opera Orchestra Billy Hunter, principal percussion of the Cleveland Orchestra Mark Damoulakis, and none other than the wonderful string pedagogue Simon Fisher. Lots of mindful fun ahead. As always, you can find the show notes for this episode as well as all the other episodes of season one at mindoverfinger.com. So once again,

Starting point is 00:50:54 thank you so much for listening à bientôt

The Mind Over Finger Podcast - 030 Kerson Leong: Musical Eloquence Through Heightened Awareness & Directed Thought

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