JOHN COVELLI HAS MASTERED

THE UNIQUE MUSICAL TALENT OF

BOTH PERFORMING AND CONDUCTING

AT THE SAME TIME.

UP NEXT, THIS AMERICAN PIANIST

TALKS ABOUT HIS MUSICAL

PASSIONS AND THE EVOLUTION

OF HIS SPECIAL TALENT.

♪

WHEN I WAS FOUR YEARS OLD,

I STARTED PLAYING THE PIANO

SIMPLY BECAUSE I WAS DRAWN TO

IT BY IMITATING MY TALENTED

SISTER WHO WAS PLAYING MUSIC

THAT MY MOTHER WAS TEACHING

HER, AND WHEN SHE LEFT THE

PIANO, I WOULD GO UP ON THE

PIANO AND PLAY EXACTLY WHAT

SHE DID ONLY BY EAR,

AS THEY CALL IT.

♪

I STARTED CONDUCTING

BECAUSE I HAD THIS ANXIETY

WHEN I WAS IN MY HIGH SCHOOL

BAND AND ORCHESTRA IN ONE OF

THE GREAT SCHOOLS IN THE

MIDWEST IN CHICAGO,

AND I WASN'T HAPPY

WITH THE CONDUCTOR.

I WOUND UP CONDUCTING MY

ORCHESTRA IN HIGH SCHOOL,

AND I GOT THIS BUG THAT SAID

THIS IS SOMETHING I REALLY

WOULD LIKE TO DO.

MY FIRST TRIP BEING ASKED TO

GO TO MOSCOW WAS, OF COURSE,

VERY, VERY EXCITING.

THE WHOLE IDEA OF GOING TO ONE

OF THE GREAT ORCHESTRAS OF THE

WORLD, BEING ABLE TO PERFORM

IN ONE OF THE GREAT CONCERT

HALLS IN MOSCOW, PLAY WITH

THEM AS WELL AS CONDUCT THEM,

WAS A GREAT HIGHLIGHT.

♪

I WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR HAVING

TRIED AND HAVING ACCOMPLISHED

AS MUCH IN AS MANY FIELDS

OF MUSIC.

I'M MOST PROUD OF BEING A

PIANIST AND OF A CONDUCTOR,

BUT I AM SO GLAD THAT I HAVE

BEEN INVOLVED VERY HEAVILY

WITH THE WORLD OF OPERA,

CHAMBER MUSIC, BROADWAY,

BALLET, BEING A GUEST

CONDUCTOR, BEING INVOLVED WITH

ORGANIZATIONS AS LOFTY AS THE

BOSTON POPS AND HAVING SPENT A

LOT OF MY YEARS IN THE WORLD

OF POPULAR SYMPHONIC MUSIC.

ALL OF THIS HAS ENRICHED MY

LIFE, AND I WANT TO DO MORE.

♪

THE QUESTION ALWAYS COMES UP,

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST --

PLAYING THE PIANO

OR CONDUCTING?

AND THAT'S WHY I'M REALLY

PROUD OF THE FACTS.

AND I WAS ONE OF THE -- YOU

MIGHT SAY, ONE OF THE FEW AS A

PIANIST AND AS A CONDUCTOR

THAT COMBINED THE TWO.

AND SO I HAVE RELISHED THE

FACT THAT I CAN CONDUCT A

SYMPHONIC CONCERT AND THEN SIT

DOWN AT THE PIANO AND ALSO

PLAY A CONCERTO OR SOME OTHER

WORK THAT'S WRITTEN FOR PIANO

AND ORCHESTRA AND LEAD THE

ORCHESTRA WHILE I'M PLAYING

THE PIANO.

SO THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION

IS VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE I

LOVE THEM BOTH, AND THE

INTEGRATION OF THEM HAS MADE

ME A BETTER MUSICIAN.

WHY?

BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN,

IT INVOLVES WORKING WITH AND

COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE.

WHEN YOU'RE AT A PIANO AND

YOU'RE ALSO LEADING

AN ORCHESTRA, YOU'RE

A CHAMBER MUSIC STYLE

OR MENTALITY.

YOU HAVE TO GIVE.

YOU HAVE TO TAKE.

YOU HAVE TO LISTEN, LISTEN

VERY, VERY CAREFULLY, AND SO

YOU'RE EXERCISING EVERY ONE OF

YOUR FACULTIES IN MUSIC

BY DOING BOTH.

THEREFORE, I LOVE BOTH

CONDUCTING AND PERFORMING

AS A PIANIST.

AND WHEN I DO THEM TOGETHER,

IT'S A MIRACLE.

IT'S ONE OF

THE GREAT PLEASURES.

[ APPLAUSE ]

YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT

COVELLI AT HIS WEBSITE

JOHNCOVELLI.COM.