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- [00:00]
WNYC Announcer
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Alison Stewart
This is all of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. The Polish pianist Hania Ronnie has been called a shooting star in the world of neoclassical music by the New York Times and in two weeks she'll release a piano concerto that she's called her most complex body of work of her career. The concerto is titled Nonfiction and it was originally commissioned by the Museum of Polish Jews in Warsaw. It was inspired by the discovery of music sketchbooks from a young prodigy who lived in the Warsaw ghetto and died prematurely as a teenager. The concerto will be released on November 14. Tonight, Hanya Rani will be at the public records for a listening session. She was just at Pioneer Works last night and she's here with us now in Studio 5. Hanyan, welcome.
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Hanya Rani
Hello.
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Alison Stewart
Let's hear something from Nonfiction. What are we going to hear?
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Hanya Rani
So obviously it's quite difficult to perform this piece just on my own because it includes 45 piece orchestra, but I would just play a little like a very small part of the first movement called Sonor. And yeah.
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Alison Stewart
That was Hanya Rani performing from her forthcoming release Nonfiction Piano Concerto.
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In for this has got such an interesting story because Nonfiction was inspired in.
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Part by the discovery of this group.
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Of music sketchbooks from a pianist in.
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Warsaw in the 40s.
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Could you tell us more about these sketchbooks?
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Hanya Rani
Yes, and obviously it's just the starting point because I really didn't want as well to dwell on this story. But basically what happened is that in the place where was the former ghetto in Warsaw, they found the sketches of Yosima. And that was a very positive thing. It's. It was a revelation because usually you find not as positive things and usually like a traces of some horrible events. And that was a sign of life, a Little bit. So they reached out to me and they decided to commission a piece which will resonate differently and will maybe stay a little bit longer and will be like the modern touch to this story as well. And I ask if I can see those, you know, PDF scan space basically of the sketchbooks. And I received them and I was quite naively thinking that they'll be maybe reflecting some sort of like, Jewish culture or melodies. And what I learned is basically that Yossima was mostly inspired by Schopen, Bach and Mozart. So composers that I knew myself very, very well because of my music education.
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Alison Stewart
Because she was only 13.
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Hanya Rani
Yeah, she was old, she was a teenager. She was extremely talented pianist. And unfortunately she died. She managed escape the ghetto. But basically she was also very confident about her and being a woman, she, like I would be the most famous woman composer in the world. She was very confident about her talent. And understandably, because she was. She was visibly extremely, extremely talented. And. But I also, for me, it was important to understand that she, first of all, she was, you know, a citizen of the big city, Warsaw, that I knew myself very well. And there is like, one thing is a culture, one thing is a cultural background or religion and stuff. But first of all, his people were very similar to me. And I thought this. I really want to hold on to that. And obviously it was. The piece was commissioned around 2020 and I started to compose then. Since then, many things happened. Pandemic, escalation of war in Ukraine and now the genocide in Gaza as well. So I really. And, you know, everything felt a little bit differently because of a proximity and proximity which is a result of our sub. Like, you know, our submissions to Digital and Technological World and, you know, watching everything on the screens, which is a little bit. Also meshed up with all of other very random content. But I thought, I really want to reflect on that. I really want to examine how do we actually respond, you know, to violence and how do you actually. What does it actually make. Make us make to us and how does it make us feel? And are we becoming a little important actually to. To all of this violence? Or actually we are reflecting and stays with that. It dwells some somewhere in us. And I really deeply as well think that we are extremely emotional people. And it never, even if we are trying to turn our eyes away because we can. We have our normal daily problems, we always think about it stays with us and we. We think about it, you know, so we. I still believe in this ability for us to emphasize and to understand a little bit, to See the similarities in between those. Those stories. And also, one of important things for me was not to make out of Yusima like a museum object, something that we feel romanticized almost. And this story is. Makes us feel a little bit nostalgic or sentimental. But I really wanted to make her story as pertinent as possible. That's why I decided to look at her example through the lens of modern conflicts and wars that we are observing at the moment and we're engaging with at the moment, because I think it's not such a far distance between them.
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Alison Stewart
You recorded nonfiction, as you said, with a 45 piece orchestra. What was it like to present it to us with just you at the piano?
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Hanya Rani
I mean, it's a little bit halfway through, so it feels a little bit maybe modest. But also this is a. This is basically how I started to compose it, you know, just at my piano. Right. So this is a little bit coming back to the composing process. And, and also I really wanted to make this piece exciting for myself. I didn't want it to compose a virtuosic piece because I also felt like I'm not this sort of pianist anymore. I don't listen to this piano music, this kind of music anymore. So I wanted again to hold on to modernity as much as. As possible. And that's why it starts a little bit. There is a strong Radiohead inspiration, I think, in a chord progression at least now when I play it and listen to it, I, I think there, there is something Radioheadish about, about the beginning, but also simplicity. There is nothing really outrageous. It's quite modest and quite reticent and, and, and, and yeah, it was a beautiful experience as well to work with such a big orchestra. And the possibilities are endless, you know, because you have so many tools, you have so many colors. And also acoustic instruments can create the most amazing and the most impossible sounds. Actually, for me also, they're the closest, you know, instruments to synthesizers, which I'm also very much engaged with. And this is. I was laughing because at the Pioneer works, I was not even playing the piano, two synthesizers, and was a very different vibe. But I actually feel there is a bridge between those realms way more than from popular music, for instance, to experimental music. I think experimental, modern electronic music is way closer to instrumental music. That's why it felt quite natural and organic to jump from one realm to another.
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Alison Stewart
We're speaking with pianist Hanya Rani about her new release. She'll be at the Public Records tonight. By the way. We'll have more after a quick break. This is all of it.
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Lulu Miller
Want to see a wilder world than the one we live in? A world with more beauty, more kindness and more unbelievable superpowers. Guess what? It's right here on Planet Earth. And over on our podcast, Terrestrials. Each episode we tell you stories about the strangeness waiting right here on Earth, hosted by me, Lulu Miller from Radiolab, along with a whole crew of amazing storytellers, animals and our song bud, Alan. Get Curious with Terrestrials on the Radiolab for Kids podcast feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. WNYC is supported by Symphony Space presenting Wall to Wall Stevie Wonder. All tickets are complimentary for this all day tribute reimagining Wonder's circ. Saturday, November 8th from 2 to 10pm.
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WNYC Announcer
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Alison Stewart
You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I'm in studio with pianist hanya ronnie. On November 14, she'll release nonfiction a piano concerto in four movements. And by the way, tonight she'll be at Public Records. We're going to hear another song from you. What are we going to hear first?
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Hanya Rani
This one comes from a previous album of mine and it's the only piano piece in this record. So it's a very different, different vibe. And it's called Nostalgia.
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Alison Stewart
That was pianist Hanya Ronnie. You've composed music for films most recently, I believe it's sentimental value.
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Hanya Rani
Yes.
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Alison Stewart
How did that opportunity come up?
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Hanya Rani
Well, it's a good question, but I've been a very big fan of Joachim Trio's film since many, many years. And I think I handed it to my publisher and I think he just met him at some point and he said, like, you know what, there is this composer, Hanya Rani. And yeah, I sent him my music and he really liked I think he was actually familiar with my music. And then he then we had a chat and it turned out that we have lots in common and there was a common ground. And then immediately I had to start working because we had a conversation, I think, in June and I started working August already. And then Everything happened very, very quickly. I think the film is out next week. Next week in the U.S. exactly. So I think it's very exciting and I really recommend a beautiful. It's a very beautiful film.
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Alison Stewart
What's rewarding for you about writing for film?
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Hanya Rani
It's definitely all about collaborating with different people. And especially you know, in case of this sort of director is just like a mind blowing opportunity to have a conversation with extremely intelligent person which doesn't happen too often unfortunately. So especially artist to artist. And I think this is also my style because I'm not only doing that. So I'm not an usual composer. And sometimes maybe this might be annoying and I might be a little bit under qualified but for other people it's perfect because I'm also bringing my own voice. So for me it's always just like a little bit of an artistic collaboration and entering someone else perspective.
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Alison Stewart
We've been hearing instrumental music from you, but some of your music features your voice. People can watch your tiny desk concert for an example. How do you think of the voice as an instrument?
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Hanya Rani
I think about it as an instrument actually because I, you know, as a pianist I didn't have many choices so I started to play synthesizers as well. And I was still missing some other other instruments. So I started singing just because of this need to. To be able to add something on top of everything and, and the voice is an extremely flexible instrument. Overlap it, you can use many, many layers. You can just use it as a speaking medium or choirish sound. So. So it's extremely porous in a way. And I, and I love the feature of it. Although again I think once you start singing and creating songs, they are such radical form of music that it. I think for now, for instance, now I really need a little bit of a break because it's quite predictable form of music in a way. And I think as a composer you always need to really believe in everything what you're doing. And I exploit this lens a little bit too much maybe. So I felt like now it's very nice for me just to explore instrumental music again to maybe turn back maybe in couple of months and again create some other songs. But it's. It's quite a defined like once you include voice and lyrics into the song, it defining everything else. So. And I don't like to be defined too much. So maybe that was also deliberate choice to take a little bit of a break.
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Alison Stewart
If you watch your tiny desk, you realize so much of it you're playing synthesizer, it's got beat, it's it's like Sylvie and Esso in a way. How much is pop influence? How much does pop influence you?
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Hanya Rani
Quite a lot. I mean, all sorts of music. And I've been always surrounded with all genres and it was a very fluid and very. Everything was in flux. I would never really, I think that was my problem that I was growing in a family house where, you know, my, my father was listening to Pink Floyd and Cat Stevens and then he was listening to Concerto Grossi by Handel. And there was no difference between those things. So I, I just thought that everyone listened exactly in the same way. And then I think it stayed with me. I really. And this allows me probably to be excited about different things. And just because it's such a vast space, there will be always something to be engaged with. Right. Sometimes it's pop music, sometimes it's electronic, sometimes it's very experimental music, sometimes it's film scores. But obviously pop music in a beautiful meaning of this word, which means popular music. So it's like inclusive music, basically, and based on a very precise form of song. It's been always very close to my heart.
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Alison Stewart
My guest has been pianist hanya rani. On November 14, she'll release nonfiction a piano concerto in four movements. Tonight she'll be at Public Records. Hanya, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate you being here.
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Hanya Rani
Yes, thank you.
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Alison Stewart
And that is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you. I will meet you back here tomorrow with the cast of Hadestown, live from the green space. We'll see you then.
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WNYC Announcer
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