Pianist Ursula Oppens is known for her interpretations of modern compositions, as attested to by her latest recording, Winging It, which recently was nominated for a Grammy (her fourth such). Yet for her concert at Mills College on Jan. 27, it’s a return to the past, as she performs pieces by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Scriabin, and Schumann. No matter what she’s playing, though, what’s noticeable about Oppens is her passion for the music and for life in general.
Congratulations on your Grammy nomination. You premiered the piece Winging It, in 2009. What is your favorite memory about premiering it?
Thanks. We’ve made plans to go to the ceremony.
I got it bit by bit. I got the first two movements and learned them. Then I got the third movement and it was absolutely the most fun and unexpected piece. It was delightful, sort of delicious. That it exists — that’s the most amazing thing. I can only imagine how composers can come up with their works.
I hadn’t really thought of recording it, but I was told I had another year. There’s another piece on the CD for two pianos, tuned a quarter-tone apart. It’s amazing. It creates an astonishing and very moving effect with compact material.
Having pieces written for you, such as Winging It, has to be exciting, but is it also more of a challenge or more pressure since they are written for you?
John Corigliano [its composer] once said I play the piece so naturally. In some ways, when a work is written by someone I know who knows me, it’s easier. But I always tell composers to write what they want. The one problem is that male composers will have a larger hand than mine, so I have to work around that.
You just came back from Europe, specifically Ljubljana [Slovenia], at a festival that honored Elliott Carter, and Saint Petersburg, where you premiered Laura Kaminsky’s Piano Concerto. How was your time there?
It was a fabulous festival in Slovenia, working with Slovenian musicians. Usually you travel in your own cocoon. Also, playing a concerto which was also written for me is very exciting. It’s interesting to play a concerto. I learn my part and study the rest, but I have no idea what it’s going to sound like. There were interesting sounds that I couldn’t quite imagine before.
You plan your concerts with a theme in mind. What is the theme behind the upcoming concert at Mills College?
I’m so thrilled with this program. It’s three fantasies in the first half. The second half is Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündler, Op. 6, which is one of the most heartfelt and beautiful pieces of music. It’s interesting that Mills College is famous for new music and I’m doing 18th- and 19th-century pieces!
I love working with composers and taking advantage of the time I’m in.
In the first half of the program, all the pieces can be termed sonatas, even if they’re not called that. I love the Scriabin. It’s about as late in the 19th century as you can get, and it pushes tonality. It’s very chromatic. The Beethoven is the strongest piece, as if it were an improvisation. He changes keys every few bars. It’s really Beethoven at his oddest.
What draws you to contemporary pieces, and what draws you to traditional music? How do you personally find a good balance between playing the two?
It is a question of balance. It’s what I love to do. If I only played contemporary music, I’d miss classical and Romantic music. But I also love working with composers and taking advantage of the time I’m in. My mother was also my teacher for a while, and I learned the only way to bypass the teacher is to go to the composer. You can do that with contemporary composers.
Your mother was a highly regarded teacher. Was having a parent teach you good or bad?
She was my second teacher, but I learned an enormous amount from her, even when she wasn’t my teacher. It was music all the time.
What was it like being one of the “brats” at the early Aspen Music Festival and spending the summers there?
It was fabulous. The location is heavenly and the music was wonderful. I heard things like the Juilliard String Quartet playing the complete Beethoven concertos.
I went to the Aspen Music Festival from age 7 on. I was lucky. We [kids] ran around and did things we probably shouldn’t have, like exploring abandoned mines. I’d never do something like that now, but when you’re a kid, you don’t think about it.
You were a cofounder of Speculum Musicae. How did that come about?
There were a bunch of musician friends, some of whom were in the Juilliard ensemble, and Dennis [Russell] Davies suggested we form our own group, playing repertoire we wanted to play. Charles Warren told us that, “yes,” we could do it and not “no, you’re much too young.” It was wonderful. The collective energy of several people is much more than that of just one or two. It was full of arguments, and a little nutty, but it was original. I was with the group for 10 years and we played a tremendous amount of music. I loved it. In the end, we had conflicts between solo work and being in a group, and we all explored different routes from there, but it was a wonderful experience.
It was unusual at the time, but I think groups today are doing more of that, especially groups like eighth blackbird.
If not piano, what other instrument might you play?
I played cello some when I was young. I liked it. But the piano has tempered tuning, and there isn’t room for 11 notes in the octave. The cello, and other string instruments, have pure intervals. I couldn’t play in tune.
I could never play wind instruments. I have no embouchure, no breath control. But I love the sound. And, of course, percussion is fun.
I’ve played other keyboard instruments. In Slovenia, I played harpsichord.
What might you be doing if you were not a musician?
For some years — in fact, until Speculum Musicae was formed — I kept saying, “I’ll take the law boards and see how I’ll do.” I felt the world didn’t need another pianist. I was always interested in economics. But in college, when I stopped practicing because of exams or other interruptions, I enjoyed the time at first but eventually lost the sense of who I was.
What are some of your hobbies or things you do in your free time?
Well, hanging out with friends. I like hiking and walking, being outdoors.
What music are you listening to these days?
Because I spend so much time listening professionally, I don’t listen to music casually. Basically, I listen to concerts by my friends. I am attending the Ring Cycle and Don Giovanni later this year. My parents took me to opera a lot, but as a young adult I rarely went, except to new operas. Now that they have [super]titles, I’m tremendously interested in learning more about opera.