Few pianists attempt the Rachmaninoff marathon that Olga Kern will play in Austin

Few classical concerts in Austin have been deemed "historic."

Over the course of two concerts this weekend at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, however, Olga Kern will play all four of Rachmaninoff's piano concertos — as well as the Russian composer's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" — with the Austin Symphony Orchestra.

The symphony is calling it a "Rach Fest."

An internet search suggests that only one other pianist has scaled this musical height before.

Kern has pulled off this Rachmaninoff marathon multiple times since 2003; this the first time anyone has attempted the feat in Austin.

Winner of a Gold Medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth — the first woman to take that honor in more than 40 years — Russian-born Kern, now a proud American citizen, has long been a darling of Austin audiences.

I recently caught up with Kern and asked about this historic occasion.

American-Statesman: Nobody has done this in Austin, but you've accomplished it elsewhere, right?

Olga Kern: I have actually played all five in two evenings since 2003. The first time I did it was in South Africa, and my brother was the conductor for those concerts. My brother was a guest conductor for the Cape Town Philharmonic, so we did it in Cape Town and also in Johannesburg.

And since that time, I have played this kind of “marathon” of all Rachmaninov concerti in many different places in the world. And I also played this in the United States a few times before — including Denver, Colorado and Phoenix, Arizona.

This is a big Rachmaninov anniversary this year; we are celebrating his 150th anniversary. So, I was thinking that this will be just a great project for this year to honor Rachmaninov as a composer and as a pianist.

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How does one prepare to perform all that music back-to-back?

It's a lot of notes to perform in such a short period of time.

I play all the concerti, separately usually, each season as well. The music is in my hands. I practice it normally just as I would practice any other piece I'm performing.

Of course, the biggest challenge is to find the time to actually practice all of them, because it takes a long time in my day to just play each concerto only once — not to mention practice each concerto all together.

So, yes, because I'm traveling so much and also playing other performances, it is hard to make the time. I also teach at The Manhattan School of Music.

Other than that, it's just regular practice time for me and I enjoy practicing. That's actually the most enjoyable part of getting ready, to just sit by the piano and to have a peaceful time without my phone or computer, and just enjoy this great music and practice for this great concert.

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Has rehearsing them for such a concentrated round of performances brought to light any insights into the music?

Each time I practice — and it doesn't matter which concerto I'm playing each time — I always find something new. Always. And of course, practicing all these concerti together is always very inspiring to me.

I like to open the scores and just see what the composer wrote. And every time you look in the scores, you find something new. It's the same thing as reading a book which you have already read before — when you re-read it, you always find something new, some new moment in the book, or something that sticks out for you this time.

And for me, that's the most important thing, to always have the piece sound fresh. So, yes, I already found something new in each of these concerti and I can't wait to start rehearsing with the Austin Symphony so we can also find something new together.

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You’ve been an Austin Symphony audience favorite for as long as I can remember. What do you think draws audiences into your performances?

I don't really know what exactly draws the audience to my performances. It may be better to ask an audience member about it.

But for me, I love being on stage, I love sharing what I love the most. And I love to perform, I love music.

And I always feel the energy of the audience. And that is so special for me, it's a kind of like an exchange of the energies. And this is the most important thing when you have a live performance — there is nothing like a live performance because a recording is a completely different thing.

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You have a family connection to Rachmaninov, right?

My great-great-grandmother was a singer, a mezzo-soprano, and a good friend of Rachmaninov. They performed together many times. Rachmaninov himself accompanied her in many concerts, actually. And in Rachmaninov's two books of his memoirs, there are specific dates and places where they were performing together, and she was performing his songs.

And it is very special for me because I feel like Rachmaninov touched my family with his genius. And of course, growing up, I always loved his music, and I always loved his performances. All the recordings I had were just so special. He was an incredible pianist as well.

Growing up, I loved listening to Van Cliburn recordings of Van playing Rachmaninov concerti or his preludes. The Rachmaninov preludes, for me, have always been very special.

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Given the complexity of Rach Fest, will you and conductor Peter Bay be allowed extra time to rehearse with the Austin Symphony?

It will be the same, absolutely the same as rehearsal time for any other concerto. I will come and perform with Austin Symphony ahead of the concerts, and it is normal to rehearse each one twice.

The first rehearsal is kind of when you work a little bit longer with the orchestra for the first concert, and then the second rehearsal is kind of like a general rehearsal before the concert.

So, we have a normal number of rehearsals for both nights. There is nothing extra. I know the symphony, they know me. I'm sure that we will have a great time rehearsing, and we'll have a lot of fun.

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 It’s easy to get caught up in the emotional flow of Rachmaninoff. What do audiences tend to miss about his work? 

Rachmaninov was a huge romantic, and emotions were not only one of the most important things in his music, but in his personal life also.

He was very much a philosopher, and a lot of times when I perform his later compositions — for example as his fourth concerto or the "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" — I feel that.

There is so much involved, not only just emotion, but I feel the philosophy of life. And the "Rhapsody on Theme of Paganini," I feel like it's just the whole life of a person from birth until death, and even after death.

Then sometimes we hear philosophical questions in his music. I'm talking about, you know, 16th, 17th century music, and he was putting these themes into his music because he was trying to talk with us about really philosophical things.

That's a very important part of his music, just as well as the romantic, emotional parts.

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I was surprised to learn that you have not recorded any of these pieces on CD. Which would you love to record first and why?

I have been waiting to record all the concerti at once for a long, long time. It just hasn’t happened yet. But I know it will happen, and I'm sure it will happen soon. I would like to record all of them because I think that it should be recorded all together.

I’ve had offers to record some of the concerti separately, and I have recorded the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 on DVD from when I received my Gold Medal in the Cliburn competition in 2001. It's available still, and I have some of the video recordings of the Rachmaninov second piano concerto and the "Rhapsody on Theme of Paganini" from different places, with different orchestras.

I want to have a real recording with all of them played together. That's what I'm waiting for and I'm sure it will happen soon.

'Rach Fest': Austin Symphony Orchestra with Olga Kern

8 p.m. Friday concert line-up: Piano Concerto No. 1, Piano Concerto No. 3

8 p.m. Saturday concert line-up: Piano Concerto No. 2, Piano Concerto No. 4, "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"

Where: Long Center for the Performing Arts

Cost: $27 to $120

Information: austinsymphony.org

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Olga Kern and Austin Symphony to perform 5 big Rachmaninoff pieces