Interview by Missy Adams

Music Worcester brings The Ahn Trio to Tuckerman Hall on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 8pm. We were lucky enough to talk with these three talented, vibrant, lovely siblings about everything from their musical beginnings to their famous sense of fashion.

Who came up with the title for your latest CD, “Lullaby for My Favorite Insomniac?” And is there actually a favorite insomniac?

We heard “Lullaby For My Favorite Insomniac” written by Kenji Bunch by chance and decided at that moment all together that it has to become an entire album around it.

Traditionally, a lullaby is a mother’s love for her beloved child translated into music. It is quite powerful emotionally even though it usually consists of very soft and simple melodies. We thought this would be a great concept for the album. To have a collection of modern lullabies, melodies and songs that have that special ‘lullaby’ quality, not always for a baby, but for our favorite insomniacs of all ages.

Our favorite insomniac is our mother – and then, individually, we all probably have our other favorite insomniacs!

What a wonderful, whimsical website! Was the concept yours? If not, whom do you have to thank for such a creative, unique site?

Lucia came across work of a Hungarian digital artist Tamas aka Kilfish while researching for a perfect web designer, we wanted something that was different — not a typical classical artist website. He worked with illustration artist partner Aniko to create our website. We haven’t even met them in person yet! This is one of the positive aspects of living in the internet age, you can find amazing artists from all around the world at your fingertips. Kilfish has won many awards and also has designed a website for Nine Inch Nails.

All three of you attended Juilliard ~ was there ever concern that you might not all be accepted? Was there healthy competition amongst the three of you during your time there?

None of us has a competitive edge. Luckily, I think our levels of playing were quite similar. Our only concern was losing our individual identities, being grouped into three Ahns while we were all at Juilliard.

You now teach master classes yourselves ~ were there teachers along the way in your careers whom to this day influence your playing?

There were many teachers and artists who influenced us… way too many to name.

Musically speaking, is there an era with which you most identify?

We all love the Romantic era. We also love all the other different time periods, because, every era at that time was “Modern” and “new.” For example, what we call “21st Century New Music” will become a Classic as the time passes. We do identify ourselves with performing music mostly written for us, “music by living composers” of today.

Although music is foremost in your lives, do you have other artistic outlets?

Maria: I love to paint, draw and am starting my own jewelry design with a friend.
Lucia: I love to design, paint and am delving into writing songs.
Angella: I love to cook and garden.

At what ages did you pick up the instrument that you now play? Did you ever try other instruments, or was “love at first note?”

Lucia saw the piano at Kindergarten and begged our mother to let her take piano lessons. Soon after that, Angella and I wanted to learn instruments too, but not the same instruments. We always had to have something of an equal value but different. We all chose our own instruments that really fit our personalities. We knew about all the instruments from our mother taking us to many concerts, dance, art exhibits, and shows as young children.

Your first album was of recordings of Ravel and Villa-Lobos trios (for which you received unparallel praise). What made you choose those two composers?

Ravel Trio is one of the most gorgeous pieces ever written and we also love Villa-Lobos Trio which we felt went well together with Ravel. We just love both pieces a lot and that was a good enough reason.

What did you learn from that [your] first recording experience?

Lucia : I learned to concentrate intensely so that we could make the recording in time, we only had 3 or 4 days and had already lost half a day when I broke a piano string playing the last movement of Ravel. We also learned to imagine that we are playing in front of an audience so the excitement is still there in our playing. It was such an intense and delightful experience, I really loved it.

You are in a unique position, talented musicians who play classical music so well but are also able to switch gears and do something like back Bryan Adams on MTV’s “Unplugged.” In your spare time (if such a thing exists), what kind of music are you most drawn to?

Lucia : I love all kinds of music, all kinds of jazz musicians, I love Brazilian singers such as Edu Lobo and Rosa Passos and pop/rock music. I have been listening to people like Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Michael Nyman, Tata Bojs, Gary Burton, Stephane Grapelli, David Byrne, David Bowie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Seu Jorge, and The Kin, just to name a few. We recently met David Byrne in the Czech Republic because we were playing at the same Festival; his live concert was really great. He put 2 of our tracks from our Tata Bojs and Ahn Trio album called “Smetana” on his playlist on his web radio, we are so honored!

Do you ever feel as though you are old souls in young bodies?

Lucia : Actually, I have imagined that when we used to play Brahms trios or Tchaikovsky, and even now, lots of different compositions take you away to a totally different world all together, I have this experience not only when I play but also when I hear a piece of music. So it’s not just about feeling like an old soul or a young soul, but more about the range of emotions that you experience and places that it takes you to.

Has there ever been a time when music either frustrated you or struck you as something you needed to step away from for a while?

Music is never frustrating, maybe sometimes what comes along with being in a touring group ~ flying every day ~ can be frustrating if the airlines are being not so pleasant to deal with. We had one airline that refused to fly us because of the cello, even though we always buy a seat for the cello. We nearly missed a concert because we could not fly from Paris to New York on time. That was definitely a very frustrating situation!

What went into starting your own production company?

The idea was from Maria and she was the driving force. Then we got lots of help from our business partner and friends in different fields. It was a lot of work but we are very proud to have done it.

Do you have a preference, playing for an intimate group or for a large audience?

Lucia: Not for me, I love it whether we play for 50 people or for 10,000 people. It’s a different kind of energy, a different experience.

Aside from presenting the works of great composers, do you compose any of your own music?

So far no, except Lucia co-wrote lyrics for Tata Bojs, a Czech rock band that we made an album with. But Lucia wrote the lyrics in Korean and they might be the first Czech band to sing a song in Korean. Lucia is really interested in writing music so one day she will.

Lucia : I admire all the pianist composers such as Nikolai Kapustin and Marc-Andre Hamelin and Keith Jarrett.

You are known for collaborating with all different kinds of artists ~ from DJs to photographers to dancers ~ most notably, with the David Parsons Dance Company. How does a collaboration like that work?

David listened to lots of our music and first chose which selections would work. Then he made new pieces for the dancers (together with his company of dancers) and then we started to rehearse together. It was really great that we were not in the pit, we were all on the stage together, which made it more exciting to watch. He had to choreograph in such a way that allowed enough space for the trio to be on stage with the dancers. We absolutely loved working with them. We love all our collaborations, it’s so inspiring to share ideas with other composers, electronic music artists, DJs, bands, singers…etc. It makes our job so much more fulfilling!

Are there modern day composers who write music specifically for you to perform?

There are many modern composers who write music for us. The composer that we work most with is probably Kenji Bunch. We met Kenji at Juilliard where we were all studying around the same time. He is a brilliant violist, fiddle player (plays in a Bluegrass band called “Citigrass”), and composer. He writes highly intelligent music that all people love (traditional and non-traditional alike). He draws from previous classical styles and also incorporates styles from the pop world and more mainstream genres.

Most recently, the legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny wrote us a trio. As far as we know, he has not written for any other classical music group. He even gave it a Korean title (“Yu Ryung”) because we’re Korean! It is a very beautiful and evocative piece.

We also work regularly with composers such as Michael Nyman, Nikolai Kapustin (he wrote us both of his piano trios), Paul Chihara, and Mark O’Connor.

With all the traveling you’ve done, is there one place that has profoundly affected you?

Angella: It’s hard to choose one place that has profoundly affected us. Every place affects us in some way. If I had to choose one, I might choose Sweden. We were there a couple of years ago and played 25 concerts all over Sweden in a month. We couldn’t believe how open-minded and accepting our audiences were. It was our first tour there so most of the people we played for hadn’t heard of us (we’re going back in 2010) and they also had not heard of some of the composers (some young American composers) but they were so receptive.

Can you put into words what music means to you?

Angella: Music is something that is a basic necessity for me. I wake up with music, go to sleep with music, and think about music pretty much all day. It’s the biggest part of my life.

What goes into developing the program for a particular tour?

It’s not so difficult because no matter where we play (America, Germany, Turkey, etc…), the audiences are pretty much the same. Usually we get a range of people from all different ages and musical knowledge. Because music truly is the universal language, we simply try to put the pieces (old or new) into an order that makes sense emotionally.

The three of you were featured in Time magazine’s cover story “Asian American Whiz Kids” ~ tell us the truth, there’s a copy of that proudly displayed (as it should be!) in whose house?

Angella: Ha ha. The copy is not displayed in any of our houses! I don’t think I even own a copy. But I’m pretty sure that our mother owns a copy (but also doesn’t have it displayed).

You’re also known for your very chic style ~ being featured in Vogue and GQ and in ad campaigns for GAP, Anne Klein and Bodyshop ~ plus in 2003, you were named three of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. Did you inherit your sense of style, or was it something that evolved gradually?

I think we’re known for our chic style only because we work in the classical world, which is traditionally known for being a bit staid. Anywhere else, for example in the New York City neighborhoods that we live in, we’re really not chic at all. If we have a sense of style, I think it’s that one of comfort and for ease of packing.

Is there anything that you would like our readers to know about you or the music you play?

We feel truly honored that we are able to work with some of the greatest artists of our generation and also that we get to see so many parts of the world, while doing what we enjoy the most.

What’s next for you?

None of us is a great planner but we do have several recording projects in the works. We have always had an agreement with each other to stop touring as a trio if we aren’t having fun doing it. So far, it’s been more fun than we had hoped.

Make sure to check out the Ahn Trio’s amazing website at www.ahntrio.com.

Find them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/theahntrio.

Also visit Music Worcester on-line at www.musicworcester.org

Special thanks to Janise Loell