Aura Go in Conversation
Aura Go is one of Australia’s most exciting pianists: innovative, collaborative, and sensitive. This week she generously took the time to answer a few questions about her career and working with Timo-Veikko Valve (Principal Cello of the Australian Chamber Orchestra). Aura and Timo-Veikko will preform at UKARIA on Sunday 27 November at 2:30PM.
Contemporary composers are often championed in your performances. What do you find most energising in presenting new music?
Being immersed in music is enormously rewarding and energising, regardless of the composer’s distance from us temporally or geographically. Having said that, there is something extra special about performing newly composed work. I consider it a privilege and a responsibility. While the process of bringing to life music from the past is one of purely imaginative collaboration, playing new work allows for a real, tangible connection to the composer, their ideas, and their context. I love being part of current musical conversations and participating as both performer and listener in a living, breathing, constantly evolving art form.
Adding to this dynamic art form, you are at home with innovative performance practices. I’m thinking of your lead role in the theatrical show, Chopin’s Piano, based on Paul Kildea’s book. How does a project like that change your approach to Chopin’s music, and to the traditional recital format in general?
I have long been interested in the potential of the recital for storytelling, and for exploring narratives of all kinds. I’ve also been interested in what musical performers may learn from theatrical approaches to embodiment, as I believe our job is in essence the same as that of the actor: the actor embodies (i.e. gives body to) a character, the musician embodies the music. Chopin’s Piano is an absolute gift of a project in that it allows me to explore both these aspects in a deep way. Director Richard Pyros is himself a musician, and the sheer musicality of the script and the direction – and the ways in which these intersect so beautifully with the Chopin Preludes – has meant that I am able to move naturally between the modes of theatrical and musical embodiment. Pianistically and musically, I find this process liberating. I am looking forward to returning to this work and developing it further for (touch wood!) our national tour for Musica Viva in July 2023.
You have worked with Timo-Veikko on several projects now. What does a collaboration like this mean to you as an artist?
Collaborations like this remind me how lucky I am to be a musician. Tipi is an ideal collaborator in that he’s curious, open, and loves the process of questioning and exploring in rehearsal. The collaboration pushes me to develop new facets of expression, imagination, and pianism.