Ernest So (Chinese: 蘇顯亮; pinyin: Su Xianliang; Born 1st June 1978; Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong concert pianist who specializes in the works of lesser-known classical composers such as Sergei Bortkiewicz, Leopold Godowsky and Nikolai Medtner, among many others. He attended The Juilliard School in New York, where he was a student of the of renowned Beethoven scholar Jacob Lateiner. Currently living in Hong Kong, Ernest tours internationally and frequently enriches his concert performances with impromptu deliveries on the provenance and contextual background of the pieces he is playing, many of which come from his large collection of rare manuscripts and scores.
Biography
Ernest So is the elder of two children whose father worked as a laboratory chemist in Leeds, Yorkshire. He was born and raised in his parents’ native Hong Kong, where he lived until the family moved to Singapore in 1989, when Ernest was 11. He moved again to New York in 1994 to study briefly at Manhattan School of Music, before completing his studies at The Juilliard School.
Ernest showed early aptitude as a budding pianist soon after starting to play at the age of five, and his mother decided to buy him his first piano before he turned six. He studied locally under a teacher who focused on reinforcing his technique, and he determined to become a professional concert pianist well before he left the Gimh Moh Primary and Secondary School, which he attended until he was 16. During this formative period, Ernest won, first, the Best Performer Award and then the Beethoven Trophy, where he was judged the winner by the renowned Russian pianist Sergei Dorensky. After moving to New York, Ernest studied briefly at Manhattan School of Music, and then chose instead to study at The Juilliard School under Jacob Lateiner, who heavily influenced both his musical and personal development. At Juilliard, he was also taught by Jonathan Feldman, and while at Manhattan School of Music his teachers included Solomon Mikowsky and Constance Keene. Ernest So also maintains private studios, Atelier des Artistes, in New York City, and in Hong Kong. Besides being an active concert pianist, Ernest commits time to developing the musical education and performance techniques of younger pianists, having founded Atelier des Artistes in New York in 2000 and then PerformNow in Hong Kong in 2005. He also conducts master-classes and lectures on Beethoven, and is the author of numerous essays on music. Ernest additionally works as a professional consultant on piano manufacture and restoration techniques, working for various leading piano builders and restorers - he is currently the Chief Technical Consultant for Asia Piano Japan.
Alongside his professional career as a concert pianist, Ernest So is an aficionado of the sartorial arts, an antique collector, and is actively involved in philanthropical activities and charity fundraising.
In Hong Kong, his current home, Ernest So founded and runs the Piano Library, which houses rare scores and manuscripts ranging from first editions of Beethoven sonatas to the piano works of Nicolai Myaskovsky. Many of these scores are now completely out-of-print. The Piano Library is open free to the public, providing a rich research resource for students and music lovers. The Piano Library also helps pianists acquire rare scores from publishers around the world, from sources such as the archives of Alphonse Leduc in Paris to Ricordi Americana in Argentina. It is a free service.
Repertoire
Reflecting his passion for works beyond the traditional canon, Ernest So has developed a repertoire of piano pieces that include little-known compositions by composers not widely played by other pianists. Among others, they include:
Albeniz, Isaac - Málaga, from Iberia Book 4
Antheil, George -Jazz Sonata (from fascimiles) - Sonatina für Radio (from fascimiles)
Berg, Alban - Sonata Op. 1
Blancafort, Manuel - Tres Consejos de Turina - El Parc d'atraccions
Blumenfeld, Felix - Etude for Left Hand, Op. 36
Bortkiewicz, Sergei - Sonata No. 1
Bowen, York - The Road to Polden
Catoire, Georgy - Five Pieces, Op. 10
Chabrier, Emmanuel - Habanera - Bourrée Fantasque
Fauré, Gabriel - Ballade Op. 19
Godard, Benjamin - Mazurka Op. 54 - Waltz Op. 88
Godowsky, Leopold - Suite for Left Hand - Cello Suite No. 5 (orig. by Bach) - Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 4 transcribed for Left Hand - Alt Wien - The Swan (orig. by Saint-Saën) - Moment Musical (orig. by Schubert) - Heidenröslein (orig. by Schubert) - Triana (orig. by Albeniz) - Künstlerleben, Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Johann Strauss II
Granados, Enrique - Elisenda's Garden - Valses Poético - Goyesca
Hamelin, Marc-André - La Campanella (after Paganini-Liszt)
Ibert, Jacques - Les bavardes - Pièce romantique
Kapustin, Nicolai - Aquarela do Brasil, Op. 118
Lecuona, Ernesto - Malagueña
Medtner, Nicolai - Fairy Tales: Op. 8 No. 2 Op. 9 No. 3 Op. 20 No. 1 Op. 26 No. 1 Op. 51 No. 6
Moscheles, Ignaz - La Gaïeté
Nin-Culmell, Joaquin - Cancion Otoñal - Alalá
Pärt, Arvo - Für Alina - Variationen zue Gesundung von Arinuschka
Poulenc, Francis - Mélancolie
Rodrigo, Joaquín - Danza Valenciana
Saperton, David - Bess, You is my woman now (orig. by Gershwin)
Scriabin, Alexander - Sonata No. 2 - Sonata No. 4 - Sonata No .5 - Poème Op. 32 No. 1 - Waltz Op. 38 - Vers la Flamme, Op. 72 - Etude Op. 65
Séverac, Déodat de - Vent d'autan
Stanchinsky, Alexei - 3 Preludes
Villa-Lobos, Heitor - Ciclo Brasilero
Viñes, Ricardo - En Verlaine Mineur
Wild, Earl - Transcriptions of Rachmaninoff's songs: Do Not Grieve Midsummer Nights Little Island Vocalise - Virtuosic Etude: I Got Rhythm (orig. by Gershwin)
PerformNow
Founded as a non-profit organization by Ernest So in Hong Kong during 2005, PerformNow (www.performnow.hk ) serves two purposes: to organise concerts for the musical public and to nurture the development of outstanding local talent. Concerts are held every two months, each featuring classical music rarely presented by mainstream commercial artists. The concerts provide an opportunity for young, local musicians to play alongside Ernest So, providing them with valuable early experience in front of a listening public, and are also devised to help raise awareness of the range of rarely heard compositions.
Teaching
Ernest So has presented master classes and taught in classrooms worldwide. He is an Honorary Professor of Music at Guangxi University [1] and a piano instructor in several others across China. Ernest bases his approach upon the teaching modules of the early 20th century, placing emphasis on developing a deep knowledge of style and history through the study of wide repertoire and its symbiosis with other arts, social history and philosophy.
Personal interests
Ernest So is a keen student and practitioner of the sartorial arts, wearing only bespoke clothes and choosing all of the fabrics, and even buttons, himself from the source producers. Alongside his collection of musical scores, many more than 100 years old, Ernest also collects piano, including what may be the oldest Steinway in Hong Kong, an 1881 square piano built to double as a desk.
Charitable work
In support the development of education in impoverished areas of mainland China, Ernest So is involved with the Au Kim Hung Love & Care Association to provide charitable backing for school-building and scholarship projects. Past projects have included the construction and re-building of schools in rural villages, as well as providing important support facilities for primary and secondary schools. The scholarship projects centre on the huge population of orphans in China, aiming to provide funding for those who would otherwise have difficulty securing an education. When he is not touring or performing, Ernest spends considerable time in remote rural villages and among Chinese students, building a rapport with them and developing a deeper understanding of their needs.
Reference
- ^ An Honorary Professor of Music at Guangxi University
^[1] 'The Alexander and Buono Festival of Music'