Keys to Success
Eyran Katsenelenbogen is a classically trained jazz pianist who has performed around the world at venues in Europe, The Middle East and East Asia. He has produced countless CDs and holds his own record company, Eyran Records. I had the honor to see him perform, as well as the greater privilege of becoming his student. Born in Israel, Eyran is a distant relative of both German composer Felix Mendelssohn and Israeli philosopher Martin Buber. I spoke with Eyran about his life and career.
You make this wonderful opportunity that could bring others together because somebody could walk into a concert or invite you to another place.
Q: How did you get to where you are, playing in world tours and such?
A: It’s mostly just a measure of creating connections over the years. You make this wonderful opportunity that could bring others together because somebody could walk into a concert or invite you to another place. A pianist who hears you playing may want to collaborate with you. You have to be very open to the flow of things. If you try really hard to create opportunities, they don’t really present themselves. When you just let them present themselves on their own and you respond to it when it pulls, things can turn out even better. It just has a lot to do with personal connections, being open to them presenting themselves and being open to gather them.
Q: When did you want to start playing music?
A: I started when I was very young, around five or six years old. My first teacher was a lady called Aida Barenboim, mother of Daniel Barenboim, who is a very famous conductor and composer. They lived in the neighborhood where I grew up, so it was just a ten minute walk to their house. They were extremely serious about classical music. It was very practical, very disciplined. She wanted me to practice as long as five or six hours a day when I was around six years old. Naturally, as a six year old, it really didn’t speak to me. I stopped but started again when I was around sixteen. There was this guy who was teaching guitar, chords and piano. He would come to my house to teach. He showed me popular songs like the Beatles and Elton John. He would explain everything and do the theory and chords. Somehow, that really inspired me. Soon after that, I started very seriously to want to be a pianist. It was at that time, 16, when I really made the decision. I also think it was because I heard the Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett. When I heard it, at that point I really wanted to be a pianist. Just today I listened to him again. He’s a really, really great pianist.
A: Do you have any funny stories? Or interesting stories?
Q: I think a nice, anecdotal story that everybody likes to hear is about the town. In Germany, there is a town called Katzenelnbogen. In 1482, my great, great ancestor was born there: Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen. Basically the Germans gave him the right to choose the name of the town. That’s where my family really started. I was invited back there two years ago to play in the town hall for their 700th anniversary. The town was built around the castle, which was made around the year 1000. The castle looked like a cat because it had 2 pairs of stairs which resembled the ears of the cat. There was a riverbed right under the castle so they called it Katzenellenbogen which means “the elbow of the cat” in German. Katzen—cat, ellenbogen—elbow. Something else which is interesting is that one of the family members is Felix Mendelssohn, the composer. Some other Katsenelenbogen was his grandfather so we share a relative, I have the official paperwork somewhere. There are many incredible people that come from my family, another life Martin Buber and also Karl Marx.
Q: Do you have any advice for people who want to follow in the same area as you? As a musician?
A: Teaching is very valuable. If you don’t like teaching, you’re going to find it very difficult to make a living as a musician. I think it’s an absolutely wonderful feeling; it’s incredibly pleasant to work in music and I think it all boils down to passion. I don’t believe in talent, I believe in passion. Music is my calling, this complete devotion and knowing that I am doing what I was supposed to do. I feel very passionate about recording, performing, and also writing. I have been writing a book in Hebrew for many years. It’s really what I want to do and I’m pretty much willing to sacrifice everything else like which country I live in and standard of living. All of these come in second as long as I feel that I am doing what I need to be doing, music.
Q: What’s your favorite kind of muffin?
A: Definitely the double chocolate muffin from Dunkin Donuts.