Nancy Roldán: “Getting to know Guastavino in person was one of the most uplifting experiences of my life"

Recognized “excellent pianist” by New York critics, admired for the “beauty and clarity” of her tone and for her ability to “breathe life into the score” – Argentine born pianist Nancy Roldán has concertized worldwide in venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall in the USA, and the Bösendorfer Saal in Viena, interpreting solo, chamber music, and repertory with orchestras. Nancy Roldán has premiered works by contemporary composers, several dedicated to her. Roldán has been praised for her interpretations of works by Carlos Guastavino and Astor Piazzolla, and her CD recordings, including “Piazzolla: Here and Now” and “Music of the Americas” for the USA Centaur Records label.

Her commitment to the music of her native country inspired her to create the Sonus international Music Festival. In addition, throughout her career she has presented Master Classes in various countries and held faculty positions in institutions such as the Peabody Conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University, where she received her doctoral degree.

By Gabriela Levite

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-We would like to get to know you better. Could you tell us how you started on your musical path?

-When I was four or five years old, my parents bought a beautiful German piano, and I began my musical journey. I loved playing the piano. Theory fascinated me too. I relished the challenge of dissecting solvable mysteries, like the mathematical organization of the circle of fifths – which I tested by writing out all the scales when I was about 6 years old. Early on, I became the family entertainment during weekly family gatherings, singing and playing Argentine folk tunes. I also loved reading, and I threw myself into the worlds of my books, and I loved exploring the natural beauty of the mountains and rivers that surrounded me in Mendoza. They were a great source for the imagination.

After high school, I wasn’t sure what path to choose, and I considered the mathematical, scientific part of myself, while I continued playing the piano. However, after witnessing the horrors of vivisection during my brief pre-medical studies, it became clear that my true calling was music.

Following the advice of a violinist from the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo’s Symphony Orchestra I applied to the School of Music, where I met my most significant teacher. Maestro Juan Florentino Salomone opened for me the gates to the world of music and the magic of sound. I graduated with the degree of Professor of Piano, Theory, Solfége, and Choral Singing. This event marked the beginning of a long road and many travels in search of the ideal sound and the secrets to create it. Soon after graduation, I started to fine-tune my pianistic skills with Francisco Amicarelli. As I traveled, I met some amazing musicians and teachers, such as Puerto Rican pianist Jesús María Sanromá, who invited me to perform for Pablo Casals upon my arrival in the island. Later, in Maryland, I found inspiration in the master classes pianist Leon Fleisher and violinist Berl Senofsky held at the Peabody Conservatory. These are a few of the musicians who, sharing their artistry, have encouraged my quest and enriched my musical existence.

What made you choose the piano?

My music path has been irrevocably connected with the piano, which I feel as an extension of myself, a voice which allows me to express the unutterable. It is the companion of a lifetime. But the truth of this intense relationship with music and music-making, arises from the essence of music itself, which calls us to share it with the world by means and ways that feel natural to each musician.

“Regarding what motivates me to perform music by Argentine composers, the simple answer is that I love it. It resonates within my heart.” – Nancy Roldán

You have been a champion of Argentine (classical) music throughout your career, performing music by composers such as Carlos Guastavino and Astor Piazzolla. What motivated you to focus on this music? How do you view the situation regarding the diffusion of Argentine Academic Music?

My musical formation was classically based, inspired in European traditions. This is something very important to note. Specializing in a particular field without having a comprehensive understanding of its whole history and all its components is something I’ve always discouraged in my students. Regarding what motivates me to perform music by Argentine composers, the simple answer is that I love it. It resonates within my heart.

When I attended the School of Music at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, reportory by Argentine composers was not part of the curriculum, but teachers like Juan Salomone encouraged students to learn this repertory by assigning Argentine classical music. After I graduated, I left Argentina for New York, later moving to the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico, always teaching and performing, two activities that have been part of my life. During those years in the islands the quality and meaning of my life enhanced with the birth of my two children.

As time went by, a yearning invaded me, it was homesickness, nostalgia for my motherland. This strange feeling became stronger as I realized there would be no return. I experienced a calling to share Argentine music with the world. In Puerto Rico I became a regular guest at the Institute of Culture concert series that composer Hector Campos-Parsi directed, and together with the required Puerto Rican repertory I introduced works by Argentine composers. During my last year in Puerto Rico – soon after the death of Pablo Casals – I was offered a grant for graduate studies at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where I formed a piano duo with American pianist Noel Lester. This beautiful collaboration included the extensive repertory written for piano-duos and music by Guastavino and other Argentine composers. In 1989, we had the privilege of performing the American premiere of Carlos Guastavino’s Sonatina for piano-four-hands, reading from the manuscript the composer presented to me during our 1988 interview. In 1992 we celebrated Guastavino’s 80th year with a recording which included his Tres Romances Argentinos, Bailecito, and Gato, and works by other composers of the Americas in a CD we titled Music of the Americas.

In 2000, I became acquainted with the performance of another genre: Tango! Uruguayan musicologist Susana Salgado approached me with a request to present a tango concert at the Library of Congress. I said to her – “I can’t do this! I’ve never played tango in my life”. She insisted. And I made my tango performance debut in the concert titled “The Golden Age of Tango”. This musical baptism occurred in the company of Uruguayan Bandoneon master Raúl Jaurena. The following year I met virtuoso Argentine Bandoneón master David Alsina. Both have been my tango gurus, inspiring me to play a challenging repertory for which I have great respect. After several years presenting tango shows, I took a big chance arranging several pieces by Piazzolla – including Las cuatro estaciones porteñas for violin and piano duo, a collection I recorded with violinist José Miguel Cueto in the CD Piazzolla, Here & Now.

Regarding dissemination: What is the situation of Argentine Academic Music?

The diffusion of Argentine Academic Music is not intense enough. In my experience, conservatory curriculums tend to be limiting. Times are changing, but I am not sure if it is for the best. There is a tendency to democratize music by appearing to be more inclusive of minor or current popular genres without paying much attention to the rich repertory of Academic Music in general. This situation is partially the result of what I consider the pernicious globalization of music, which has blurred the lines between what constitutes real teaching (which aims to inspire and fine tune skills and talent) and what is social or political compromise (which minimizes the learning power of the human spirit by lowering expectations and requirements).

What inspired you to found Sonus International Music Festival in 2020? Why did you choose Guastavino’s music?

2020 was a year of incredible loss as the Covid pandemic assailed humanity. The arts and education suffered greatly due to the closing of public venues everywhere. It was also a year of creativity. Italian pianist Salvatore Sclafani had written to me the year before and Argentinian pianist Lilia Salsano during the pandemic, both wanting to know more about my writing about Guastavino and his cantilenas and my personal encounters with the master. At the same time, Guastavino’s music was present in my head all the time. It was a spiritual balm within a sea of desolation. I wanted to share this experience with a larger audience, so I reached out to colleagues and family for help in starting a music festival that would share the beauty of Carlos Guastavino’s music with the world at large. The main objective was sending a message of peace and hope to the world, on wings of Carlos Guastavino’s music.

After several zoom meetings looking for a word which would encompass the meaning of what Guastavino’s music and life meant to us, we agreed on the word SONUS. And the Sonus International Music Festival was born. I invite readers to visit our website for information and to watch our inspiring programs since 2020: http://www.sonusinternationalmusicfestival.org

What’s the mission of this organization?

Introducing beautiful and challenging music by great composers – some who are inexplicably marginalized – has been at the core of my mission throughout my career. This ideal has taken form and flight with the Sonus International Music Festival.

Our principal objectives may be summed up as follows. Sonus-IMF is dedicated to the dissemination of Guastavino’s Music on all its events, encourages the creation of music inspired by folk traditions via the composition competition, and the performance of works by composers of the Americas via one of the repertory requirements of the Guastavino International Piano Competition 2025.

Who stands by you, who supports you on this initiative?

Performing artists of international renown from around the world, former students – now colleagues and friends, music lovers, representatives of different professions, contributors, and family members who have joined and support our programs and our noble objectives. The performers have been willing to learn new, challenging repertory with interpretations that never fail to reach deep into the hearts of participants and audiences. Other collaborations include judging the competition, writing scripts, translating poems and/or editing papers, recording and assembling presentations and videos, recording programs and taking photos, and the list goes on and on. During our initial international Zoom calls and meetings, we learned – among other facts – the ins and out of starting a non-profit organization. The list below recognizes artists and professionals who have given so beautifully from their talent, expertise, artistry, generosity, and love for music and the arts. It’s a pleasure to introduce the Sonus family.

Judah Adashi, Composer/Judge (USA)
Gustavo Ahualli, Baritone (Argentina/USA)
Guillermo Anzorena, Baritone (Argentina/Germany)
David Alsina, Bandoneon (Argentina/USA)
Lydia Artymiw, Piano (USA)
Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva, Violin (USA)
Audrey Babcock, Mezzosoprano (USA)
Thomas Benjamin, Composer (USA)
Javier Bravo, Guitar (Argentina)
Bryan Bourne, Trombone (USA)
Susan Cahill, Double Bassist (USA)
Alberto Cavallero, Architect (USA) *
Gabriella Cavallero, Actor (USA) *
Andrew Cooperstock, Piano/Judge (USA)
Alejandro Cremaschi, Piano (Argentina/USA) *
José Miguel Cueto, Violin/Judge (USA)
Sharon Daniels, Soprano/Judge (USA)
Daniel Thomas Davis, Composer/Judge (USA)
Paul Erhard, Double Bass (USA)
Silvia Funes, Vocalist (Argentina/Germany)
Silvia Funes Piano Quintet
Andrew Garland, Baritone (USA)
Andrew Gerle, Piano/Composer (USA)
Carl Giegold, Acoustician (USA)
Daniel Glover, Piano/Judge (USA)
Gila Goldstein, Piano/Judge (Israel/USA)
Pablo Lavandera, Piano (Argentina)
Sanghie Lee, Piano (South Korea)
Noel Lester, Ad Astra (USA)
Cléber Mauricio de Lima, Presenter (Brazil)
Enrique Graf, Piano (Uruguay/USA)
Joseph Kingma, Piano/Judge (USA)
Peter Kozlowski, Pianist (Poland)
Caroline Mallonee, Composer/Judge (USA)
Silvina Luz Mansilla, Musicologist (Argentina)
David Hartley Margolin, Actor (USA)
José Luis Melonari, Clarinet/Judge (Argentina)
Solange Merdinian, Mezzo Soprano (Argentina/USA)
Agustín Muriago, Piano (Argentina/USA)
Shawn Carter Peterson, Actor (USA)
PING Vocal Ensemble, St. Mary’s College of MD
Jennifer Rende, Viola (USA)
Lilia Salsano, Piano (Argentina) *
Salvatore Sclafani, Piano (Italy)
Annika Socolofsky, Composer/Judge (USA)
Liza Stepanova, Piano (Georgia/USA)
Andrés Vadín, Guitar (Cuba/USA)
Daniel Velasco, Flute (USA)
Fernando Viani, Piano (Argentina/Switzerland)
Jorge Villavicencio-Grossman, Composer (Peru/USA)
Larry Vote, Conductor
Inci Yakar-Birol, Composer/Pianist (Turkey)
*Integrante del Comité Directivo

You met Carlos Guastavino in person. How has your relationship with the composer influenced the organization of the piano competition?

Getting to know Guastavino in person was one of the most uplifting experiences of my life, inspiring me professionally and personally. It’s impossible to quantify an experience which has had such lasting effects, including the launch of our current piano competition. There were two “academic” interviews in 1987 and 1988, the culmination of the dream of an adolescent. Those interviews were followed by several visits, inspiring conversations in person and by phone, and a subsequent correspondence that contains traces of his life and history. Guastavino did not like openly public expressions of appreciation, affirming once… “no me gusta que me hagan alharaca” a colloquial expression that perfectly conveyed his dislike for public accolades. Knowing this, I doubt he would have liked the creation of any competition honoring him during his life.

For Sonus-IMF, and for me personally, the festival and the competitions constitute a tribute to the essence of what he represents as a great musician and as a fantastic human being. During our conversations he expressed his joy and pride in the music he had written because it was the music itself – and not bluster – that represented him throughout the world. He also said he hoped his music would become popular like the music of Chopin – one of his idols – whose works were recognized and performed everywhere in the world.

In that spirit, the celebration of Guastavino and his music cannot be accomplished behind closed doors. It must be shared in a manner that transcends what has already been done by so many musicians via recordings and other efforts. A competition creates opportunities and opens doors, ears and hearts. Guastavino’s nobility and uncompromising attitude to write the music he “inwardly heard” despite the current trends of his times, his devotion and love for his country, his definition of what characterizes a true composer, are all admirable qualities – even quantum qualities – which musicians around the world need to know about. With the piano competition we invite everybody to immerse themselves in the unique beauty of his work.

There’s an additional dimension about the structure of the competition: I have directed many festivals and created chamber music groups, courses, and another competition, with the main purpose of inspiring and encouraging learning and optimal performance, and the Guastavino International Piano Competition embodies these ideals. The repertory components allow contestants to create exciting programs. Participants can choose their own favorite works from the ample traditional repertory, enrich their repertoire with music from the Western Hemisphere, and discover Guastavino’s world. That is fundamentally the mission of Sonus-IMF.

What elements of Guastavino’s music do you consider transcendent or unique for the piano repertoire?

During the 1987 interview, Guastavino explained that music “arose in his mind already with melody and harmony”. When I asked him about the process of writing it, he said… “the intellect provides the form and shapes it, but I’m unable to explain the mystery of creation.”

When I first performed one of his works as an adolescent, it mesmerized me. “Tierra Linda” revealed the rhapsodic and declamatory qualities of European Nationalistic composers, but the sound was definitively Argentine.

There is something profoundly appealing in his message, that ineffable element which reaches deeply into the heart of both the interpreter and the listener. It is something impossible to explain or quantify, which can only be directly experienced by listening.

However, there are elements we can quantify. His works are recognizable because of his unique harmony, which he deemed to be the most salient characteristic of his music. A rich melodic vein is always present, in the easiest and the most demanding works. His compositions often sound like improvisations, free and flowing, which is not easy to achieve. The underlying challenges exist in the counterpoint which pervades his work, the seemingly infinite details of phrasing and articulation which are not necessarily the same for both hands, and the ability to perform all within the pulse that he notated meticulously. There are compositions for every level, but even the most innocent will contain a challenging element, such as pedaling, contrapuntal passages, polyrhythmic and polymetric structures, and other details characteristic of his wide repertory. Let’s remember he was a composer who – through his writing – revealed a performer with an amazing technical facility and understanding of the instrument’s qualities and potential. He didn’t write any technical treatises, but many of his pieces may be effectively assigned to students of all ages to develop specific mechanical (or technical) skills, including reading skills. All of these constitute basic challenges to all pianists, students, and seasoned performers.

As an educator with a prolonged trajectory teaching in prestigious institutions, how do you see the future of musical education in relationship with classical music of Latin America?

During my formative years in Argentina, I was fortunate to receive a public education which was demanding at all levels: elementary, high school, and university. Discipline, research, and dedication were valued and encouraged by the superb teachers who guided me. I’m one of those who thrived best under pressure. Home life was also a source of my academic curiosity: my father’s idealistic principles ingrained a yearning for knowledge that has never left me. Later, my experience as an educator in many different places exposed me to other traditions and modes of learning and teaching, and I can look back and see patterns: no matter the methods or teaching techniques people adopt, there is the question of character and passion. Students can distinguish the teachers who are just “doing the job” from the ones who are truly inspiring, and I have always been drawn to the latter type. I used to tell students in my classes or my studio to forget about degrees and to concentrate in becoming their best. Learning must be the objective of education, not degrees or awards. When paperwork becomes the measure of a person, there is little hope for truly artistic accomplishment and personal growth.

As for the current state of education, I will admit to being a bit discouraged. While creativity through music and the arts encourage, the receding importance of arts and music in education is an ominous sign. I don’t know what the situation is in other countries, but in recent years, and since the pandemic, music majors have disappeared from the curriculum of many smaller universities or colleges, becoming music minors, and slowly dissolving into elective courses. There is hope in the presence of older institutions which keep the flame going. Regarding classical music of Argentina or Latin America, there is always interest, but it still rarely penetrates the orthodoxy of what is considered classical music to popular audiences. It seems to me that it is up to groups like Sonus-IMF to continue increasing interest in music of Ibero-American roots.

What future projects or activities are you planning?

We are looking forward to the October 22 celebration of the winners of the Carlos Guastavino International Composition Competition 2023 at the University of Colorado Music School at Boulder, Colorado. Performers for this program titled Palimpsest include members of the faculty at UC/Boulder, and Sonus’ artists Gabriella Cavallero, Lilia Salsano, Alejandro Cremaschi, José Miguel Cueto, and Nancy Roldán. Please read details about this – our second live concert event – at http://www.sonusinternationalmusicfestival.org and read the 2024 Newsletter. More about this event next month. On November 2 the Latin American Music Center at CUA in Washington DC, presents a program featuring Music from Argentina in collaboration with Sonus-IMF. The LAMC, under the direction of Gustavo Ahualli, has championed the Sonus-IMF activities since its inauguration in 2020. Performers for this exciting program include Lilia Salsano, Gustavo Ahualli, José Miguel Cueto, and me. Next January we will announce the judges of the first Guastavino International Piano Competition 2025. In between all the above I hope to complete my book on Carlos Guastavino, which will be published in the USA. It’s been in the making for a very long time.