by Richard Nilsen
The Arizona Republic
June 10, 2007
Phoenix lawyer Mark Fuller knows how to appeal to a jury.
Last week, the jury he won over presided at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Amateurs. He placed second among 75 pianists from all over the world in the prestigious competition held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas, on off years between the bigger Van Cliburn competition for younger career musicians.
First place went to Drew Mays, an ophthalmologist from Alabama. But Fuller not only placed second, he won the prize given by vote of the music critics covering the event and received the award for best performance of post-Romantic music.
For the contest, he won $1,500. For winning the critics, he got an extra $250. For the post-Romantic music, he won a cowboy hat. A really nice cowboy hat.
Competitors from 23 states and seven nations came to the weeklong contest, with three rounds of performances. Fuller played the Samuel Barber piano sonata and a group of etudes by Ned Rorem for his finals.
Fuller, 43, a partner with Gallagher and Kennedy, lives in Phoenix with his wife, Dawn, and three children.
Question: Why did you enter the competition this year? It’s your first.
Answer: I’ve been playing for a long time, and although I’m ambivalent about competing, I went through a difficult illness a few years ago – Hodgkin’s disease and a bone-marrow transplant – and I thought I’d better not keep putting things off. Do it now.
Q: And you play rather difficult selections, real knuckle busters.
A: The Barber is core repertoire for me. I play Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland sonatas, that’s my strength – 20th century music. When I was a teenager, what I listened to was (Olivier) Messaien – Peter Serkin playing the Vingt Regards.
Q: Do you like showing off?
A: I do like the virtuoso element, of it, but not when it’s empty. I’m not interested in the virtuoso element just for that. I’m not much of a showman. The other thing is that when you are playing for a jury of four former Van Cliburn winners, you can’t dazzle them. They can do it all themselves, they’ve heard it time and time again. I didn’t try to compete on that level. Try as I might, I can’t seem to get myself to play fluff.
Q: Did you ever consider going pro? Maybe play concerts and make a living through teaching?
A: I never really wanted to teach. I made that decision a long time ago. I’m not cut out to teach. I don’t have the patience for it.
Q: But you’re a lawyer. Doesn’t that require tons of patience?
A: Patience, yes, but I get paid so much more as a lawyer. (Laugh.)
Q: How does your law work compare with the piano?
A: There is a connection. As a lawyer, there is an aspect of putting disparate pieces together and trying to convince people of the results. That’s law – to take something and put it together in a way that makes sense. My job always involves an audience, whether a judge or a jury. Make my case compelling. And in large part, that’s what you’re trying to do playing piano, too.
Q: You practice law and you practice piano. How much?
A: I practice more than my family probably wants. It’s completely variable, but there aren’t many days when I don’t practice. Maybe two to three hours, or on weekends, maybe five or six. If I’m incredibly busy, I will still try to put in 10 or 15 minutes on some technical stuff. It’s vastly better to spend 10 minutes than to spend none.
Q: The competition is for amateur pianists, but you made a recording with your teacher – ASU’s Robert Hamilton – of the music of composer Rodney Rogers. Doesn’t that disqualify you?
A: The record not only didn’t earn money, but I got parking tickets at ASU while making the recording, so I lost money on the deal.
Q: It must have been satisfying to do, though.
A: I came out of a deposition one day and got in my car and turned on KBAQ and heard the CD. “God, that’s familiar,” and it’s me - it’s so bizarre. It was KBAQ CD of the Week or something.
Q: Are you going to celebrate?
A: I haven’t gotten much sleep for the past couple of nights, but we’ll pop open a bottle of champagne, I guess. I’ll miss it: getting ready to go out onstage, the last time to play an instrument this good, for an audience this good, in a hall this good. If you’re interested in playing piano, that’s heaven. It doesn’t get any better than that.
January 3, 2008 at 12:53 pm |
An informative and intelligent question/answer session. I always have enjoyed hearing the thoughts of accomplished musicians. I’m glad that substance, as a necessity, was mentioned with respect to virtuoso piano works.
Thanks for the post.