Johnny Hachem or the rise of a talented pianist

Johnny Hachem or the upsurge of a gifted pianist: Johnny Hachem is a Switzerland based composer and pianist, who was born in Lebanon to parents of musical backgrounds. His father played Violin while his mother had a great talent for Piano. He developed an impeccable ear refined over time listening carefully to his mom’s music. He grew up surrounded by sounds, music sheets as well chords which served an important role during his childhood years due to war-torn country’s complicated politics. However, whenever fire ceased he would play piano left handed even if it meant practicing alone! Read even more details at Johnny Hachem.

Some of your works are artistic storytelling of war drama, like “The Battle of Siddim” or biblical themes, like “The Fall of Jericho” or your award-winning “Jacob & Rachel, The Love Story” others are more of standalone pieces like “Dawn”. How do you choose your themes? Is there a constant composing process like Haydn had or you go with improvisations to hone your pieces? Johnny Hachem: My musical compositions often talk about specific events that happened in the past or about certain circumstances that I lived or I dream of living. But when I am playing my own compositions in a piano recital, I always like to have a space to improvise according to how I feel at the time. Improvisation is an essential part of composition. The great composer Rachmaninov did this at several concerts when he was performing his own compositions.

While sharing his experiences, Johnny revealed, “My mom used to play the piano while my dad played the violin. They were my biggest influence. I remember very well how touching it was to hear them play together when I was a child.” Besides his parents, other renowned names in the industry have deeply impacted him, including Richard Wagner and John Williams. “Richard’s music affected me a lot when I was young, and it used to take me to another world. I felt that I could live my best feelings while listening to it. I wanted to be a composer like him and compose music that affects people and makes them feel better,” explained the piano genius. Fast forward to the present, he added, “I believe John Williams is the best composer in today’s time and age. His music is breathtaking. He is a wonderful conductor and pianist as well. I learn a lot from him.”

Who are you listening to these days? Johnny Hachem: Brahms, Wagner & Sibelius. This is a brand new year. What hopes and plans do you have? Johnny Hachem: I am composing 3 new pieces for symphony orchestra, Wind Quintet & String Quartet, I hope they will be performed during this year and loved by the audience! Before we go, could you say a few encouraging words for your fans and readers? Johnny Hachem: First, I want to thank you for those deep and interesting questions and for interviewing me! I want to thank all my friends and fans who believed in my talent and encouraged me throughout the years and tell them to believe always in their own taste and never work against their belief!

Johnny has performed his compositions world-wide in countries including, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, France, Switzerland, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. His most notable work include his composition for the documentary film I Knocked on the Temple’s Door by Carmen Labaki, and also for composing “The Fourth Watch”, which was performed by the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra in December 2014 and “The Battle of Siddim” performed by the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2017 and by “Lublin Philharmonic orchestra”, Poland in October 2017.

Classical music these days more of a sub-niche with rigid frames and for many it is boring and full with repetitions. It is true, even Verdi became quite “pop” in some of his works, not to mention Chopin or Donizetti. Ok, maybe Bartok was a different league and an exception; however, there is a trend to “lighten up” the classical pieces to make it more acceptable for the masses. As a composer and performer, how do you see this, what are your experiences? Johnny HachemJohnny Hachem: I will divide my answer into two parts: First, I believe that people listen to classical music more than ever, but that is through movies and video games, however, most of them don’t like listening to it in a concert hall and that’s because of the strict etiquette rules there; you can’t clap between the movements of the musical piece even if you were very excited, you can’t cough now, you can’t move… in other words, you can’t express your emotions as you do in pop or rock concerts… To tell you the truth, it wasn’t like that before. Joseph Horowitz, in his wonderful new book, Moral Fire, describes audiences “screaming” and “standing on chairs” during classical concerts in the 1890s. The New York Times records an audience that “wept and shouted, strung banners across the orchestra pit over the heads of the audience and flapped unrestrainedly” when listening to their favorite opera singer at the Met in the 1920s. And the strict rules started in 1960.