As a concert pianist, naturally Orli Shaham is used to performing piano concertos with orchestras.  She's been doing it pretty much her entire life.  But when she was asked to perform with the San Diego Symphony recently - at the last minute, no less - they expected more than the customary workload.  Conductor Jahja Ling had programmed not one, but two complete Beethoven concerti to be performed in the same evening.

Orli found that the key to success in this great feat was to rely on her musical instincts. 

Question: How unusual is it to play two concerti in one concert?

Orli Shaham:  It's quite rare to play two concerti in one concert, although it's become a little bit more the vogue in the last ten years. In the past, I've played a set of variations and a concerto, or some smaller piece like a rondo and a concerto in the same concert, but this was the first time I did two full concerti, and it was with very, very short notice. I had about 24 hours from the time I got the call until the first rehearsal.

Q:  How do you prepare to play two concerti?

OS:   The challenge was to focus on each as I was doing it.  There are incredible similarities in form between the first and second piano concerti.  So I'd get to the middle section of the rondo, and I'd start thinking, wait which one is this? Luckily I played both of these pieces so many times, I just wound up trusting my instincts.

Q:  That's how you prepared your head. What about the rest of you, did you carb load?

OS:  It was a little bit like running a marathon. I did think about how do I eat, how do I pace myself for this?  Luckily I remembered to bring a banana with me for intermission, because that first piano concerto takes a lot of energy. For the first time in my life I was just too tired to consider playing an encore.

Q:  You usually play just one piece on a two-hour orchestra program, but you're used to playing full recitals, for two hours or more.  Why is this more difficult?

OS:  With two concerti, it's the focus of memorization and the sheer number of notes.  It's also the fact that you're both within yourself and communicating with a large group at the same time. There's just a lot to do, so it's both physically and mentally draining to play a concerto much more so than it is to play a sonata, for example.

Q:  What else made this experience unique for you?

OS:  I was so impressed with the musicians of the San Diego Symphony; they were playing all five Beethoven piano concerti in a four day period, as well as a few overtures. To do all five in the span of just a few days was, even for them, a monumental achievement. Musically and emotionally, it is an enormous undertaking to put it together in a short amount of time.  That's a huge feat for the pianist, certainly, but for the orchestra, it's incredible. The five piano concerti span so many different styles of Beethoven's writing. The orchestra really did an incredible job.

Q:  Do you think you would do this again sometime soon?

OS:  I really enjoyed the experience and the personal challenge:  now I know that I can play two full concerti in an evening and I'll survive. And I had a wonderful time with Jahja Ling. As always, I love playing with him, I love being on stage with him and I love making music with him.