In Conversation With Derek Hartman: 2025 Vienna Beethoven Piano Competition 1st Prize Winner
Credit: Derek Hartman
Every four years since 1961, Vienna, Austria hosts the International Beethoven Piano Competition of which Derek Hartman, who was raised in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota was the recent first prize winner – selected by a prestigious jury from a pool of 300 initial applicants of which 21 were chosen to compete at the competition. This high-profile event has awarded a first prize to many high-end musicians that include Mitsuko Uchida, John 0’Conor, Herbert Schuch and Rudolfo Leone. Derek Hartman’s performance of Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto in the finals of this competition - with the Vienna Symphony at the Musikverein’s Golden Hall - sealed the deal, and with it a monetary prize and Bösendorfer concert grand model 214 VC.
His performance of Beethoven’s piano concerto No. 4 is part of a prerecorded web stream broadcast on the Vienna Beethoven Piano Competition website that runs from 1:02:44 to 1:41:07 at www.beethoven-comp.at
In conversation with the Miroirs CA Editor, Hartman explains why Beethoven’s music is still trending. “In the arts, I think there can be an expectation that creativity involves doing something that hasn’t been done before. For me, Beethoven represents a pinnacle of a different kind of creativity: deconstructing and re-combining existing conventions to create something that sounds familiar and coherent, yet enduringly original. Music lovers will forever debate where the line between old and new exists in Beethoven’s music, which is a wonderful thing because the interpretive possibilities will remain endless.”
Hartman has been a lecturer of piano at the Blair School of Music of Vanderbilt University only since last year, but his extensive experience as performer at global venues include Bowdoin International Music Festival, The Kennedy Center and ContemporArt chamber music festival in Romania. A graduate of Northwestern University and Yale School of Music, he is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Yale School of Music.
Everyone has a favorite composer, and although Hartman is equally at home with jazz and composers of our time, he seems to bond with Beethoven and the futurist traits that define many of his compositions. “I think Beethoven’s music continues to appeal to people because it rewards many types of listeners. While the labels classical and romantic are deeply flawed – they suggest a linear narrative of music history that doesn’t really exist – I like to think of Beethoven as a classicist in heart and mind, and a romantic in soul. The late piano sonatas in particular capture this seemingly paradoxical relationship.”
Hartman offers further insight about this composer’s late, great piano works. “When we listen casually to these pieces, the musical surface intrigues us with imaginative textures, unexpected twists and unironed wrinkles; hence the impression that Beethoven is breaking the rules of classicism to pave the way for his romantic tendencies. Stravinsky described his Grosse Fuge as a piece that will be ‘contemporary forever.’ Tempo changes, strange harmonic progressions, unusual numbers of movements and seemingly rhapsodic structures abound. However, the more you pry, the more you realize that these elements of the late style arise from a renewed commitment to principles that were already established in the baroque and classical eras; fugues, variations, careful handling of harmonic closure, etc. So, deep listening, repeated hearings and close analysis offer further rewards.”
Of course, Hartman’s erudite thoughts touch on the interpretation of Beethoven’s works, as he shares his approach to unravelling and balancing how much can be extracted from the text and from a performer’s personalization, vis-à-vis a 19th and 21st century mindset. He points out, “If such a dichotomy exists between historically informed and modern interpretation styles, I try to home in on an interpretation that reconciles the two. So much of the emotional power of a piece of music relies on its relationship with its context, so I do strive to base my interpretive decisions on the conventions and expectations of the classical era.”
Hartman’s logical yet artistically motivated approach follows these guidelines. “I try to keep a healthy amount of skepticism toward romantic performance tendencies when I interpret Beethoven’s music. After all, much of it follows conventional late 18th century syntax and is thus a language best spoken with simple and intuitive shapes. Plus, if I can conserve my most expressive tools for the moments in Beethoven’s music which do transcend convention, I think I can come closer to finding the essence of the piece.”
Hartman’s erudite words reflect the maturity of a just turned twenty-eight year old with musical savvy way beyond his years. His remarks about bringing Beethoven’s music into the now generation include these tips. “I also believe we can never fully capture the setting in which Beethoven lived, and it’s undeniable that his music has taken on a life of its own that the composer could not have foreseen. Given our access to thousands of recordings, will most audience members ever be truly surprised by the outburst at the beginning of the Appassionata sonata the way Beethoven intended? Doesn’t that fact require us to consider new interpretive possibilities that might not have been necessary at the time?”
Hartman’s point out the importance of involvement between concertgoers/listeners and performers. “I think it’s equally important to consider the expectations of my audience while I interpret old works. We can and will debate forever what Beethoven would have wanted. At the end of the day, if I strive to leave an impression on my audience that matches the impression that I imagine Beethoven left on his, I think I’m doing my job as both an interpreter and a performer.”
Hartman strives to teach students at Vanderbilt University about the relevance of Beethoven and other composers – drawing from a background that includes teaching music theory at Yale School of Music and participation in PianoArts, to create and present music education programs throughout Milwaukee. He observes that as a youngster, “my interest in classical music was isolated from the other aspects of my personality, so I’ve done a lot of soul-searching to reconcile my passion with my sense of identity. Alongside that grew a sense of purpose to demystify classical music for those who are open and will to engage with it.” In teaching students of varying ages and levels, his goal remains the same. “I want to instill a spirit of curiosity in which students are encouraged to treat music as a living and breathing entity that they can be a part of.”
In discussing the nature of a student-teacher connection with its emphasis on musical awareness, Hartman continues. “I don’t foresee a time in which we, as a society will need to vouch for Beethoven’s relevance, given he might just be the most celebrated composer in history. I do think that Beethoven’s music represents a particularly ripe opportunity to discuss things like: how a piece is built, why the composer chose the notes they did, what effect those choices have over a different set of choices, etc.” Hartman’s description of Beethoven’s music is perhaps a summation of what this composer is all about, as he states in the following explanation.
“Beethoven was a master of manipulating expectations of his time, upholding and challenging them to serve expressive purposes. To unlock the full scope of his music’s power, I strongly advocate that we go the extra mile to understand his context and consider how his artistic decisions create meaning within that context. I want my students to look at all music with this kind of informed and curious approach.” Hartman describes himself as a music theory nerd and when younger, tried to write sonatas with a Beethovenian sense of motivic structure.
“Beethoven’s fixation on the relationship between structure and expression has always attracted me. During my undergraduate years, I learned Beethoven’s fourth concerto and manifested this fascination by writing a cadenza for the first movement which played with the motives of the piece and explored their close relationship with the motives of the Appassionata sonata, which was written around the same time.” Hartman premiered this cadenza at the International Vienna Beethoven Piano Competition finals, as part of his performance of Beethoven’s fourth concerto. “It was an unforgettable opportunity to showcase my affinity for Beethoven’s music on a very public stage and yet in a very personal way.”
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