We were lucky to catch up with Izel Calderon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Izel , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I started playing the piano when I was two years old. I would take melodies such as “Happy Birthday” and play them in the piano by ear. At three years old, my parents started a piano school, and I started hearing a lot of different melodies their students were learning and I was able to play them by ear as well. Then, when I was four, I started taking piano lessons in a Russian Institute. I could have sped up my learning process by taking more classes, but I think that two classes per week were sufficient.
A skill that was most essential was studying “Carl Czerny”, a piano composer that made pieces for fast playing and technical enforcement. I needed to play and practice piano every day so I would be able to master the Czerny pieces. I also needed to memorize the pieces and record them perfectly, and after that, I would move on to the next Czerny piece. Another skill that is also very important in my piano career is being able to stay in the same speed when playing, so a metronome and counting out loud helps a lot. Especially when I am playing in a concert, there is always a bit of nervousness that makes me non-aware of how fast I am going, so practicing this helps a lot.

Izel , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into piano because since I was little I was playing the piano whenever I could, and taking melodies and playing by ear. My parents noticed that potential and decided to try putting me in piano classes and it turned out amazing. I learned really quickly and showed great talent. So, I started going to the Russian Institute for Piano two times a week for seven years.
I, sometimes, compose my own music. I enjoy playing loud and fast pieces, so that is the genre I use for when composing. Sometimes I am asked to improvise (very similar to composing) while playing some jazz songs. Improvising helps a lot to think fast and playing the keys correctly, while composing helps the ability to be able to recognize chords and scales.

I don’t think that piano playing puts me apart from other people, because there are always other kids that play the piano and enjoy talking about it. I am very proud of being able to get to this advanced piano playing level I am at right now, and also because It took a lot of years to do so, but I accomplished it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think that the most rewarding aspect of being and artist is being able to play a piano piece in a concert or in a competition. Because I am able to share my skill and also play some of my favorite pieces.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes, there are a few videos that made and still make me want to chase the piano career. For example, videos of Yuja Wang, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Daniel Barenboim, Khatia Buniatishvili, and Martha Argerich. They all play amazingly well, but my favorite is definitely Evgeny Kissin. My favorite piece performed by him is Piano Concerto N° 2 by S. Prokofiev.
I have also heard other pianist play songs such as “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “Piano Concerto N° 2 by D. Shostakovich.
So, that is what inspires me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @izel_musico https://www.instagram.com/izel_musico?igsh=MXViNGZrMnk0cWdyag==
• Facebook: Izel músico https://www.facebook.com/share/12DCq7hc8KW/
• Youtube: Izel Gómez Calderón https://www.youtube.com/@izelgomezcalderon9112