Video Transcript:

Ben Zander:

Bravo. Bravo.

Beautiful.

You’re a wonderful singer, and you have a lot to say, it’s great. It’s beautiful. This is a very hard song to realize, because you’re trying to represent many different things. First of all, you’re very innocent and young, and you’ve never had an experience, and you have just had an overwhelming experience with one of the most extraordinary mythical figures the world has ever known. And you are desperate. But you’re desperate the way a young half-woman is desperate. You don’t know what’s happening. Your hormones are crazy, your mind is going mad, and you think you’ve lost him, but actually, you’re still desperately in love, and your life is out of control.

And you’re spinning, and the spinning wheel is going like this, like a machine, and it won’t let you rest. And not only is the spinning wheel in the right hand, the foot pedal is in the left hand. Did you know that? Isn’t that amazing? Right? So it’s like keeping you down into reality with this thing, and you’re fighting against it, fighting, fighting, and desperate, and in love. And remembering that kiss, that kiss, that kiss! Oh my God, that kiss! And all that’s going on, and you’re hoping, and you’ve given up hope. All of that is in this song. You do that, you’ll be Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. It’s very hard to do all that. But you’ve got a wonderful partner, a wonderful spinning machine here.

And my feeling is there’s no tempo, no actual tempo from_… Yeah, this is not Schubert. 72 is not Schubert. So we don’t know exactly what the tempo would be. He said, “Not too fast.” Not too fast. But he didn’t say, “Play it slowly.” And I think somebody in the state you’re in, it’s going to be easier if you move it a little bit more, (Singing). And there are a number of accelerandos in here that you’re not doing quite enough. We’re going to talk about that, okay?

So let’s go back to the beginning. So you’ve got to create a restlessness in this machine. (Singing).

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Now, in Schubert, the dynamic of the piano is always taken over to be the dynamic of the singer. So you will create a much, much more tormented, painful feeling if you can hardly say what you’re saying. So say it in pianissimo, restless, and you’re expressing this overwhelming love and sorrow and loss at the same time. Can you do that? That’s like this. I mean, it’s really hard to do, but that’s what’s required, okay? And you can help. (Singing).

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Now, he does something here very shocking, which neither of you are doing; crescendo forte, right? If you start pianissimo, and you reach forte in such a sudden way, it’ll be utterly shocking. All right?

Angela Ruiz:

Okay.

Ben Zander:

Okay, once again. Once again. Soft as you can, and I would come in softer. You are thinking, “I can’t bear this. I can’t bear this.” Treadmill, treadmill, treadmill. “No, no, no. My peace is gone. My heart is destroyed. I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I’ll never have him.” Really, that’s what he’s asking. Isn’t that amazing? Yeah. Okay, let’s do that. Here we go. (Singing).

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

And the crescendo begins there, right? It’s an amazing outburst. And the machine keeps going, keeps going, keeps going. Isn’t that amazing? Good, it’s much better. Whisper the beginning. Whisper it. Once again.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

No, it’s too loud.

Angela Ruiz:

Ah, sorry.

Ben Zander:

Good, good, good.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Now, (Singing). Yeah, what you’re saying is, “When he is not with me, it’s like being in the grave.” Can you get that into your voice? That’s a very strong image. Hopeless image. Talking about death, about the grave, about your life is empty. The beginning was terrific. That was much more like it. And you have to get deep into the feeling of that loss, of that desperation, and yet all the time, the deep love. And the more you get it, the more they’ll get it. You have to be right inside that mood. One more time.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

When you change your dynamic, can you also change your face? Because you’re inside your mind when you say, “I’ve lost him, I’ve lost him. I can’t stand it, my mind.” And then you suddenly burst out, what that crescendo is, you becoming suddenly aware of the fact that, “I will never find it again, I’ll never find my peace again.” It’s a horrible realization. You’re doomed to this terrible treadmill of despair. But at the first moment, all you can think about is how sad you are, and how your peace has gone forever. And then suddenly you realize, “I’ll never find it!” And that’s why it’s forte. One more time. Beautiful. Very soft.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Now. (Singing). Now the grave.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

(Singing). Good. Good. Crescendo. (Singing).

That’s it. That’s it. Now you took us on that journey to madness. You essentially, you’re saying, “I’m mad. I’ve gone mad,” deranged. Great. The bitterness of it. Now you’re getting the character. And I hope Annette is here. Is Annette still_… Annette, this is what I meant. It’s easy for her because she has words. So we know what the story is, and we know about her and her meeting Faust and all that, we know_… In the cello music, we don’t know that, we have to invent it, but it’s the same thing. That was great. That was great. And the crescendo is overwhelming, isn’t it? How it builds. My poor head. It’s mad. My poor mind is distracted, distraught. Great. Should we try one more time, and then we’ll do the second verse? Here we go, from the beginning. And can you have that longing, longing, longing, yearning for this return of this love?

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Now. (Singing). Now, what’s happened now, this is great, what you were doing. I want a little applause, because that was special. That was special. That was really special. Now what happens is you’re not talking about yourself, you’re talking about him. And so you’re starting to build this picture of this extraordinary man. And one thing after another, you say that it’s_… And it’s leading to that kiss, right? So everything is leading to that moment. So you say, “Only for him, I look out of the window. I go out of the house only to see him, to find him, to look for him. His high bearing.” You talk about his beautiful posture, you talk about his noble form, the smile on his lips. Now you’re in love. You’re a young woman totally in love, all right? So you put the despair, because you become more and more and more excited about telling us about him. So we can’t resist it. So when it comes to the kiss, we’re right there with you.

All right, so let’s do the second, that whole section. So it’s_…Yeah, there. Yeah. Would you go just two bars before, so she gets into it?

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

(Singing). Now, tell us about him.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

The smile. His eyes! (Singing).

Wow. That was great. That was great. Now we got it, yeah. That was great, yeah. Beautiful.

It was so magical, because when I was talking to Annette, I was actually talking about what you just did, which is you went beyond where you normally go. That moment, right? And you took the whole audience with you. You know that you took everybody with you. No question. And that’s our job, is to be so convinced, so powerfully aligned with the message of the piece, that we can actually take everybody with us, without question. And for that, we have to go beyond where we usually live, where we usually spend our life, because it won’t be enough. And you just did that and everybody got it. There was just no question. You just took us on this journey. And Schubert gives you this wonderful accelerando, which helps, because without that, you wouldn’t be able to do that kiss.

But you’ve got to realize that that kiss is the most important moment in this young woman’s life. And in order to make it happen, the spinning wheel stops. The only time in the piece she forgets to spin and just gives herself over to that incredible moment of the kiss. Isn’t that great?

Angela Ruiz:

Yeah.

Ben Zander:

That’s why I told, when you tell the story, and you want to get_… Because they don’t know the language. So you tell the story, be sure to mention the kiss.

Angela Ruiz:

Okay.

Ben Zander:

It’s so important. Okay, shall we do that one more time? In each one of these characteristics, you talk about his bearing, his noble form, the smile on his face, the power of his eyes, and then the magic flow of his talk, you’re speaking about his beautiful speaking, and you just become enraptured. And then the clasp of his hands and oh, oh, the kiss! Right? That’s it. So, should we just set that up one more time? Same place. Here we go. And just give yourself over it to it totally.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Now, bravo, wonderful. You have a choice here. You decided when the accelerando stopped. I think it goes right to the course, yeah. Right, all the way, all the way, driving through, because that’s what makes it so overwhelming. And otherwise you say, “It was a great kiss, it was just wonderful. I can’t wait to tell you about it.” It’s not like that at all. Right? It’s, “Ah!” This was the most important thing, and it’s lost, right? So that desperation will work much better. Just do from there. Beautiful tone, beautiful, beautiful. So, shall we do from here?

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Crescendo. (Singing).

Good. You know what I loved at that moment? She realized she had to go back to the spinning, and your body said, “Oh God, I don’t want to leave that kiss. It was wonderful.” Exactly right. You got that perfectly. You lost her, actually, in the_…

Angela Ruiz:

Yeah.

Ben Zander:

Yeah. But that’s all right. It was beautiful. Do it one more time, and this time_… And that sense of hopelessness, you have to go back to the home key and back to reality, right? Because during the talking about him and about the kiss, you’ve completely forgotten that you’ve lost him.

Angela Ruiz:

Yeah.

Ben Zander:

Completely. Isn’t that amazing?

Angela Ruiz:

He’s right there with me.

Ben Zander:

Yeah, he’s right there. You were reliving that experience totally. So, one more time, and then go right through.

Angela Ruiz:

Starting from here?

Ben Zander:

Yeah.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Magic, his speaking is magic. And he really was, and he had a pact with the devil. He really could. He really was a magician. So, get that into_…

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

No, no, no, no, no, no. Magic is something else. Magic, wonder. Get wonder into your voice. Amazement.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

(Singing).

Yeah, sorry. You got away from each other. But this accelerando goes and goes and goes. And it’s fortissimo for the first time. Now you’re not talking about your sorrow, you’re not talking about him, you’re talking about how if only you could have him back, if only. “If only I could grasp him and hold him and kiss him to my heart’s content.” So now you’re into your own emotional overflow. And that’s why the accelerando’s there, and that’s why the fortissimo is there. So, very good. So, shall we try from there? My bosom yearns for him, if only I could grasp him and hold him and kiss him, if only. And that “if only” is in the accelerando.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

Great, well done. Just one little thing, which is the ritardando starts here. And so the machine is winding down and winding down and winding down, because you realize you’ll never have him back. Right? But that was great. And look at these forzandos in the bass, in the piano. Boom, boom. Like bashing it. So, would you do it one more time? And this time when you do the ritardando at the end, start it here. And she’ll sound even more hopeless than she ever has as it gets slower and slower and slower. Finally, three pianissimos, and it dies away to nothing. Last time, all right? You have the energy?

Angela Ruiz:

Yes.

Ben Zander:

One last time. Okay. And remember, that, for the audience, you’re providing an experience which they’ve never had before. Or, if they’ve had anything remotely like it, it’s a memory, which they’re able then to bring back through your singing. So it’s about them, it’s about their experience, and how you can broaden their experience of life. It’s an amazing role, isn’t it? In a three-minute song! Okay, here we go.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).

Ben Zander:

So, I want to tell you what you just did. You changed yourself. You made yourself totally available. You didn’t hold back, you didn’t have anything going in your head about how you couldn’t do it. And as a result, you’ve changed their lives. And that’s why we get up in the morning, and that’s why we practice, and that’s why we make a career as musicians, and that’s why we do what we do. And you just did it for them. Thank you.

Angela Ruiz:

Thank you.

Ben Zander:

Well done, it was beautiful. Bravo. Dina. Beautiful.

Angela Ruiz:

(Singing).