Stephen Hough to perform on 'A Prairie Home Companion'

It was another frantic day for Stephen Hough. The world-renowned pianist had just jumped into a taxi that skidded off in the direction of the Manhattan School of Music, where Hough was scheduled to teach a three-hour master class. "This is a rather adventurous interview!" Hough laughed.

Despite his busy day, Hough generously offered the time to talk about a show he'll be doing on Satuday, April 12: Hough will be the musical guest on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

Hough spoke about his friends' reactions to his participation in the program, what he'll be playing, and his feelings about what he calls the meditative qualities of the Midwest.

How did the invitation to perform on A Prairie Home Companion come about?

I've no idea, actually! I just got a call from my manager to say that they would like me to appear on the show and I was delighted.

It's interesting because every person, especially in this country, when I say what's coming up over the next few weeks and I mention [Prairie Home], the jaw drops, the eyes open — 'Oh my goodness, Prairie Home Companion, it's my favorite show, it's the best!'

It obviously has this complete cult following in the States and beyond, and I'm really delighted to be part of it and I can't wait to see how it all opens out when we get to the rehearsals tomorrow.

Not to put you in a spot, but are you a fan or perhaps occasional listener of the show?

You know, I don't have a radio nor a television, so I could have heard it on the Internet, but what tends to happen with me, and it's the only way I seem to be able to stay sane, is that when I'm not practicing or at a concert or the theater or something, I just read or just have absolutely nothing on. So I don't watch movies and I don't often go to YouTube and so on.

But now I feel I will become part of the Prairie Home family, so I'm going to be looking out and tuning in. And I did read a wonderful article by Garrison Keillor in National Geographic a couple of weeks ago about Minnesota and Minneapolis as his geographical history, as it were. It was a fantastic piece so it really got me in the mood for the show.

Are you planning to perform works from your classical repertoire on the program?

Yes! I'll be playing I believe two sets; the first set will include one work of Richard Strauss and one of Anton Brückner, both of which are unusual because of course they both wrote very little piano music and they're known for big, extreme orchestral and operatic works, and these are two small miniatures and fascinating little pieces.

And then I'm going to do two nocturnes in the second group by two Polish composers: Chopin, of course, but also Paderewski. So that's what I'm planning to play tomorrow.

The music on A Prairie Home Companion tends to fall on the more roots, Americana side of things. Will you be performing with the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band on some of those pieces?

Not that I know. I mean, I don't know that style, really, so I don't think I'd be a very good companion for that particular group!

But I love all kinds of music and all kinds of culture, so I'm always excited to have my eyes and ears opened to something new. So that's what I hope I will experience tomorrow.

APHC includes sketch comedy; might listeners hear you in a role in the sketches?

Well maybe not intentionally — I hope there's nothing comic about my performance! I don't think it's meant to be comical.

But no I haven't heard anything about that. I'm presuming that there will be something of an interview, but as far as comedy sketches, maybe that's the surprise they have for me. I don't know — we'll see when I get there.

Something that permeates APHC, even though tomorrow's show is being produced in New York, is its Midwestern humor. You've rehearsed and performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, you've spent meaningful time here, so do have a deeper understanding of or appreciation for this region?

Well, the pancakes are fantastic in Minneapolis!

I'm not sure about the humor, but I do get the idea, I think, of the prairie and of the Midwest and of the kind of timelessness and almost the sense of meditation that you get from that kind of situation.

I'm a great fan of Willa Cather, so in a sense, it's all part of the same belt of the country, and I think it's full of a kind of quiet wisdom, it's full of patience, and I suppose the humor — I'm not quite sure what the particular humor is of the prairie — but I imagine it's gentle, whimsical, but with maybe a little bit of a sharp end to the points. I don't know; I'll have to discover some more about that.

I've always felt America very much is a home away from home because I've spent so much of my time and professional time here, and I've lived in Manhattan longer than I've lived anywhere else in the world, actually. So I feel there's something very special about my life here, even though I still do feel British, but nevertheless, this is very much an important part of me.

I've had so many wonderful times in different parts of the country. It's funny, people who haven't travelled much from Europe tend to think of America in terms of big cities because that's what they see very often on the television, not realizing obviously that the variety is just bewildering and spectacular across the country. So I've had wonderful times from New Orleans up to Portland where I was last week in Oregon and in Seattle, I love that part of the country, and all over New England and in the Midwest!

As I was saying about the Midwest, I love the meditative quality and the feeling of something being settled; I think this is what I sense: stuff that's growing in the ground that's grown for so long, and it's very somehow comforting to find that sense of the ground being settled and therefore you can be settled with it.

Beyond Prairie Home, do you have any new recordings in the works?

One is coming out next week, actually, and it's called In the Night, and it's various pieces that are associated with nighttime. It includes the first recording of my second piano sonata, which is subtitled "Notturno Luminoso", so that's just coming out.

Listen to A Prairie Home Companion Saturdays at 5 p.m. on Classical MPR.

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