Part 2 of Season 4 Episode 8: Carlos Franzetti & Allison Brewster Franzetti -- Grammy and...

You both are nominated for Grammy, Latin Grammy both, and Carlos, you won 5 awards, correct?

6 Grammys, yes. 2 in composition, 2 in tango, and 1 with an album that I did duets with a fabulous jazz bass player Eddie Gomez.

Allison, you are also nominated Yeah, I've been nominated twice for Grammys and three for Latins, and my name is on one of his wins. Carlos won for composition. It was a piece that I recorded, but I'm not the winner because the piece won, not the recording itself.

In my book, you are.

Aww.

You know, people call a duo like you power couple, right?

Actually, yeah.

We have been referred to that way, which we find really fascinating because We really just do what we do.

And the good thing is that, I must say, I mean, she's, she's the pianist, she's the concert pianist, I am a composer. So we share things, but we don't get to the point of competing. We— it's not that we compensate each other.

We complement.

We complement.

That's the word you're looking for. You know, we've been extraordinarily fortunate that way. We're very, very respectful of each other's work. Very separately, as well as everything that we've done together.

Hello, piano enthusiasts!

Welcome to The Piano Pod with me, Yukimi Song. Today, we're diving deeper into the second installment of this season's 8th episode with extraordinary artists Carlos Franzetti and Allison Brewster-Franzetti, an exceptional duo with multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, celebrated as the power couple of classical music. In case you missed our captivating Part 1 conversation exploring their fascinating journey to becoming Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning artists, don't worry, you can catch up on all the excitement on your favorite podcast platform right now. As we wrap up 2023, it's been an incredible year connecting with you and remarkable guests through this magical podcast medium. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to each of you for tuning in throughout the year and since The Piano Pod's launch in the summer of 2020. Your support has fueled my passion for sharing the piano world with you. Over the past 4 years, we've strived to make classical music resonate in fresh ways with today's audience. To keep these episodes coming, your support is vital. Every contribution helps cover essential podcast expenses. So click the PayPal link in the show notes or visit thepianopod.com to donate. As a token of gratitude, I'll personally mail you The Piano Pod's logo sticker. So stay tuned for the year 2024! Our exciting lineup of guests is ready to share thoughts, ideas, and expertise. I'm thrilled to bring you more inspiring conversations, captivating performances, and behind-the-scenes insights into the world of classical music. A warm welcome to all our new listeners! This podcast is your all-access pass to the enchanting world of piano. In each episode of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song, we interview a guest speaker pioneering new grounds in the industry. Please take a moment to rate and review the show on your favorite podcasting platform. It truly helps others discover our show. So dear friends, here is part 2 of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Carlos Franzetti and Alison Brewster Franzetti. Please enjoy the show.

So you both are the good influence and good impact for one another. That's the Oh, I—

oh, absolutely. That's for sure. We really do bring out the best in each other constantly. And it's really great to have that kind of support. This weekend, I will be playing some of Carlos's music out at Penn State University with Bart Feller, the flutist, the principal flute of New Jersey Symphony. We have a concert at Penn State University on Sunday. And then Laurel Zucker, the flutist Carlos wrote sonata for her that we are going to be recording next summer and a couple of other pieces that he wrote for her that we're also recording next summer. And amongst other people, you know, a whole bunch of your music's getting done various places right now.

Well, you have so many more fun projects and concerts and hopefully more recordings to come.

Hopefully. I mean, the world of recording is kind of convoluted. And the streaming, you know, all this is a result of COVID because when COVID started, like people wouldn't leave their homes. And so they had to entertain themselves with streaming movies and music and things like that, which that market, all those platforms grew tremendously.

People don't own CD players anymore.

They don't.

Like in your car, you don't have a CD player anymore.

No.

So I don't know really what the future will be for recording. Unless people decided in films, platforms that films that they produce, they're not available in theaters, but they are available in platforms. So I don't know whether it's going to be the case with music too. People, well, whatever, somebody like Madonna or Lady Gaga, new recording available on so-and-so, you know, sound platforms. I think it might be the future because I don't, you know, I don't—

Well, it's the way it is, you know, I mean, and the thing with streaming, of course, for most of us mere mortals, you don't make any money from it. So if you're Taylor Swift, you do, who of course set yet another record on Spotify yesterday. All the power to her. I mean, she's brilliant.

Yeah, but even then she had to fight for it because she had to remaster her original because she wasn't making much money. Right, right. So it's a really tricky business here. Then Carlos, you mentioned a little bit about COVID So for the last 3 years affected us so in so many, so many ways, like You know, the way we communicate is now different tremendously. As you mentioned, the way we listen, the way we just to enjoy art, enjoy a little film, is not the same as before.

So tell me, attention spans are not the same either.

I live here, I mean, I work here, and, and so COVID didn't affect me in that sense. I was writing music and It was the same thing. I would go out and do some groceries with a mask. But then eventually I got COVID and Allison got COVID and—

Except I barely noticed that I had it, honestly. I was so not sick.

I sailed through that without any— I mean, I did some blood work and my doctor told me, by the way, you have antibodies, you develop antibodies, you have COVID. Later on, I had this episode that I thought that I had, you know, a brain, a HCV, and it was the puerile hematoma. I had to go, I had surgeries, I had 3 surgeries because it would, you know, I mean, which is bleeding on the dura to the brain and which compresses the brain and kind of. So, and the doctor said, I said, well, you know what happened? I didn't hit my head or anything like that. He said, this is a COVID result.

Well, I had brought that up actually to the surgeon at one point when he was about— when he was having procedure number 2, which is the craniotomy. And I said, you know, Carlos has antibodies in his system. And I said, there is this research talking about all the things that can happen to vascular surgeons.

At the beginning, they thought COVID only affects your lungs and this and that's it. I mean, now they know that it affects your heart, your kidneys, you know, your brain.

It can affect all sorts of things.

So it manifests in different ways, and this was what hit me. And it was, you know, kind of dramatic to have brain surgeries.

Kind of?

I have a titanium plate.

It was very dramatic.

Oh my goodness.

But I survived it.

And he's fine. I mean, he's really fine.

I couldn't even tell, like you have such a huge smile.

Yeah, well, I have a lot of hair.

Not just the look, but yeah, you wouldn't tell.

You know, the funny, well, the funny thing is that later on I was looking at the subdural hematomas and this and rate of survival and said, well, 20% of the people survived. I said, am I reading this right? You know, then I said, well, you know, I am one of the lucky ones.

But then you're still, you're still writing music. You're still—

oh yes, yes. And I recorded the album right after, well, a year later, 6 months. I wanted to do an album, a jazz album, which is the last thing I did for Sunnyside Records, and it's called In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. Which is a beautiful song. And I tried to get songs from the era of the Second World War, like "We'll Meet Again," "Memories of You," things that call about distance and longing and loss. And because I think that we went through a period like that. I mean, we lost a lot of very good friends. So many friends. And so did everybody. I mean, so it was a way of You know, when during the war the GIs would go without, you know, knowing what would happen to them and their families and their loved ones. And all the songs, "Time Remembered" and "How Deep Is the Ocean," all those songs reverberated 70 years after that. It made so much sense to record them. So I went and recorded this album.

May 3rd, 2021.

Oh, you're— what's the title of the record?

In the Wee Small Hours. In the Wee Small Hours. You know, I can— we can make it, send it to you.

And that's with David Fink on bass and Billy Drummond on drums. It's a real dream trio.

Wonderful, wonderful.

Beautiful, beautiful trio.

Oh my goodness, that's— I, I think I— it's on Spotify as well, right?

It's on Sonic Side Records.

Okay, I called the owner and producer François Salacain. You're a hero, you're putting out CDs at this time. I mean, you know, you're either a hero or a martyr, but you know, it's amazing. I congratulate you. And you know, he, he keeps doing it. That's fantastic.

Yep. So there, yeah. So in terms of the industry, there are certain labels who are still putting out a lot of stuff like Parma is doing and some others that are actually putting out some really wonderful product. And so we're very fortunate. Of course, Legacy, we put it out ourselves on our label because we really felt that we could best represent what that record was and what it is, what it stands for. But we've been really more fortunate than many people. When it comes to recording, who we've gotten to work with. I have several upcoming projects that are going to have various homes that I'll be collaborating with a wide range of people right now. And again, I'm very fortunate to be able to say that, that, um, I keep having these opportunities. I also just finished doing Jurassic Park with New Jersey Symphony.

Oh my goodness.

Yeah, yeah. And unfortunately, I was behind the screen, so I couldn't yet. But the audience— those things are fun to do, I have to say. Um, when you get to play live to film like that, that your audiences have such a great time.

And the scores are difficult.

Uh, they are, they're hard. They're hard. Yeah. On this particular one, I was doing the synth parts. So not only was I having to change patches constantly, which I was actually doing with my foot, I had to keep adjusting the volume depending on which patch I was on because they were very unevenly matched. So it's like if I had a Celeste patch to play and I had a lot of them, I had to put the volume all the way up. But the second I would have to play something else, I'd have to bring it back. And I was constantly guessing depending on what venue we were in, was my volume actually correct? There was no way for me to know. And so I just had to go with what I heard and trust the sound guys in the house to handle all the rest of it. So it was constantly adjusting here, playing here, adjusting here, adjusting with— it's kind of how it goes when you do those.

But it seems like you both have such a varied career. Like, you know, you're not just one thing, right? Like, Alison, you have this experience with the film, and as well, and then also Carlos, you wrote for commercials, but also you are Latin Grammy Award winner and write jazz, this and that. And so And I wrote for film too. Yeah, that's true. That's true. So is that the maybe secret to the longevity of your career? Sort of like diversifying your career, you know what I mean? Not just to focus on one thing.

Well, there is eclecticism in a sense, but it's also that I, you know, being a commercial professional musician, I had to accept to do as Being an arranger is an extension of being a composer. You know, you learn to orchestrate and to arrange other people's music. And I was called to do, as I said, from the times of Mexico doing mariachi music to Latin to rock to some movies. And then later in New York, the salsa phenomenon of the '70s and then R&B and jazz and other types of music, I think, and tango. I don't think that I have skipped any genre of music. I mean, I've done mostly, you know, they call me and said, we need you to do this arrangement of Spanish songs, like José Nin, but we need to, you know, you to adapt this for a wind quintet, or we need— so you do all kinds of different things. I would say that the only thing I don't do is heavy rock because there's no, you know, there's no place for me to, you know, to write on a techno pop or things like that. Other than that, I've done everything. Yeah.

I think the other thing, and I know you were going to bring this up, is that you have to be willing to adjust to the times. And the world that we originally were brought up in has nothing to do with the world we're in. It really has changed that radically in so many ways. You know, just the fact that we're having this conversation, a few years ago, we wouldn't have done it. No, right? We didn't have that proliferation. So like one of the things that I got involved with during COVID was I contacted my best friend of the past 40 years who's a techie amongst other things and a producer. And when I saw that orchestras were starting to shut down, I realized that this was a long-haul situation. It was not going to be for a couple weeks. I knew it Immediately I contacted my best friend and said, there's got to be a way for orchestras to be able to continue. And we had actually— he with his tech guys and me filling him in on orchestral leads and stuff like that— we had devised a system where orchestras could be in the same building at the time, right, but in different parts of the building, right? And following all the protocols because we knew what all the protocols were from the various unions, setting up the cameras, the microphones, the kind of high-speed access you needed, etc. Being able to have a conductor yet in another location in the building and then being able to have orchestras actually play together. And it turned out—

And dealing with latency too.

And dealing with latency too. Now it turned out we were way ahead of our time. Various orchestras took a really good look at it and were really considering it. And then they started looking at the possible price tag and going, "Can't do it." But what that led us to was the Orchestra of the Americas and the Orchestra Academy. And we became part of their advisory board. And what the Academy is doing is really fascinating because They are hybrid at this point, but during COVID everything was online. So they were doing all of these incredible workshops from the orchestral level of various repertoire, working with various conductors, renowned conductors from around the world, and then having modules for the respective instruments with these, again, world-renowned musicians taking them through. Not only were they working on repertoire things, but they're working on strategies for the 21st century, how to market yourself, how to work with entrepreneurial things, you name it, they're touring it. And they are also developing actual degrees in it.

Wow.

So they have these fellows that work with them in these various ways, including that they have this whole piano contingent with Gabriela Montero, which is— she's incredible. I mean, what she's doing is incredible. And so you have all these cohorts from around the world who are participating in this. And so every 3 months, we, the advisory board, we meet, we see what they're doing, what they're developing. And give feedback on it. My area has been working with them on syllabi and stuff like that and looking at what they're actually offering. How are they communicating it? Is this really, you know, what they're looking to do is really quite groundbreaking in so many ways and very exciting. And so being part of something like that is really fascinating. Having come from the very academic musical world that they're looking to compete with at this point, but because their point of view is constantly looking at the future and what needs to happen to keep music viable, not just now but for the future.

Yes.

And reaching also in many cases some very underserved communities around the world, right? So it's really, it's quite fascinating to see what people are doing, why they're doing it, and the need for it. And so I really do believe that schools like Berkeley have been on top of this stuff for years in terms of where the business is going and why the business is going a certain way. And the kinds of degrees that they offer are not just necessarily performing or teaching degrees. They have a whole system of careers related to music that you can be part of and train for? And why do you do it? That take into account all these various developments that have happened. And this is where a lot of the more traditional music conservatories or universities don't necessarily do this and they need to be doing it.

Wow. So this is a—

yeah, I have a little bit of an opinion about it.

You think? Oh yeah. But it's incredible that you do have this. But What did you notice? Did you notice that from your students, observing from your students or from your audience, that something is missing and then needs to take an action right now?

Oh, it was all of the above. It's been all of it. And that, you know, and looking sometimes at who's attending concerts and who are we reaching or who are we really missing? What's happened to music education? Now, in New Jersey, we're more fortunate. Than a lot of places in terms of the wealth of opportunities that are available here for kids to be able to study, to play with different kinds of orchestras or singing choirs or whatever it is. We have a lot of it, you know. New York City is not that kind of fortunate, not like we are. But even so, still adapting for what this musical world is and is going to be. Does take a lot of foresight. On the other hand, if you're a performer, you still have to be able to perform. So a lot of the stuff that you still have to do is still— that didn't change in terms of the excellence that you have to have in terms of how you go about playing your instrument or singing or composing or arranging. That's all still the same. You've still gotta have those skill sets, but what you do with them is what has changed so completely in so many ways. So that the opportunities like Carlos was in jingles for so many years, well, that world doesn't exist now.

Of course.

So what do you do? And so, so that's where he's had all these other opportunities and people who have approached him over the years to do this, to do this, to do this, to do this. And some of that has been frankly by reputation, you know, that people know our work. And so we are fortunate in that sense that people come to us constantly to do this thing or do this thing or do this thing. But you know, if you're really young and starting out, your socials have got to be really good, whether you want them or not. And yes, it's oversaturated and yes, people are going to put what they want you to see. That's true. Okay. Fair enough. But whether we like it or not, that is reality. People are going to look at that often before they're ever going to look at your website. Constantly have your product up on YouTube or, you know, or wherever it is and that you keep having and to self-promote.

You know, in the end, we want to grab audience attention and invite them over to the actual concert hall and listen to the real classical music or real jazz band, whatever that is, great music, right? But to do that these days, especially these days, it takes a few extra steps for us to really reach out.

And I think that it will be back to that. I mean, I think that people are getting cabin fever and, uh, you know, like too much of internet, too much of this, of concerts. And I even played some, some concerts here for, you know, on, on Zoom, through Zoom, and, and so did Dallas. And I think, but I think it's, you know, it had to do with like getting together with other people, going to a concert or going to a jazz club or whatever, is something that we need to You know, it's as gregarious as we are, you know, we have to be with other people. We can't be like only doing it, you know, selectively and at home. You know, the internet is a fantastic medium. It's wonderful. But then, you know, there are certain things that you appreciate more being live there, like a concert, rather than watching a video of a concert.

I mean, Carlos was telling me we had done The Empire Strikes Back last spring. And our daughter was here from Las Vegas and I was able to get them comps to go. I was playing piano on that one and they said it was an extraordinary experience to be in that audience.

Because it was simultaneously synchronized, simultaneously the movie without the soundtrack, just the dialogue, and the soundtrack was coming from the podium, from the From us? From the concert hall. And they were—

and the place was packed.

And it was amazing. I mean, it was packed. It was incredible. I mean, I've never been to one of those concerts, you know, when they do a movie and, you know, they play the score synchronized or, you know, they conducted to the movie. The conductor, Constantine Kitsopoulos, did a marvelous work. And so did the whole orchestra because you have 2 hours of music without stopping, you know, demanding music.

But wasn't it that like that, like this, like the Charlie Chaplin's time, there is— was an actual orchestra, you know?

Exactly, to the orchestra. The conductor knows the timing. It doesn't have a click track or anything like that. I mean, he's doing it to movie, uh, the way they did it in Hollywood long time ago, you know, the Albert Bernsteins and the you know, the, you know, Hermanns, and he did a fantastic job, and so did all the musicians. The orchestra sounded fabulous.

And some of the other ones, and I have to say I'm really supportive of this, is the video game concerts with orchestra. I've done a bunch of those, and I tell you, first of all, your audiences know the music even if we don't play the games and we don't know it. They do. So they're, you know, and they're always packed and they're always excited to be there. And I have to say that so much of that music is great. It's great. And it's really exciting to play it. And that's the truth.

And it brings people to the, you know, audience.

It brings people to the concert halls. And so I say, I think that doing these kinds of events to bring people to the concert halls is great. And also what I have seen people— I've seen people come back to hear more classical kind of concerts as a result of having this live experience and saying, "This is great." So that's why really seriously, I'm all for it.

Thank you for saying that. I mean, I didn't have to even guide you for this conversation. You said it all. Thank you. Beautiful.

Oh, we always have plenty to say. Beth will never let you.

In the end, why do you think classical music matters? Why music education matters?

I feel that we live thanks to music. I mean, we are subject to music from the little, you know, the little songs and, you know, the kinder, the rhymes that, you know, the wedding marches, you know, up to the end with the funeral march. I mean, so we are there with music all our lives, but classical music matters because it's something that narrates a time, narrates a state of mind of what was Baroque, what was Rococo, what was classical, what was Impressionism, what was the Jazz Age, '20s, and what is today the music. I mean, you know, you couldn't have minimalistic music in 1900.. You have to have it later on. And the same thing is you can't have impressionistic music at the times of Bach. It happened because it was a whole movement of painting, of literature, of music. So it's a time, and that's what culture does. Culture is history, and so is music. Music is our history.

Right, exactly. I used to teach general ed music at Kean. It was one of the many areas that I taught. And kids would have to take this class, right? They had to take a GE and they would take music. So, and they would come in convinced they didn't know anything, they're gonna hate it, they'd be terrified. So I would start with pieces that I knew they'd already know, right? So you start playing the opening of Beethoven's Fifth. And at the time it was Rodeo, was being used, Beef It's What's for Dinner, stuff like that. And like Clair de Lune and other things. And I would start with pieces like this and go, okay, how many of you recognize this piece, even if you don't know what it's called? And all the hands would go up, right? And I picked a whole bunch of these and I said, so you already know something about classical music. So you're still scared of this class? And people would chill out immediately with that because they'd realize they had been exposed to this their whole lives, though they didn't necessarily know what it was exactly they were being exposed to. So that was thing one that I would do. The other thing, and Carlos was, I agree, what I would say is at a time when a piece of music is being composed and performed, here's what's going on at that time. So here's a question I want you to think about. Do you think that music is a reflection of some of those things, or is it telling you what's coming, or is it maybe some of both? And so we would cover various periods of music that way, and genres of music that way. And I'd always remind people, at the time that this was being composed, this was new. So this didn't exist before. Put yourself in that kind of frame of mind as you listen to it. By the time we got to, you know, around 1920-something, I said, you have several different kinds of musical events happening. Here's why this is all happening. And at the same time that you have classical music happening, you already have jazz developing. You've already had ragtime developing. You've had the cakewalk. You've had all these different things that are happening, right?

A couple of years ago, I I played in Italy, jazz concert, and Addison came with me and I talked to Addison before and then to the organizers of the concert that Addison was presenting before my jazz concert with the trio, kind of a lecture of the influence of blues in classical music. And not only in, you know, the obvious of George Gershwin, but also on Ravel Piano Concerto in G, And the violin sonata. And the violin sonata. And then on Stravinsky and so many. And she would play the effect and, you know, after playing the blue notes, showing what Ravel did with, you know, The Piano Concerto in G and then with Mio and other composers that you chose. And it was very interesting because we always see the opposite, you know, the influence of classical music in jazz. You know, people like Bill Evans and so many others who benefit from Debussy and Ravel, but not the other way around. And it was a—

then I expanded.

And she did it in Italian. Very interesting. She did it in Italian.

Boy, did I have to work at that because I don't speak Italian.

Yeah.

Oh my goodness.

I had to work at it.

She wrote everything.

I wrote everything and it was evidently people understood me quite well. And when I would make mistakes, I'd start to laugh.

Right.

And so would everyone else because we all knew I'd messed up and I'd make fun of myself and it was fine. I then expanded it to the influence of jazz and blues and classical music and then incorporated all sorts of different composers, whether they're male, female, or whatever their orientation, um, from different parts of the world and how that really expanded. So one of the composers that I found really interesting was Dana Suisse. Now, Dana Suisse died in the '80s, I believe, and she was— during her lifetime, she was referred to as the female Gershwin. She was a composer, she was a pianist, she was a singer. She wrote all kinds of wonderful music that disappeared for a while, but quite a few pianists are doing her stuff, including Sarah Davis Buchner and Lisa Moore. So I'm hardly the only one that's doing it.

One perfect example of influence of jazz in musicians and classical composers is Kapustin, when you recorded, obviously beautifully written, but totally thinking toward jazz.

And everything, and his stuff is completely written out.

Oh yes.

It may sound like you're improvising, but it's all written, everything he did. And so, yeah, that was a perfect example of— and one of the composers that I had included in the original lecture was several different examples of the work that he did. So this is also where the fact that I also live with Carlos, who's a phenomenal jazz pianist, has been really helpful to me when I do some of these cross-genre type of presentations that I do.

We have so much to talk about, but sadly it's time for us to go. But before we go, just quickly, what's the next phase for you?

The symphony, I'm in the process of orchestrating certain parts, but I mean, it's almost done. After that, we go on a cruise next week. We're gonna go to, from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera, Los Cabos and Ensenada, and all that. I mean, just, we love to sail, and this time we're doing it with our daughter.

Oh, great.

Then I'm coming back to this other project, the Minotaur Suite, to orchestrate that. As far as other things, as I said, yes, we have some concerts together. February, the opera in San Francisco, which I don't know if I'm going to go, but there are several things there. And as if the year begins, the '24 will begin, there are always going to be new, new challenges, right? Yep.

And I have a lot of recording projects.

Oh my God.

So one with Maureen Heard Haas, who is the associate director of music at Rutgers, and she's doing a project of Irish music. Then Laurel Zucker, we're going to be recording Carlos's music. There's another flutist, Norly Garcia, that we're doing a French project, and that's going to be in Florida, I think, in early January. There's a violist, Brett Dubner, that I'm going to be recording with again. I don't have dates on that yet, but I know we're doing that.

There's this thing in San Antonio that might happen.

Right. San Antonio that we're waiting to hear on some stuff in San Antonio. Boy, and I think I've left some out. Then of course the concert with Carlos's Sweet and Cowboy, and I will be doing Nutcracker.

Wow.

So I am the Sugar Plum Fairy every year, which I enjoy doing. I really do. I really enjoy playing that piece every year. I do.

I look forward to it.

And a whole bunch of other concerts that will be coming. Plus I have a huge studio that I teach. So I'm at Blair Academy. I also have private students. So I have something like 28 students. I don't see them all in a given week, but you know what that's like. You teach.

Oh yes, yes.

So you know what that is. And so when I do see everyone in a week, it's 28 lessons. But, but it varies from the week depending on who is available when. I mean, I have certain students I teach every week, of course, so that's probably about 20 of them that I teach every week.

That's a lot of students.

And you're—

It's a lot, but I enjoy it.

It's been a wonderful conversation, Carlos and Allison, both of you. So to— for my audience, if you want to find out more about Carlos, you can go to his website at carlosfranzetti.com. And if you want to find more about Allison, you can go to Allison Brewster franzetti.com. And both of you are on Facebook, Instagram, all the good stuff, correct?

We're all there. There's stuff on Spotify, Apple Music, and there's a video on YouTube. We're on— where you want to find us, we're findable.

Great. That's so fantastic. So this has been a great conversation. Before I let you go, we have one more thing to do. It's the rapid-fire questions where I get to ask silly questions, but actually these questions are tricky, so be aware. So you don't have to explain anything. I will just ask you something. Just answer them with the shortest responses as possible. Okay? Okay.

Yeah. Who goes first?

You know, you can just both answer them simultaneously. It's just— let's improvise. This is where improvisational skill is required. And I'm sure you'll find out. All righty, so first one: What is your comfort food?

Strawberries. I'm so surprised I said that.

How do you like your coffee?

Uh, black with milk.

Espresso.

Espresso with milk. Great.

Cats or dogs? Dog. What skill have you always wanted to learn but haven't had the chance to?

Tennis.

Uh, basketball, I guess.

Okay. What is your word or words to live by?

Love.

Work.

What is the most important quality you look for in other people?

Fidelity.

Honesty.

Name 3 people who inspire you, living or dead.

Stravinsky, Ravel, Bill Evans.

My husband, Ravel, and Bach.

Great. Name one piece in your current playlist.

Mati's Your Mother in the mid.

Icarus from Minotaur in the Labyrinth.

The last question, fill in the blank: music is blank.

Life.

Food for the soul.

Beautiful. That's it. Congratulations, you've passed. So thank you. So this concludes this episode of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Alison and Carlos. Thank you, Alison and Carlos, for joining my show today and sharing your beautiful stories and insights and expertise. You can learn more about Alison and her amazing work through her website and also Carlos through his website, and all the links are listed in the show notes. Thank you to my wonderful audience and fans for tuning in today. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review it on your favorite podcasting platform and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you're watching this episode from YouTube. Follow The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song on social media to get the latest piano news via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Hope you all have a safe and happy holidays with your loved ones wherever you are tuning from. I will see you in the year 2024. For the next episode of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Yukimi Song with Carlos Alvarado. Thank you.

Bye everyone.

Happy holidays. Thank you, Carlos and Allison.

Thank you.

Happy holidays, everybody.