The upsurge of a talented composer : Johnny Hachem: Johnny Hachem is one of the most brilliant pianists in today’s time. He has performed at various international festivals, including ones held in Ukraine, Lebanon, Switzerland, England, Austria, Germany, France, Spain Poland, Romania, The Netherlands, South Korea, as well as the Arab countries, where he played his solo works. It wasn’t until later on when young Johnny discovered how much talent awaited him in the music industry. He is a music prodigy who started learning piano and composition at the Lebanese Higher Conservatory of Music. He earned his master’s degree there with distinction too! Read additional info on Johnny Hachem.
As music theory, can you explain for other artists why it is advantageous to discover classical chord progressions and harmonies and apply them into any genre? Johnny Hachem: Of course, it’s advantageous to discover classical chord progressions and harmonies because they are the basic of almost all the music genres or let’s say they will enrich their musical thoughts even if they won’t be used the classical school way they can affect them unconsciously. It’s well needed to study all these things but at the end, when you compose, you must not to be making just a harmony exercise: you should really have the talent to add your own thoughts…
When asked about his favorite music genre, he replied, “My music is based heavily on the style of Neo-romanticism with some modernistic elements.” According to him, he wishes to see classic romanticism in the young blood of today, and therefore he tends to mix modernism with classics to create some soulful and melodious arrangements. Due to a troubled childhood because of the war in Lebanon, Johnny shared that coping with his academic journey with all those psychological conditions was very challenging. But even after school, whenever there was a ceasefire, he would snuggle up to play the piano which sums up his passion for music.
Johnny Hachem: If you ask any modern composer, the answer will be simple: because most people have untrained ears. But as for me, there is a different simple answer: most people doesn’t like the contemporary music and art at all. Even the majority of musicians don’t like it! You know, it’s great to have modernistic elements in music and art, but going to the extreme and producing only bizarre things under the title of “contemporary” that most of people can’t digest, is not something I can agree with!
Mingle Music UK, wrote about him: To his name, he has a piano concerto, clarinet concerto and a large variety of instrumental and orchestral compositions that have been performed in Lebanon and Europe. Johnny is also a professor at the Lebanese Higher National Conservatory of Music. He has achieved a Masters degree in composition with distinction. It is true that nurturing talent takes practice, dedication, willingness to sacrifice and, of course, determination to keep the goal clear, even when the spot gets tight. When it comes to utter devotion and perseverance, Johnny Hachem, a Lebanese-Ukrainian composer and pianist, is one musician who has proved that with hard work, you can achieve anything in life.
I was born into a musical family. My dad, who passed away 10 months ago, used to play violin and my mom the piano. I remember very well how beautiful it was to listen to them playing music together at home and in church. And I was influenced by them a lot. But when I was a child, we had war in Lebanon and it was difficult to attend the music school, so I put a lot of time into piano improvising and trying to make my own music. My mom started to help me and after that, when the war stopped, I started studying music officialy.