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Showing posts with label jason kouchak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jason kouchak. Show all posts

Monday, September 9, 2024

French Pianist Jason Kouchak, Hungarian Singer Lilla Vincze Chess Song Premiere

French pianist and composer Jason Kouchak (whom we interviewed recently) will be performing with Lilla Vincze, Hgarian singer from the band Napoleon Boulevard at the opening ceremony of the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest on September 10, 2024. You can watch the event at the official Fide website

Their chess-themed song will premiere at the opening ceremony of the 45th Chess Olympiad. The song Royal Game draws inspiration from chess games and speaks about human relationships and the games we play in those. Besides Royal Game, Lilla Vincze and Jason Kouchak will sing songs in three languages, in Hungarian, in English and in French to highlight the cultural diversity of the chess community. It’s no coincidence that they sing about chess: Jason Kouchak is an amateur chess player, and while he does not take part in competitions, chess plays a central role in his life. 

Royal Game will not be the only premiere at the opening ceremony, the official song of the Chess Olympiad will also be performed live for the first time. The song Trojan War was created by Rose May and Raul in a songwriting camp organized by Artisjus and zeneszöveg.hu.  This way the opening ceremony will be an event where various cultures and nations, and also various generations can come together.

The will be several other events alongside the main event.

Chess Olympiad, the largest global chess event, will be hosted this year by Budapest between 10 and 23 September. Legendary players and rising stars will come together to compete. Hosted by the BOK Sports and Conference Centre, the Olympiad will offer an array of satellite events. The Judit Polgár Chess Foundation will take you on a special adventure to its Chess Palace, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) will present its 100-year history in an exhibition, and you can participate in competitions, a chess quiz and more, organized by the Hungarian Chess Federation.

Chess enthusiasts and those who are just getting to know this sport can take part in the events of the 45th Chess Olympiad for free. The venue is the BOK Sports and Conference Centre, open on competition days, games are scheduled between 3 pm and 9 pm. Attendance is free, but there is limited audience capacity: visitors can watch the games of the Olympiad from the stands, but on-the-spot registration is required. In order not to disturb the games and the players, no electronic devices are allowed on the stands.

The EXPO in Hall C will offer free events and activities. You can watch the games live on a screen and listen to experts analysing the key games from the previous day. In addition to the events, there will be several exhibitors with chess-related stands, including Women in Chess and DGT. At DGT, you can check out the state-of-the-art chessboards with Bluetooth functionality that competitors also use. If you would like to buy some special merchandise as a keepsake from the 45th Chess Olympiad, you can do that, too.

The Judit Polgar Chess Foundation will invite children and adults to the magical world of the Chess Palace. This is a project of the greatest ever female chess player, Judit Polgár, where you can explore a fantasy chess world and its inhabitants. You can also get the autograph of the Polgár ladies, Zsuzsa, Zsófia and Judit.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. An exhibition will mark this special occasion at the Chess Olympiad, with highlights from the past 100 years of the federation and the chess community. FIDE is also bringing an urban installation, Capture, with photos of people playing chess from around the world. You can visit the exhibition in Vigadó Square between September 17 and 22.

FIDE will have several conferences and seminars at the event. For further information, please visit: fide.com/news/3189

The Hungarian Chess Federation is also offering a number of events and activities at the Olympiad. You can take part in a walkabout chess quiz, enrol in competitions and watch the simultaneous displays at the event.

Further information:   chess.hu/tovabbi-esemenyek/

The 45th Chess Olympiad is organized by the National Event Management Agency, in cooperation with the Hungarian Chess Federation and the International Chess Federation.


Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Chess and Ballet: Jason Kouchak's Creative Quest for Rhythm Divine

Renowned French-British musician Jason Kouchak, pioneer of the "Queen's Journey" in conversation with International Arbiter Naveen Karthikeyan
 
Performing for the 10th anniversary of Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival 2024. (c) Photo: Ray Morris-Hill









 
Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière,
(The upside down elephant) (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak
Take a high-speed train from Paris. Two hours through the scenic French countryside will take you to Lyon — the city founded by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Stand anywhere in the city. Rising against the skyline will be the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. The locals call this 19th century Cathedral the "upside-down elephant” because of its rounded base and four towers. As a Lyon goné (kid in French), Jason Kouchak was to fall in love with another "elephant" — the Rook on the chessboard. That, though, is only one of his two loves. The other is classical music which took him to London.
"Actually," smiles Kouchak, "The knight's my favourite piece. But then, speaking of aesthetics, the Queen works best for a ballet on the chessboard!"

Jason Kouchak in Holland, London Park 2024. Kouchak shared the cost of the giant chessboard with Kensington and Chelsea council. He says: "I wanted to bring children from various backgrounds together. I wanted people to play each other across the board rather than using their iPhones to play chess."(c) Photo: Jason Kouchak
Jason Kouchak and the Royal Ballet. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak
Kouchak put it all together by pioneering the artistic concept of "Queen's Journey" in 2016 to encourage women to play chess. The French-British composer, pianist and choreographer can speak forever on the subject: Chess and Ballet are gender neutral activities that connect people through time and space. It improves their generic life skills by developing their spatial awareness, logical thinking and generic life with communication skills. A combination to inspire and inform both sexes of the importance of coordinating together and moving forward into the future. These art forms are a profound medium of communication that have no barriers of language, gender, ethnicity,religion, physical ability or social status. Chess and ballet connect in themes of ‘empowerment’ for women as Queens of power and grace move as pieces across a giant chess board.

The Queen’s Journey has toured in the United Kingdom, France, Hungary and the United States.

Website: Queen's Journey
It all began in childhood. Jason Kouchak says, "My earliest memories of chess were watching my Mum and Dad playing chess whilst listening to classical music. I was intrigued by the shapes and movement of the pieces. I saw the game as a dance, a ballet and a battle."

Today, Kouchak has a list of projects lined up. He's collaborating with the Royal Ballet School in Holland Park, rehearsing for a performance for the 10th anniversary of Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival in September 2024 and recording with "my good friend Matt Goss for a new musical in London scheduled for Spring 2025."

Matt Goss (left) and Jason Kouchak (right). (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Where does the fuel for all this creativity come from?

For one, the musician finds inspiration in Nature. He further explains, "One must enjoy the joy of the journey and the spirit within inspiration! One must dare to dream and have the drive and desire to follow those dreams. In essence this sense of fearlessness and fulfilment comes from self-growth and self knowledge.

(Left) With IM Tania Sachdev for whom Kouchak says, "She brings grace and empowerment to chess," and (right) Priyanka Chopra at Kouchak's gaint chess set in Holland Park, London. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak




"It’s important to create new projects and always stay curious. You have to find your inner child. Learning, Living, Laughing and Loving Life is the mantra."

That's pretty Indian. And, yes, Kouchak has met the five-time world champion from India, Viswanathan Anand several times in London and discussed a shared passion — astronomy!

Written in the stars
Here are Kouchak's  compositions for the 60th anniversary of the first manned space flight. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin had become the first human to orbit the Earth in a 106-minute flight in a Vostok 1 space capsule. "Music, the stars and chess are magically connected," says Kouchak.



There's more. The Pleiades is a cluster of 1,200 stars in the Milky Way with seven particularly bright stars. In Greek mythology, they became nymphs accompanying the goddess Artemis. On a special request, Kouchak's friend, none other than the great Grandmaster Dr John Nunn, Jason composed a checkmate in three as a chess, astronomy and music project to mark the Royal Astronomical Society’s 2020 bicentenary and the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight. The puzzle reflects the arrangement of the stars in the Pleiades Constellation.

(Left) White to play and checkmate in three (answers at the end) and (right) the Pleiades Constellation. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak
 
Each of the seven stars corresponds to a melodic note in Kouchak’s following  musical composition: 
 

 

The Stars are in My Eyes
- By Jason Kouchak

The stars are in my eyes
A thousand lights above me
Journey to a world still unknown
Where I’m never alone

The stars are in my eyes
Heaven’s high above me
Imagine all the wonders of space
The mystery of another place

Once in a moment beyond your destiny
reaching for answers in dreams you still believe

How does Kouchak pack it all in the same 24 hours that the rest of us have?

Kouchak smiles with his deep, philosophical eyes. A busy day starts with music. He says, "I practice piano as soon as I wake up and create new ideas from my dreams the previous night. Then, either I go for a run or play tennis before returning to my first love the piano. 

Jason Kouchak at L’Auditorium de Lyon. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak


Jason Kouchak at Abbey Rd Studios London. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak
I play chess online as a breathing space in between music projects. It helps me to distance myself and create perspective for the day. Recording, rehearsing and the realisation of new projects takes up the remainder of the day. Finally, at the end of the day I try to review my actions and reactions and maybe look forward to a new dream.

Where there's music and chess, can literature go missing?

Kouchak's favourite writer is Vladimir Nabokov. Kouchak adds, "Especially his wonderful masterpiece: "Speak, Memory." He loved chess and butterflies which are also two of my passions. I also enjoy reading Vikram Seth, the Indian novelist and poet who I met once in London. He has not only wonderful literary skills but also an impressive knowledge of classical music. His "An Equal Music" is a romantic novel with a beautiful insight into the world of music."

The Boris Spassky Connection

For Kouchak there was never a disconnection between chess and music even when he lost to former world chess champion Boris Spassky. He could not help composing a song!

Jason Kouchak with former world chess champion Boris Spassky. (c) Photo: Jason Kouchak

Completely and happily overwhelmed by this creative genius' thoughts, as I bid adieu, leaving Kouchak to explore further the realms of creative fulfilment, the Frenchman signs off with his favourite poem by none other than Rabindranath Tagore: 

Poem On Time

The butterfly counts 
not months but moments,
and has time enough.

Time is a wealth of change,
but the clock in its parody
makes it mere change and no wealth.

Let your life lightly dance 
on the edges of Time
like dew on the tip of a leaf.

Rabindranath Tagore

 

Answer to puzzle by John Nunn (based on an idea by Jason Kouchak and Julian Paix) 1.Bf7! Kf5 2.Bd2! Ke5 3.Rd5#

 

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