Who is Johnny Hachem and some of his piano play achievements: Johnny has performed his compositions as a soloist at several concerts and international festivals in Ukraine, Lebanon, Switzerland, France, Austria, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Belarus, South Korea, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. He has also composed the music of many films, most notably the documentary film by Carmen Labaki: “I Knocked on the Temple’s Door”. To his name, he has a piano concerto, clarinet concerto, Violin concerto and a large variety of instrumental and orchestral compositions that have been performed in Europe & the Middle East. Read extra info on Johnny Hachem.
Simplicity. In some cases less is more and silence can be the loudest instrument. Yet, it feels many can’t bear the idea of multi-layered compositions where there is a dialogue and sometimes unisound other times cacophonic togetherness. Instead, blunt overspeaking and emphasizes rule both contemporary pop/rock and easy listening compositions. Where and how can we find the true resonance in a musical piece? Johnny HachemJohnny Hachem: This is a very interesting question and can’t be answered shortly but what I want to say, for me, it always depends on the beauty of the music. You can listen to a very complicated musical composition which can easily enter into the ears of the audience due to its beauty. I will also talk about Rachmaninov here who composed the most difficult piano concertos in history, but everyone loves those concertos because they are amazingly beautiful. As for myself, every piece must be unique and must reflect a certain story – and it can be very simple but beautiful and deep at the same time. Jacob & Rachel is not a complicated orchestral piece and you can always hear the beautiful love melodies inside. Also, it has won an international award because I could make the combination between the simplicity and uniqueness at the same time.
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.
Oftentimes musicals and mainstream songs “borrow” from classical pieces, even without mentioning the actual origins. The reasoning is that “every note has already been used”, so, why not. Has it ever happened to you that your compositions welcomed you in someone other’s gown? Johnny Hachem: I think no, at least not until now, haha. Or maybe it’s happened and I’m just unaware of it? It can be! Why do you think modern compositions lack of the beautiful and elegant complexity of notes, chords; the ornaments such as turns, mordents, trills, acciaccaturas, appoggiaturas; the complete lack of meaningful structures and so on? And this goes both for each and every genre. Can it be because of the untrained ears will not buy into something they feel alien and untranslatable, “too much” or because majority of the songs are written by a handful of craftsmen in the background and the “indies” in any genres are just, well, simply not enough good?
He not only successfully cultivated his talents and became one of the few names in the industry but also won a music composition award at International Composition Conference in 2009. Then in 2021, he managed to win big at the Classic Pure Vienna International Composition as well. The unparalleled achievements of this artist have no limitations as Johnny has performed as a soloist in various concerts and international festivals in multiple countries such as Ukraine, Lebanon and Switzerland. Apart from that, he has shown what a skilled pianist he is while performing in France, Austria, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Belarus, South Korea, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
Second, the contemporary music compositions have become quite difficult for the majority of the people to enjoy. Very few would like to attend such concerts and even most of the professional musicians themselves always prefer to perform a beautiful music where you can hear a clear and beautiful theme, harmony and orchestration. That’s why, I believe, every music that doesn’t contain a beautiful theme will be directly forgotten and less appreciated.