Get to know Johnny Hachem and some of his music thoughts: Johnny Hachem 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. His music was broadcasted on different Radio stations in the Middle East, The United Kingdom, Brazil, Central America and The Caribbean. Hachem was a professor at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music. He has achieved a Masters degree in composition with distinction. See more information at Johnny Hachem.
I love that everything I do is to be original and unique and not only to follow the music market. At the same time I profit from the technology and the new softwares to the maximum. For example, a few years ago, I composed the orchestral music for a documentary film using only the VST instruments. I believe that I must gain from anything that can make the composition process smoother and faster but it must always meet uniqueness and genuine originality.
Currently, Johnny is preparing for a series of piano concerts that he will perform in various European countries in the near future and says that the proceeds will be donated to the families affected by the war in Lebanon and Ukraine. He believes donating to humanitarian causes gives meaning to his musical message. Johnny Hachem has come a long way, and even though he faced a lot of hurdles, he refused to give up. And finally, he has been successful in achieving his dreams. Now he wishes to guide the aspiring musicians and pianists in the world to accomplish what he has done over the years of hard work. “Do not try to imitate successful musicians and stars. Instead, do the opposite and draw your own unique path. This is the key to success,” he stressed. He is an ambitious, passionate, and emotional person who values deep feelings and cherishes others’ happiness. Johnny Hachem’s message is about peace, and he uses his music to spread it across the world.
How can one make ends meet from composing in this era? Johnny Hachem: To keep the beauty in anything modern he/she composes. And the biggest proof for me is “Jacob & Rachel, The Love Story” it has won the 3rd prize among hundreds of contemporary compositions… Is it important as a classical musician to “be out there” and “sell yourself”? Johnny Hachem: Not at all! Have you ever thought of writing a piece with bel canto vocals in it? Johnny Hachem: Sure I did that before…
Johnny has performed his compositions world-wide in countries including, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, France, Switzerland, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. His most notable work include his composition for the documentary film I Knocked on the Temple’s Door by Carmen Labaki, and also for composing “The Fourth Watch”, which was performed by the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra in December 2014 and “The Battle of Siddim” performed by the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2017 and by “Lublin Philharmonic orchestra”, Poland in October 2017.
Classical music these days more of a sub-niche with rigid frames and for many it is boring and full with repetitions. It is true, even Verdi became quite “pop” in some of his works, not to mention Chopin or Donizetti. Ok, maybe Bartok was a different league and an exception; however, there is a trend to “lighten up” the classical pieces to make it more acceptable for the masses. As a composer and performer, how do you see this, what are your experiences? Johnny HachemJohnny Hachem: I will divide my answer into two parts: First, I believe that people listen to classical music more than ever, but that is through movies and video games, however, most of them don’t like listening to it in a concert hall and that’s because of the strict etiquette rules there; you can’t clap between the movements of the musical piece even if you were very excited, you can’t cough now, you can’t move… in other words, you can’t express your emotions as you do in pop or rock concerts… To tell you the truth, it wasn’t like that before. Joseph Horowitz, in his wonderful new book, Moral Fire, describes audiences “screaming” and “standing on chairs” during classical concerts in the 1890s. The New York Times records an audience that “wept and shouted, strung banners across the orchestra pit over the heads of the audience and flapped unrestrainedly” when listening to their favorite opera singer at the Met in the 1920s. And the strict rules started in 1960.