David Saliamonas

Concert à Paris le 28 juin au Théâtre Adyar

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:30:00 -0500

Le prochain concert aura lieu le 28 juin au Théâtre Adyar, Paris 7ème. Au programme des sonates de Beethoven (op. 90) et de Janacek, le Carnaval de Schumann et les Danses Argentines de Ginastera. Aussi un peu de Chopin et éventuellement une improvisation… J’espère vous retrouver nombreux à ce concert que je produis moi-même.

Cliquez sur ce lien pour réserver vos places : http://www.weezevent.com/davidsaliamonas

Last movement of Shostakovich Second Concerto in F Major, Op....

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:39:00 -0400

Last movement of Shostakovich Second Concerto in F Major, Op. 102, with the Orchestre des Universités de Paris conducted by Sebastien Billard. Live performance.

Bonjour....Hello!

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:24:00 -0400

Hello and welcome to my website! Content will be updated every so often, so check back from time to time. CLICK on the heading of each “window” to view its full content.

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Pour tout contact professionnel, adressez-vous à Marija Schouman à…. For all professional inquiries, please contact Marija Schouman at….

schouman@msmusicmanagement.com, +33 (0)6 63 17 19 83.

Sinon, n’hésitez pas à me contacter à…. Please don’t hesitate to write me at….

dsaliamonas@gmail.com

A bientôt, see you soon,

David

Photo

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:48:08 -0400

Biography in English (click here)

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:40:00 -0400

American pianist David Saliamonas has been hailed as one of the most expressive and individual pianists of his generation. Critics in the United States and Canada have described him as a “tremendous talent…dazzling” and stated that he “played with great intensity and feeling throughout.” Called a “splendid musician and virtuoso” by renowned pianist Eugene Istomin and a “wonderful pianist” by conductor Yutaka Sado, David Saliamonas was also praised by the London (Canada) Free Press for his “firm technique that was passionately responsive” and by Italy’s Gazzetta del Sud as having “an exquisite sense of harmony.” Speaking of his French-premiere 2006 performance of the Korngold Piano Concerto, the La Marseillaise praised his “hair-raising virtuosity and charisma”; while the Stuttgarter Zeitung, writing of his 2009 performance of the same concerto, said that “he has a remarkable feeling for the special timing of this music, that is why under his hand this winding rhapsodic opus became an arrangement of rafinesse and ideas.”

David has performed in cities throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Morocco, China, Japan, and Australia. Also, he has been featured on radio and television in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Romania, and China. His live performance of works by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin is regularly broadcast internationally by the music television station Mezzo.

Active as a chamber musician, David Saliamonas has worked with, among many others, the Wild Ginger Chamber Players, singers Denyce Graves, Karen Vourc’h, and Laurent Naouri, clarinetist Chen Halevi, violinists Ittai Shapira, Jonathan Gandelsman, and Guy Braunstein, and cellists Elena Cheah and Henri Demarquette.

On stage, in addition to playing the piano, David Saliamonas usually speaks about the music that he performs. In an informal yet informative way, he explains various aspects of the music, not hesitating to recount an amusing anecdote or to demonstrate a compositional technique at the keyboard. This has proven to be very successful with audiences, be they of seasoned concert-goers or of school children little accustomed to listening to classical music. Not only can these talks help the listener better appreciate the music, but they also lighten what is often perceived to be the staid atmosphere at many concerts of classical music.

It is David’s gift for conveying music to the public that led Harold Bauer, the conductor of the New Philharmonic (Chicago), to write (after performances of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) “David is a communicator – on all levels. It was wonderful to see his instant rapport with students in a lecture/demonstration. His ease at the keyboard, his ability to play examples as he talks, his sheer joy in the task all combine to involve the trained and untrained listener. And as a performer, he certainly communicates! There were standing ovations at both concerts.” In a similar vein, the eminent French musicologist and radio personality Gilles Cantagrel wrote about David’s “facility of communication with the listeners. Mr. Saliamonas marries a perfect technique with the mastery of the music. His natural, smiling authority and the generosity of his playing immediately conquered the public.”

A native of Glen Ellyn, Ill., David Saliamonas taught himself to play by ear and to improvise at the age of five. Eventually, his musical education led him to a scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received both his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees. His teachers have included Eugene Istomin, Robert Goldsand, David Buechner, William Browning, and Ann Schein. He has also studied conducting, notably in Budapest with Yuri Simonov and in Salzburg with Hans Zender. After having lived for several years in New York, he currently makes his home in Paris.

Debussy’s Clair de Lune, from concert in Istanbul with...

Sun, 31 May 2009 18:57:00 -0400

Debussy’s Clair de Lune, from concert in Istanbul with Denyce Graves.

Biographie en français (cliquez ici)

Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

David Saliamonas est, dans la nouvelle génération de pianistes, l’un des plus expressifs, et l’une des personnalités les plus attachantes.

Né à Chicago, il a débuté le piano tout seul à l’âge de cinq ans. Il est diplômé de la Manhattan School of Music où il était l’un des rares élèves du grand Eugene Istomin, qui le considérait comme « un virtuose et un musicien merveilleux ». Il est lauréat de plusieurs concours nationaux et internationaux dont l’Anderson International Piano Competition (Seattle), le Five Towns Competition (New York), le Grand Prix d’Ibla (Italie), ainsi que le Chopin Foundation Scholarship Prize. Il a aussi étudié la direction d’orchestre, notamment à Salzbourg, avec Hans Zender, et à Budapest, avec Yuri Simonov.

Il s’est produit dans plusieurs villes aux Etats-Unis, au Canada, en France, en Italie, en Espagne, en Allemagne, en Belgique, en Suisse, en Portugal, en Turquie, au Maroc, en Chine, au Japon et en Australie. Il a également participé à de nombreuses émissions de radio et de télévision, en France sur France 3, Mezzo, Arte, et TF1. Soliste mais aussi chambriste, il est membre des Wild Ginger Chamber Players, et il joue avec d’excellents musiciens comme le clarinettiste Chen Halevy, la mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, la soprano Karen Vourc’h, le baryton Laurent Naouri, les violoncellistes Henri Demarquette et Elena Cheah, et les violonistes Jonathan Gandelsman et Guy Braunstein (violon solo du Philharmonique de Berlin). Par ailleurs, il aime improviser et le fait souvent lors de ses concerts.

A Paris, où il réside actuellement, il a donné de nombreux concerts, en particulier aux Invalides dans le cycle « Grands Interprètes », à la Salle Gaveau, dans le Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne, à l’Unesco, et aux Archives Nationales. En France, il a aussi joué au Grand Théâtre de Reims, au Palais des Congrès de Tours, au Nouveau Siècle de Lille, au Théâtre Molière de Lyon, à l’Auditorium de Dijon, au Quartz de Brest, à l’Orangerie de Strasbourg, à l’Opéra de Rennes, à la salle Poirel de Nancy, et au Théâtre de la Criée à Marseille.

La critique américaine salue son talent « époustouflant » ainsi que son « intensité passionnée, soutenue de bout en bout », tandis qu’au Canada, le London Free Press apprécie sa « technique sans faille et son engagement passionné ». En Italie, la Gazetta del Sud célèbre « son sens raffiné de l’harmonie ». En France, La Lettre du Musicien note à quel point il s’investit « sans retenue dans la moindre idée musicale, insufflant une vie débordante » aux oeuvres qu’il interprète. Le Dauphiné Libéré dit que « c’est un pianiste inspiré, au delà du raisonnable ». Quant au Télégramme de Brest, il écrit de lui : « David Saliamonas, jeune pianiste au charme fou, marie finesse psychologique et charme juvénile ». En rendant compte de sa création française du Concerto pour la main gauche de Korngold, La Marseillaise a évoqué « une virtuosité et un charisme ébouriffant ». Enfin, le Stuttgarter Zeitung, parlant du même concerto du Korngold, a écrit qu’ « il faut un pianiste comme David Saliamonas, avec son tonus et sa technique sans faille, pour l’interpréter. Il a un sens remarquable du rubato très particulier qu’exige ce style de musique et, sous ses doigts, cette rhapsodie tourbillonnante se transforme en une composition raffinée d’idées musicales ».

David Saliamonas aime créer avec son public une relation personnelle. Lors de ses récitals, il présente les œuvres qu’il va interpréter, aussi bien sur le plan historique que d’un point de vue musical. Il n’hésite pas à démonter une oeuvre au piano et à utiliser des images simples et des anecdotes amusantes pour se faire mieux comprendre. Le public, habitué ou non des concerts classiques, est ainsi à même d’apprécier au mieux ce qu’il va entendre.

C’est cette façon d’aller à la rencontre de son public qui a conduit Harold Bauer, le directeur musical du New Philharmonic, à écrire de lui : « David sait communiquer – à tous les niveaux. Son aisance au clavier, la facilité qu’il a de jouer des exemples tout en parlant, le plaisir évident qu’il exprime dans son jeu, tout cela se propage à l’auditeur, qu’il soit averti ou novice. Et comme interprète, il est évident qu’il sait faire passer le courant. Cela lui a valu des standingovations à chaque concert. » Dans le même esprit, Gilles Cantagrel de France Musique parle de : « sa faculté de communication avec l’auditoire. M. Saliamonas allie en effet une parfaite technique de l’instrument à la maîtrise des partitions qu’il interprète. Son autorité naturelle et souriante et la générosité de son jeu lui ont conquis immédiatement l’adhésion du public. »

Korngold Concerto (for the left hand), French premiere...

Fri, 22 May 2009 10:57:00 -0400

Korngold Concerto (for the left hand), French premiere performance, in Aix-en-Provence, with the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Marseille conducted by Daniel Klajner.

Concerts

Thu, 21 May 2009 13:34:00 -0400

2009

8 sept., récital solo, Féstival de Wissembourg (Scarlatti, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Gershwin) www.wissembourg-festival.com/index.html

16 oct.,avec la compagnie de danse Blanca Li www.blancali.com/?lang=fr

24 oct., concert privé avec le violoncellist Henri Demarquette

5 nov., récital solo, Conservatório do Música, Porto, Portugal (Mussorgsky, Schumann, Gershwin)

11 nov., Stuttgart, Liederhalle, Concerto de Korngold, avec le Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Daniel Klajner, dir. www5.stuttgart.de/philharmoniker/kalender20091111

16 nov., avec la compagnie de danse Blanca Li www.blancali.com/?lang=fr

3, 5 et 8 déc., Paris, Concerto de Tchaïkovski, avec l’Orchestre ut5, Eglise catholique arménienne

2010

14 et 15 janv. ; 2, 4 et 6 fév. ; 23, 24 et 25 mars ; 2, 7, 8, 9 et 29 mai ; 1 et 3 juin, 17 juilliet, France, Belgique, Serbie, Espagne, et Italie, avec la compagnie de danse Blanca Li www.blancali.com/?lang=fr

15 avril, Paris, Théâtre de l’Athénée, private corporate event

18 mai, Toulouse, Casino Théâtre Barrière, concert-conference Forté Pharma (private)

21 mai, Opéra de Bordeaux, concert-conference Forté Pharma (private)

9 juin, Venterol (Drôme) récital Chopin (privé)

10 juin, Marseille, Palais du Pharo, concert Forté Pharma (private)

13 juin, le Poët-Laval (Drôme), récital Chopin www.centre-art-drome.com/concerts_drome_provencale.htm

18 juin, Cassis, récital Chopin

25 sept., Binic (Côtes d’Armor), récital Chopin

26 sept., Festival des Pays de Montcontour, La Houssaye (Côtes d’Armor), récital Chopin

19 et 20 oct., Niort, Moulin du Roc, Jardin des Délices avec la Compagnie Blanca LI www.blancali.com/?lang=fr

10 déc., Sociedad Filarmónica de Burgos (Espagne), récital (Debussy, Schubert, Mussorgski)

2011

27 jan., Salle Gaveau, Paris, récital avec Laurent Naouri, baryton et Karen Vourc’h, soprano (Poulenc, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Verdi), www.sallegaveau.com/saison_.htm, aux bénéfices de la Fondation Française pour la Recherche sur l’Epilepsie (www.fondation-epilepsie.fr)

5 fév., Paris, récital avec Myriam Zekaria, soprano (privé)

16 fév., Théâtre Zinga Zanga de Béziers, Jardin des Délices, avec la Compagnie Blanca Li www.blancali.com/?lang=fr

14 mai, le Poët-Laval (Drôme), récital, www.centre-art-drome.com/concerts_drome_provencale.htm

19 mai, Salle Adyar, Paris, récital

18 juin, Château-Thierry (Champagne), récital privé (Haydn, Henry Martin, Chopin, Scriabin, Gershwin)

9 juillet, Château Pastré, Marseille, Festival des Musiques Interdites, Concerto de Korngold

11 octobre, Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg, avec la compagnie de danse Blanca Li http://blancali.com/fr/event/2/le-jardin-des-delices

21 octobre, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, récital www.pba-lille.fr/spip.php?article2137

29 octobre, Château de Villaines (Sarthe), concert de musique de chambre (privé), avec Eric Crambes, violon, et Henri Demarquette, violoncelle

5 novembre, Porto, Portugal, récital privé (Scriabin, Chopin, etc.)

6 novembre, St. Tropez, récital (Moussorgski, Schumann, Gerswhin) www.ot-saint-tropez.com/menu-droite/agenda-des-evenements/novembre-2011/117114-4240,9-egrave-me-festival-de-piano.html

17 novembre, Paris, programme avec Danièle Bloch (professeur à l’Ecole du Louvre)

2012

7 février,Paris, Cité de l’Architecture, concert privé

29 février et 1 mars, Varsovie, Festival de l’anniversaire de Chopin (Chopin, Schumann, Gershwin) www.smolna.eu/

13 mars, Paris, récital privé (Beethoven, Schumann, Ginastera)

27 mars, Casa da Música, Porto, récital (Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Ginastera) www.casadamusica.com/CulturalAgenda/event_detail.aspx?idShow=A5C9608E-757F-4928-B39D-38D164B0F9C8&channelID=374772A6-829E-423D-8046-13C74A7C7105&contentID=F77AA0F0-043A-45E1-9958-2346400C9183&leftChannelID=374772A6-829E-423D-8046-13C74A7C7105

Reflections on Repertoire

Thu, 21 May 2009 12:33:00 -0400

Here are some thoughts about some of the music that I play. It’s not an exhaustive repertoire list, just reflections on some of the music and composers that have been most important to me. Note that I don’t consider myself a specialist in any composer or kind of music. If I choose to play a piece, it’s because I love it and because I think that I can do it justice. I specialize in, and love most, that which I’m playing at the moment, and to me it wouldn’t be honest to go on stage not believing in my comprehension of and ability to play whatever music is on the program.

The Chopin Preludes: the latest big addition to my repertoire, this is certainly one of the most challenging and fulfilling works that a pianist can play or that an audience can listen to. There is everything in here – passion, lyricism, terror, tenderness, virtuoso brilliance and much more – twenty-four unique pieces all linked in a nearly-perfect structural whole. This is like living a lifetime in 45 minutes.

More Chopin: it’s not an original idea, but that doesn’t make it less true: Chopin’s music is one of the summits of the piano repertoire. I think that this is one case where popularity is a just measure of worth, and in my experience Chopin’s seems to be the most universally loved piano music. It’s not easy to say why, but I would guess that, in a deep way, there is a pleasing balance between complexity (melodic, harmonic, structural, etc.) and simplicity (between romantic and classic?). That, and it’s usually inspired and beautiful. Some of his music is just pure pleasure for me to perform (generally the smaller pieces – Mazurkas, Nocturnes, Waltzes, etc., but also the Fantasy and some Polonaises), whereas the longer pieces like the Ballades and the Barcarolle are much more of a dramatic challenge – but very well worth it!

Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue: I’ve played the solo version too often to remember and the concerto version only once. I used to play this by ear when I was a kid, and it remains an enormous pleasure. I feel extremely free with it, and it’s always nice to have a sure-fire hit at the end of a concert.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition: After a several-year hiatus, I’ve been performing this great piece again recently. I don’t think that there is any feeling quite like arriving, after forty minutes or so of varied, but often dark and even terrifying, music (e.g. Baba Jaga the witch’s flying hut on chicken feet!), at the Great Gate of Kiev. Noble, luminous - as I write this I think that maybe it’s the composer’s welcome into paradise of his friend Hartmann, whose pictures inspired and in whose memory he wrote the piece.

Rachmaninoff: I often play a selection of preludes, used to perform the Chopin Variations, have on two or three occasions played the Paganini Rhapsody, and have studied various other works (including some of the wonderful songs). From my perspective, playing Rachmaninoff demands lots of preparation (it is often furiously difficult in technical and contrapuntal ways) and doesn’t leave much room for interpretive liberty. Yet the emotions and energies are often extreme. So difficult to learn, but once it’s mastered it often plays itself, and fills the soul.

Schubert: I’ve recently been playing the Moments Musicaux, and have played several sonatas, impromptus, and chamber music. And I recently played Winterreise, the great cycle of twenty-four songs. I feel that Schubert comes as close to what I would call pure music as anybody. His music is mostly about melody – singable, memorable melody – and often significant and stirring harmonies. Under his hand, the simplest musical ideas become magic and reveal their elemental profundity.

Brahms: I used to say, when pushed, that he was my favorite composer. Recently I haven’t been playing much Brahms, but in the past I’ve played lots of his solo and chamber music. I’ll never forget hearing Daniel Barenboim play the First Concerto. The tempo was always in flux, which, to my ears, felt totally organic and natural. I believe that this is often necessary with Brahms, although I would be hard-pressed to explain why. It’s interesting that, compared to Brahms, Rachmaninoff seems to have the romantico-passion meter amped up by several orders of magnitude, yet the interpretation of Brahms often needs to be freer than that of Rachmaninoff. However, music ultimately remains a mystery, and I have heard performances of pieces that were contrary to my tastes – and even what I think of as my principles – that were extremely satisfying to me. A few years ago I started playing the Brahms Waltzes – such wonderful music, as poignant and inspired as anything he’s written. How come they are almost never programmed?

The Korngold Concerto: This is quite an experience. I had never played left-hand alone repertoire, and this concerto is perhaps the biggest of them all in the genre. Ravel-like in its contrapuntal demands for one hand, Richard Strauss-like in its glittering orchestration, I didn’t know until after I first played it in Aix-en-Provence that it was the French premiere of this major work. Now I’ve played it twice and hope to have other opportunities to perform it.

The Grieg Concerto: As beautiful and romantic a piece as can be. This is music that is meant to be milked, but that is not to say that it’s cheesy in any way. It’s not. This is real romanticism, and if it’s not to your taste, I’m happy to leave you to your harpsichord and dry toast – I’ll stay with my Grieg!!

Debussy: Another personal favorite, and a composer who I think is too often eviscerated. He can take us to a rarified world (as well as a humorous one), but too often, amidst the incredible harmonies, the humanity is lost. I feel that his music is as deeply human as Brahms or Schubert and that it must be played that way. I love playing the Preludes, Etudes, and other music such as Images, Estampes, etc.

Schumann: One of the composers whose music (with a few exceptions) just always seemed to come easily to me, both technically and musically. Although I’ve played my share of his music, (Carnaval, Kinderszenen, the Second Sonata, Fantasy, Fantasiestücke, Symphonic Etudes, among others), one work that I dream of performing is Dichterliebe, which is one of the most beautiful and moving pieces there is, a song cycle where the piano is as much a melodic presence as is the voice.

Janacek: I’ve only played On an Overgrown Path, a Schumann-like suite of pieces. Perhaps it’s the intimate quality of this music that makes me feel a special relationship to it, or the fact that, even with the Janacek revival of recent years, these pieces are rarely performed; in any case, I do feel that this is very personal music that speaks to the intimate, child-like parts of each of us. Wonderful! Should be heard – and I would like to play – more.

Mozart: One vivid memory is having played the “Little” A Major Concerto accompanied by a string quartet in a festival in Marrakech. I had written my own cadenzas and, in the last movement, left room for some sort of crazy improvisation. A day or two before the concert we had heard a well-known traditional Moroccan melody, and I thought that it would be great if we could incorporate it into the cadenza. So I decided that my improvisation would lead into the quartet – standing up – playing this melody. The crowd exploded!!! They were cheering as though we had hit a home run, and we could barely hear ourselves. A once-in-a-lifetime moment. Unfortunately I don’t play as much Mozart as I would like to – the sonatas are really not up to the level of his best work, and I haven’t yet had the opportunity to play more of the concertos in concert.

Chopin Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2; encore from a...

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Chopin Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2; encore from a concert at the Sorbonne in Paris

Program Possibilites

Tue, 19 May 2009 13:12:00 -0400

1. Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition –

Schumann, Kinderszenen

Gershwin, Rhaposdy in Blue

2. Schubert, Sonata in B-flat major –

Scriabin, 13 pieces

Liszt, Second Hungarian Rhapsody

3. 100% Chopin (Ballades, Nocturnes, Mazurkas, Waltzes, Polonaises, etc.)

4. Schubert, Moments musicaux

Janacek, Sonata

Rachmaninoff, 5 preludes –

Janacek, On an Overgrown Path

Ginastera, Danzas Argentinas

5. Chopin Preludes –

Scarlatti, 3 sonatas

Messiaen, 2 Preludes

Henry Martin, Prelude and Fugue

Ginastera, Sonata No. 1

6. Beethoven, Sonata Op. 90

Bartok, Romanian Dances

Brahms, Op. 76 –

Schumann, Carnaval

Concerti:

Bach: Brandenburg No. 5,

Mozart: K. 414, 466, 482, 488, 491, 503

Beethoven: 3, 4, 5

Chopin: 2

Liszt: 2

Brahms: 1

Tchaikovsky: 1

Grieg

Anton Rubinstein: 4

Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Prokofiev: 3

Korngold (for the left hand)

Ravel: G major

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F

Shostakovich: 2

Auto-biographical sketch

Mon, 18 May 2009 13:08:00 -0400

It seems that I have always been a pianist. I can’t remember a time in my life before music, or before playing the piano was an integral part of my identity. When I was four or five, my kindergarten teacher reported to my parents that I would accompany the class on the piano every morning when we sang. They were quite surprised, because at the time we didn’t even have a piano in the house! But they soon found me a piano teacher and bought a piano, and the trajectory of my life began to take shape.

My first piano teacher, the late and beloved Jean Gray, built upon my ear’s natural abilities by starting me off with “sound and rhythm” classes, not piano-playing or music-reading ones. This, I think, has informed my whole identity as a musician: music as play, as sound, as an instinctive and creative activity, not as a scribbled code on a page needing deciphering (this is the literal meaning of the French word for reading music, “déchiffrer”). Since the beginning, unprompted by teacher or parent, I have always made up music, improvised, and played by ear; this is the basis of my musicality. (Of course, this can come in handy in entertaining friends and family, and it has also provided great fulfillment as a means of self-expression. Today I will sometimes improvise in a concert, I have more-or-less improvised the music for a film, and I hope to further develop this part of my musical life.)

Aside from this, though, my education was, I suppose, fairly traditional. I was blessed with teachers (I should single out William Browning, with whom I studied in the crucial years between the ages of 12 and 17) who encouraged me to be and to believe in myself, but who didn’t neglect the more rigorous aspects of music-making: instrumental technique, interpretative rigor, disciplined practice. I can’t say that I always succeeded in living up to the highest standards, but the seeds were planted in me, and today I know much better how to strive towards their attainment.

At seventeen I arrived in New York, doing what just a few years earlier I had thought ridiculous – going to school for music. It seemed like such an unacademic activity. But there I was, in exciting Manhattan, at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with the late, great Viennese pianist, Robert Goldsand. Being surrounded by other musicians, being in New York and on my own – this was of course a life-changing event. Mr. Goldsand was unfortunately past his prime, and for better and for worse I was not given very strict guidance. People often tell me that my playing is different and full of unusual ideas. If this is true, I think it that it is mostly because no teacher killed my individuality, and also because I conscientiously avoid listening to recordings of pieces that I am studying. Every one of us has a greater or lesser capacity to understand, and sensitivity to, music, and a great musician will never be made out of a less-talented one; however, everyone should have something unique to offer. Too often it is precisely this which is obliterated by interpretive convention and fashion, by lack of listening to one’s inner voice, by uncritical acceptance of others’ ideas (musical and philosophical), and by over-deference to others, particularly teachers. I often argued with my teachers, and this was not always easy, but I learned from them while always striving to be myself. I believe that everyone, not just artists, must find their own truths, even if this means rediscovering the same ones as one’s predecessors. This is, and is the pleasure of, the artistic journey.

After graduating, knowing that I needed to improve and feeling that I needed a teacher to do so, I spent several “years in the desert,” looking for the right mentor. I learned a lot from many people, but never found the yearned-for guru. I went back for a Master’s at the Manhattan School, studying with my friend David Buechner. There are not many people with his technical mastery or his expressive power, and somehow both of these resonated with me (in fact, there are many pianists – although not as many as people think – with great techniques and musical wonderment, but with David I somehow felt that his style could be relevant to mine). I think that I was quite influenced by this charismatic, curious, intelligent musician.

However, I didn’t feel as though I was learning everything that I wanted to, and so David suggested that I find someone else. This is how I had the great honor of becoming one of the few students of legendary pianist Eugene Istomin. Mr. Istomin was very different than all of the other teachers that I had had, much stricter in a way, with standards that were uncompromising to say the least. I will always remember the year we spent working together as a pressure-filled, but very rewarding, one.

After graduating and spending a few years free-lancing in New York, I had the opportunity to move to France.

For many reasons, coming to Paris was a turning point in my artistic development. Being left to myself, escaping from the hotbed of New York, breaking from the past, practicing every day on the same piano, all were very important. But most of all, probably, was luck. I had certain performance opportunities that I had never had in New York. There is no better way to develop as a musician than by performing, and the great increase in the number of concerts that I’ve given since being in Europe has led me to a mastery that I had never before known. And something else changed in my performances. I don’t know how I started speaking to the audience (probably inspired by my old classmate Harry Connick, Jr.), but somehow I started to do so, and so developed a fairly unique way of giving concerts, introducing in a quite informal but sometimes pedagogic way the music that I play. For me it’s natural to want to do as much as I can to ensure that the audience understands the music, and though the most important way of doing this is by giving a clear and convincing performance, a little oral preparation can go a long way. And it’s a lot of fun. In any case, it was in Paris that I can say that I came into my own as a concert pianist.

Photo

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Rachmaninoff Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 3, from a...

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Rachmaninoff Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 3, from a concert at UNESCO in Paris

I don’t even know if I like this performance, but it’s played around the world on the Mezzo TV station, and people seem to like it, so I figured that there’s no point in hiding it!!

Affiche pour concert au Théâtre Adyar à Paris le 19 mai

Mon, 14 May 2007 13:12:00 -0400

Affiche pour concert au Théâtre Adyar à Paris le 19 mai