ROMAN RABINOVICH pianist
Due to my work recording Haydn’s sonatas, I’ve been listening to a lot of his symphonies, string quartets and vocal works to delve into his style and figure out how I want to perform it. Haydn’s music is full of surprise, spiritual depth and humour and yet completely unpretentious. I’ve been inspired by Sir Roger Norrington’s approach to the symphonies. He brings a wonderful sense of gesture, shape and transparency that brings the music to life.
I’m a big Radiohead fan and I’ve enjoyed Jonny Greenwood’s music in PT Anderson films. So when I heard that Greenwood collaborated with an Israeli composer living in India,
Shye Ben Tzur, and a band of musicians called The Rajasthan Express, I had to get my hands on the disc! The album, Junun,
is fascinating. It’s a mix of Indian devotional music with electronic sounds and Hebrew lyrics.
I’ve been studying Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire
in the last few weeks and have been listening to Christine Schäfer’s recording with Pierre Boulez conducting the Ensemble Intercontemporain. Pierrot
is an incredible musical experience and is one of the most complicated pieces of that time. It is a challenge to communicate the extreme theatrical gestures in a comprehensive way, but this recording is so convincing. Boulez creates perfect balance, nuance and colour, and a clarity of expression.
Just a few days ago I came across a recording of a live concert from Verbier of Sergei Babayan playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25, with Joshua Weilerstein conducting the Verbier Festival Orchestra.
It’s an inspiring performance. Babayan plays with such elegance, spontaneity and rhythmic crispness. There was so much imagination and colour. Though Mozart concertos are notoriously difficult – the pianist is so exposed and every note matters – for me, there is nothing in the world like this music.
Roman Rabinovich gives six UK concerts in October, including dates at the Wigmore, Usher and Glasgow Royal concert halls