15 Questions to Catherine Gordeladze

Hi! How are you? Where are you?
I am fine, thank you. Right now I live in Frankfurt, Germany.


What´s on your schedule right now?
At the moment I’m preparing to several piano recitals in Germany. On May 5th I´ll be awarded the special prize (Bruno-Heck prize 2004/2005) in Nuremberg by the Konrad – Adenauer – Foundation, In summer I will play with violinist David Garrett at Schloss Elmau  Festival (Germany). A new CD production featuring Bach and Ligeti will soon be available, and in a few months I´ll be going as orchestral soloist on tour to Singapore.


If you hadn´t chosen for music, what do you think you would do right now?
It is hard for me to imagine to have become anything else but a pianist. Already at the age of six I had decided that this would become my profession. As a teenager there was a time when I was thoroughly impressed by dramatic art. Then I went to the theatre practically every night. So maybe becoming an actress could have been an alternative.


What or who was your biggest influence as an artist?
This has varied a lot during my life. Of course I have been influenced by different pianists, but also vocalists have fascinated me. They can teach you a lot concerning breathing and  phrasing.


What´s the hardest part about being a musician and what´s the best?
For me musicians can really consider themselves lucky because they are part of the universe. This reminds me of R. Schumann who wrote that the artist´s profession is sending light into the depths of the human heart. What can be more rewarding than this?


What´s your view on the classical music scene at present? Is there a crisis?
Always classical music has been a privilege that has mostly been enjoyed by a crowd of privileged people in concert halls. Therefore, one cannot really talk about a crisis.


Some feel there is no need to record classical music any more, that it´s all been done before. What do you tell them?
Today we certainly suffer from a flood of recordings, sometimes almost an inflation. Yet, works of music that artistically speaking are highly qualified will always raise attention, no matter how often they have been recorded.


What constitutes a good live performance in your opinion? What´s your approach to performing on stage?
A good live performance should consist of a certain control combined with artistic freedom in order to create an atmosphere of many different facets onstage that will leave the audience spell-bound and make them participate.


What does the word “interpretation” mean to you?
For me interpretation is something very creative – a good synthesis of thorough knowledge of the work, intensity of expression and spontaneity. I deem it very important that an interpretation has a personal note where a continues search and new reflections repeat themselves. Celibidache once said how many times the word “no” and “not” appeared at rehearsals. A million times. Whereas only one “yes” exists.


True or false: It is the duty of an artist to put his personal emotions into the music he plays.
True.


True or false:”Music is my first love”.
True, but it is a long and difficult way until music also falls in love with you. Only a few succeed.


True or false: People need to be educated about classical music, before they can really appreciate it.
True, but this does not mean that people who have not had a musical education cannot experience classical music and be sensitive to it.


You are given the position of artistic director of a concert hall. What would be on your program for this season?
I would prefer a combination of chamber music, piano recital, song recital, orchestral/choir music performed by interesting artistic personalities. I want  to include Bach’s Matthäus Passion by all means.


What´s your favourite classical CD at the moment?
The piano quintets by Brahms and Dvoˆrák with Rubinstein and Guarneri quartet.


Have you ever tried playing a different instrument? If yes, how good were you at it?
Harpsichord and Hammerclavier. I enjoy to play these instruments.


Discography:
Bach: Goldberg Variationen/ Händel: Suite No. 5 (1998)

Homepage:
Catherine Gordeladze