… and musically challenging, such as Poulenc’s Piano Sonata for Four Hands, Stravinsk’y Rite of Spring and works by Rachmaninoff and Messiaen. Some of the greatest pianists of the 20th century have enjoyed the very special relationship of the piano duet, including Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboin, Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia, and Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick, the great British piano duo from an earlier era. The Labèque sisters, Katia and Marielle, are the most famous piano duo in the world. They have created a foundation to commission new works for piano duo and orchestra, in …

… t listen to it that much,’ he says, ‘but it’s good to have this window into another world.’ Credit: http://www.classictoulouse.com/He regularly listens to recordings of his colleagues’ work, and has a long list of inspirations, including Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Radu Lupu, András Schiff, Yuja Wang, and Kirill Gerstein. ‘It gets kind of stressful, that’s why I listen to lots of other pianists. There are so many versions of every piece that you play that you have to keep up with what’s been said about …

… stands between the musical score on her stand and the audience in the hall. She plays to deliver the message of the composer to the audience. She always feels that the music, and therefore the composer, must always be higher than herself. We talked about influential performers and she said the list was so long: Claudio Arrau, Annie Fischer, Murray Perahia, and Radu Lupu were just a few of the pianists she held in esteem. The availability of rare recordings on Spotify and YouTube was of importance in training one’s ears. When asked if she had any advice

… Kreisleriana… For listening, I particularly enjoy Mozart’s concertos. I find them refreshing and rejuvenating in their spirit and depth. Who are your favourite musicians? Grigory Sokolov, Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida, Radu Lupu… among others. What is your most memorable concert experience? To be honest with you, I don’t remember or recall my past concert experiences. Each of them were unique, a conversation with the artists who were performing. But if I had to say, a performance of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in B-flat, D960, by Claude Frank. What do you consider to be …

… through my childhood, my parents took me to concerts, often featuring the piano. As a consequence, I heard the big warhorses of the piano repertoire performed by many of the “great pianists” of what is now a bygone age, though many are still alive – Alfred Brendel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia and John Lill, amongst others. I loved the music and the whole experience of the concert – the venue, the plush seats, the hushed reverential atmosphere and the special clothes the performers wore. In my teens, I dreamt of being a concert pianist, but my sensible self …

… Golberg Variations in 1981. Compare this with his youthful recording, and one hears more breathing space and thoughtfulness in the music. It is perhaps this insight and profundity that one seeks in going to hear performers such as John Lill, Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Murray Perahia, Maria Joao Pires and Radu Lupu, all now "senior" musicians who have spent a lifetime in music. But of course now and then one comes across a young performer whose playing leaves one utterly awestruck and keen for more: one such performer is Daniil Trifonov, who already displays an extraordinarily mature approach …

… he was giving recitals with the 11-year-old violinist Mischa Elman, and was touring Germany at age 16. By his mid-thirties, he was teaching at the Moscow Conservatory and from that position, taught the greatest of the 20th-century Russian pianists, including Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Tikhon Khrennikov, Radu Lupu, and Nina Svetlanova, among many others. The result of his work was the 1958 book The Art of Piano Playing, which has become the standard work in the field. His playing is recognized for its high level of artistic refinement and clarity of playing that made him stand …

… was about the quality, rather than the quantity, of the concerts. We were very careful in selecting what to play, who to play with.’ Sunwook Kim - Bach : Partita No.1 in B flat major, BWV 825 The Leeds competition has seen the likes of András Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida, and Radu Lupu all claiming the winning prize - but it was their continuing successes afterwards that defined their reputations. ‘Winning a competition isn’t enough - they’ve all had to prove they’re thoughtful musicians. It’s not just about showing off. When you win a …