Soloist chamber musicians

We heard you recently perform Beethoven in several concerts. Not long ago, in connection with a performance in the Liszt Academy of the composer’s entire piano concertos, you said that from the aspect of your musical career Beethoven is at the moment the most relevant composer. What exactly did you mean and how is this relevance manifest?

It is true that at the moment Beethoven is an extremely important composer in my life – perhaps the most important alongside Schumann. I’ve always admired him, but in the past three or four years he has become of defi ning signifi cance for me. I’m playing a huge amount of his work, lots of piano sonatas and virtually all his chamber works, not to mention the piano concertos. Three years ago, when after a long break I fi rst returned to the Marlboro Festival in the US, one of the works that I dealt with over four whole weeks was Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70. During this month my relationship with the composer deepened considerably, and I remember I spent much time listening to the string quartets as well. I was captivated by the diversity of Beethoven and the astounding development apparent in the unbroken progression from the Piano Trios, Op. 1 – which are perfect pieces, revealing the reserves and character of the young composer in their entirety – to the late works. I discovered his earlier works relatively late; initially I was more interested in the so-called “middle period”. Now I feel very close to the early works, for example, the Piano Trios, Op. 1, the Piano Concerto in B-fl at major, or the Sonata in E-fl at major, Op. 7. It is possible to discern in these works an incredible diversity, each one is its own separate world.

Beethoven’s piano trios frequently demand a level of technical preparation similar to that of the piano concertos. Which genre represents the greater challenge?

From a pianist’s point of view the Beethoven trios are extremely demanding works, although it is likely that violinists and cellists would say the same about their own parts. But I think it is important to emphasize that in general composers wrote the piano parts in their chamber music compositions with exactly the same demands as in, for instance, their piano concertos. So chamber works, contrary to the generally held belief, are in no way easier than concertos. Beethoven always approached the instrument with the same generosity and all his works provide pianists with incredible opportunities.

Do similar aspects of origin have any significance from the viewpoint of the performance and musical interpretation?

The origins of a work are always extremely interesting and this also goes for the background to the composer’s dedications. In the case of the works dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, this gesture is all the more relevant – it is enough to consider the “Les Adieux” Sonata. In general I think that an awareness of every piece of information, letter and primary historical document serves to intensify the performer’s relation to the given work, which then makes its presence felt in a performance.

What place do Beethoven’s trios occupy in the literature of piano trios?

In the trio genre, the quality of Beethoven’s output is even great and he innovated (albeit with multiple links to the past). I think Haydn’s infl uence is felt more strongly than Mozart’s in Beethoven, and I also feel in concert programmes that Haydn and Beethoven works interact well with each other, whereas I wouldn’t necessarily say the same about Mozart and Beethoven. Of course, this is all very subjective. I feel that the musical language of the Beethoven trios is rooted in and developed from Haydn works, quickly finding its own way. Besides this, it is also interesting to observe how strongly Beethoven infl uenced later composers; I sometimes feel he carried within him and prefi gured fragments of the music of certain composers who came after. It is enough to consider the “Schubert sound” of the Piano Trio in E-fl at major, Op. 70, or focus on the frequently perceptible infl uence that Beethoven had on Schumann. To my ear, for example, the Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 101 unambiguously points in the direction of Schumann’s music.

Dénes Várjon (Photo: Liszt Academy / Balázs Mohai)

Many consider the genre of piano trio one of the culminations of chamber music. What is the reason for this and what makes the genre so special?

It is a great joy and at the same time a challenge to play a piano trio. In this formation the role of the three instruments is in a special equilibrium: all three performers have to fi ll the roles of both “soloist” and “chamber musician” so from this aspect it is very diff erent to a string quartet, for example.

In spring 2016, you will form a trio in the Liszt Academy together with András Keller and Miklós Perényi. How does the joint concept come about in connection with the performance of works when we are talking about such a serious enterprise?

I have been playing music with András Keller and Miklós Perényi – in the most varied of formations – for decades. We have had countless joint concerts, sonata recitals, piano quartets, quintets and a few trio concerts as well, so we know each other very well. Of course, András and Miklós play together a lot without me. I am very much looking forward to both the concerts and the rehearsals. I hope it will be a very exciting period for all concerned.

Anna Belinszky