A fascinating conversation between Dr Hugh Mather and Pascal Nemirovski.But it was the recordings of his own performances in his formative years that were a revelation.Of course he encouraged us to listen to Cortot to show that there is no one way of playing the piano.As saying ‘thank you’,which the human voice can say with so many different inflections.The last word today was in fact given to the sublime voice of Janet Baker as an example of what we are all striving for.Listen ,listen ,listen was his message.In fact it was Shura Cherkassky after listening to the first recital of a complete series of the Beethoven Sonatas from a top prize winning pianist ,who turned to me and said I don’t think he is listening to himself!Just as Pascal charmingly told of Glenn Gould practicing with the vacuum cleaner on so he would have to strain to hear the musical sounds he was searching for on the piano.Of course Pascal touched on the subject of technique and the importance of correct posture that would not impede the energy from flowing through the fingers into the notes.But above all to think of the sound you are striving for before looking for the note on the keyboard.A fascinating conversation of great charm and ‘joie de vivre’ of an artist deeply in love with music and the idea of sharing this great love and experience with others.What better way to celebrate his extraordinary career than to hear five of his remarkable students ,three of whom have played on this very stage and Emanuil Ivanov ,winner of the 2018/19 Busoni Competition ,who will play on Valentine’s Day.
Pascal Nemirovski is recognized as one of the most sought-after piano pedagogues in the world with many of his students winning top international prizes (Leeds, Busoni, Ettlingen, YCA New York, YCAT London, BBC New Generation Artist…) and many of whom are now successful recording artists represented by major Concert Artist Management companies. These include Lise de la Salle, Louis Schwizgebel, Daniel Lebhardt, Mario Mora, Roman Kosyakov, Emanuil Ivanov, Edward Leung, Yi Zhong. He studied at the Juilliard School with Nadia Reisenberg and Adele Marcus from 1981 to 1984 on a full scholarship. Then he continued his studies in Paris with France Clidat and Alexis Weissenberg and gave concerts and masterclasses in Europe, the United States and Asia. He was a Piano Professor at the Royal Academy of Music from 2006 to 2017, and since 2015 has held the post of International Chair in Piano at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 