LDV117

16 POULENC ∙ STRAVINSKY ∙ PROKOFIEV Could you say something about how you combine the sound of your two instruments? David Grimal: The pianist often has to wear velvet gloves, as it were, to be supportive and symbiotic. Some leading pianists are poor accompanists. I have sometimes played in concert with very great pianists, but lost a few litres of sweat to no avail, overpowered by the sound of the piano. The modern grand is more suited to the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto than to a recital with another instrument. On the other hand, some professional accompanists are not strong enough pianists, and in the big sonatas the piano part is more than just an accompaniment. That’s where all the subtlety and art of a musician like Itamar lies: the ability to get prodigious sounds out of his piano, while remaining within a balanced dialogue. Itamar Golan: David once came up to me at the interval of a concert in Bucharest and asked me if I wasn’t playing too loudly, and he was right! That’s the danger you run as a pianist: you can ‘kill’ a violinist. And then, as you get older, you grow a bit deaf, but you don’t even realise it and you start playing louder! (laughter) It’s not just a matter of volume, though: you have to complement each other. The sound of the violin must blossom on the soil laid down by the piano.