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GARY HOFFMAN // DAVID SELIG 19
Alain COCHARD: How did you begin working together?
David SELIG
: I received a phone call from Christian Ivaldi in the spring of 1986,
telling me, without giving me a name, that a very fine cellist participating in the
Rostropovich International Competition was looking for a pianist to accompany
him. I accepted; Gary then called me from the United States and arrived in Paris
for the competition. I still have very strong memories of the first time we played
together: the first movement of Brahms
Sonata No. 1
, with which we began
working. Everythingwas very fluid and natural. As we know, the competitionwent
very well for Gary (1) and we soon had other opportunities to perform in Paris and
elsewhere.
Gary HOFFMAN
: It is possible to play with everyone, but with David I felt from the
first moment that it was something else. We then became very close friends. In
our rehearsals we don’t decide ahead of time to do this or that. We start with the
music and decide naturally, instinctively.With David, I don’t second-guess myself, I
play—what could be better than that?