LDV80

THÉO FOUCHENNERET 23 You need other musicians. You have to experience this music with them . . . Take the example of the sforzando , an accent that cannot be translated into words: if you haven’t heard what it sounds like on a string instrument, you can’t really understand what it is. Everyone has his or her own path with Beethoven. When you talk about it with other people, it’s extremely nourishing and enriching. Who are your benchmarks or your mentors? I’ve been very influenced by Wilhelm Kempff. There’s an extraordinary video of him (you can see it on YouTube) where he talks about the ‘Hammerklavier’ before playing it. Edifying. I like the work of Jean-Frédéric Neuburger in Beethoven very much. András Schiff’s readings have fascinated me too. Of course, it all depends on the repertory. Michelangeli’s perfectionism affects me deeply – that urge to push an idea as far as it will go, to do all you can to execute it. He didn’t touch on the whole repertory, but everything he did was done to the very best of his ability. Richter, on the other hand, did touch on everything. To have so wide a repertory is simply extraordinary. Until a very advanced age, his approach was one of open- mindedness and discovery. For me he remains a model of how to live one’s life and of professional ethics.. Do you listen to music? What kind, and in what way? Yes, I love listening to music and discovering new things. I don’t necessarily listen to what I’m playing at the moment, and I like hidden gems. I enjoy listening to new albums by friends and colleagues. Sound recording, even in its dematerialised form, is still an incredible object, which allows one to achieve something of a very high standard. Recording continues to live.