You recorded K. 380 and K. 526. Can you explain this choice please.
The decision was made by Gérard Poulet. I was happy to accept his suggestion.

When I compare your interpretation with others, I can hear that, in your case, the piano playing is more closely tied to the violin. Even when they are in dialogue, both instruments speak the same language. As a pianist, you seem to take the violin by the hand and wander happily together. Am I right in thinking this?
For me, the most important thing in chamber music is a sense of complicity—a shared flexible interpretation among the performers in terms of musical language, character, and dialogue.

Would you like to explain your approach to these sonatas more generally?
My highest priority is spontaneity in expression and a balance between melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, and structural domains.

As a pianist, you might be most familiar with Mozart’s sonatas, piano concertos, or chamber music. But in which genre was he particularly successful and accomplished?
Mozart composed in every genre of his time, creating masterpieces in each—operas, church music, dances, orchestral music, and, of course, chamber music and piano music.  It is tempting to view his piano concertos and operas as the pinnacle of his art, but how can one overlook his string quintets, clarinet music, wind serenades, and concert arias…

You have always been a Mozart performer and you received the Golden Mozart Medal from the Mozarteum in Salzburg. What does Mozart mean to you for your work and your life?
Mozart is the master of characterization, the Shakespeare of music. He doesn’t judge his characters in his operas; he portrays them as they are, a reflection of their true nature, enabling each personage to appeal to the spectator. We know full well that Don Giovanni is a monster, but when he invites us to his party, we want to go! And Mozart’s piano concertos are operas without words.

But you don’t limit yourself to Mozart, since your repertoire is very broad. Any favorites there?
Johann Sebastian Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Fauré, Debussy, Stravinsky, Dutilleux, John Harbison, Yehudi Wyner among others.

You are now a veteran in music performance. Do you think it’s easier for young musicians to launch a career today than it was when you were young, or is it actually the opposite?
It’s getting harder and harder. On the one hand, because the emphasis on virtuosity overshadows the depth of musical expression, and musical education is less comprehensive than it used to be.  Where are the Cortots, the Edwin Fischers, the Rubinsteins, the Serkins, the Curzons, the Solomons, the Yves Nats, the Perlemuters, the Samson François, the Robert Casadesus, the Michelangelis, the Brendels, the Backhauses, the Kempffs, the Gilels, the Richters, the Horowitzes, and others of our time?  The staggering number of musicians raises the question: is there room in our current society for all these musicians? Today’s values prioritize the technical aspect of the craft, speed over substance. Music is not a sport; it must move us, reveal the truths of existence to us, and inspire us by presenting challenges.  There is a moral dimension to art that risks being erased by superficial criteria.  But at any moment, great artists emerge who take our breath away and transform our perspectives, so we must remain optimistic!

Nach 200 Jahren ergänzt Robert Levin drei Mozart-Sätze zu einem Trio