AllaboutClassical Interviews Piano Virtuoso Dimitris Sgouros
Ahmed Bassiouny from allaboutclassical.com had the opportunity to interview the famous pianist and virtuoso, Mr. Dimitris Sgouros.
We chose two topics for this interview. The first is about his relationship with the piano. The second revolves around the question of interpretation.
What is it that made the piano -of the entire instruments- special to you? What made you prefer it to other instruments?
This is something that just happened, because my mother had a piano at home! After I began taking piano lessons from the age of 6, very soon this became my passion, and I never even wanted to try another instrument at the professional level.
What are the compositions that hold a special place in your heart or you have had special moments with?
Of course, without any doubt this would have to be the Piano Concerto No 3 of Sergei Rachmaninoff, with which I made my USA debut at the age of 12 (April 1982) under the baton of that great man and musical giant Mstislav Rostropovich and the NSO of Washington DC – this was a spectacular success in every way. And it was also the reason I was asked by EMI to record that very same concerto, with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1984. They are of course a very special and unique orchestra, and it just so happened to be their first ever recording of this piano concerto.
Every young pianist has a sort of ‘idol pianist’, who was your ‘idol pianist’?
Yes, I had my fair share of idols. First of all my Professor at the Athens Conservatory and a top soloist, the late Mrs Maria Herogiorgou-Sigara. Sviatoslav Richter, Horowitz, and Franz Liszt also loomed large in my pianistic firmament. But Martha Argerich and Vladimir Ashkenazy were also my favourite pianists and still are. I try to listen widely and there are many other pianists I admire as well.
What about non-piano music you admire? Have you thought of transcribing these to your native instrument, the piano?
I have a particular liking for Greek popular music – especially the traditional music from the villages in the mountaintops, where my father’s family have their roots. And also some Greek “rebetiko style” music (which can be quite old-fashioned) I like to enjoy with my friends and companions from time to time. I have no intention of transcribing those for the piano (at least, not for public performance).
Mr. Sgouros, you are known for your unique interpretations, even in relatively standard works. Can you tell us more about the process of forming your concept of a piece?
When I see a score for the first time, and let’s say I already know this music from another interpreter, or others that I respect, I first read it through from the beginning to the end, but without any piano – either whilst seated at a table, or even on my bed! Then, I leave it, either I’m sleeping or going for a walk, depending on the amount of time I spent studying the score beforehand. After that, I’ll be seated at my piano and will play the score through from beginning to end. In most cases, I can play it technically perfect the first time through, and in tempo.I only stop if I find some difficulties in the fingering, and will repeat those passages. After that, I’ll play through the piece once more and that’s all. I will have memorized the piece forever. Nevertheless, before I decide to perform it on stage, I give myself enough time, even months sometimes. During which time, I will continually refine the interpretation in my head.
How do you balance the struggle every pianist faces between conservatism and uniqueness in interpretation?
I’m not able to analyse it with words, in my case, it just comes! It is a question of experience, learning, tradition, intuition, good taste, etc.
Does listening to various recordings of a piece affect your interpretative decisions of a piece?
For sure, some interpretations from various recordings will also affect my interpretation of the same piece. But all the time, I am striving to be true to my own self, and I will only be satisfied when elements of my “self” are wholly merged into the interpretation, and only after that, do I start to feel mature enough and really ready to embrace this piece and start performing it.
After the pianist surpasses the technical difficulties the work requires, what do you think the other difficulties that the pianist faces in execution or performance of a work?
I trust that I already gave you answers to this with what I said before. But thankfully, believe it or not, I have never so far encountered technical problems or difficulties, ever since I began playing the piano, or for any compositions! And here, I wish to point out something, which you didn’t ask me, but for years now I wanted to express – when I started to become a famous name and a star, from the age of 10 to 12 - reporters, reviewers, and critics, wanted to know, how many hours I was practicing each day and at each of my performances I was routinely asked about that.
So, in the beginning, I told the truth which was that up until the age of 12, I used to spend on my piano a great amount of hours daily. But not practicing the piano so much, as expanding my repertoire to encompass a large number of concertos with orchestra, chamber music works, and solo piano pieces. I did not have to work (hardly at all) on those pieces as far as “learning” them or memorizing. After the age of 12, the only thing I really had to do, was to “refresh” any of those works which I was called upon to perform subsequently a day or two later. Then only, do I practice on stage by myself (if it was a piano recital) or with the orchestra.
But in the meantime, I never did touch the piano! I have this facility, of being able to practice in my head, this means that I am practicing all the time, but rarely at the piano. This happens even unconsciously, I suppose you can say it is a gift that I was born with.
However, when people heard me say this, some of them were thinking, that I was exaggerating, or lying, or that nobody like this could possibly be a good pianist. And they would write that in their reviews or critiques and mislead the public!
After that experience, I stopped saying anything about my real way of “practicing”, or the amount of time spent on the piano, instead giving only the standard reply: “I practice... as much as I need!”
Maybe because I never had any need to practice at the piano, this is (was) the reason, I always had enough time for myself, to attend a normal school, and yet at the same time studying different languages, traveling for my studies to the Royal Academy of Music in London, attending mathematics lessons at St Peter’s College in Oxford University, whilst at the same time building and extending my career in all the 5 continents! This is the truth and I’m happy that now I can tell it at last!
And this is the difference between me and the majority of great interpreters, mostly young persons, close to my age, who have to spend hours and hours practicing and practicing again and again the same piece till the last moment before their performance on stage!But of course this is the norm.
What happens when you, the soloist, strongly disagree with the conductor over things like tempo?
So far, during the 2,500 performances I have done, during the 30 years of my career… the period May 1977 – May 2007 spanned 30 years of performing…. this means that during 2007, I celebrated 30 years of my international career… and at least, half of those engagements were with orchestra, and never did I have strong disagreements with any conductors. Maybe because some of them “liked” my interpretive ideas, even if they were a bit different they were prepared to present something new or unique to the audience, and in many cases they trusted… my instinct. Or in other cases, I was willing to “go” with their suggestions or advice. So it is a co-operative process.
To give you one example, I gave two performances of the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3 with the renowned Maestro Lorin Maazel and the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Bavaria. In the first performance, according to his demand, the tempi were slower than those I am normally accustomed to, something which I consented to. In the second performance, he permitted me to play the concerto at the faster tempi which is my usual preference. But both performances were a success, and audience and critics alike acclaimed the two distinct interpretations!
In other words, I usually enjoy an excellent collaboration with any conductor, but each time for different artistic reasons.
One last question please
One last question Mr.Sgouros, for piano students and amateurs everywhere:
As someone who mastered the piano at a very early age, do you think there is a chance for proficiency in piano for late-starters?
One thing I can say for sure is that there are no “barriers” to age in any art, including music, or even for other disciplines like the sciences. But for an older person, I’m afraid that the time remaining to them to be accepted by the establishment and making a career for themselves (if we are speaking for a soloist) will be insufficient. Of course, for a teacher, it doesn’t matter.
And in connection with this final question you have asked me, let me say, that I can never forget what the legendary Artur Rubinstein told me, when he invited me to his apartment in Geneva, to play for him at the end of 1982. He said to me… “when I was your age, I was not able to play as you are doing now… but God gave me long life in order to establish and prove my talent. I only started to work seriously on the piano after my 19th birthday, and I became accepted and recognized from that time onwards….”
Thanks for your time Mr.Sgouros. It was a pleasure talking to you.
