{"id":13734,"date":"2025-10-13T07:58:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T07:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/?p=13734"},"modified":"2025-10-13T14:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T14:43:13","slug":"boris-giltburgs-big-season-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/articles\/boris-giltburgs-big-season-in-germany-13734\/","title":{"rendered":"Boris Giltburg\u2019s Big Season in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boris Giltburg is set for a remarkable season across Germany, performing with top orchestras in Essen, Dresden, Frankfurt, and Leipzig. In this wide-ranging interview with Eric Schoones, the pianist reflects on his deep connection to Rachmaninoff, the emotional depths of Beethoven, and his upcoming exploration of Bach\u2019s Well-Tempered Clavier\u2014a new \u201cfinal frontier\u201d in his artistic journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The charismatic Boris Giltburg, who opened the new season with the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra under Jun M\u00e4rkl, is this year\u2019s artist in residence at the Dresden Philharmonic. Later in the season, in February 2026, he will make his debut with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, perform with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra on 26 May, and give two further concerts under Roderick Cox in Duisburg in June. Meanwhile, he continues his acclaimed complete recording of Rachmaninoff\u2019s piano works.<\/p>\n

It is clear that Boris Giltburg has a strong presence in Germany, but anyone who knows the artist knows there is much more to come. We spoke on an early July morning when Giltburg joined me from his home in London, full of energy and in good spirits as always.<\/p>\n

You have been playing with the Dresden Philharmonic for several years. <\/em>
\nI have given individual concerts with them over several seasons, and now we are starting a larger project with part of their core repertoire\u2014Beethoven, Mozart, but also Gershwin, Prokofiev\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 1, and Ravel\u2019s Concerto for the Left Hand. It was a joint decision to explore a wide range of genres, and I am very much looking forward to playing a recital in Dresden as well.<\/p>\n

Rachmaninoff composed his magical, albeit somewhat neglected, First Sonata in this place… <\/em>
\nI have just recorded it and will also perform it there. I think it is overshadowed by the second sonata, which is more compact and has a more immediate appeal. The first sonata invites you to immerse yourself and discover, while the second simply sweeps you away. I learned the first during the pandemic and love it very much.<\/p>\n

Rachmaninoff once revealed that it was inspired by Faust and contains three musical portraits: Faust himself, Gretchen, and Mephistopheles. He later removed all of this from the official programme\u2014I disagree with that completely. Even in the final version, the parallels to Faust are unmistakable, in my opinion. Especially in the finale, you can go through Goethe\u2019s text almost scene by scene and see how it is reflected in the music. The ending is also fascinating. Goethe\u2019s Faust I ends with Gretchen\u2019s redemption, but Rachmaninoff\u2019s sonata follows the earlier version of the legend, which ends in damnation.<\/p>\n

In Dresden, Rachmaninoff seems to have been inspired by church bells, a recurring motif in his music. <\/em>
\nIndeed, but for me the most important thing to know is that he was happy there. From his letters we know how unhappy he often was in other places, but his Dresden letters, especially those to close friends, are full of warmth and domestic details. One of my favourite stories is how he bought a sofa that turned out to be the wrong one. The salesman wouldn\u2019t take it back, so Rachmaninoff had to get a solicitor involved! It just shows what a normal, approachable person he was.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a shame that the house where he lived in Dresden no longer exists. <\/em>
\nIndeed, but we are fortunate to have his house near Lucerne, Villa Senar. It is fantastic, and the piano there is incredible. I have played it\u2014it was not only his grand piano, it is truly one of the best instruments I have ever touched. We have many exciting projects this year, but the performance of the first sonata in Dresden is sure to be something very special.<\/p>\n

You recently selected a new piano for the hall in Dresden at Steinway in Hamburg. How do you go about such a search? <\/em>
\nI look for something that appeals to me at first touch\u2014let\u2019s call it heart, warmth, colour, personality, soul. Of course, it\u2019s also a big responsibility, because the piano represents the hall and will be played by many other artists. Dresden already has two excellent Steinways, so we tried to find a truly remarkable instrument\u2014clearly a 21st-century piano, but in the best sense of the word. It has a pure sound, enormous responsiveness, and incredible power.<\/p>\n

Speaking of power, sometimes orchestras are a little too loud for piano concertos. Don\u2019t you think? <\/em>
\nYes, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever had the opposite problem of an orchestra being too quiet! Orchestras are used to a large symphonic repertoire and naturally produce a rich, full sound. They also know their hall better than you do when you\u2019re a guest artist. In my experience, the more time you spend in a hall, the easier it is to adapt. If I have to choose between power and beautiful sound, I choose the sound quality. I don\u2019t want to argue with the orchestra. If necessary, I ask the conductor for help in balancing the dynamics.<\/p>\n

You recently completed your cycle of Beethoven sonatas at London\u2019s Wigmore Hall.<\/em>
\nThat\u2019s right. Both the 2020 recordings and last season\u2019s live cycle have changed my life, albeit in different ways. For me, Beethoven has evolved from a composer I deeply admired (and perhaps also feared a little) to one of my closest companions in music. This season, I will perform the cycle again in Brussels, Valencia, and Santiago de Chile, and perhaps other cities will be added. I think I will play these sonatas for the rest of my life. 2027 will mark another major Beethoven anniversary, the 200th anniversary of his death, and after the Wigmore cycle, I know the pieces better than ever before. Discovering new things in them is an endless process; it\u2019s like an inexhaustible source. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have these works in my life.<\/p>\n