Ravel: Ivo Pogorelich, Film Van Dan Featherstone – Ivo Pogorelich

   in Piano International (Mar, 2016)
Filmed in 1983, and first aired shortly thereafter, this now acts as a frozen moment in time for the controversial pianist Ivo Pogorelich. At his finest, he could be great (a live Schumann Symphonic Etudes at the RFH proved that); but his interpretations were always controversial.

Right from the start we encounter his sense of self (‘You need to use your brains and your mind to go to my concert’), as he rebels about the notion of music as ‘entertainment’. His relationship with his late wife Aliza Kezeradze is on full display as we see their ‘agreed’ interpretation of Gaspard de la nuit in progress. Kezeradze studied with Siloti – himself …