Imri Talgam

RIP Maurizio Pollini. His musical personality was an enormous inspiration for me, with a singular combination of intellectual rigor and passionate virtuosity. It’s largely thanks to his recordings and advocacy of avant-garde works that I became interested in contemporary music. I remember listening repeatedly to his CD of Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Boulez, and Webern, astonished that such difficult music could be performed with the same clarity and detail that he brought to interpretations of earlier classical works. I know many other pianists of my generation feel this way- in many ways, Pollini’s recordings showed us how we could challenge the classical music world by advocating and commissioning new works and present these alongside traditional works. In moments of doubt about the significance of being a performing musician, Pollini’s example is a reminder of the impact a committed performer can have on many other people.

Pierre Boulez - Piano Sonata no. 2 (1947-48) Deuxième sonate pour piano (1947-48) [Piano Sonata no. 2]Composer: Pierre Boulez (1925 - 2016)Performer: Maurizio Pollini0:00 I. Extrêmement rapide6:01 II. L...