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How would you describe your approach to music?
It is a path that teaches us the link between interiority and exteriority and between the visible and invisible world. Sounds and their connection to create harmony are a mirror of our soul.
How does it feel to know that more than 4,174,251 listeners have greatly appreciated your latest album SINGING THE NOCTURNES?
My aim has always been to share classical music with the greatest number of people, because it is the gateway for all of us to what we carry inside our hearts which is something very very big and absolutely mysterious. A space of inviolable freedom.
What do you want fans to take from your music?
Consolation, hope and the discovery of their inner world
Could you tell us about your teaching method that you have developed in more than 40 years of hard work?
My Resonnance Pedagogy is based on a listening approach that allows both phrasing and gesture to find and experience the unity of a music composition. You can find all the practical examples on my masterclasses website: https://elizabethsombartmasterclasses.com/
How and where students and piano lovers can access your lessons and master classes?
We have created our masterclass platform after years of research and in-depth studies. We want to give our best to those who sign up. The uniqueness of our platform in the international educational world is that in addition to the online part, it offers individual face-to-face courses three times a year at the Resonnance Foundation in Switzerland, because nothing can ever replace the living experience of playing. The direct contact with the breath and the use of the body by the piano player is something that can only be transmitted live. We combine technology and tradition to give the highest quality to all pianists around the world who want to access our courses.
What would you like to convey to the young generation of pianists?
I hope that the keys to teaching my pedagogy, which is based on the “phenomenology of sound” and gesture, allow students to discover the direct link between their emotional world and music, to overcome their fears and find unity. Unity which does not mean uniformity. This is a very important concept.
How does it feel to be defined by many music critics around the world as “a living piano legend”?
The requirement that has been my driving force since I was a little girl is enriched by the desire not to disappoint and to always open up my level of consciousness and listening so that sounds become music. I’m so grateful with all my heart to all those who have supported me and vibrate with me to create wonder in classical music.
How do you feel about being among the favorites in the Best Classical Instrumental Album section at the next Grammy Awards?
I am immensely grateful because the members of the jury are all recognized artists, a light and a knowledge that allows classical music not to disappear. Their mission is fundamental because their competence and wisdom is unique.
Are you working on new recording projects? Would you like to talk about them if you can?
After recording the 5 Beethoven concertos in 2019, I have the immense privilege of starting the recording of a new series of Mozart concertos. Getting into Mozart’s work is a great challenge for any pianist. It is about revealing the senses of the palette of feelings through the greatest variety of touch without rubato but in the breath so Mozart will not be mechanical. As Pablo Picasso said: “it took me 90 years to rediscover the child in me”. This is precisely what Mozart offers us as a gift.
How do you imagine the future of classical music?
Classical Music is in danger, which is why a prestigious institution like the Grammy Awards is a guarantee that it will not disappear and allows to legitimize all those who against all odds are engaged in the defense of Classical Music. The urgency is to save this priceless and unique heritage in the history of humanity that the repertoire of classical music represents.
