How do you listen to music most often?
I often listen in the car to NPR ( national public radio in the US) or dig up some cds from my decent-sized collection. YouTube is another favourite source. But I don’t listen to as much music as I’d like because I become completely absorbed in what I’m listening to when I do.
What was the last piece of music you bought?
The Age of Anxiety by Leonard Bernstein. I’m planning on learning it soon.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I have none! I don’t feel guilty about any music, as long as it’s good. But my husband would probably call me out on my 80’s music fetish. I just have some wonderful memories of that time of life and the music reminds me of what an insecure and vulnerable teenager I was.
If you found yourself with six months free to learn a new instrument, what would you choose?
The cello, and perhaps, voice.
Is applauding between movements acceptable?
I think the momentum of some performances is such that it is unnatural to ask the public to contain the impulse to express that release of tension. When it happens, I just smile, knowing that there is so much energy in a performance that I’m making someone happy.
What single thing would improve the format of the classical concert?
I like it when the piano is at the same level as the audience when I’m giving recitals. They are are meant to be intimate, and having the performer on an elevated stage continues to feed the illusion that we are on a different level - that an artist should be on a pedestal.
What’s been your most memorable live music experience as an audience member?
I remember hearing Boris Berezovsky play a recital at Wigmore Hall back in the 90s which was riveting. I had tears, goosebumps - everything. And of course, there’s Martha Argerich. I have had to leave the hall when hearing her play Schumann because I begin to sob out loud. Her Mozart is exquisite. So human and yet so perfect.
What was the first ever record you bought?
Oh God. Probably something I shouldn’t admit to! it might have been Boy George, or perhaps it was Wilhelm Kempff playing Beethoven Sonatas.
Do you enjoy musicals? Do you have a favourite?
I am afraid I suffer from musical-phobia. The idea of people speaking and breaking into song just doesn’t do it for me.
How many recordings of the Goldberg Variations do you own? Do you have a favourite?
Of course I have both versions of Gould’s Goldberg variations. I also own Andreas Staier’s version and Konstantin Lifschitz, which I also love. And let’s not forget the unorthodox version by Uri Caine, which is very interesting.
Which conductor of yester-year do you most wish you could have worked with?
Bernstein. I think he was an all-around genius performer and composer.
Which non-classical musician would you love to work with?
I’d love to improvise with Bobby McFerrin, and invite Esperanza Spalding to join us.
Imagine you’re a festival director here in London with unlimited resources. What would you programme - or commission - for your opening event?
I recently saw the most moving play called Labio de Liebre in Bogota. It’s about revenge and forgiveness and is both funny and poignant. It would be the perfect opener to a festival which dealt with compassion and not being invisible and unempathetic in this world.
What do you sing in the shower?
I don’t sing. I play the piano. I have a 24-hour radio in my head - the best thing about this is that it’s waterproof and needs no batteries.
Gabriela Montero performs in Cardiff on 30 June, at the Cheltenham Festival on 7 July and at the Wigmore Hall on 10 July.
