“It’s dangerous if you become famous overnight.” - Jean-Yves Thibaudet

[@tmlavenz]

Jean-Yves was playing a concert series in Vail Colorado in 2002. That year my mother and I both were battling cancer illnesses. I was 16 and had lymphoma. The Make-A-Wish Foundation arranged for my family to attend and also to spend one afternoon with the headliner, Jean-Yves Thibaudet. It was so very kind of him to make room for us during his busy schedule in the middle of a concert series. I was a piano player, but I was never aspiring to be great like him; I stumbled nervously through some silly piece. I felt at one point I was wasting his time, but he was kind and gave a brief music lesson. What he says about caring about the audience is genuine. A real artist giving joy to people going through difficult times. It was a pleasure to watch this interview and remember those times.

[@LivingtheClassicalLife]

What a wonderful experience! Thank you for sharing, Timothy Lavenz!

[@smurf902]

Interesting that Make a wish brought you to something artistic. We had an account with them and nearly ALWAYS, they stopped at, of all places, Victoria's secret. I'm like why is an 8 year old girl who is dying going to get lingerie? It's clearly the mother using up the child's time to do things they want but instead for themselves. Disgusting and inappropriate. Great that you went for something artistic.

[@christinaannabel]

Many of the finest pianists are also wonderful people, including Thibaudet. They share graciously through both their music and their lives.

[@jwilliams8210]

Great interview! And Jean-Yves Thibaudet seems to be a wonderful musician and human being!

[@republiccooper]

Jean Yves Thibaudet seems like a nice person. Such an amazing pianist!

[@republiccooper]

His English is sooooo good.

[@timotot123]

Jean Yve was very open and generous with his time. Lovely guy

[@wotan10950]

Thibaudet’s story about Renee Fleming is interesting - she looks for one person in the audience who seems most focused. The actor Al Pacino told of how he would enter the stage when the lights went out, and look for a set of eyes that seemed most interested. One night, he found a pair of eyes burning through him, and he geared his performance to those eyes. When the lights went up, he sought out that person, and found that the eyes were of a Seeing Eye Guide Dog. Amazing story.

[@keybawd4023]

Almost as believable as Pacino's stage acting.

[@LaDivinaLover]

Thank you for the good laugh!! I needed that Al Pacino is definitely a character too bad it’s usually not the right one at the right time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@marxmovies6607]

Jean-Yves Thibaudet is as generous and as fantastic as he means for Arthur Rubinstein. Thank you Sir.

[@pianomanhere]

Jean-Yves Thibaudet is truly a great pianist. Several years ago I heard him playing the piano part of Messiaen's "Turangalîla Symphonie." Even in that performance, his interpretation was a burst of fresh energy, without bravado or iconoclasm and grounded in the knowledge that that work is not a piano concerto. Thanks, Zsolt, for another great interview. I love this series. 💝🎇🏋🎹

[@LivingtheClassicalLife]

Thanks for watching, pianomanhere!

[@clydeblair9622]

I had the privilege to chat with Jean-Yves bringing him from the hotel to a recital at the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. He absolutely channelled Liszt that evening.

[@PianoMeSasha]

looks like Liberace, plays like Ashkenazy, Richter, etc. his Satie recording is fabulous...

[@katehunt8029]

What an enjoyable interview! Thank you for the questions and the interesting answers. Thibaudet comes over as a very inspiring musician and person.

[@Tenorgeiger]

Wonderful interpretation of Dario Marianelli’s music for the film Pride and Prejudice.

[@seanemmettfullerton]

Thank you, Zsolt. These interviews are incredible! And yes yes yes to this idea of only playing masterworks which one loves... this is hugely important, if only for the amount of time and energy that these works demand of us.

[@LivingtheClassicalLife]

Thanks for watching, Sean Fullerton!

[@leoinsf]

Fantastic interview! Jean-Yves is so talented a pianist it is obvious that he works very hard to sustain this. When he says "I love to practice and learn new things about the pieces I play", we have the reason why he is such a virtuoso and so above the music he plays. His performance of the "Khachaturian Piano Concerto" is a miracle waiting to be experienced.

[@PeterHobbs]

Thanks for watching, Leo Catalano!

[@hastensavoir7782]

Too bad I know someone who won’t practice so much unless he is “payed”.

[@alkanista]

I haven't always loved everything I've heard from Thibaudet, but I did hear him once do a book of Debussy preludes that not only mesmerized us in the audience, but also was some of the finest piano playing I've ever heard. I'm so grateful for that experience - thank you Mr. Thibaudet.

[@luckystarpiano]

What a moving and inspiring interview ❤️🙏🏻

[@LivingtheClassicalLife]

Thanks for watching, Kariné Poghosyan!

[@789armstrong]

Thibaudet has made some benchmark recordings with Ashkenazy conducting, that never got the credit they deserved due to incompetent critics. Namely his version of Rachmaninoff's 3rd Concerto which is among the top 10 greatest ever.

[@ulengrau6357]

Thanks for new suggestion. I'll go check it out.

[@789armstrong]

Also on the same disc is Rachmaninoff's 1st piano Concerto with Thibaudet as soloist, and in the last movement, Ashkenazy is one of the few conductors that lets you hear the triangle keeping the beat while the piano plays 'staccatisimo' , truly breathtaking. Rachmaninoff was inspired by the triangle in Liszts 1st piano Concerto which he was playing publicly when he revised his own 1st piano Concerto.

[@freakytea2815]

I have to wonder how much of that is due to his somewhat flamboyant appearance clashing with the rather conservative classical music world. Whatever the reason, it's a shame he isn't more well known.

[@789armstrong]

@@freakytea2815 Thibaudet's CD 'Conversations with Bill Evans' has been a very good seller. Sometimes incompetent reviews might have something to do with it. Gramophone Magazine once did a review of 150 recordings of Rachmaninoff.s 3rd Concerto. When they got to Thibaudet, they said since he is French, he does'nt understand it. A really idiotic conclusion, they also didnt like Guttierrez who studied under Horowitz teacher and is superb. I hope Thibaudet continues exploring the jazz idiom which has a wider audience.

[@makaan699]

@@789armstrong Crazy that Ashkenazy has played Rach 3 as a pianist and conducted it as well.

[@EliasAxelPettersson]

Wonderful questions and insightful answers. Merci beaucoup maestro Thibaudet pour tout tes idees: t'es un vrai artist! And thank you again, Zsolt. You are always a welcome voice in classical music, both literally and as a pianist/musician yourself. I hope our paths cross again soon :)

[@desertrehabpt211]

Jean-Yves had some wonderful things to say in this interview. I love the way he cares about the people whom in his audiences. When he speaks of always finding TIME to talk to someone rather than telling them he has no time shows me what a fine and caring individual he is. This interview really spoke to me. Jean Yvette is a beautiful unusual talent who has a sixth sense in choosing pieces that resonates to the center of my core. An incredible talent ❣️

[@Janaceks_Dad]

I absolutely love his live performances of the Kchataturian concerto and the Saint-Saens concerto 5…maybe the best ever given of these pieces.

[@babyfranz1]

Great interview. Had the privilege of hearing his Debussy Préludes today at Carnegie Hall. What an uplifting concert!

[@susanlloyd]

I attended that Carnegie Hall concert-The Debussy Book 1 Preludes. One of my most memorable concerts

[@musicdirector8661]

I love these interviews! A Very intelligent and humble man.

[@musicdirector8661]

Peter Hobbs Thank you! I am playing the first movement next summer and have been listening to several recordings. I agree with the gentleman that is interviewing him.....a very original take on this concerto.

[@republiccooper]

Yes, Zsolt Bognar is really a gem. I wish I could meet him one day.

[@coconutmilch2351]

Lovely. Thank you for sharing with us

[@LivingtheClassicalLife]

Thanks for watching, coconutmilch!

[@geoff7517]

Such a great interview!

[@edwardruane8993]

Superb!

[@tonychang32000]

Wonderful questions and important answers for me, thank you!

[@wotan10950]

Fascinating artist.

[@VicenteMReyes-vs9nh]

What an excellent interview - both the interviewee and the interviewer! C'est magnifique! Mr. Zsolt Bognár, what country are you originally form?

[@parkthoven]

Also he recorded Bill Evans album that I like it a lot~~:)

[@liloruf2838]

Rubinstein never really spoke to me. Maybe its just because of what Thibaudet describes, hes all about happiness and enjoying and feeling good. To me music and life are more than the good. There's joy and sadness, love and hate, everything you could imagine in life is also found in music. If you feel similarly, I would definitely rather recommend Richter or Debargue.

[@thomasgrass6357]

I like the interviewer a lot.

[@susanlloyd]

Just met him 2 nights ago at a small fundraiser in a NYC penthouse. Only 40-50 people. I had just him at Carnegie Hall 3 months ago. I told him that. He didn’t say a word and walked away. Some people say never meet your idols. Now I know why.

[@Alix777.]

Real estate agent in Hoboken and surrounding areas.

[@j.vonhogen9650]

4:00 - I would love to know the name of that British gentleman who has all these unique instruments. Does anyone know more about that collector?

[@frogmouth]

Engaging interview. Nice rapport.

[@bruno.g6372]

Énorme talent indiscutablement...

[@marchaefner8306]

very right

[@bifeldman]

Was Mr. Thibaudet’s father a professor of phonetics at the University of Lyon in the 1970s?

[@justust4872]

What is the opening piece?

[@Mingxieplays]

Finally

[@kutsalkaanbilgin]

he sometimes sounds like Oscar's friend Alex in the movie Enter the Void

[@chenwu9867]

Lol why would anybody wants to be famous? My husband and I both share the same opinion

[@binkyboobosh1]

A very nice man and very well liked and respected in the classical music business.