Armen Poghosyan

Hope does. If you keep dreaming like you did in your youth, it means your hope is alive. Hope brings inspiration and the desire to create.

A new piece always implies great responsibility, so you are bound to approach it with some fear — even if you have already played the piece numerous times. I usually try to find out how the piece was created, especially if it was written by a modern composer. I listen to a lot of recordings. Other performers’ interpretations help me to establish my own view of the piece. While listening to recordings, you are bound to develop your own opinions: you will agree with some parts, disapprove of some details, and create something new as a result.

Saying that one is more exciting to play than the other would be incorrect. It all depends on you and the people you work with. For instance, we like to think we know everything there is to know about Beethoven’s works. But it is only now that I can say I finally understand his music. Besides, we work with Teodor; it means we play every piece as if it is our first time. I once told him he was restoring old music and taking off extra layers. This is what I call “exciting”.

A concert in complete silence: no coughing, no applause between parts, no phones ringing. I am kidding, of course. Seriously though, my dream concert is one where musicians and listeners are all on the same wavelength, so that nothing has to be explained from start to finish.