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Simone Dinnerstein
Simone Dinnerstein

Q: How important is it to know music history and the composer's biography to get the music right? Can't you just play it the way you think it should go? (Fritz Devonshire, Poughkeepsie, NY)


A: " When I'm playing a French Suite by Bach, in a way I really don't care how they danced the Loure. You know, it's interesting to know but I'm not playing it for a group of dancers. I'm playing it because it has interest to me now and I'm going to find ways to bring out the things that I find interesting about it. I'm not sure how relevant that is to us enjoying the music now and to interpreting it now, because once a composer writes a piece of music, in a sense it's no longer their music anymore. The interpreter is bringing it to life and I'm going to find ways to bring out the things that I find interesting about it. I don't feel that I need to do research to interpret it in a valid way." (Pianist Simone Dinnerstein)

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