Private music lessons: Nikita Magaloff; Pianist & Teacher

In this programme organised like a filmed notebook, the pianist, in the intimate surroundings of his home, modestly recounts episodes from his life, and gives three lessons for the camera. Thus we see him curbing the virtuoso excesses of a Japanese girl student and tactfully correcting one of his pupils at the Geneva Conservatoire (where he succeeded Dinu Lipatti in 1949), reminding her that the pedal must be used with moderation, the tempo flexible, the rubato controlled, and the phrasing analysed precisely. All this is communicated with charm, simplicity, and above all the tact of an experienced artist who has thought long and hard and has played almost everything. A man with an open mind: the twentieth century has no secrets for him. Close to Stravinsky, Bartók, and Prokofiev, interested in Boulez and Stockhausen. Whatever the period or style, his interpretation always combines rigour and refinement.

Full DVD available here:
http://store.harmoniamundi.com/nikita-magaloff-virtuoso-and-teacher.html