Chops honed by Chopin

Q. What drew you to Chopin?

A. When I started my studies, teachers gave me Chopin music to play. He was a great composer to develop a relationship with. Chopin speaks directly to the heart of people in a very basic way. His music is not only delightful, it’s very dark as well. He can touch the strings of your heart. Chopin is a universe unto himself.

Q. What is the hardest thing about Chopin to play?

A. The biggest challenge is to maintain the balance between romantic soul and classical expression. He is the most classic of early Romantics. It is a very difficult thing, this balance. How far can you go to express yourself? Beyond that point, you enter into dangerous terrain.

Q. Was Chopin a wild Romantic?

A. Chopin was never wild. Other composers were - Beethoven was wilder, and Schumann. Chopin was always very elegant, reserved. His music was deeply intense. In a different period, Mozart was a very Romantic composer.

Q. How do you stay sane on the road?

A. I ask myself the same question. How do I deal with loneliness and with myself every day? Relationships are very important to me. It takes a lot of strength to pull yourself together and maintain your balance and your essence. I’m trying yoga and meditating. I go for walks. I still don’t have time for a so-called normal life.

Q. What are you reading?

A. “Madame Bovary,’’ Elias Canetti, books about meditation, “The Power of Now.’’ That book presents different points of view you’d never thought of. It also helped me to stop smoking.