>> Announcer: From the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. >> Nicholas: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Library of Congress. My name is Nicholas Brown. I'm a music specialist in the Music Division. Very pleased to introduce you to Steven Isserlis. [Applause] Steven is, of course, one of the world's great cellists and he's a British extraction, and we are very pleased to have him return here to the Library. He's performed here several times including at the living legend award presentation to Marta Casals Istomin pretty recently, and he's also a mainstay on the DC concert circuit whether he's with Washington Performing Arts or Kennedy Center or here at the Library. You have proven to him that you love him, so we're pleased to capitalize upon that tonight. So we're just going to have an informal chat here from Steven about his experience with the repertoire that's being performed today, also about his time at the Library, and then we'll open it up to your questions, and Steven, what has your day been like? I know you had a chance to see some of our manuscripts earlier. Can you share some thoughts about those? >> Steven: No. [Laughter] >> Nicholas: Okay. >> Steven: No, they were wonderful. They were wonderful. Some interesting cello music, Karini and some other less known figures. That was interesting, but, of course, I suppose the highlight was the Schelomo by Bloch. It's lovely to touch, but the best thing was the Brahms and Schumann manuscripts, and they touched this paper. They wrote on this paper. It's like being in touch with the gods, and somebody was standing there who works here says, "It never fails for us, that feeling, as well. It never lessens." So that was exciting. >> Nicholas: Were there any- >> Steven: And I had a roast beef sandwich for lunch. [Laughter] >> Nicholas: Very good. Were there any kind of insights in the scores and manuscripts that you saw in terms of things that are different in the published editions? >> Steven: No. I noticed there wasn't at all in the Bloch, the piece I've played most. What is very hard to read, the Schumann, but that was very interesting because the piece they showed me was the [inaudible] piece, which I have actually played in the Piatti arrangement for cello, [inaudible], and so many crossings out. There's almost another piece there. I'd love to have a really sort of true Schumann scholar go through that and make a new edition because that would be very interesting, I think. >> Nicholas: Speaking of scholars, you have written a recent book, correct, on Schumann? >> Steven: "Correct on Schumann," it is not called. No. [Laughter] Yes, I have, but they're not speaking of scholars because I'm not a scholar. I'm just an enthusiast, and, yeah, it's coming out in America, which is nice. September. It's basically-Schumann wrote, he wrote a book of advice for young musicians, and I read it many times over the years, and, well, a few times over the years, and thought it was very nice. Lovely, of course, Schumann, but it sort of-- I started writing little bits of advice for young musicians on my sort of official Facebook page, and I was amazed by the response. I mean, I just wrote something on the train last week, and I, over 1400 people liked it or whatever. I mean they, musicians, young musicians are really eager for advice, and I think some of them don't get it, I have to say. So, of course, what Schumann says makes such perfect sense, but it was in a very antiquated translation, and also he's speaking to a sort of person who hardly exists now. So, what I did, I sort of-it said, "Revisit." The title is "Robert Schumann's Advice for the Young Musicians Revisited," by Steven Isserlis, and I sort of just updated everything I could. It's a huge commentary. I suppose 75 percent of the book is by me commentating on Schumann's wisdom and just sort of making it, I hope, more relevant for what we call the YouTube generation, and just, you know, trying to reinforce his message in a way that I hope young musicians today and all the musicians might understand. >> Nicholas: Are there any specific themes in his overall message? >> Steven: Well, it's-I mean, I suppose what shines through the book most is his absolute deep, pure love of music, and that's what I try and reinforce and say it's not about the career. It's not about being a success. It's not that. It's about the music. It's about the music. It's about the music. You just have to love music and never let go of that, and, of course, many more specific things, but that is, I think, the overriding message that I got from my teachers over the years and I get from Schumann, and I try and pass on. >> Nicholas: You've also written some other books. >> Steven: I have. >> Nicholas: Can you share those with us? >> Steven: No. No. [Laughter] All right. Mind you, you did promise me a cup of tea, which has not arrived, which for an Englishman is torture. >> Nicholas: I know. I'm sorry. >> Steven: Trying to convince myself that it's actually the afternoon still even though I just called my girlfriend in England, and she was falling asleep. It wasn't a good reminder for my body, but actually it's midnight. Yeah, I wrote two books for children and which have actually never have been published in America, although one could get them here, and one is called "Why Beethoven Threw the Stew," and the other is called "Why Handel Waggled His Wig," and they're both books are about six composers, and it's just really telling the lives of the composers for children but trying to do it as accurately as I can, as I could. They were originally written for my son, I suppose, but then it became something bigger and just, you know, without distorting the facts. You don't have to. Composers were such fascinating people who had such fascinating lives. You don't have to exaggerate or distort or fantasize. It's all there. They had amazing lives, and, you know, one of my purposes is to introduce to get the children interested in these people and therefore in their music, and, as I say to them, they'll have friends for life. You know, great music never lets you down. It can always be with you no matter where you are, no matter what's going on in your life, if you have music, it's a life saver. >> Nicholas: Are there any specific masterworks that you reference in those books for the children? >> Steven: Well, you-it's sort of made up, first of all, I do the life, and I do specific, there's another thing where there's little bite sized stories from their life, and then there's a little bit about the music at the end, and I suggest what the children might like to listen to, and I was very happy. Once in Cleveland, Ohio, somebody came up to me and said, "Every night we listen to one of the pieces you recommend." I thought, "Yes, that's what I want." >> Nicholas: Awesome. >> Steven: Awesome. >> Nicholas: I'm from Boston. Sorry. >> Steven: Oh, don't worry. My son went to the American School in London. Then he went to the university over here. I hear the word "awesome" a lot, but it's a nice word. It's positive. It's better than "like." I hear that as well. I was in a taxi today, and it said "rate you ride." Isn't that "rate your ride?" >> Nicholas: Well, they probably gave up and were like this way they can't say it's the wrong "your." [Laughter] >> Steven: I guess. Interesting point of view. >> Nicholas: Optimism, somehow. I don't know. Too long in the government. Awesome. The repertoire this evening. >> Steven: Yes. >> Nicholas: What are your thoughts on kind of the connections between the works? >> Steven: Well, if I'm honest, there are fewer connections than I would have liked. I did originally offer a program all from Paris, and you said you already had two of the pieces, so we couldn't play them. Not placing blame anywhere. [Laughter] However, for the rest of the tour, which is like two weeks, we're doing a Parisian-based program, but it's slightly sort of watered down tonight in that way only by the fact that we're including Shostakovich's sonata because we did just play it in Belgium a couple of weeks ago. So that's what we start. Anyway, it's a masterpiece. I have no objection, but it does take the central sort of theme of the program away, but then, you know, Shostakovich and Martinu together within ten years-- actually within about five years of each other. So that I think has gotten an interesting sort of mixture, and Shostakovich, which is much more ironic and Martinu knew much more, sort of, all out dramatic and traumatized. I mean, Martinu's sonata was written at a time when his homeland was being overrun by the Nazis, and also, which I only discovered comparatively recently, when he was having a torrid affair with his gorgeous student, Kapralova or [inaudible]. I don't know which, and he was about to run away to America with her. I didn't know that until after I'd recorded the sonatas, [inaudible]. At least I got to write it in the sleeve notes. So I think both outwardly and inwardly, Martinu was having such a traumatic time, and you really feel it in the sonata. I think it's an incredible master-They're both incredible masterpieces, and then after the interval, we do two very little pieces by Renaldo Hahn, but I find them charming. They're called "Improvisations on Irish Melodies." I wouldn't have called them improvisations. They're really just settings of the Irish melodies, but I love Renaldo Hahn. He's sort of mostly remembered now because he was Marcel Proust's boyfriend, but he was a lovely composer. In fact, Jeremy Dink, with whom I played when I first played here, he introduced me to the music of Renaldo Hahn. It's wonderful. It has just actually been republished, this and his variations for cello. I wrote the introduction for it. It's, you know, as I said, it's really tiny, but it's lovely, and there and for me the greatest, well, one of the two greatest twentieth century cellists and artists we're playing. It's by Faure. Gabriel Faure is number two. You're not going to ask me what the other one is. >> Nicholas: [inaudible] >> Steven: Yeah, [inaudible] is number one. Faure, I'm an absolute Faure nut myself. He's named Gabriel partly because of Faure and, you know, Faure I just think is underrated and these sonatas are not often played still, and for me they are, you know, of course, I love the pieces in the first two. I adore them, Martinu and Shostakovich, but Faure is just on the highest level of music for me, the second sonata. I hope we can convince you tonight of that, and actually Marta Casals is coming tonight and I had dinner with her last night. I said, "Your husband didn't play sonatas." She said, "Yes, he did." "I don't think so," I said, and she looked very guilty as well she might even though she wasn't anywhere near born at the time he might have played them. I think that is astonishing. His music never touches the ground. He was completely frail, old, stone deaf when he wrote them, and yet his music just flies in the air. It's got this ecstatic feel, and the slow movement is gorgeous. It was originally written actually for Windburn to mark the centurial of Napoleon's death, but it goes beautifully on the cello. It's a bit like his famous eulogy for cello, but to me, much more moving because it's got more contrast and it's more of a-even more of a story to it, I think. I just-this music, I play Faure sonatas as often as I possibly can because it's like a mission for me to convince people. So don't worry. People can be honest with me afterwards and tell me that they don't like them, but I'll just commit suicide, but don't feel bad about it. [Laughter] And then finally we finish with Mr. [inaudible] piece, which I'll probably introduce from the stage because I quite like doing that, and that also is an extraordinary piece, and the Paris connection there is, that last move, is the can-can, can-can macabre. He's amazing, Tom. I mean he just-he takes things from everywhere. He adores Faure like I do. I thought that was one of the first bonds between us. That's partly why we became friends because of our love of, shared love of a late Faure, but he takes it from everywhere-[inaudible], Janocek, from jazz, from pop, everything. He'll take anything, and it comes out as his own language, and that's an extraordinary gift for a composer. I think he just got it. Some people have it, and he does, I feel. >> Nicholas: Is his musical voice the same as operas versus his instrumental chamber music? >> Steven: It's not the same, but there are elements. There's definitely shared DNA. I haven't heard-of course, the new opera premiers in London. I know was in Salzburg already, but it premiers the night we play his piece in San Francisco. So, of course, I can't go. I was just offered half price tickets for it in London, and I can't go to them. I'm suffering deeply. [Laughter] >> Nicholas: Great. What would be one of the musical surprises this evening? Is there a moment in any of the pieces that we should all-- ? >> Steven: I could get lost, or like you're playing incredibly out of tune, or maybe that's not a surprise. I don't know. Well, I think every piece actually. I mean there's only really one famous piece on the program, which is Shostakovich. I mean, when I say famous, I mean played very, very often, and that's the first piece. So I think for most people here, I'm probably right in saying that they'll be least-Well, I don't believe anybody who tells me they've heard the Renaldo Hahn because I think it's only been played once in the past, you know, 75 years, and that was by me, and I made a wrong entrance. So it hasn't really been played. So tonight's sort of the premier. >> Nicholas: Yeah, there you go. Earlier you were mentioning your-some thoughts about the relationship between artists, the audience, and the industry, that kind of thing, and some opportunities for growth in the musical community. >> Steven: I was? >> Nicholas: Yes. >> Steven: What did I say? >> Nicholas: You said that we need more listeners. >> Steven: Ah, we do. No, I mean, I said we need more listeners than we do players. That's true. I see, in that other interview. Yes, that's right. We do. We need a thousand listeners for every one player really or one soloist anyway, and yes, I mean, it's a-I also said- and I say this repeatedly in the book. It's not about being a soloist because I don't consider myself particularly a soloist. I consider myself a chamber music player, and I play a lot of concertos because, you know, and that is chamber music on a large scale, and that's what I encourage all the people who pass through my evil hands to consider themselves, you know, you know, and my sort of younger brother, Joshua Bell, he also considers himself a chamber music player. I mean it's just you have to play louder, of course, when you play with orchestra, but it's still the same thing. It's passing from one voice to another. It's conversation, and that goes all through music, and yeah, I also said that some of the greatest musicians I know, in fact a lot of them, are not soloists. They're teachers. They're in orchestras. They're a chamber music player, you know, as in an established chamber ensemble, and even listeners, some listeners I know who understand so much about music, actually even Connie, Connie Shih, the pianist I'm playing with, she's got this adorable 6-year-old daughter, Amalie, and she was listening to the rehearsal today as she often does. There's no babysitter. She just sat on the stage and did some things, and then with her hands she was describing the music we were playing perfectly. You know, it's not about career. It's not about anything. It's about music. >> Nicholas: So if you were approaching someone who has never stepped into an art music concert, how would you engage them and try and get them in the door? >> Steven: Well, I wouldn't call it art music for sure. >> Nicholas: Well, classical. We're trying to move on from that one. >> Steven: No, no. >> Nicholas: Good music. How about that? >> Steven: I'd say you're going to hear stories basically, I mean, especially. Actually, it's a good thing to start with a Shostakovich because it's like a ballad, the first particularly, but the whole piece, it's like a collection of stories, and I mean that actually goes for every piece tonight. Perhaps in a way the Faure a little bit less, but it's different. It's more sort of a portrait of nature, the [inaudible] ones, but, yeah, I would say you're going to hear humor or you're going to hear drama. You're going to hear exquisite beauty. I mean in the music, not the playing, I would say, and you're going to hear a range of voices telling you this very, very different story. >> Nicholas: Do you have any upcoming recording projects? >> Steven: I've got a recording coming out of Haydn concertos, which is the first time I've ever directed an orchestra for a recording. So I hope that's all right. [Inaudible] orchestra and Haydn and CP Bach, I just think extraordinary piece, and then little pieces by Bacharini and Mozart. So I hope that's coming out. That's the next one to come out, and then I've got with Connie actually, first recording with Connie, with whom I do more concerts with than any other pianist. We, I think probably next year we've got a recording coming out of First World War music and including some little items at the end, which I played on a trench cello, which is this little box. I think it's called a holiday cello originally, and then this soldier took it into the trenches and played it, and there's an inscription inside from a famous poet whose name I always forget. It wasn't [inaudible]. It wasn't [inaudible], and it wasn't Rufus Wainwright. It was somebody. [Laughter] One of those First World War figures, and it's this beautiful little sound. A friend of mine, Charles Baer, who I'm sure you know because he's the world's leading expert on string instruments, he just told me about this thing. I said "I've got to see it," and I went and tried it and this sad, soft little sound came out, and I loved it, and so I thought I'd record on it. So we're doing normal, first of all, more rapid Frank Bridge, Debbie [inaudible], Veburn, and Faure Number One, and then four little pieces like our First World War pops, popular song, and a hymn, and "The Swan." That was quite ambitious for this little cello, but I haven't heard it yet. I hope it comes off because it's lovely, this little thing. >> Nicholas: Neat. We actually just opened a big First World War exhibit, which has a lot of items from both the music collections, more on the American side. So like "Over There," the George Cohan song, and even a German soldier's helmet, which is kind of intense, and propaganda posters and that kind of deal. So I encourage all of you to check it out upstairs during the regular hours, and we also have a wonderful digital presentation of the exhibit including some footage from World War I, video footage. >> Steven: Prepare us for the upcoming World War III. [Laughter] Sorry. I don't mean to cast a pawl on this evening. >> Nicholas: On that note, we will open it up to Q and A. So if you have a question for Steven, if you wouldn't mind just raising your hand, and my colleague, Jay, will bring a microphone to you. >> Audience: Hi, Steven. >> Steven: Hi. >> Audience: So I was wondering when you are approaching a piece for the first time and say it's something with piano or-I don't know how if you're a piano player as well, but how do you study the classical scene? So I always have this problem of-I focused on my part, but then I kind of forget what's going on at the piano, and a lot of your musical advice, I think, to all musicians, and you're always emphasizing that like the story that's going back and forth between those things. So I was wondering how you if you're coming into something cold, how you kind of integrate kind of both voices? >> Steven: Well, I deal with that in the book. I say that every musician really should play the piano because you have to know the whole score. You have to know the piano part and, you know, how ever many parts there are, you have to know them all. Otherwise you're like an actor only knowing one part in a play, and so you're not going to get the story. So, yeah, I work a lot at the piano. It takes me hours often. I just play, and it makes such a difference. Well, it makes all the difference. I couldn't really learn a piece without. Occasionally if it's a [inaudible] modern score and it's just too complicated, then I unwillingly have to listen to a recording, but I'd much rather not. But no, absolutely. Go to the piano with songs. Absolutely, go to the piano. Yeah. Understand the harmonies because that's what the composer was thinking about, and ask yourself first of all what has he written? You need a good edition always, and that makes a huge difference, and then why has he written or she written it, written it, written that? Every marking there's a reason. The composer's hands don't just twitch and they write a piano or an [inaudible] or an accent or whatever. They mean it, and, yes, it's fun to get the sort of little messages from the gentleman behind the screen there, Mr. Beethoven. Hundreds of years. Every marking he puts makes such a difference if you actually look at it. Try to think what he wrote. As my friend Olli Mustonen says, "These are messages from one good musician to another," and I like that. He also came out with a great-Oh, yes. [Applause] Thank you. It's got whiskey in it. [Laughter] Yeah, Olli also came out with a brilliant thing which I hadn't thought of. He said, "People who say they're scared to come to classical concerts because they don't know enough about it are like people who are scared to go for a walk in the forest because they don't know enough about botany," which I think is great. I love that. That was slightly off topic, but anyway, so the piano. Yeah, everybody should play the piano. I play the piano very badly but enough for my purposes. >> Audience: Could you tell us something about your instrument? >> Steven: Yeah, the instrument I'll be playing tonight is the Marquis de Corboron Stradivarius of 1726, which was owned for all of her career by Zara Nelsova, and so she probably played here, I presume. >> Nicholas: Probably. >> Steven: [Inaudible] Yeah, it's my great uncle. [Laughter] No, I love this instrument. You know, it's not the only instrument I play. For some music because I have, of course, my beloved old style gut strings on it, which are perfect for most music, I think, including Shostakovich, which, of course, would have been written for gut strings. The Shostakovich sonata, but if I really want steel strings, which is as it sounds, a harder steely sound, then I have another cello that I have with steel strings on it, but this is the cello I use most because it's an aristocrat. [ Inaudible question ] First question, I can't think of a better expression than classical music. It's very limited, but I think it's probably less off putting than art music. I don't know. Of course, nowadays the boundaries are blurred anyway, but I mean I'd love it if somebody came out with a better expression. I mean, art music. It could-I think that sounds a bit precious. I think classical music is slightly better than that, but it's not perfect, and as for women composers, well, there are now many wonderful women composers. In the past I think it was a social thing that they were discouraged from studying it. They were discouraged from performing, and through performing, of course, you became more confident. You tried things out. They were discouraged from playing with famous people, you know, because they couldn't perform. They couldn't play with famous people who could have influenced them well. So I don't-- I can't think of any great women composers. I know some fine ones. I think Laura Schumann wrote beautiful music. Fanny Mendelssohn, too, and of course in the past, Hilda Bingen and Chaminade, and there are a few actually. French ones who wrote some really beautiful music, but I think it's changed finally or it's changing very much now, finally, as it is with conductors, and now finally we're getting some really great women conductors and composers just because of social things. There were always great women players, I think, but, again, they were-we don't hear so much about them, you know, history books because they were discouraged from performing so much, and that's just an unfortunate fact of history. I would have loved to have heard [inaudible], for instance, who only played so beautifully than she who didn't write the Sicilian, which is her most famous piece, but she didn't write it, but I think you hear a few descriptions of people, but they played in private. So I think that's the reason, but it's-I'm glad things have changed, and certainly, you know, I think isn't it 50/50 now with players? And soon will be with conductors and composers, I think. >> Audience: One of the very best concerts I have attended in the past few seasons was the one that you and Robert Levin did of Beethoven music at the Kennedy Center a few seasons back with Robert at forte piano, and then, of course, you issued a wonderful CD set with all the cello music. I was just wondering- >> Steven: I like you. >> Audience: If you and he have discussed doing any other repertoire with forte piano accompaniment because it was just so wonderful. >> Steven: Thank you. Yeah, we have a bit, but then, I don't know. It's just endless. I think that's my-if I had to choose one favorite thing I do in concerts these days, it's that cycle where we do the whole cycle with forte piano, and I sort of don't feel like moving on because I just, I want to do it again and again and again, but, having said that, last Saturday, the week before, I gave a recital at [inaudible] on an 1847 Stryker piano, and we did Chopin and friends, and that was a beautiful instrument, and I love to do a Mendelsohn with that instrument. I love to do Schumann with that instrument, Chopin. Hopefully later this year we're recording the Chopin sonata with Chopin's own piano, one of his players, and so yeah, and then in fact the next year I'm going to come back to Washington the harpsichord with Richard Egarr, who I think is wonderful. He's great. I remember once in the rehearsal, I said, "It would be nice to have a crescendo here on the rising sequence, but you can't do it. You can't do it because you're on the harpsichord, can you?" And he took me and said a word I won't repeat here, [laughter] and he did a crescendo on the harpsichord. I still don't know how he did it. I remember I asked him this recent, "How did you do that?" He said, "You have to believe in it." [Laughter] It's like Schroder with his black keys just painted on. >> Nicholas: We had Richard here in January. He did a recital, which was really spectacular. >> Steven: He's a good lad. He's fun company, too. That is very important when you travel with people, you know. I travel with Joshua. I travel with Connie and Amalie, whom as you see I adore, and Bob. Bob, who, I mean, he's just a fount of knowledge. I've asked him to leave me his brain in his will. [Laughter] I do have to say a rather naughty story. I adore him. He's amazing, but his facts pour. I think he wakes up at 7:00 in the morning and facts start pouring out of him, and then we had been touring for two weeks, and then the orchestra, the Age of Enlightenment in London advertised this talk he was giving to raise funds for the orchestra, and they charged 1000 pounds for a seat just for a talk, and they sold out, and I said, "God, that's amazing because I would actually pay 1000 pounds at this point to stop him talking." [Laughter] That's said with great love. >> Nicholas: Just one second for the microphone. >> Audience: Last month we had a wonderful symposium in Washington on Shostakovich and Vineberg. >> Steven: Oh, yes. >> Audience: Vineberg wrote a lot of music for Rostropovich, and I was just wondering, he's a good composer to most of us. Are you familiar with him, and if you are, do you make recommendations? >> Steven: Well, I've never played any, but I'm friends with Gidon Kramer, and I don't think Gidon plays anything other than Vineberg these days. He's obsessed with him. So I've heard him play a lot of it. It is very fine music, isn't it? And whether it's as great as Shostakovich, I'm not yet convinced, but now I was sort of thinking. My friend, I've got an Armenian cellist friend called Alexander Chaushian. He said, "You must learn it. You must learn it." I said, "Well, you play it," and in fact he has recorded it, excellently, I'm sure. Yeah, I'm always-my completely unknown composer, actually I haven't played him for years, but I'm going to again, is Carl Fruhling. Very different kettle of fish, but he was a-oh, he lived in Vienna for most of his life, and he's sort of post-Brahms. We recorded with Michael Collins and Steve Huff years ago, we recorded his clarinet chair, and it's a gorgeous piece. I mean, nothing to do with Vineberg. Sorry. Just going on unusual composers, unknown composers, and such touching music, Fruhling, but Vineberg, yeah, he's major and I'm pleased he's got such a sort of resurgence, and of course I like to play contemporary music occasionally because I love working with composers. Of course, I've worked with Tom Ades. I've worked a lot with Kurtag. I just premiered a new piece by Kurtag, but, oh, sorry, but with different composers such as John Tavener and hoping to do a recording of John's late works, and, yeah, but it's absolutely it's great that Gidon has this mission for Vineberg like I do for Faure, but anyway. >> Audience: You so beautifully expressed your sentiments of the music speaks for itself and it's all about the music. >> Steven: It is. >> Audience: What's your sentiments about the showmanship that has kind of crept in in the last 20 or 30 years? >> Steven: I don't mind people's-I think people's emotions will show on their face, but it's, to me, so obvious. So often it's just fake. I like to feel something comes from deep, deep inside like when I hear Radu Lupu for instance, just to pluck one name out of the hat, but he's a very extreme example of somebody that music comes from deep inside. Of course, it shows on his face, but he's not putting anything on. It's absolutely genuine, and that's fine. You know, I-showmanship in itself is not bad. Some music is showman like, and that's fine, but it's got to be genuine, and I think so much now is not genuine. I can't imagine [inaudible] sort of throwing himself around the stage, or, you know, when every time I play here, I think Segeti and [inaudible] played here. That's one of the great recordings of all time. I bet they didn't throw themselves around the stage, and they didn't pose for record covers in bikinis and things. I just don't think so. [Laughter] So, yeah, I think it's, there is a little bit-I refuse to use the two words "music" and "business" together, but I'm not fond of the times when they are used together. >> Nicholas: Last question over here. >> Steven: I should practice. >> Audience: Could you tell us three or four of your desert island disks? >> Steven: Well, I did desert island disks. I'll tell you all eight that I chose, which I wouldn't change now, of course. There are only eight. Should be thousands. Schubert Fantasia in F Minor for Piano Duet, [inaudible] Lupu, and then what do I have? The Beethoven the Late Quartets, which is shocking. I really don't know that well, played by the Bush Quartet, Faure, of course, Choral Pieces sung by the Chorale Gabriel Faure, Schumann's Symphonies, conducted by [inaudible]. What was the fifth classical one, or is that five? Of course, "St. Matthew Passion." That was my one I would take, and then I had three other records. "The Importance of Being Hoffnung," which is a series of interviews he gave with Charles Richardson, which is one of the funniest-it is the funniest record I've ever heard and then Monty Python. One of their songs actually, "I'm so Worried," was the one I chose by my friend Terry Jones, and then the last one was a tribute to my son. It was "I'm Only Sleeping" by the Beatles, which was a rather pointed tribute to my son. I would still choose the same, still dedicate it to my son. Yes. >> Nicholas: Which recording of the St. Matthew Passion? >> Steven: Well, it was by my friend, Philippe Herreweghe, Herreweghe. I don't know. I'm still to be convinced by-completely by anyone recording. I think there are many wonderful recordings. Nowadays I think I'd probably choose [inaudible]. I'm going straight back from this tour to play for his seventieth birthday. I think I'd choose the recording by John Butt, who is a fantastic musician and a great friend of mine, and he's an alive, genuine, wonderful musician. So I think I would choose his now. >> Nicholas: Great. He's fantastic. >> Steven: He's great, and he's completely mad, completely mad, but he's wonderful. [Laughter] >> Nicholas: If you've never read any of his scholarship on Butt, go out and Google that. It's pretty interesting. Wonderful. So thank you, Steven, for joining us in here, and before we go, I just want to let everyone know that Steven will kindly be signing CDs following the conclusion of the concert. Our colleague, Andresh, will be making some merchandise available for you when you go into the concert. So feel free to stop by and check that out, and we will look forward to seeing you at 8:00 in the Coolidge. Thanks for being here for a Library of Congress concert. How many are here for the first time ever? Awesome. Welcome. Yes, I know. I had to get-see, bookends, just like a crowd. There you go. Thank you so much. Thank you, Steven, and we'll see you soon. [Applause] >> Announcer: This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress. Visit us at loc.gov.