Construction 1: Painting by Ingrid Fliter
JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say?
INGRID FLITER: That thanks to art I am dedicated to deal with beauty every day of my life. That I expanded my horizons by experiencing different spiritual journeys. That I explored freedom of thought by searching for my inner voice. That I had the opportunity to experience to be different characters: a poet, a philosopher, a singer, an entertainer, a painter, a religious being, and more. That I had the huge privilege to bring back to life the miraculous work of my musical heroes. That I had a chance to relate to people at a deeper level of human communication.
JS: What important beliefs do you express in or through your work?
IF: That music is a mysterious powerful tool of human expression and that it makes one feel belong to something bigger than oneself.
JS: Name two people, living or dead, whom you admire a great deal and tell us why for each one.
IF: Zoltán Kocsis, one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever encountered. He believed in me in the moment I needed it the most.
Arthur Rubinstein, thanks to whom I discovered my love my Chopin’s music.
JS: How have you changed since you began to do creative work?
IF: I don’t recall exactly when I actually “began” as I was a child and took the process in a very natural way. For sure it helped me focus and have a strong desire for excellence and creativity.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
IF: To keep the freshness of a child and have the wisdom of an old master.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life.
IF: When I got the Gilmore Award in 2006. It completely changed my life and opened for me the doors of the world.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about what you do?
IF: The complete dedication it demands and the loneliness it brings.
JS: How and why did you begin to do creative work in the first place?
IF: My parents, both music lovers, decided to take me to piano lessons. As soon as I started, I loved it right away! At that time, I actually enjoyed practicing a lot!
JS: What haven’t you attempted as yet that you would like to do and please tell us why?
IF: Travelling to remote places in the world and playing for people who haven’t heard classical music never before.
JS: What are your most meaningful achievements?
IF: The Silver medal in the Chopin competition 2000.
The Gilmore Award 2006.
Teaching at the Imola Academy where I myself studied.
Having played all the Beethoven piano concertos live.
Having played the Bartok Sonata with Zoltán Kocsis.
JS: What advice would you give a young person who would like to do what you do?
IF: To ask him/herself how strong his/her passion is because that’s the only thing that would keep one going despite all the difficulties.
JS: Of what value are critics?
IF: Some critics can be quite constructive, so it’s important to learn to discern which one deserves your attention and which one not.
JS: What do you ask of your audience?
IF: That they come to enjoy and forget about their daily worries. Also, I appreciate when the public listens with no preconceptions of how some piece of music should sound because of recordings they heard in the past.
JS: What specifically would you change about what goes on in the world and the arts?
IF: The injustice. In arts there’s plenty of talented people who don’t or will not have the opportunities/recognition they deserve.
JS: If you could relive one experience from your creative life, what would it be and why would you do so?
IF: When I was 16 years old and played with the orchestra for the first time, Beethoven concerto n. 3 in the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. I was simply in paradise.
JS: Name two places you would like to visit, one you haven’t been to and one to experience again and briefly tell us why
IF: Northern Europe to see the Aurora borealis, never been.
Israel because I have a strong spiritual connection to this country.
JS: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on, are preparing, or have recently completed. Why do they matter to you and why should they matter to us?
IF: I have recently finished the recording of all the Chopin Nocturnes. It has been an amazingly enriching and satisfying process
JS: Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising thing about you?
IF: That I’ve recently discovered the love of painting and that I never expected it could unfold such a wonderful world in front of me.