In a major feature interview with Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), pianist Boris Giltburg speaks in depth about the music of his beloved Sergei Rachmaninov, whose complete piano works he is currently recording for Naxos. Reflecting on the composer’s unique sound world, Giltburg describes Rachmaninov’s writing as both orchestral and deeply pianistic, explaining that imagining orchestral colours at the keyboard “clarifies the entire approach to interpretation” and creates “an organic result.”
Giltburg also praises the structural precision behind Rachmaninov’s music, observing that “behind the richness of emotion … there is always a sharp intellect”. He describes the composer as an artist who “knew exactly what he was doing and planned his pieces like an architect”. Speaking personally about the profound importance of this repertoire in his own life, Giltburg adds: “Personally, I could not live without Rachmaninov. I always need a dose of Rachmaninov.”
The interview also dwells on Giltburg’s passion for literature and translation. Alongside his international concert career, he is currently translating Hebrew poetry and prose into English, including sonnets by the celebrated Israeli poet Lea Goldberg and a short story by Nobel Prize-winning author Shmuel Yosef Agnon. Discussing the challenges of translation, the pianist reflects on the deep poetic and prosodic connections between Hebrew and German, and describes his fascination with recreating not only meaning, but also rhythm, colour, and musicality across languages.