AURELIA VISOVAN

Where were you born? Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania    

Where do you live? Nuremberg, Germany  

When did you start playing music? When I was 5 years old.           

What is your favourite instrument? Lute    

What music did you listen to as a child? Pop, Rock        

What was your first record? One of Shakira’s albums!         

What musical period would you like to live in? Definitely Baroque! But just for the music…

Where do you prefer to listen to music? If possible outdoors, in nature… Much rather than in concert halls!      

Where can we find you when you’re not making music? You don’t have to find me, I’ll find you! I am a very social creature in my spare time. So I go looking for a counterbalance to my time alone with my instrument.     

Where did you study? First in my hometown, then in Cluj-Napoca and then in Vienna.

What prizes have you received? First prize of the MA Competition Fortepiano Brugge, first prize of the Santa Cecilia Piano Competition in Porto, fifth prize of the Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, second prize of the Paola Bernardi Harpsichord Competition in Bologna…among about 30 other smaller ones!     

Who is your favourite composer? Bach, for now! 

Which composer would you like the public to rediscover? George Enescu!

What is your first recording? My very first one is called ‘Roots’ and came out in 2017. It features three works on three different historical pianos.    

What is your favourite recording (Passacaille, with you)? Capriccio Appassionato – Czerny/Schubert

What is your favourite Passacaille recording (Passacaille, other artist)? Nobilissimo Istromento – Luca Pianca   

Who do you dream of recording with (realistic or not) Patricia Kopatchinskaya!          

What piece have you never recorded but would love to? Tchaikovsky’s Seasons

What do you do before you play a concert? Take a nap, put my phone aside as much as possible, warm up – and laugh!      

What do you do after a concert? Laugh even more! (Hopefully)… And share the happiness with the people around me! 

What would you do if you weren’t a musician? That’s a tough choice! I have many options, but probably some kind of teacher anyway. The profession alone is hard to choose! Languages? Philosophy? Geography, history? Literature? Everything?