1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 This episode is brought to you by Foundation for Bolivian Artists, whose support helps make this show possible. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:11,000 Are you looking for an experience of cultural exchange and community? 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:18,000 Foundation for Bolivian Artists presents Cantuta Concerts Op. 2 with José Navarro Silberstein in his New York recital debut. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:26,000 At Foundation for Bolivian Artists, we showcase the exceptional talent of Bolivian classical musicians, providing them with valuable exposure to advance their musical careers. 5 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:32,000 So come join us on February 28th at Merkin Hall and share in the discovery of Bolivia's unique culture and music. 6 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:25,000 Hello, piano pot friends and listeners. 7 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:33,000 Happy New Year 2025. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season wherever you are in the world. 8 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:39,000 It's so good to be back after a brief hiatus and to kick off the year. 9 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:45,000 I am so thrilled to bring you this special bonus episode of the piano pot today. 10 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:54,000 In this episode, we celebrate an extraordinary artist with Bolivian heritage who is making waves in the classical music world. 11 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:01,000 For this feature, I am excited to spotlight our sponsor of the month, the Foundation for Bolivian Artists. 12 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:14,000 This incredible organization is dedicated to supporting and showcasing musicians of Bolivian heritage while preserving the rich cultural traditions of Bolivia through the arts. 13 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:22,000 Today, we are honored to highlight the season's foundation winner, José Navarro Silberstein. 14 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:30,000 But before we meet José and learn about his journey, I'd like to welcome back a familiar face to the piano pot audience, 15 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:39,000 the founder of the Foundation for Bolivian Artists, celebrated pianist, educator, and my dear friend and colleague, Walter Aparicio. 16 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:49,000 You may remember Walter from season four, episode 10, where he shared his mission to elevate Bolivian artists, Bolivian music, and culture on the global stage. 17 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:59,000 If you missed that episode, I highly recommend checking it out on our YouTube channel or on your favorite podcast platform, and you can find links in the description. 18 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,000 Welcome back to the piano pot, Walter. 19 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:11,000 Thank you, Yukimi. I'm so happy to be back on the piano pot and to update everyone a little bit on everything that we're doing on the updates on the foundation. 20 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Great. Congratulations, first of all, on the successful concert in Opus One season, which was the last season, and a fantastic winner's concert almost a year ago. I can't believe it's been a year. 21 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,000 That's right. 22 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:41,000 And I really had a privilege of attending Sergio Escalator-Soraya's concert last year and was truly inspiring beyond his, you know, outstanding performance. I was deeply moved by the overwhelming support he received. 23 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:56,000 The audience was filled with familiar faces from our New York City piano community and members of the Bolivian community who came out in full force with banners and flags and cheering with pride after every piece. 24 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:09,000 I really, that made me super emotional. So plus interviewing Sergio as a bonus segment for your episode last season was a highlight. So what was it like to complete the first season of the foundation for Bolivian artists? 25 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:35,000 Yeah, well, you know, you said so much of it and thank you so much for coming and supporting our, you know, our first event of the organization. Sergio's concert was fabulous and full of energy and what you spoke about about the Bolivian community coming was in a way an added bonus for us because we weren't really sure how many people from the community would come out. 26 00:04:35,000 --> 00:05:01,000 And we were very lucky and I'm very grateful to everyone who came out to support this particular recital because it may not be kind of an event that the community normally goes to, and I'm very in favor of all the cultural events that they already are curating and promoting with folkloric dances and all these kinds of things. 27 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:23,000 But so what I found really beautiful was that we were able to create a new space for Bolivians to gather, to show our support to a very talented Bolivian pianist and of course to hear some amazing music not just by Bolivian composers but also of composers from Latin America and I mean he had an amazing program. 28 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:37,000 Even so much so that there was the lights came on, and the people kept clapping and so the lights went back off and he played an encore so that was that was really kind of unusual you know. 29 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:41,000 So that shows the kind of enthusiasm we had at that concert. 30 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:54,000 Yeah, yeah, it was so so wonderful and the really the energy that I felt in the venue was something special something memorable. So congratulations again. 31 00:05:54,000 --> 00:06:04,000 Now, I am thrilled to have you here to announce and introduce the winner of the foundations come to the Opus to competition. 32 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:16,000 That's right. So, today we're very thrilled to announce the winner of Cantuta Concerts Opus to our second concert, and it is Jose Navarro Silberstein. 33 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:36,000 And he's an incredible young pianist who has really been playing all over Europe. He is currently based in Brussels but has, of course, he grew up in La Paz, Bolivia, and his talent is very electric. 34 00:06:36,000 --> 00:07:02,000 And so he was definitely a favorite among the participants and applicants this year. The jury members were really in a tough position because there were very many applicants that were in our view that would that would really make a good fit for this concert but he stood out among them and we're very excited to have him in Merkin Hall next February. 35 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:18,000 Wonderful. And so when is the concert. So the concert is February 28, Friday, February 28 at Merkin Hall in New York City. Great. Now what qualities stood out from other pianists. 36 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:47,000 Right. So, the heart of our application has to do with the proposed recital program. It really shows who the pianist is as an artist, what kind of repertoire is important to them, and what they are wanting to show the New York audience from Bolivian music, but also from music that is important to them and shows who they are, and what they think about artistically and pianistically. 37 00:07:47,000 --> 00:08:06,000 And so his program particularly was really connecting Latin American music with European music. And so, there are also rarely heard works and really exciting pieces that I know that the audience will be really enjoying. 38 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:20,000 Right, and then I think I saw a post by you that he just was selected as one of the finalists for the Bosoni International Piano Competition. That's right. So he's been doing, you know, kind of on the competition circuit. 39 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:45,000 He's, I believe, 29 years old and so he's still of age to do that and those are really really important opportunities. And so, through a recorded video and audience vote he was selected to be among, I believe, 34 finalists of a ton, a ton of pianists for this very kind of prestigious and difficult piano competition. 40 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:51,000 And I don't know when exactly that is some time in 2025 so you'll hear him before he does the finals. 41 00:08:51,000 --> 00:09:02,000 Oh wow, impressive. 42 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:16,000 We are so thrilled to welcome Jose Navarro Silverstein, an extraordinary concert pianist and the recipient of the Cantuta Opus 2 scholarship, awarded by the Foundation for Bolivian Artists. 43 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Jose, congratulations on your New York recital debut and thank you so much for being here. 44 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:35,000 Thanks to you, Joachim, it's a big honor for me to be with you and to share some insights about my life as a pianist, as a musician, and my upcoming projects. 45 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:50,000 Thank you. So, first of all, congratulations and you'll be performing at Merking Hall, one of New York City's most iconic and esteemed concert venues on February 28 2025. 46 00:09:50,000 --> 00:10:05,000 Exactly. Yeah, 730pm. It's a prestigious achievement and we are, as New Yorkers, as one of the New Yorkers, delighted to have you here in the city and so right now where are you joining from? 47 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:12,000 At the moment I'm in my native city, La Paz, Bolivia. 48 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:17,000 Yeah, I'm very excited to be here after it's been like one year and a half almost. 49 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:29,000 Folks who are listening or watching this episode, currently it is December 16 2024 and Jose just hit another massive milestone in his career. 50 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:38,000 Jose, you were named as one of the grand finalists of the 65th Busoni International Piano Competition, right? 51 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,000 Indeed. 52 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Please, please tell us more about this briefly. 53 00:10:45,000 --> 00:11:00,000 Yeah, well of course I'm incredibly excited and flattered and I'm so much looking forward to be in Bolsan for the second time because I've been also a finalist in 2021. 54 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:15,000 But now it was very special because I was in Japan, I came to the Hamamatsu Competition and then I had a couple of weeks and I could have my first international round in Tokyo for the Busoni. 55 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:34,000 Yeah, I got all the inspiration of my Japanese trip and really incredibly happy to play and yeah, it's been really amazing how yeah and there was like a public vote also and lots of people from all over the world supported me in a really incredible way. 56 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:50,000 And I'm so flattered that now this can be possible and I can be a finalist in Bolsan and prepare myself in every sense to be the best in the final rounds in August 2025. 57 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,000 Oh, this will be August 2025? 58 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:54,000 Yes, yes, exactly. 59 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,000 Final round. 60 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:10,000 Yeah, the final round. Yeah, so I have plenty of time. I mean that's a very good thing of the Busoni that really allows you the time to prepare and think carefully about not only the repertoire but many aspects. 61 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:15,000 Jose, that's amazing. But tell us, what's the strategy? 62 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:31,000 Yeah, well, I mean, last time it was during COVID and it was basically, I mean, there were not many concerts so I said okay this is going to be like my only goal and I really like focus so hard on that. 63 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:36,000 And it was great of course but I think it was a bit too much. 64 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:50,000 So I think now I want to, I mean now it's great that I really have like an idea now I went I know how it is and I have, I think I know already all of the pieces that I want to be playing there. 65 00:12:50,000 --> 00:13:07,000 I want to be there, I want to be as relaxed as possible and don't try to think that this is a competition but rather an opportunity to play and present myself and do it with my whole heart and do what I think also repertoire wise. 66 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:19,000 I mean I want to put like South American music there that is of course a very important part of myself and repertoire is very close to my heart and some people might say, well, it's not the best for competitions but that's what's 67 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:23,000 that's what I think I should do so I will do that. 68 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,000 Wow. 69 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:32,000 Well, all the best of luck to you and then I'll be make sure to following you and cheering you on. 70 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:53,000 Now, officially I'd like for you to introduce yourself to the piano pods audience Jose, where you are currently based as an artist, and if you were to describe the essence of your artistry mission, passion, in just a few sentences, how would you define who you are as an artist today. 71 00:13:53,000 --> 00:14:10,000 That's of course a difficult question because I think we sometimes we don't have the time even to ask ourselves who we are, as we are in the middle of our activities and we just want to fulfill our goals and missions and 72 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:29,000 yeah we don't think about about this. We don't think often about this question but I think it's very important and I'm glad that you're asking this to myself and I think I am a mixture of cultures, because I am, I am in essence Bolivian, and I live here till 73 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:34,000 till my 90th year and Bolivia is one of the most important things in my life and in my music. 74 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:40,000 But I also lived in many countries, and I made many cultures. 75 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,000 I learned some languages. 76 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:49,000 And I think that constitutes a very important part of my identity and of my search for artistic vision. 77 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:55,000 And I want to, I want to be fulfilling this in this world. 78 00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:11,000 And yes, and nowadays, I'm based in Belgium, in Waterloo, I'm an artist in residence of the Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel. 79 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:27,000 And I am very happy to be in the transition between like the, of being a student. It has been a very long path through Germany, England, Austria, I have like many impressions. 80 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:39,000 And this is like the last point where I'm like really in a transition of the like student life to a professional career and that's a very good thing of the chapel where I am, because they provide us with a great opportunity. 81 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:46,000 Basically a room with grand piano where I can have the time to explore my instrument like 24 hours per day. 82 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,000 So that's, I couldn't ask for more. 83 00:15:49,000 --> 00:16:02,000 And also to, to launch an international career because they offer us concert opportunities with very big and important samples and orchestras. 84 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:09,000 So it's a lot of support in this important moment and I hope that this will really make the transition and I'm looking forward to more. 85 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:15,000 So what inspired you to enter this specific competition? 86 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:26,000 Were there any aspects of it that particularly appealed to this competition by Foundation for Bolivian Artists? 87 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:45,000 Well, there were many things, but I think it was something incredibly special to have a foundation to support Bolivian pianists that we are really not necessarily many or it's not the main activity in Bolivia, like the piano playing. 88 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:53,000 So it resonated with me a lot, of course, and it's like it woke up my attention like immediately. 89 00:16:53,000 --> 00:17:08,000 And it's really such a great thing to have the opportunity to have the blue concert in American Hall and one of the most important halls in the US possibly and therefore in an entire planet. 90 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,000 So it's a very prestigious thing for me, a very big opportunity. 91 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:34,000 And of course, my biggest passion is to play and through my playing discover new cultures and new opportunities, new publics. I thought that this is like the excellent, really excellent opportunity to open myself to new worlds like in the United States. 92 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:47,000 So then could you share more about your Bolivian background? I know you mentioned that you've lived there until you're maybe for 18 years or so, right? 93 00:17:47,000 --> 00:18:00,000 Yeah. But specifically, like your background and also how it really influences your artistry today and then how does your cultural identity shape your approach to music? 94 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:13,000 Yeah, well, Bolivia is, as I told you, is one of the most important things in my daily life. I try to remember every day that I'm a Bolivian. 95 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:37,000 And, yeah, of course, I should say that I got since very early, maybe even unconsciously, a lot of inspiration from our diversity, our cultural diversity, because we have like, we're surrounded by about 36 different ethnic groups in Bolivia, 96 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:47,000 and the three different, I mean, completely different landscapes in between the mountains, valleys and tropical forests. So it's really, I mean, there is absolutely everything. 97 00:18:47,000 --> 00:19:08,000 And, yeah, since very early, since I have memory, I mean, I saw and I heard dances even like on the streets from outside, from being inside home and hearing like from very far, like some brass, I mean, heavy brass music and that is called like the morenada. 98 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:19,000 And they were like dancing and then I saw, I went to the street and I saw how they were dancing with these costumes and that made, of course, a very big impression since very early. 99 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:33,000 And that's the music that I was hearing. And there's such a big diversity of dances and tunes and they are just so full of life. 100 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:52,000 And I think that's the first contact I really had with music. And it's great because it's really, it's so much what we are, what we are as a country and as people. 101 00:19:52,000 --> 00:20:06,000 And then it meld with somehow the classical music. I mean, I had the first opportunity to have touch and contact with the music of Mozart or Chopin at my 12th or 13th year. 102 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:15,000 Before I played piano, but just like for fun or I mean, I improvised a lot. I had like lots of compositions. 103 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:31,000 Yeah, but it was quite late that I discovered like in a way the classical music. And when I heard it came like almost by accident, a CD of Mozart's last symphony to my house. 104 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:42,000 And when I heard that, I knew immediately that that's the music that I wanted to do. That was my fate. It was really the thing that I wanted to do and explore for the rest of my life. 105 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,000 And yeah, and here you have me like doing that. 106 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:52,000 Wow, really, that's great. Well, then you're really meant to do this, right? You're meant to be. 107 00:20:52,000 --> 00:21:02,000 But yeah, I think it's interesting because you have this rhythmic complexity of the Bolivian somehow hair attached. I mean, it's really still imprinted on me. 108 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:18,000 And that's why since a couple of years, I really decided to focus on South American composers and launched my first CD, including also, I mean, like music by by Gimestera Villalobos, Marvin Sandi, that is a Bolivian composer. 109 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:23,000 Okay, so this, so this you said that's a first album, right? 110 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:32,000 Exactly. And I also included the I mean, many people would wonder why I also included the Davids von Latentz of Schumann. 111 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:46,000 That is exactly because of my years in Germany, also exploring the German culture and realizing that they are also dances and that they might have been also heavily influenced by the German Carnival. 112 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:57,000 It's very typical, I mean, from the area where I was in Cologne and I felt a very strong connection between the between all those pieces and they were like all miniatures in a way. 113 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:09,000 So I am very happy with that combination that I made and it also reflects what I am as a musician. 114 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:21,000 Wow. So you're quite a world traveler. So when you lived in Bolivia and then you went to after that, you went to Europe for college or? 115 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:27,000 Yeah, I went immediately like straight away to Germany. 116 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:42,000 And I've been in many cities like in, especially in Weimar, the city of Franz Liszt, Cologne, where I made my masters and where I'm now developing a project that I will mention afterwards. 117 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:49,000 And I also been in Austria, I had also the chance to work with Paul Badura-Skoda, who was a very, very big influence. 118 00:22:49,000 --> 00:23:01,000 One of the other fields I really adore are like period pianos. Really, really crazy. I mean, Badura-Skoda somehow inserted some seeds in that regard. 119 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:13,000 And now I'm really like so happy to explore that and to play like the music from CP Bach to Beethoven in a very like improvisatory way. 120 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:22,000 And yeah. And then, well, as I was like a bit stuck in the pandemic in Germany, I wanted to try something different. 121 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:32,000 That's why for my artist diploma to England, I made an artist diploma in the Royal College of Music. It was a great, great, great experience. 122 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:44,000 And yeah, in a way, I'm still connected with London. So my life rotates between Belgium, Cologne and London. Yeah. Yeah. 123 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:52,000 And yeah, well, after my artist diploma, I needed like, yeah, I was, I mean, really to see what's going to happen career wise and which was the best opportunity. 124 00:23:52,000 --> 00:24:02,000 And I think the Chappelle really, I think it's a kind of island that I have now to develop really my career in the best way. 125 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:11,000 Wow, beautiful. 126 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:23,000 So now I want to know what you'll be playing at the concert on February 28th. I'll be there, by the way, so I can't wait. And I'm so looking forward to it. 127 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:31,000 So can you tell us the each piece that you'll be performing and then the name of the composer? 128 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:45,000 Yeah, well, I decided to make a kind of combination between European and South American composers that in a way influence a bit each other. 129 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:54,000 So, of course, the focus is on the South Americans. So I play pieces by Bolivian composers as Eduardo Cabad is one of the pioneers. 130 00:24:54,000 --> 00:25:04,000 He's like one of the first actual Bolivian composers to insert like our Indian roots and traditions. I mean, indigenous. 131 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:10,000 I mean, yeah. But he calls actually these pieces like Iris Indios. 132 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:24,000 So it's in a way we can really feel, I think, this very strong tradition, Bolivian tradition, melting piano music that I think it's one of my essences, of course. 133 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:33,000 And by the other Bolivian composer, a couple of decades later, Marvin Sandy was very, very much inspired by Eduardo Cabad. 134 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:50,000 He made even one of the pieces I'm playing is called In Memoriam to Cabad that recreates some of these Irish Indios in a very modern way in a language of the like 20th century with a lot of like polytonality. 135 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:59,000 And it's really great. And then also Sandy, like some Ritmos Fantasticos that are like incredibly like visionary and modern. 136 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:10,000 There's even like a twelve-tone piece that is like, I mean, meld with some like Bolivian dance, of course, is something incredibly bizarre and unique that I really love. 137 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:21,000 Yeah. And then, of course, two of the most important South American composers, Ginastera and Villa-Lobos. 138 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:37,000 So I play the Sude Danzas Criollas that are Ginastera that are Argentinian dances also in a very modern 20th century approach. 139 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:43,000 They are actually not only Argentinian. I mean, the Criollian sense could be also meant by the South of Bolivia. 140 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:48,000 So that's, of course, something that's very, very much connected to my identity. 141 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:57,000 Yeah. And the Villa-Lobos is one of my favorite pieces, the Ciclo Brasileiro, that are like four different pieces that represent different parts of Brazil. 142 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:04,000 And they are also very much inspired into his European contemporaries. 143 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:13,000 And there you can hear a lot of Stravinsky, Debussy, Prokofiev. I mean, it's really, it's very, I mean, the evidence is very clear, but it's made in a very, very great language. 144 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:28,000 And that's why I chose to play also the European parts. And there is the selection of the Saudades do Brasil from Darius Mio, a French composer that was a very good friend of Villa-Lobos. 145 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:36,000 And he was very much inspired on Brazilian culture. Many, many pieces we know as Escaramuche, for instance, and they're inspired. 146 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:48,000 Yeah. And these are like, it's a solo piano cycle that inspires in different neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro. So I think it melds very well with the Ciclo Brasileiro. 147 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:58,000 And another piece that is very important for me is the Indian Diary of Busoni that is inspired in North American 148 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:13,000 tunes and traditions that were presented by a student of him that was in America and Busoni was incredibly inspired by this music and wrote this amazing cycle that is the Indian Diary that I really love to play. 149 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,000 Yeah. 150 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,000 So it's a bit of a combination of all of these things. 151 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:29,000 What a great selection that you have. This is this selection is really specifically curated for this competition, this concert. 152 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:37,000 Yes, it's the first time that I would play like this, this repertoire. I mean I played all of the pieces in very different like settings. 153 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:50,000 But now I thought it's the opportunity to make something like absolutely authentic and that is like inside our like, how could I say like indigenous tradition. 154 00:28:50,000 --> 00:29:07,000 I mean because I think all of these pieces have that and they're also very different, very, very varied in a very different tonal language. So I am really happy to embark on this adventure. 155 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:12,000 Wow, very interesting selection and I love it. 156 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:29,000 How do you envision this opportunity shaping your future. What do you hope to take away from this entire experience, you know, being in New York for several days and performing and also meeting with, you know, audience members afterwards, and so on. 157 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:30,000 Yeah. 158 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:50,000 Well, of course, as a young pianist, I have the best hopes and of course the hopes that everybody has. I mean, that's, yeah, maybe in the audience there will be some promoters and maybe, maybe some agents, maybe, maybe press and maybe I will get some interesting reviews. 159 00:29:50,000 --> 00:30:01,000 That's always of course highly appreciated and that's, I mean, to build up our career and to bring it also to the next level and I think in a city to New York, this is very much likely to happen. 160 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:14,000 But of course I'm aware that this is also, I mean, these are things that each of us like really hope and that they are not easy things to achieve and we cannot control that. 161 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:25,000 So I would also like to value maybe some of the most important things that is like to share with the audience, especially with the Bolivian community in New York. 162 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:37,000 And I'm very, very much looking forward to meet all of them and to have a lovely time within the days of the concert, I mean before and after it, and to share that very, very special moment through the music. 163 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:43,000 Wonderful. Do you have any other exciting plans while visiting? 164 00:30:43,000 --> 00:31:01,000 Well, of course with Walter I'm trying to get some other opportunities, maybe some little performances and some, yeah, I mean, also like networking a bit with the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard 165 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:20,000 and do some projects also in the regard of South American compositions and maybe going also to some other areas nearby also to meet people and maybe have some little house concerts and connect a bit. 166 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:36,000 But also, of course, explore and travel and also be influenced by the amazing culture there. I mean, it's such a special zone, I think the East Coast and with cities around like Boston or DC also and maybe have a day trip. 167 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:43,000 And in New York, of course, too, I mean, I think maybe a lifetime wouldn't be enough to see all what is there. 168 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:52,000 But of course I want to, I'm also very interested in contemporary arts and there is so much going on there. So I'm very excited. 169 00:31:52,000 --> 00:32:07,000 Yeah. All right. So looking ahead, what are the next steps in your musical journey? Are there any specific projects, collaborations, aspirations you're pursuing as you build on this achievement? 170 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:22,000 Well, at the moment I'm focused on keep doing competitions like the Busoni and I'm trying, of course, I'm hoping to have some other opportunities also in 2025. 171 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:40,000 It's like I think it's the year where I can do most out of it. So I'm really working on filling my agenda from like, especially from 2026 onwards. I mean, to have like also to have this year really to focus well on the competitions. 172 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:53,000 It's like in a way my last call. Yeah. But I have a very, very, very important project as I mentioned briefly before, and this is called Mazurka Concerts. 173 00:32:53,000 --> 00:33:04,000 It's something I initiated in Cologne, a city where I live and I think is the place where I felt most at home after La Paz. 174 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:31,000 And the concept of this concert series is to bring classical music to younger audiences, like the people of my about my generation or below so that we really can cultivate this and to be really to make it in a very fresh and very, very spontaneous and very accessible way. 175 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:45,000 That is not always easy. And it's something that I've been developing from the last two years, and we have been incredibly lucky to have a kind of sponsorship from Bechstein and they have been really amazing. 176 00:33:45,000 --> 00:34:02,000 They gave us like a brand new grand piano where we can really do our concerts and we had I think four or five concerts this year already and I want to bring it to really to a higher level in 2025. 177 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:16,000 Yeah, and also explore of course, some other types of music like electronic music that is really, yeah, especially I'm really really interested in that. 178 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:23,000 Wow. Yeah, yeah, I didn't do much but I have really this very big wish to explore more. 179 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:28,000 Really? Oh, how wild is that? 180 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:43,000 Yeah, yeah. It's, it's just incredible because as I told you I improvised so much in my childhood, early teenage years, and I had also like some bands. 181 00:34:43,000 --> 00:35:03,000 And I had like a very specific language and I never knew what it was till I kind of discovered like ambient, I mean, it's like Four Tet for instance or John Hopkins among many more, where I feel that that's maybe also part of my music vision and my identity and what I really like. 182 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:15,000 Yeah, and I have to, I have to say what I mean it has been really inspiring me very much is also like some Japanese ambient, like in May Day and particularly Susumu Yokota. 183 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:22,000 He's, it might be a bit like forgotten now unfortunately he passed away I think like 10 years ago. 184 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:40,000 But he, he is just incredible for me and I've been listening to a lot while being in Japan because he kind of I mean it's very often that he loops like just little fragments of classical musical pieces sometimes even just one chord, but you recognize it in the way it's made and then he puts 185 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:57,000 I mean like, I mean, he makes like the most accomplished and highly sophisticated music out of it. And that inspires me very much and I mean in the century in which we are we are also open to explore that a bit. 186 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,000 Sure, and you know honestly, yeah. 187 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:12,000 In these, these DNAs, you can really have multiple sort of identities as a musician right? Yeah, it's not just one thing. Yeah. 188 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:19,000 Exactly. And I think it doesn't, it doesn't have to be something that you will necessarily like show up I mean if you do that for yourself. 189 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:37,000 It helps you to develop like many other fields of I mean, in my case my playing I mean for instance when I started hearing that I think many things opened into my approach, even with Chopin or Schumann or, I don't know, or Bach. 190 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:40,000 Maybe especially Bach. 191 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:52,000 I also like a lot like Wendy Carlos that synthesize like lots of his works and or Dillard Arbisher is less known but yeah. 192 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:59,000 It shows that our music can work in any really in any setting. 193 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:13,000 Thank you for sharing all this. So, so for our wonderful listeners, if you are in the New York City metro area on February 28 2025, or even if you're not but would love to visit the city. 194 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:33,000 Don't miss Jose Navarro Silverstein's exciting solo piano recital at Marking Hall Lincoln Center tickets are selling fast. So head over to the foundation for Bolivian artists website at Bolivian artists foundation.org slash Opus two. 195 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:48,000 The link is also listed in the description of this special episode from there you'll be directed to the California Center website to purchase your tickets. And here's something special just for listeners, use the exclusive promo code. 196 00:37:48,000 --> 00:38:12,000 Opus to at checkout to receive $20 off of the $45 ticket price. So that's a that's a nice huge deal right yes. Also to learn more about Jose and his incredible artistry please please visit his website at Navarro Silverstein.com. 197 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:23,000 And if you would like to learn more about the foundation and support its mission, please visit Bolivian artists foundation.org. Once again, all the links are in the show notes. 198 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:42,000 Jose best of luck with the 65th Boson international piano competition and also your, of course upcoming solo piano recital at Marking Hall I'll be there on the 28th and I can't really wait to hear you perform and meet you afterward. 199 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:56,000 Thank you so much for your time and for this some interesting questions that really helped me and I think as I said are important things to think about. Thank you. Thank you for opening up and then answering all these questions. 200 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:15,000 Thank you. And don't miss our first full episode of 2025 featuring Claire Lungenbeck concert pianist and recording artist premiering next Tuesday, January 14 at 8pm Eastern Time. Thank you for listening.