Maria João Pires and J Krishnamurti: Silence, Music and the Arts - Full Interview

Maria João Pires in conversation regarding the concert to celebrate the philosopher J Krishnamurti `s links with the arts :
CONCERT DETAILS: Saturday 3 September 2016, 7.30pm at the Cadogan Hall, London, England.
For details: www.j-krishnamurti.co.uk
J. Krishnamurti: Silence, Music and the Arts - Maria João Pires/ Beethoven
with Aditi Mangaldas (Indian Classical dance), Nigel North (lute) & Maria João Pires (piano)
Programme:
Indian Classical Dance
Seeking the Beloved
J.S. Bach
Lute Suite in G minor, BWV 995
Exhibition interval with visual art by the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and the artist Siegward Sprotte
Indian Classical Dance
Zero Moment (extract: Timeless)
Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111
With an introduction by Ian Skelly.
Many special musicians including Pablo Casals, Michelangeli, Segovia, Stravinsky and Ravi Shankar were linked with J. Krishnamurti. Claudio Abbado referred to the importance of listening and of silence in music. For J. Krishnamurti silence was at the centre in life and listening and attention were crucial.
Aditi Mangaldas a leader in Indian Classical dance opens the concert to celebrate J. Krishnamurti’ s links with music and the arts. Nigel North, one of the world’s foremost lutenists will play Bach’s Suite BWV 995, and the concert ends with Maria João Pires playing Beethoven’s profound and last Piano Sonata, Op. 111.
Video edited by Phoebe Ng

[@massymiss01]

Love to hear you play, Maria. Nice to listen to you as well.
Cheers from New Zealand.

[@ViolinValia]

Maria is wonderful and wise as always, and in such a contrast with this annoyingly impatient interviewer, who is so much in love with his own voice that the desire to speak impairs his ability to listen, to feel and to enjoy the silence. The space between words is sometimes more powerful than the words themselves.

[@chopin4321]

lovely...-wise...invisible saint....waiting for a moment of silence...she found music in silence

[@nickpapworth72]

It sounds to me as though the interviewer, through no fault of his own, suffers from a medical problem related to his throat or vocal cords. Some people are rather too quick to judge.
For me too, reading Krishnamurti for the first time was a revelation that triggered first, a descent into deep depression because I knew perfectly well that what I was reading was Truth (not THE Truth, because there's really no such thing), yet my life was such a mess - why couldn't I see clearly? I was young and I was seeking something, but what it was escaped me.
Some time later, another revelation came to me while sitting on a bench in the Agora: a mind totally empty of thought, a glimpse of timelessness, an understanding with no thought patterns of exactly what Krishnamurti talks about. Meditation. Simply put - and in his own words - an awareness of what is. A moment in which time is no longer a concern. Silence of the mind. The realisation that the observer is indeed the observed - a difficult concept to grasp at first because one assumes that the observed is a separate object, something outside oneself, and it isn't. It's not me looking at the tree.
Since then JK has remained my guiding light, and I'm now nearing seventy. No, I haven't tried consciously to attain that state again or to emulate the master in some way, because I now know that if you are fortunate enough, it comes to you, not the other way round. There have been other brief moments of such awareness when the mind is quiet, and they come as a reminder that our ordinary lives do have a higher purpose. What that purpose is, is up to you alone.
Furthermore, and perhaps just as importantly in this case, as a music lover I have been a big fan of Ms. Pires ever since I first listened to her interpretations of the greats. To me she's right up there with the very best. The beauty of her playing is self-evident.

[@sylviedelaye7330]

Interesting interview. Stange coïncidence : I also came across the writings of Krishnamurti ( at the local library) when I was living in England in the 1980s and read all the books I could find by that philosopher as his ideas were really making sense for me. Unfortunately he is not well known in my country (I'm French).
Just hope he will be famous across all the universe one day ! That's the best way I can resume my feeling.
Thanks to Maria Joao to find the words to express that in a much better way than I do and to relate him to her personnal approach of music. We need more people to make step by step their way in those kind of reflexions...

[@dianamavroleon1]

l find this an inspiring conversation between two sentient and knowledgeable individuals coming together to share their impressions of music related to the life of women & mankind, to science, to composers and to KM.
The problem with the vocal sound of NM's voice is due to lapel mics not being used, and we are hearing him from a side position, therefore it is rather muffled. Apart from that, l think he is speaking imaginatively, is totally immersed in the subject matter/s and to Maria Joao Pires ideas and responses. Thank you NM for stepping in, you did a grand job. MJP is both eloquent and modest - a unique gift to music.

[@user-yu8cg7lz2h]

the great thing about ones own life are the wonderful silences that occur after an acid trip the red sky in the evening seems to remain static ones own realisation that we do not move around as much as time remains static the movement that does not occur CAN BE ANALAGOUS tothe spaces brtween notes in a concerto sometimes the piano returns to the stage of self realisation of the great god image intrinsic to the instrument the composition plays itself and the player rises to new heights if you see lang lang there is an example obviosly he has his dull days but to watch him is to see him perform the symphony of music and player entering nirvana good old rashnish of the orange cult understood the platform of the musical mind

[@karennoble1168]

Somehow it is not very clear, are they talking about the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti whom I also read, studied for years as there is another J.Krishnamurti.??

[@SpiKrishPri]

🫵 You got it, that is the only one, not like the others grumpy UG Krishnamurti which are many.

[@DanielLopez-zt4ig]

What Krishnamurti book was that?

[@IoanNicut]

Just in case you were wondering what the piece playing in the background was. th-cam.com/video/UVyIfg6CQAQ/w-d-xo.html

[@gabrielsoutopiano]

Obrigado!

[@alwatsonpianist]

The interviewer needs to speak clearly!!!!!!

[@opustravels3659]

Sounds like he is hearing impaired. Nevertheless, he needs to stop saying "nyes, nyes, nyes" all the time and let her speak