NATIONALITY: Israeli

HOME: London, England

NOTEWORTHY: Mr. Giltburg feels a strong need to engage audiences beyond the concert hall. His blog “Classical music for all” is aimed at a non-specialist audience, and he complements it with articles in publications such as Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, The Guardian, The Times, and Fono Forum.

WHAT ABOUT MEETING A NEW PIANO IN EACH NEW PERFORMANCE HALL?

The moment of first contact is significant. You enter the hall; the instrument is on the stage; you approach . . . All the while somebody from the hall stands nearby, also expectant. For you, this is just one piano of many, but for them, it is the only piano that matters, and they can care deeply about the way you react to it . . . The piano ceases to be a generic specimen of the grand piano genus, and becomes the most concrete, tangible thing there is. This is the piano you are going to play tonight, and your encounter has just begun