It’s not often that the notion of “survivor’s guilt” comes up in a conversation with a classical pianist.
But Simone Dinnerstein, who makes her third summer appearance at the Aspen Music Festival on Saturday evening, has experienced such feelings in the face of the international success that has engulfed her during the past three years.
In the past 12 months alone, she made her debut with such major orchestras as the New York Philharmonic and Frankfurt Radio Symphony in Germany, and in a few weeks she travels to Japan for the first time to play with the Tokyo Symphony.
But perhaps her biggest recent career coup came in January, when the Brooklyn- based soloist signed an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical — one of the field’s most prominent labels.
“I have friends who haven’t had this kind of success and who probably deserve it,” Dinnerstein said, “and it’s hard all around if you see colleagues who should also be having this happen, and it’s not happening.”
Unlike most top-drawer classical artists who emerge as child prodigies or grab the field’s attention in their 20s, Dinnerstein did not spring into prominence until her mid-30s — relatively late.
“It’s been enormously challenging,” Dinnerstein said. “It all happened very suddenly, and though I had been playing concerts consistently ever since I was a student, I hadn’t been playing concerts in the kind of venues that have this kind of pressure.”
The relatively little-known pianist became an almost instant sensation in 2007, when Telarc released her self-funded recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” and it shot to No. 1 on the classical charts.
Dinnerstein was not ready for the complexities that come with a high-level career — everything from dealing with agents and publicists to contending with the headaches of constant travel.
“I kind of wish when I was in conservatory that people talked about this,” she said, “because I think a lot of students don’t really understand the whole picture. They think if they practice hard enough, that should be enough. But it’s not enough.”
The biggest challenge for Dinnerstein, who has an 8-year-old son, was finding the right balance between her home and professional lives and managing her time on the road.
She performs about 50 concerts a year, fewer than half of what some noted artists take on. And when she is away, she forgoes sightseeing and devotes most of her free time to practicing and rest.
“It’s all a bit boring, but it’s what I need to do to play well,” she said.
Dinnerstein recorded her first Sony album in June with Berlin’s Kammerorchester der Staatskapelle, and it is schedule for release in January. For anyone familiar with her musical tastes, it was no surprise that the release is devoted to works by Bach.
“I guess since I was a teenager he’s probably been my favorite composer,” she said. “There’s something about his music that allows musicians to be particularly creative.
“I feel that when you listen to lots of different people play the same piece of music by Bach, it sounds really different from one person to another — much more so than if you’re listening to the same piece of music by Beethoven or Mozart.”
Of all the works she plays, Dinnerstein remains best known for the “Goldberg Variations,” which she performed in May in Denver under the auspices of the Friends of Chamber of Music. But she is not worried about becoming typecast.
“I think the ‘Goldberg Variations’ is always going to be a very important piece of music to me,” she said. “I don’t mind being associated with such a great piece of music, but I think I’ve now done enough recitals where I’ve played other music that I’m not really concerned that I’m only known for playing that piece.”
For Saturday’s concert, she will perform three works from her upcoming album, including Bach’s Piano Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, and Piano Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056, with guest conductor Case Scaglione and the Aspen Concert Orchestra.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein
Classical Music. Harris Concert Hall, 960 N. Third St., Aspen. Dinnerstein will perform three works from her upcoming all-Bach album as part of the Aspen Music Festival. She will join guest conductor Case Scaglione and the Aspen Concert Orchestra for the Piano Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, and Piano Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056. She will also present a solo work, the English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808. 8:30 p.m. Saturday. $55. 970-925-9042 or .
