Evgeny Kissin

Kissin is so immersed in his world of music that he has little time for much else.

"I listen to music all the time," he says, "but I only listen to the pieces I am working on when I have established my own ideas about the piece." However, his own recordings appeal to him less. "I never listen to my own recordings, but rather to other people's all the time." When asked why he never listens to his own recording, he laughs "because I'm not interested in them. I made them and I know them so well I would rather listen to things I don't know."

In addition to the music that made him famous, Kissin is also passionate about poetry. "I have always loved poetry since I was a child," he confides. In fact, during a recent summer festival Kissin took the stage and recited poems from memory for over an hour and a half.

Kissin is an intensely private individual and rarely gives interviews. But when he does he takes as much care in answering the questions honestly and accurately as he might in learning a new piece of music for his repertoire. Like everything else about Kissin, his answers are genuine and make one thing clear: Evgeny Kissin's music is his life, and his life is music.

Breandáin O'Shea