If you include his 1991 debut album, which contained a single Prokofiev transcription, and his recent recording of the Violin Sonatas with Pierre Amoyal, Frederic Chiu has recorded 11 CDs containing Prokofiev's music. Given he's only in his mid-thirties, that's an amazing accomplishment.

Born in Ithaca, New York to Chinese parents, Frederic Chiu is a world-renowned pianist. He made his public debut at age 14 with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Juilliard-trained, Chiu has performed all around the world, competed in the Van Cliburn Competition, and won the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Chiu is best known for his recordings of Prokofiev's solo piano works on the Harmonia Mundi label. The cycle has won consistent praise, including a Diapason D'Or for the complete piano sonatas. In this exclusive interview, Frederic gives us insight into his passion for Prokofiev, as well as music in general.

Prokofiev.org: You've recorded nine CDs (ten if you include the sonatas for violin and piano) so far in your critically acclaimed cycle of Prokofiev's piano music. And I'm sure everyone is anxious to know -- do you plan to record the piano concertos?

Frederic Chiu: The concertos are the obvious next step in my recording plans. Unfortunately, with the economy and how it is affecting the classical music recording industry, and the general evolution of classical music recording, it is much more difficult to organize than just a solo piano or chamber music project. And finding the right conductor and group is crucial, especially given my views on Prokofiev's music which are slightly different than the "mainstream" picture of that music (if you can say there is a mainstream!).

Which conductors would you like to record the concertos with?

I'm looking for a conductor who is outside of the Russian tradition, because I believe there is another way of looking at this music. I admire Gergiev and Temirkanov, but for my own project I would prefer a more Western European approach. Perhaps French, since Prokofiev was so attracted to France himself. Definitely someone who is familiar with the music from a pianist's point of view. That doesn't leave much of a choice, unfortunately, and with the budget constraints of recording orchestras -- hopefully in a couple of years something will work itself out. I'm on the constant lookout.

Have you played any of the concertos live in concert? If so, which ones and with whom?

I've performed the 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The 3rd was one of the first concertos I played with orchestra, at the age of 18 after winning a competition at Indiana University. I have a recording of that performance, and I'm surprised sometimes myself at how close it is to my current interpretation of the piece, many many years later. The 2nd concerto is my personal favorite. I have a recording of Yakov Zak in my ears which for me is the reference. That recording played constantly at our house when I was not even a teenager. I was recently contacted about replacing a pianist to perform the 2nd, on 2 days notice, after not having played it in 6 years. Opportunities to perform that work are rare, so I accepted, worked like a dog, and played it quite well! That was with Bernhard Klee, in Germany.

The 4th is heard even more rarely than the 2nd. I recently performed it in New York, with Richard Kapp conducting. It may very well have been a New York premiere. The parts the orchestra rented had not been used since Serkin played the premiere in Philadelphia in 1958, which was also the American premiere.

Talk about your views of Prokofiev's music. It is readily apparent in your traversal of the Piano Sonatas that you have a consistently original approach. How do you approach a work conceptually before you record or perform it?

My approach with any work, whether in the standard repertoire or not, whatever historical or stylistic period, is the same. I look at the score as if it is a new piece, with no performance tradition layered over it. I take in the context of the piece, historical and psychological for the composer, and try to decipher it according to those conditions. For the Prokofiev Sonatas, this meant disregarding the political ideology that has influenced how this music is played. Prokofiev was an outsider, uninterested and uninfluenced by ideology, so attempts to categorize him as a "European" or a "Soviet" composer reduce his music to a particular style. There are elements of both in all his works, and finding the balance is much more productive and rich than trying to streamline it to fit one or the other. Prokofiev himself spoke of 5 different elements in his music. I have found that most interpretations tend to reduce his music into a series of easily categorized scenes, emphasizing one expressive element over the others, rather than find the right combination of different elements at every moment.

While speaking of consistently original approaches, in the Vivace to the Eighth Sonata, you chose a very quick (some have said excessive) tempo. The effect is quite exhilarating, others have called it transcendent. What was your intent? Whose other recordings of the 8th influenced your approach?

I have in my unconscious ear the Richter recording of the Sonata from one of his early American recitals. I haven't listened to this recording in many, many years, and couldn't tell you what his tempi are! In fact, from the moment I started learning the work, I haven't listened to any other interpretation. The tempo I found for the last movement is the one that imposed itself, after a long one-on-one relationship between that music and myself. Tempo is one of the mysterious elements of music, one which has a life of its own, one which will naturally come out based on one's internal feeling and understanding of the music.

Describe your first encounter with Prokofiev's music -- how old were you and what effect did it have on you?

My encounter with Prokofiev's music happened very early, before I could remember. There was of course Peter and the Wolf, but also the Lt. Kije Suite, which I asked to hear over and over when I was a toddler. There were also recordings by Richter, who was making his American debut around 1970. An all-Prokofiev recording with the 8th sonata and other pieces was constantly in the background at my home as I grew up.

I have always felt close to his music, even though culturally there is nothing that would suggest a close connection between a Russian and an American-born Chinese. I think my connection to him comes at a personal level, beyond any cultural background. He was an individual, independent, outsider, and I see myself in the same way.

At Prokofiev.org, we've noticed this connection as well. Much like you, most people are introduced to Prokofiev through his lighter works such as Peter and the Wolf and the Lieutenant Kije. Most ordinary classical music fans often respond less favorably to Prokofiev's more strident and dissonant works such as the Second Symphony or the Scythian Suite. Yet those more ardent Prokofiev listeners quickly delve into these very same works that the casual listener avoids. For example, in a poll we're running now on the site, much to our surprise there seems to be a strong attachment to the Second Symphony, and very little if any support for the First, which is by far the most oft-played in the concert repetoire. Do you think Prokofiev fans go through an evolution in their likes? How do you connect with those who are less attuned to Prokofiev's more dissonant side?

There is a way for everyone to approach Prokofiev's music, because Prokofiev himself was so concerned about being understood by a general audience. The idea of an evolving relationship with his music seems natural, since the composer also evolved in a very strong way. I find personally that my tastes are tending more towards the introspective pieces at this moment, and it was a period that the composer himself went through during his years in Paris, before leaving for Moscow.

Did you ever play any instrument other than the piano?

I spent many years playing cello, before and during high school. I was first chair in some youth orchestras, played lots of repertoire (Tchaikovsky 4th, 5th, Beethoven Egmont Overture, Shostakovich 5th, Mahler 1st, etc). There was even one concert where I performed the Beethoven First Concerto in the first half, then joined the orchestra for Tchaikowsky 5th in the second. I also played oboe for a year, but found that too difficult and so switched to ... French horn! I played the horn in marching band in high school.

Yes -- some of your most highly acclaimed Prokofiev recordings are of the transcriptions of his orchestral works such as the pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, and Lieutenant Kije. I assume having played so many different instruments, and from divergent families of instruments, helps you to conceptualize his orchestral transcriptions? Your approach belies a keen insight into Prokofiev's orchestral mind. Did you ever study conducting at Juilliard? Do you conduct now?

I've never studied conducting, nor do I conduct. There is a whole side of politics and negotiation in the art of conducting which I've never felt particularly drawn to, nor good at. That's why I'm so attached to transcriptions, which allow me to enjoy and perform this repertoire without having to go through the "trouble" of directing a group of people. That's one of the great things about the piano: one has the possibility of creating multi-layered music instantaneously and individually, following your inspiration of the moment.

I guess that having participated in orchestras has opened up my ears to different colors. That does play an important part in playing transcriptions. I realize more now as I meet students how common it is for pianists to find themselves in an isolated situation. The great power in playing the piano - self-sufficiency, immediacy - also creates great risks - self-aggrandizement, self-absorbtion. Being able to situate oneself in a social setting is crucial for musicians, who are already in a world of their own, but who have a wonderful path towards others through their art.