Federico Mompou’s approach to interpretation: listening with the body

Mompou was a Catalan composer and pianist whose art had sound, listening and their relationship with silence as main investigation elements. His music and vision of the world were infused with a strong spirituality, expressed through the physical experience of playing the piano as a means of transcendence. For Mompou, the sound of the piano is a plastic material modifiable not only at the moment of its production but throughout its duration. This belief profoundly influenced his approach to technique, composition and interpretation.

Through listening to historical recordings and analysing Mompou's writings, particularly his method of interpretation, we will deepen how the approach proposed by Mompou could offer a key to better understanding the interpretation and rubato of many pianists and guitarists of the early twentieth century.