No. In reality I admire Wagner, but I am a mere amateur of his spiritual and musical world. I know Lohengrin, as well as his Lieder with piano. Wagner truly deserves to be admired.

You come from the country which for many years has had the most influence in the “authentic” performance movement. Is there any reason to explain why Holland became a focal point of such importance?

It is important to be cautious with the use of the expression “authentic performance”, which has been subject to much abuse, misunderstanding and simplification. It is therefore preferable to avoid it altogether. I have never used, nor thought about, this idea, because it is not very clear. On the other hand, a vast number of ideas exist which could be called “authentic”. It is true that any serious effort made to penetrate music, to decipher its meaning, is worthwhile.

The movement you refer to was indeed very important in Holland during the 1950s. But at the same time, a very important movement flourished in England (Dolmetsch), Switzerland (Müller and Wenzinger in Basel) and also in Germany, with musicologists such as Seiffert. In Holland, an interest in other languages has existed for a long time, given that Dutch is spoken in a very limited territory. The need to, and interest in, speaking foreign languages (at school one learns French, English and German, as well as Latin and Greek) leads practically all the Dutch to speak several languages, sometimes not very well, but they always make a serious attempt, and this idea of venturing beyond one’s own culture is very positive. An interest in foreign languages is, in reality, an interest in foreign cultures, because a language is already another culture. Language isn’t simply a mass of words, but a form, a melody, a construction, a way of life. The effect is similar to a form of poetry, since one creates images by speaking.

I never listen to recordings. The recording is a document, but the music is something which vanishes. There is a contradiction between both ideas. A constellation of rhythm and resonances, something which, in reality, lasts only a moment, can’t be converted into a document. It is true that from time to time a recording can contribute something, but normally this is not its function. Above all, compact discs are unreal, perhaps purer, but not as vivid.

The recording of Soler’s complete works for harpsichord is, in my opinion, a feat in itself. However, I believe I have heard you state on several occasions that you weren’t completely satisfied with the result. What do you attribute this to? Do you believe a certain “Mediterranean” sensitivity is necessary in order to tackle this music?

It isn’t true that I was dissatisfied with the recording. All the sonatas really gave me great pleasure. When this project was first proposed to me, I didn’t know how well it would turn out, but I though it was a good idea and I accepted without any further thought. I don’t believe a “Mediterranean” sensitivity is indispensable in tackling Soler’s works. The music itself reveals everything. There is also a clear influence of northern European music in Soler, for example, Haydn. Soler uses two forms, baroque and classical, it’s as if he had one foot in the Baroque and the other in Classicism, and this is evident in the two kinds of sonatas he composed.

But, above all, the Spanish government’s invitation offered me the unique possibility of fully penetrating the composer’s style. Imagine that someone could perform Mozart’s entire output; that would give him a profound knowledge of it. Well, something similar happened to me with Soler, I could comprehend the reason for his different styles of writing. I was able to observe that no two pieces were alike, none of them were repeated. However, I couldn’t resolve the problem of the authenticity of the Fandango. Soler’s name is mentioned in only one extant source. The style of the Fandango is certainly different, although there are similarities which allow it to be attributed to him. For the moment, however, we must accept the doubts as well as the attribution.