"Schliessmanns' approach to the piano, though guided by a piercing intellect, remains essentially intuitive", so a reviewer in the introduction to an interview in
High Performance Review HPR, USA. Schliessmann himself stated in a conversation about the
Goldberg Variations with James Reel in 2008, According to Phil Muse, "Schliessmann is essentially a romantic, and as such he is the last sort of pianist you would expect to just play the notes as written, without comment." James Harrington argued in
American Record Guide in 2010 that "Schliessmann arrives at his own unique interpretations, with reverence for the past (
Cortot,
Michelangeli,
Rubinstein, and
Horszowski especially). While each phrase is impeccably shaped, there is an overall thrust to each work that holds everything together. He uses rubato sparingly, and while he embraces the virtuosity in the music, it never overrides other musical content. After a half century of listening to a number of these works, I must say that Schliessmann shed new light on most of them." Peter J. Rabinowitz described in
Fanfare in 2011 Schliessmann "as a fiercely intellectual pianist." He added: He's intellectual in two senses. First, he approaches this music with a tremendous store of background knowledge – knowledge about the composers and their works, about their early receptions, about their critical writings, about their literary inspirations, and about the cultural milieu in which they found themselves. Second, he performs the music with a rigorous sense of the ways its details contribute to its form, both in terms of its overall architecture and in terms of its vertical structure. Not that he sounds anything like
Pollini, much less
Rosen (to mention just two other pianists often tagged as intellectuals); his playing is far lusher and less severe than Pollini's (listen to the gorgeous shifts in color in the Barcarolle), far more flexible than Rosen's. Still, if you're looking for playing with splashy virtuosity, heightened emotionality, and an extroverted interpretive style, you won't find it here.
On playing Bach, Schumann and Chopin In 2008, Schliessmann said that he played
Bach more than any other composer and that he had played the complete organ works at the age of 21 – and this by memory. According to Schliessmann, "
Chopin is the crowning and climax of piano-playing. It's something so unique, all-affecting in emotionalism, musical architecture, and structure, that all past giants are present in it: Bach and
Mozart. Chopin's elegance is so singular, that again you need much experience to convey his music in the real and original style. The question of rubato is very sensitive: It's nothing arbitrary, but much more something well calculated and well proportioned, something that is integrated in the classical strength of form, which is constructed on the profound knowledge of the polyphonic and contrapuntal structures of Bach and Mozart."
Instruments In a segment of an interview in
Fanfare entitled "A Philosophy, Not a Profession: The Art of Burkard Schliessmann", Peter J. Rabinowitz wrote that Schliessmann is a connoisseur of the mechanics of the piano and he insists that his concert instruments be in perfect condition. He described that according to Schliessmann the quality of the sound has its source, as well, in the quality of his piano technician, Georges Ammann. One, Schliessmann said, is a "very orchestral" instrument and is used for large scale works. The other "is very sensitive and sensible, great for chamber music." He added: "The search for the ideal instruments was entirely worth it: My pianos are alive to me and a mirror of me. It was vital to get it right." Peter J. Rabinowitz explained, "this give and take is so important that, when recording in a studio, he likes to bring a few friends along to serve as an audience." Schliessmann himself said: "Sometimes, I ask one, two, or more people just to sit in the audience and to listen to me with concentration as I play. It's stimulating for me, and I try to build up a situation like that in a recital with a live audience. This helps me to play in a way that electrifies people." The interview in
Fanfare entitled "Cannons Camouflaged by Flowers: Burkard Schliessmann Talks about Chopin" concluded with a statement of Schliessmann:
Definition of success and talent In a segment of an interview in
The Cross-Eyed Pianist entitled ″Meet the Artist – Burkard Schliessmann, pianist″ Schliessmann answered the question:
As a musician, what is your definition of success? == Honours and awards ==