Paris (AFP)

From a prelude by Chopin to "Deborah's Theme" by Morricone: crossing the ages in her latest album, the Franco-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili likes to talk about classical music in the plural and accessible to all.

The one who is sometimes nicknamed "the pop star of classical music" assumes the eclectic side of the album, rightly named "Labyrinth".

"By putting together pieces from the baroque era and today, the barriers between people and eras are erased," said the 33-year-old pianist whose album, her seventh, was released. on October 9 at Sony.

"The pieces I have chosen are all + classic +, in the sense that they have stood the test of time, are universal and touch us", adds the young multilingual woman who has lived in Paris since 2011 and was naturalized French in 2017.

Among the 18 pieces are "Les Consolations" by Liszt, "La Sicilienne by Vivaldi" but also "I'm Going to Make a Cake" from the soundtrack of the film "The Hours" by Philip Glass, giant of contemporary music, or "La Javanaise" by Serge Gainsbourg, inspired by Juliette Gréco who died on Wednesday.

- "Music lover or not" -

"I do not distinguish between the composers that I like, between the Requiem of Mozart or + Deborah's Theme +" (from the soundtrack of the film "Once Upon in America" ​​by Sergio Leone), adds the artist who learned the piano from the age of three in his native Georgia and gave his first concert at the age of six.

"Of course, music takes many years of work. But the mix (of genres) goes back to my childhood in Tbilisi, I loved jazz too and my mother listened to folk", remembers the young woman who collaborated in 2015 with the famous British pop group Coldplay.

It pays particular tribute to Ennio Morricone, who died in July, and who in the album "naturally takes his place among the other great composers".

"His music evokes the dreams of childhood and adolescence, the emotions are so concentrated there".

The pianist, who has a sister who is also a pianist, Gvantsa, doesn't like to make distinctions within her audience either: "when I play, I play for a human being, music lover or not".

If many praise her virtuosity, she also has her detractors who reproach her with an overflowing personality for a classical musician and a too free and emotional interpretation of works.

- "The first step" -

But Khatia Buniatishvili assumes her style.

In music, "we are looking for personalities (...). If there is a diverse audience that comes to my concerts, it is because they feel that I am close to them".

"I'm not on a pedestal and they are down. On the contrary, it's me who takes the first step," says the pianist, who likes the idea of ​​"classical music for everyone".

"There are people who don't come to a classical concert because they think they are going to be looked down upon or because they don't know".

His collaboration with "Démos", orchestras that introduce children from disadvantaged neighborhoods and rural areas to the practice of classical music, enthusiasm.

"In Georgia, I grew up in the suburbs (...). This project is so that classical music is the daily life of these children, whether they become pro or not".

She brushes aside the controversies over her look that have accompanied her from her debut due to her tight dresses or her necklines.

“One day I'm glamorous, another I'm not. It's not to create a buzz,” she says.

Does being nicknamed the "Beyoncé of the piano" bother her?

"Why would that bother me? It's a form of feminism that I like: the image of a strong woman who owns the stage well."

© 2020 AFP