Q: What does your practice routine look like? Is there anything specific you do to keep your piano playing in top shape?
Llyr Williams: Nothing specific or out-of-the-ordinary. I tend to have a routine of working similar hours every day. I run-through a new program about three times at home around the same time of day I’d be doing it in the concert so that I build up my stamina/overview of the whole recital as well as concentrate on the more difficult bits.
Q: Who was your earliest musical influence? Who helped you get your start in playing the piano?
Llyr Williams: When I was very young, I listened to a lot of vocal music, mainly opera, on the gramophone. My parents bought a small upright Baldwin for me around the time of my seventh birthday, and my first teacher lived half a mile up the road.
Q: During a tour, when you perform the same repertoire frequently, how do you keep your interpretations fresh?
Llyr Williams: Whenever I revise a piece, I try and find at least five things to play slightly differently from the last time I looked at it. Obviously, this has to be done in a way which respects the idiom of the particular composer/period etc., otherwise it becomes arbitrary.
Q: If you weren’t a pianist, what other instrument would you play. And if you weren’t a musician, what other profession has piqued your interest?
Llyr Williams: I’ve never really thought about the first question. As for the second, maybe a record producer or landscape photographer.
Q: How are the pieces in this program tied together? How are they meaningful to you?
Llyr Williams: I don’t necessarily devise all my programs based on a particular link. I just tend to play the pieces that I enjoy playing and invite the listeners to make whatever connections they can between them afterwards.