Olivier Deschênes

I moved to Outremont for the quiet and bought a Steinway upright that barely fit through the door. My neighbours have never complained, which either means the walls are very thick or they have decided to tolerate it.

I spent fifteen years performing in concert halls where the audience sat far away in the dark and applauded at the end. I preferred the rehearsals, when everyone was close and the mistakes were audible and nobody pretended otherwise. That is what I have tried to recreate.

Eight chairs face the piano. I play one piece all the way through, then come and sit with you and talk about it before playing it again. The second listen always sounds different. I pick pieces I find difficult — not the ones I have already mastered — so you hear real work happening.