Pianist Robert Silverman has performed with some of the most well-known symphonies in the world, including the Chicago Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, the BBC London Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and every major orchestra in Canada.
But it's only in Squamish that you can see him for the second time in less than four months.
On Feb. 4 and 5 he will be performing two concerts at the Eagle Eye Theatre. The first show is a full concert starting at 8 p.m. on Feb. 4. The second performance is a matinee recital at 2 p.m. and will be around 45 minutes long.
This is the second time this season Silverman has performed in Squamish. He played with the Borealis String Quartet in October.
"Twice in one season, that's sort of nice," Silverman said. "I'm very much looking forward to returning. The audience was warm and appreciative.
"They can expect a really good concert," he said, noting he will not be playing any Canadian content. Instead the performance will focus on Bach, Revelle, Chopin, Beethoven and Brahms.
"I just play music I love and the people love," he said.
Silverman doesn't have a favourite composer among the classical music he plays. He just loves "whoever I happen to be working on at that time.
"Really almost all the classical composers I've come to love," he said, although he admits a certain attachment to Beethoven.
Silverman has been playing the piano since he was four years old. His parents tell him he used to set the radio to classical music, even when he was as young as two or three years old.
"I think they noticed I was very interested in music," he said. "It was just something I took to quite naturally."
His career has spanned 25 CDs and a dozen LPs and classical music is the focus of his repertoire.
"Basically I've been doing this music my whole life," he said.
In the past year and a half, his music has taken a new focus. He retired from the University of British Columbia where he worked for 30 years and he is now recording and performing full time.
"There's something wonderful also being able to wake up every day and saying 'today is mine,'" Silverman said.
But retirement doesn't mean all play and no work for the pianist, who was nominated for a Juno for his 10 CD recording of all 32 of Beethoven's sonatas.
"When I'm learning new music I really have to sweat the hours."
He has several CDs coming out within the year, along with a DVD of performances. He also said in there have been discussions of a large Mozart project for 2006, because it is the 250th birthday of Mozart.
Tickets for the show are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for children and students. The matinee price is $10 for adults, seniors and students, and $8 for children. Tickets are available at Mostly Books, Billie's Bouquet and Highlands Video.
