Interview with BTV Bulgaria
Interview with Maxim Lando:
The American pianist makes his first guest appearance at the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
Written by DANIEL DIMITROV - Published on February 12, 2026
Photo credit Victoriya Ucheva
The New York Times wrote about his "brilliance and infectious cheerfulness", the Gower Festival defined him as "one of the most brilliant and inventive young pianists to emerge in recent years", the National Review spoke of him as a "complete musical being", and Arts San Francisco - as a "dazzling fire-eater", the Frankfurter Neue Press elevated him to "a demigod of the keys"...
American pianist Maxim Lando calls himself passionate, loving, and intense by nature, an adrenaline junkie whose driving force is simply the desire to create great music...
It is impressive how he seems to play with a vivid sense of narrative. Even in the classical repertoire he looks for theatricality, contrast, inner tension – as if he is building a scene, not just an interpretation. This probably explains his attraction to the musical... "I am not worried about contrasts, I rather embrace them. They are part of the whole. You cannot fight contrast," he says.
There is movement, a pulse, an "urban" dynamic in his playing - something he himself associates with New York, with speed, with intensity, without unnecessary sentimentality, but deep enough, emotionally open and enthusiastic to grab you...
And despite his undeniable virtuosity, everything seems accessible and all too human... With the taste and purity of childlike curiosity, with his love of exploration and the freedom to be anyone. This romantic soul with New York energy will be making his first guest appearance at the Sofia Philharmonic on February 12, 2026 – with Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, conducted by Maestro Rosen Milanov.
Photo credit Daniel Dimitrov
Maxim Lando in conversation with Daniel Dimitrov - about the choice between piano, violin and clarinet, about concerts around Europe at the age of 11 and today, about repertoire contrasts and which composer he feels is his "natural language", the structure or emotion prevails when he is in front of the piano and what happens in the first seconds before he touches the keys, about his energy sources and the gods of the keys, about classical music as a party, about the voice and musicals, about ping pong and 40-kilometer walks...
Let's start with childhood. You started playing the piano at the age of three, but was there a chance to talk to clarinetist Maxim Lando today? Which of your parents had the greater influence on you?
Both of them. Both of them are musicians, they run a music school, and I basically grew up there from a very young age. I was always surrounded by music. My mother is a pianist, my father is a clarinetist. I've been working with my mother since I was three or four years old, and we still play together for her, as well as with my father. So they both have a huge influence on me. The best thing is that I could never escape music - it's always with me, no matter what. During long car trips, my parents would play music. It literally seeped into me. We would listen to the same things over and over again, so it was always inside me.
Otherwise – yes, I would like to be a clarinetist! I really would like to! But no, no, no! (Laughs – note). I tried a few times when I was little. Apart from the piano, the only instrument I tried was the violin, and I was terrible. But I love violin music. I think I listen to more violin music than piano at the moment. I know almost the entire repertoire, all the concertos, I can listen to the Tchaikovsky concerto endlessly.
And what do you remember about Europe when you were 11 – Spain, Russia, Germany, Great Britain? And what does it look like now?
Oh, that's interesting – how Europe has changed for me… When I was younger, I thought of it as a fairyland, like a journey into something unknown. I only had pictures and ideas. This was before you could search for everything online so easily. So I had vivid images in my head of what Germany, Italy, Bulgaria looked like…
One of the places that seemed most exotic to me was Kazakhstan. I've been there a few times with my parents. It's incredible. Mountains, landscapes - like from a movie. Same with Spain. The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona amazed me every time I passed by it.
Today, when I return to Europe, I'm more used to it, I know what to expect. But there's still something special. I don't want to use the word "calm", but it's almost peaceful. It's hard for me to put it into words, but there's something very special.
Photo credit Daniel Dimitrov
Are you worried about repertoire contrasts in a concert or album?
It depends. When I play a concerto with an orchestra, the piece is often already chosen. And the choice of piano concertos is still limited, although our repertoire is huge. However, in solo recitals, programming is one of my favorite things – choosing the piece that “talks” to another piece, combining styles, putting “unexpected” composers next to each other... I can also include my own improvisations. A big part of the pleasure of playing chamber music is that you can play with all of this. I don’t worry about contrasts, I rather embrace them. They are part of the whole. You can’t fight contrast.
Is there a composer that you feel is "your natural language"?
I love romantic music. So Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Chopin are kind of my bread and butter... There's something about their harmonies that's so nostalgic and evokes such strong emotion...
What comes first to you – structure or emotion?
Emotion. Structure is usually the last thing I pay attention to (Laughs – note a). That's where it gets more complicated, because the two go hand in hand. But both are needed.
Please tell me, what happens inside you, in the first seconds before you touch the keys? Is there fear, or is the adrenaline too high? When I look at you, sometimes I feel like you want to break the piano... Or is it just love?...
(Laughs out loud – note a.) At the very moment when I play, everything is love. But before the concert I am a person who is very worried. The good anxiety – the adrenaline that you cannot live without. I feel it so strongly that when I go on stage and look at the keys, they seem foreign to me – like an instrument that I have never seen. And that is precisely the beauty... At that moment you create something and you have no idea what will come out. It may be wonderful, it may not be so… You create it on the fly and see where it will take you.
It's especially intense with an orchestra. The last thing you want is to mess something up. But that's part of the game. In the moment, anything can happen. The possibilities are endless... You create and it just is what it is. That's what I love about music.
Photo credit Daniel Dimitrov
What are your sources of energy?
Oh man. I feel like there are many sources of energy. I think the mind is a very powerful thing that creates delusions, illusions... You create your own fantasies in your head. I feel like my main source of energy comes from what I create inside myself, and I hope that translates into music.
I can give another answer (Smiles - note) When I was younger, I would push myself, listen to Michael Jackson songs, do some jumping jacks before concerts and feel myself going on stage with this energy...
Now I like talking to people. Everyone is different. Some musicians want complete isolation, they don't like talking to anyone, they want to be in their own space. But I like being around people, I like company, I like sharing my laughter. At some point you're like, "It's show time," you go on stage and do your thing.
The Frankfurter Neue Press calls you the demigod of the keyboard. And who is the God of the keyboard? Chick Corea? Lang Lang?
Both are very important in my life, and I have been lucky enough to be close to them. But there are so many “keyboard gods” – both living and deceased. Vladimir Horowitz is one of my biggest inspirations. I can listen to him all day long without getting tired of him. Lang Lang also has that power, Chick Corea – too. Outside of the classics – Billy Joel. I am a big fan of his.
Sometimes my greatest inspirations aren't even musicians, but an idea - what a piece means to me. It can shape everything that comes next on the keyboard...
Can classical music be a fun experience?
One hundred percent. It's an endless world to explore. There are bottomless layers. As a performer, it's easy to say you're having fun - otherwise why would you do it? I think I'm lucky in that respect and I hope that the musicians here in Sofia are lucky too, that they do this because they love it.
As a listener, I also feel the adrenaline. When I go to a concert, I feel how the artist draws me into his world. He gives me a glimpse into his ideas, into his personality, into the way he hears music written centuries ago. For me, that's incredibly exciting.
Photo credit Victoriya Ucheva
Have you ever thought about using not only your hands, but also your voice as part of the art?
Yes! In another life, I would like to be a singer. I can't say that I have a great singing voice right now, but during the pandemic, I started writing pop songs. So I would like to do that at some point.
But the voice can be used for many things – not just singing. I love talking to the audience, especially in solo recitals. I love playing, telling stories, sharing. Sometimes the piano speaks enough, but sometimes words create a connection – to give a little insight that people wouldn't think about...
Then the voice becomes part of the magic.
That's right – it becomes part of the magic. I like it! There are wonderful works with a narrator. It's incredible for the audience to become part of this meeting between the magic of the voice and the magic of the music.
Sounds like a musical...
That's right. Like a musical.
Speaking of musicals, do you change your repertoire in the shower? You've previously shared that you love listening to the musical Jekyll and Hyde. "I often find myself singing at the top of my lungs in the shower and running around the house screaming the lyrics," you say.
(Laughs out loud – note.) Yes, the repertoire changes periodically. Now, for example, it's Sweeney Todd's turn.
For some reason, I'm drawn to more bombastic musicals, with a dual character. And the shower is a great place to sing, no one judges you. Everything sounds better in the shower, they say. I don't know if it's true...
The interesting thing is that it's still a musical...
For some reason, musicals appeal to me.
Have you played in musicals as a pianist?
I've never been in a musical, but I've done transcriptions. I've created my own versions of little bits. I love that. I would go to a musical every day of the week, it's fascinating to me.
The strange thing is that when I see a different art form than the one I'm doing, I start to get jealous. I start to think, "How can I incorporate that into my own recital? How can I recreate that feeling? How can I convey, without copying, the energy that is felt in the musical? What is it that appeals to me about it and how can I bring that to my own art form?"...
I think you have to play a musical live on the piano, and be the narrator at the same time...
Absolutely. My parents are organizing a music festival and I've been trying to convince them for years to include a musical. Maybe this year it will happen.
Photo credit Daniel Dimitrov
What does a New Yorker look like through your eyes?
I think that to survive and succeed in New York, you have to not let things get to you. It's a city without unnecessary sentimentality. You walk down the street at full speed. You hardly look where you're going. Everyone is in their own world. And that's part of what attracts me to living there... You can be whoever you want to be - without judgment. Nobody cares because the city is full of so many interesting people, and nobody really stands out. Everyone has their own agenda, their own goal...
I love the madness of the city. The constant honking. The constant traffic. The people pushing each other. And at the same time – some of the nicest people you can meet.
That's an interesting question... What is it like to be a New Yorker through my eyes?... I wish I could give a better answer... I grew up 30 minutes from the city, on Long Island - a completely different atmosphere. Suburb, with fewer cars, fewer people, more relaxed, almost like a small town...
The last few years I've been living in New York itself. After a few days there I feel overwhelmed, like my head is going to explode. Then I have to go back to Long Island. But at the same time I love that energy. I think I live and thrive best where there's energy.
Did you manage to play ping pong in Sofia, where does your love for this game come from?
Not yet. But I was thinking of looking for a place later today, along with my father, who is here with me.
The love for ping pong comes from him. He played in college. We have a table in the basement of our school. Ever since we were little, parents of students would hear that we had a table and come to play. They would bring their shoes, rackets, headbands… and beat us. Then we got better.
Do you have time for the long walks you like to take? In one place you say that you often walk over 40 kilometers. "I always look at nature during these walks, which inspires me to come up with new ideas in music," you say...
I haven't had a chance lately because I've been really busy, but I hope to soon.
My route is usually the same - on Long Island, where I live, from the north side to the south. We live by the tide, and the walk crosses the island right across to the Atlantic Ocean. It's not the most scenic route, but it's fun. It helps me clear my mind. I love "The Lord of the Rings", so in my head I imagine that I am one of the characters. If I'm with a friend - even better.
I have a habit - wherever I go, I want to take at least one long walk. If I'm with my parents, I "drag" them along with me (Laughs - note a). Maybe today will be such a day for me and my father.
Do you travel with him often?
It's rather rare for it to be just the two of us. When I was younger it was more common. Now he and my mother are very busy with teaching and concerts.
Whenever I have the chance, I travel with at least one of them. If I'm lucky, with both of them. Family trips are a wonderful thing.
Do you have brothers or sisters?
Not by birth. But one of my teacher's students needed a foster family on Long Island. She's been with us for five years. I feel like she's like a sister.
Is there a word that best describes you as a person?
(Thinks – note a.) I don’t know if I can choose a word myself. (Continues thinking – note a.) A difficult question… Maybe the word is loving. Hopefully (Uses hopefully loving – note a.). But that’s probably something that others should say…
How would you continue the sentence "I am a person who loves..."?
I am a person who loves to explore. I love to discover new things, to create new ideas. But most of all I love to share them with people. That is my hope.
Written by DANIEL DIMITROV - Published on February 12, 2026