Official Trailer ✅: "Blurred Boundaries: Classical Meets Jazz" feat. Ophelia Gordon

I had an incredible conversation with Ophelia Gordon —concert pianist, recording artist, and one of the world’s leading interpreters of Nikolai Kapustin’s music—for Season 5, Episode 12!

Ophelia’s artistry defies categorization. She seamlessly blends the rhythmic pulse of jazz with the technical depth of classical music—a rare and extraordinary balance. Her discovery of Kapustin’s music was a pivotal moment, leading her to a composer who, like her, refused to be boxed into a single genre.

• 💡 How do you bridge two musical worlds that seem at odds?
• 💡 What does staying authentic in a tradition-bound field really mean?
• 💡 How can improvisation reshape classical performance? We explore these questions and more in this inspiring episode.

What to Expect in This Episode:

• 🎹 Kapustin’s Legacy – A classical composer with a jazz heart.
• 🎵 Improvisation & Freedom – Redefining technique and expression.
• 🎷 The Jazz-Classical Intersection – Breaking down genre barriers.
• 🔎 Finding Your Artistic Identity – How Ophelia forged her own path.
• 🎤 Recording & Interpreting Kapustin – Behind the scenes of Between the Lines.

🔥🔥 Read the full blog post and learn more about Ophelia Gordon HERE.

For our paid subscribers on Substack, enjoy exclusive early access to this exciting episode on our Substack page on February 24 at 8:00 PM ET—one day before the official release! https://thepianopod.substack.com/subscribe

📅 Premieres Tuesday, Feb 25, at 8:00 PM ET

• Watch on YouTube → https://youtu.be/VTHMvumdAZE
• Listen on your favorite podcast platform → https://linktr.ee/ThePianoPodAudio

👏👏 Don’t miss this episode—it’s a deep dive into what it means to be a musician in the 21st century!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I'm an artist who doesn't tick any boxes.

(00:05):
I don't fit neatly into a style or an expectation.
I'm very multi-faceted and my background, my education, my training and now my work
gives this multi-diverse approach.

(00:26):
And I think that as my artistry has been growing and changing and I've been
maturing as a pianist, I'm starting to realise that it's being yourself and being
authentic is what makes you an artist.
Join us for an exciting episode, Blurred Boundaries Classical Meets Jazz, featuring
Ophelia Gordon, concert pianist, recording artist and one of the world's leading

(00:50):
interpreters of Nikolai Kapustin.
Ophelia shares how Kapustin's genre-defying music helped her find her artistic
identity, blending classical precision with jazz freedom.
It can take a long time to figure out who you are and then when you start realising
that you're not meant to be another person, you're not meant to be another type
of musician, and we will only grow as an individual if we embrace ourselves.

(01:17):
And I think it's that distinction between kind of doing what's expected and then
actually playing really what connects to you and just going with that.
And as soon as I started almost like rebelling in some way and not playing the
repertoire that everyone was expecting me to play, my performing was improving

(01:40):
because I felt this is really what I should be doing, and especially with Kapustin
because it speaks to me and it speaks to my education as well.
It's made me feel very at home.
We also explore improvisation in classical music, the influence of jazz and the

(02:01):
making of her upcoming album, Between the Lines.
Kapustin doesn't fit into a box either, and I think that must be what drew me to
him, and I'm hoping with Kapustin that I'm able to show my journey through the
album because I'm not playing his music purely because I like it.

(02:22):
It's for a very different reason, and I think the album has come exactly at the
right time in my life, and it's an album about a journey.
Tune in Tuesday, February 25th at 8pm Eastern Time on YouTube and all major
podcast platforms.
Substack subscribers get early access one day before the official release.

(02:44):
Don't miss this inspiring conversation on music, artistry, and breaking boundaries.