bulthaup soul

bulthaup soul
The pianist and composer Francesco Tristano was born in Luxemburg in 1981. He studied at the Luxemburg, Brussels, Riga, and Paris conservatories before graduating from the renowned Julliard School in New York. The creative drive of this prominent figure in the international music scene has led him into the realms of both classical composition and electronic music.
In the following conversation, Francesco Tristano, featured in the event recently held by bulthaup at the Flowers by Bornay space, touches upon subjects as diverse as the relationship between inspiration and the instrument, the parallels between cooking and playing music, the central, magnetic role of the kitchen within the space of a home, and the ritual of cooking and its introspective quality, while also telling us about his personal connection with his bulthaup kitchen.
We had 30 people in a tiny, tiny little room, and that was where the party was. I realized that the kitchen really was the fundamental place in the house. So I never really understood why the kitchen should have walls–the kitchen is a central piece, and it should not be surrounded by walls, it should be an open space. And that's what we did in this apartment, in this loft which actually doesn't have many walls, except for the four walls that define the space. We put the kitchen in the center of the house, where the light is best, and built this three-meter long island. I turned out that it just became the central meeting point. Everything that happens in this house is around this island.
The many moments to cook
Any moment is the best moment to cook. I love to cook at wild hours, I love to get up in the middle of the night–if I've got jet lag, for example–and start to cook like crazy. Just the other day I got back from Japan and by 5:30 in the morning I was cooking at full steam, and by 6 my wife was downstairs and it was the happiest moment of the day. The whole house smelled like food.
I think I cook best for myself. By myself and for myself. A very dear friend of mine, a great cook, cooked a very good meal for me many years ago. It was an unbelievable, unforgettable meal. And I realized that when he was cooking, his face changed, his facial expression sort of turned off. It was kind of scary to see. I don't think he wanted me to see it, but he couldn't help it; when he was cooking he was transformed. And that makes me think that great cooks are solitary. And I can identify with that, because as pianists or composers, we are also very solitary. We spend our time by ourselves, alone, preparing for the next concert or the next show. Similarly, chefs spend hours and hours alone in the kitchen, cooking for themselves. And maybe after a while they have some people over to taste their new creations. Then, eventually, they offer a performance, the presentation of a new dish at a restaurant or a cooking fair. So I think the solitary moment in the kitchen, when you alone are faced with your instrument–the kitchen–and the cooking gear is fundamental.
The first meal with bulthaup
The first time I used my bulthaup kitchen, I wasn't sure whether I was going to go for the full culinary experience or just prepare a sandwich. So I went to the market and I got some shellfish and some nice herbs and tomatoes and I made a big seafood pasta. And basically, within a half hour, the kitchen was going full steam, and it was like I was baptized: I was baptizing the ritual of using my bulthaup for the first time. And it has been going full steam ever since.
There's not a day when I don't play my piano, and there's not a day when I don't use my bulthaup.