Khatia’s  baby was heard crying during encores

Khatia’s baby was heard crying during encores

News

norman lebrecht

October 05, 2023

From a Standard review of Khatia Buniatishvili’s return to Vienna:

A new, leading voice has entered Khatia Buniatishvili’s life: the Georgian pianist gave birth to her first child in June and is clearly trying to sort out her priorities…

A touching image immediately after the break: applauded by an already waiting audience, the young mother rushing up apologizes with a gesture from her new life (rocking movement)….

After an artistic Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, Serge Gainsbourg’s La Javanaise as an encorein a piano version by Buniatishvili with unexpected “singing”: Anyone sitting in the front rows clearly heard a longing baby cry from backstage.

Comments

  • IP says:

    Obviously he has a fine taste in music. Or she.

  • Mum says:

    Khatia, better focus on your baby instead of chasing new contracts. Work can wait.

    • C says:

      Can we stop the constant judging of young mothers ? Everyone seems to know better than them what they should do. These kinds of comments are exhausting. Would you write this about a man who just had a baby ?

      • Dimitri Vassilakis says:

        Fathers simply do not have ( and cannot !) breastfeed their babies …

        • Also a mum says:

          There’s this amazing new invention called the bottle. They even hold breast milk too.

          • Tamino says:

            The bottle is a workaround (and could possibly have helped in this situation) but it’s never a full replacement of breastfeeding. Also mothers have to pump then, which adds to their time consuming obligations.

            That she wants to return to the concert circus less than three months after birth is her right and free choice, but you can’t have it all.

          • Vera says:

            A bottle? … please… Nature ordained the breast… not a bottle to feed a baby… a devoted mother breastfeeds… and please do not come back with some ridiculous statement that not all mothers can breastfeed… it is more of a rarity than a common problem that a mother cannot breastfeed… so many mothers simply do not even attempt to breastfeed… and yet others are clueless about breastfeeding and find all kinds of untenable reasons, often more like excuses, for not breastfeeding…

      • Tell the truth says:

        Men can’t have babies

    • Also a mum says:

      I’m sure she is more than capable of doing both. Lots of us have a career and bring up perfectly happy children. They’re not mutually exclusive nor should they be.

  • Couperin says:

    Just play with the lid down and throw the bassinet on top Khatia. Or do the left hand concerto while using the right hand to hold the baby for a mid concert feeding. After all, the baby comes first.

    • Laurance Davis says:

      So true! And for the person who gave a thumbs down, what’s wrong with you? That was a very funny comment Couperin made.

  • Phillip says:

    Cute!

  • Pierre-Martin Juban says:

    Congrats to Khatia for juggling career and motherhood.
    Check out “Song of love” with Katharine Hepburn (actually Rubinstein’s playing) performing the end of Carnaval with her baby crying in the wings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_kV9jmooks&ab_channel=Setsuled

  • Harpist says:

    A while back while listening to Damrau in the Met there was a clear little voice heard saying “Mama”. no confirmation but I am convinced it was her child.

  • David says:

    Of course here on slippedisc people still talk about how women should prioritize motherhood and claim that men can’t breastfeed…Classical music audiences need a generational upgrade.

  • Potpourri says:

    I would rather have a small cry from a baby than a cell phone ringing or people talking.

  • Mecky Messer says:

    Psychopath mother? Child abuse? Who cares? Those are a cherished tradition in the classical realm.

    One should hope Kathia doesn’ arrange a marriage with a “famous” conductor or composer to build her “legacy”.

    This, btw, is the artform that “intelligent” people should follow….or so its being commanded from the ivory tower.

    Thanks but no thanks….

    • Sheila Abraham says:

      That’s a bit absurd – or absurdly extreme! Multitudes of women leave their babies all day, every day because they must work to support them. I seriously doubt that is the case with Khatia’s baby!

  • Tim Richner says:

    Men can have it all, why can’t she? Stop with all this nonsense. She is a mother and also the best piano player in the world. She’s brilliant and can obviously do several things at once. Bravo!…

  • Nadir Boulangerie says:

    Crying has often been heard from the stalls during her concerts, and not for the right reasons.

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