Andre Watts

October 24, 1999|By Cheryl Lavin.

Birthday: June 20, 1946.

Birthplace: Nuremberg, Germany.

Occupation: Pianist.

Current home: Rockland County, N.Y.

Marital status: Married to Joan Brand.

Car: A Lexus.

Working on: Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which I will perform with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at Orchestra Hall in Symphony Center, to benefit the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago.

The last good movie I saw: "Elizabeth."

The books I've been reading: "The Undertaking" by Thomas Lynch (Norton), "The Wheel of Life" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (Touchstone, paperback) and "The Hand" by Frank R. Wilson (Vintage, paperback).

Favorite performers: Feodor Chaliapin, Josef Hofmann and Oscar Peterson.

Prized possession: Hopefully I'm making enough progress in my spiritual development that I don't have an answer to that.

People always think I'm: Modest and humble because I speak so often about how much luck has played a part in my career. I simply believe I'm being factual. After all, I've never said that my own talent and hard work didn't play an enormous part in my professional survival.

If I could do it over: I can't do it over so I don't spend energy on hindsight. I want to focus on the past with the aim of not repeating some of my mistakes in the future.

I'd give anything to meet: Franz Liszt.

My fantasy is: Everyone actively living the Golden Rule.

The one thing I can't stand: Cruelty.

My most irrational act: Walking out on stage night after night trying to transmit the souls of composers through my soul and mind and body.

Most humbling experience: I was driving on a large rural road, passing many cars and trucks. A state trooper pulled me over. As he looked at my license, he said, "So, how does it feel to be famous?" Just as I was about to respond with some "Aw shucks, I'm not really that famous" answer, he continued, "I've been hearing these truckers talk on their CBs about your speeding red car for miles."

The three words that best describe me: Generous, guileless, complex.