Bacchus Festival. The ensemble made its United States debut in the chamber music series at La Jolla, California, and in Scottsdale, Arizona. In an April 2000 interview with Kempf, MusicWeb-International's Marc Bridle wrote,"Unlike many musicians of his age, Kempf has a startlingly mature interest in chamber music", quoting Kempf as saying, "With the piano it's very easy for your life to become very solitary. You're always the soloist, or you tell the conductor what to do. And with recitals it's the same, you just do what you want. ... It's nice to sit in a chamber group and be told 'you're playing rubbish', or to be told what to do. ... For me it's one of the most fulfilling mediums to play in. Especially with the piano trio you can be as selfish as you want with each instrument treated as a solo." Bridle went on to note, "His craving for chamber music came from the Marlboro Festival", and cited Kempf recalling that, "I remember being told I'd have to rehearse the Mozart Piano Trio on the first day. […] All of these people were there and they just wanted to play chamber music. Even if you played with the cellist of the Guarneri Quartet, who had played with Rubinstein and had played the piece more than 200 or 300 times, you always felt comfortable. If you had a valid idea they would listen to you, it was just a wonderful experience". Bridle added, "At no time during our interview does Kempf seem more at ease than when talking about chamber music". References External links Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British classical pianists Male classical pianists British people of German descent British people of Japanese descent 1977 births Living people Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music People educated at St Edmund's School Canterbury Prize-winners of the Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition Child classical musicians People from Croydon Eurovision Young Musicians Finalists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century British male musicians