Known as one of the foremost interpreters of Beethoven and Schubert, British pianist Paul Lewis adheres to one basic rule: “Everything I play, I have to love. I have to be crazy about playing it.”

Lewis, who will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 8-10, tells the Vancouver Sun, “If you present great music that you love, you have a better chance of convincing an audience. … Great music gives you the best chance of connecting with the listener everywhere.”

To read the full interview, click here.

Along with the three subscription concerts, Lewis also will join the CSO for an Afterwork Masterworks concert Jan. 7. Vasily Petrenko will be on the podium for all four dates. While at Symphony Center, Lewis will sign copies of his CDs in the Grainger Ballroom after his Jan. 10 performance. His latest disc, out Jan. 13 on Harmonia Mundi, features two staples of the  the keyboard repertoire, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (originally composed for solo piano) and Schumann’s Fantasie, Op. 17.

PHOTO: Paul Lewis is framed by piano hammers in this portrait by Josep Molina for the label Harmonia Mundi.