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INTERVIEW | No Silence
11 May 2026

As is so often the case, I followed an impulse. I was at a certain point in my life where I felt I wanted more: more people, more awareness, more truth, more resistance. I wanted to redefine what it means to me to be an artist and a human being. To be free. And I also wanted to define what it means not to be free.

For me, it is crucial to have people around me whom I can trust, who are open-minded and who want to grow. This is what I try to convey to the students I teach at the university. Talent and hard work are one side of the coin. The other is wisdom. Knowing who you are surrounding yourself with. And why.

For me, the basic idea is actually quite simple: I want to give truly exceptional artists the opportunity to establish themselves in the market – and to do so under conditions that allow them their own personal freedom. My role is not to impose something on them that does not suit them. I want to empower these people, who are important to me, so that they can tell their own stories as loudly, as noticeably, as confidently, as credibly and as uniquely as possible. I want the artists to feel at every moment of our collaboration that they are the soul of the label.

Those were terrible, terrible weeks for me. I suddenly lost the ability to speak. Literally. I felt lonely, vulnerable, lost. For me, Israel had always been a place of safety, as well as a promise. I felt safe because Israel existed. And when Israel was attacked in this brutal, inhuman way, something inside me broke. For months, I struggled to find the right words. The music was still there. But the language was gone.

I remember exactly what it felt like before I played the first note. I was on stage. I felt liberated. On the drive home, something felt different. That was when I decided on the name No Silence. I decided then that I would never be silent again. No Silence is thus more than a label. It is an attitude. For me, the name signifies a refusal to look away. A refusal to conform. A refusal to treat art as decoration, as a sedative.

If I follow the plea of No Silence to its logical conclusion, it becomes clear to me that the label can only be the beginning. It is the first building block of a house; more will follow, and they are already in the works. Because it takes more than a label to change things, to resist the thoughtlessness and heartlessness of our time, and to counter the lack of beauty, meaning, courage and hope for renewal. That is why I am currently working on the concept for a No Silence Foundation, which will support musicians from a wide range of musical styles and encourage them to spread the No Silence message to the world – through a festival, an academy and educational programmes. In short: No Silence is meant to become a network; the label is just the beginning.

No Silence is not purely a classical music label. The genre does not matter to me. About six years ago I had an important encounter with the young pianist Lukas Sternath, who became my student and is an extraordinary artist. But whether pianist, violinist, singer, rapper, guitarist, jazz musician, soul or punk artist: the only thing that matters is whether someone truly inspires me. I did not start No Silence to launch yet another label. I am doing it because I believe that, in ten or twenty years, No Silence will be the place where the most exciting music of our time can emerge.

I will put the programme together with my team. The decisive question will not be: Are you a good fit for me? but rather: Who are you? What do you need? I want to see others for who they are. Not as an extension of my own ideas. Decisions will be made collectively. What is crucial is that people at No Silence feel that they are treated well and are actually treated well – when it comes to intellectual property, rights issues, equality,and autonomy. I want them to be able to develop freely.

The first three albums will be released in autumn 2026. Lukas Sternath will make his debut. He will be playing Liszt and Schubert. Not a gentle programme. The Dante Sonata is a musical inferno – Liszt pushing the limits of what is possible. The Wanderer Fantasy: Schubert forcing the piano to be an orchestra. Everything becomes bigger than it ought to be. Everything breaks open. This is no debut. This is an arrival. Then I will be recording Eric Satie’s Vexations. I have already performed the piece live twice. 840 repetitions of the same motif. 16 hours. Until silence becomes impossible. And finally, Beethoven’s Eroica in Liszt’s piano arrangement, together with Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon. Beethoven, who first admired Napoleon and then rejected him because he understood what power does to people. Schoenberg, who wrote about tyrants while living in exile because he could not remain silent. Dörte Lyssewski will recite the text, Antonello Manacorda will be conducting, and the Kammerakademie Potsdam will be performing.

I was sitting on a train to Salzburg with my friend, the artist Christian Hoosen. His lighter, one I had once given him as a gift, was lying on the table in the train. So, I said to him: This is it. I want something to be ignited. Not to destroy. But to set the sparks flying. Christian then came up with the No Silence logo: a hand holding a lighter. That was the first step. Then he said, “I know two great people at a creative agency. Let me talk to them.” This is how the Pfadfinder came into the picture. Their first draft no longer showed a hand with a lighter, but an explosion. With a person standing right in the middle of it. He stays there. He doesn’t walk away. I immediately realised: this is it.

Every artistic voice that is heard for the first time is an explosion. Not in a destructive but rather a constructive sense. I want to help ensure that this voice reaches the world as clearly, as loudly and as unmistakably as possible. “Here I am.” That is the phrase I want to hear.

Sony has been my partner since 2012. It is a partnership that has grown over the years through many albums. It was a natural decision for me to bring Sony on board with No Silence. This is the path I want to take, but I do not want to take it alone. This is why No Silence will be launched with Sony as a partner. The soul of the label will remain independent. No Silence is meant to be a place for artists who see it as more than just a label that produces albums. They become part of a broad network that articulates a clear stance and a view of the world: look closely, don’t stay silent and make a difference. No Silence.