A relationship based on appreciation, respect, and trust is sure to endure—whether you’re talking romance or, in the case of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and concert pianist Yefim “Fima” Bronfman, an artistic partnership.

It’s been more than 30 years since the Soviet-born Israeli-American and the VSO first made beautiful music together. And given that Bronfman has selected the orchestra as one of just a handful to accompany him in presenting the full Ludwig van Beethoven concerto cycle, the mutual admiration is as strong as ever.

“With all the orchestras [with which] I’m playing the Beethoven concertos, I’ve had kind of a long relationship,” Bronfman acknowledges in a low, languorous rumble from a hotel room in Amsterdam. He’s there between concerts in Munich and Moscow, and it’s late. He sounds a little sleepy, but dutifully answers questions without complaint.

“Vancouver Symphony, goes back to the ’70s that I played with them for the first time. So it’s old friends,” he says.

The friends will be spending plenty of quality time together in the coming weeks, with a total of four concerts dedicated to presenting all five of the great composer’s piano concertos, in chronological order.

“The Beethoven concertos are presented regularly throughout seasons; they’re the most popular concertos written for piano,” explains Bronfman. “But I think it’s nice to do the whole cycle in a very short period of time, and see the development of the concerto form by one composer.”

It’s an ambitious project, but when pressed on why these works, in particular, deserve such a treatment, he isn’t one to indulge in any grand theorizing.

“One can ask that about anything: why Prokofiev cycle, why Brahms cycle, you know?” he asserts, bluntly. “I never know what to say because, you know, the reason we are doing it is because it’s great music, and because it’s worth presenting. Why do people present Shakespeare plays? Why do people present Greek plays? Because those are great things to present, that’s it.”

He has a long history with the pieces, which he began learning around age 15. “I’ve lived the concertos my whole life. I can say that things evolve all the time with this music. This is the magic of this music; it’s like rereading some fantastic book, and every time you read it, you find new things in them. You know, I don’t know about you, but that’s how I find things in great authors, that you always uncover something that you have not noticed before.”

Any conversation with Bronfman that turns to writing can’t avoid mention of his surprise cameo in Philip Roth’s 2000 novel, The Human Stain. “Bronfman the brontosaur!” wrote Roth. “Mr. Fortissimo.…Yefim Bronfman looks less like the person who is going to play the piano than like the guy who should be moving it. I had never before seen anybody go at a piano like this sturdy little barrel of an unshaven Russian Jew. When he’s finished, I thought, they’ll have to throw the thing out. He crushes it.”

Equal parts compliment and insult, it’s a review to end all reviews. “Was I upset? No, not at all,” insists Bronfman of the passage. “I was flattered, to be honest with you.…That’s how he saw it, whether you agree or disagree, and I think that fit the context of his book somehow,” he says, carefully adding: “Don’t forget it’s a fiction.”

VSO music director Bramwell Tovey’s description of the pianist, on the other hand, is rather more genteel. “He’s a super guy,” the maestro raves. “He’s a really funny, witty, brilliant guy. I mean, he’s just fun to have around.…He’s so collaborative. There are plenty of guest artists who come and play the piano brilliantly, but aren’t necessarily the greatest collaborators. But he really is. He’s one of those people, when he hears the sound of the orchestra, he sometimes changes the way he plays. And that, of course, makes it a much more enjoyable experience for all those concerned.”

Tovey points out that, given Bronfman’s schedule, “We’re really lucky to get a slice of him like this.” He is currently touring with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and will be hastily flying to Australia and back between his two VSO concert weekends to honour all his commitments.

When asked how he deals with such endless travel and, surely, exhaustion, Bronfman remains gracious. “Well, that was my choice,” he says, simply. “Nobody pushed me into it. That’s what I wanted to do. I know there’s a price to be paid, but it’s still a wonderful thing to play great music with great orchestras.”

Suddenly invigorated, he goes on: “You know, I find that [when] you go from country to country, every country has a different language, but there’s one universal language: the language of music. That’s what unites people in a way, the language of music is so powerful. People forget their political issues and economic issues, and cultural differences and all that. Somehow it unites people in this very beautiful way.”