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Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and pursue a career in music?

My parents took me a to piano recital when I was three because they couldn’t find a babysitter that night. I don’t remember the pieces the pianist played but I was fascinated by the power of music that made the audience quiet for nearly two hours. I thought that if I learned this “language” people would also listen to what I want to say and so I went to my mother after the recital and told her that I wanted to become a pianist. She wasn’t happy about this and so it took me a year to convince her.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

Definitely my teachers, but also each and every collaboration with an orchestra and a conductor has given me the opportunity to learn something new and develop myself.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

Learning to say no and finding out my limits.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of? 

All of my performances and recordings are fingerprints of certain stages in my life so far, but my recent album ‘Wonderland’ means a great deal to me. There is a lot of my heart’s blood in it.

Which particular works do you think you play best?

None in particular. Of course there are days when I feel very comfortable with a work and think that I finally understand and own it – until the next day when I suddenly realise that I am still very green

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

There are so many wonderful works I want to play and programme, so I usually pick one bigger work and try to build a story around it. It also depends on what the programme of my next album is. I also of course ask colleagues and people around me for advice.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

There are too many wonderful halls out there, so I can’t name just one or two. It’s not so much a matter of the country or hall I play in, it’s about the interaction between the audience and me. So wherever music unites me with the audience,  I feel “home”.

Favourite pieces to perform? Listen to?

Always the ones I am playing at that moment.

When I am off, I don’t listen so much to classical music. I love Tom Waits, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin.

Who are your favourite musicians?

Those who are honest and take risks in the music.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

Once I played a concert in Rio de Janeiro and there was a couple sitting in the first row, eating popcorn while listening to my performance. I LOVED that.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

To know what happiness means to you. As long as one is not happy, he/she can not make others happy.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

To appreciate the small things in life.

What is your most treasured possession?

I don’t own them, but I would say my family and my friends are the most essential things in my life. And I actually have quite a nice whisky collection that keeps growing

What is your present state of mind?

I just got out of a two month break. That was a wonderful thing and I am incredibly grateful to my friends who gave me so much energy and joy in this time. Now I am recharged and can’t wait to go back to work.

German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott has gained critical acclaim for her performances at major concert halls worldwide and has established herself as one of the most exciting musical talents of today. The Guardian, commenting on her recent performance with the London Symphony Orchestra, said that she “gave the kind of gawp-inducing bravura performance of which legends are made”.

Alice has worked with the world’s leading conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, James Gaffigan, Sakari Oramo, Osmo Vänskä, Vasily Petrenko, Myung-Whun Chung, Hannu Lintu and Robin Ticciati.

More about Alice Sara Ott

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marianna-photoWho or what inspired you to take up the piano, and pursue a career in music? 

I was born into a musical family and was surrounded by music all the time when I was growing up. Both of my parents are musicians, therefore it was assumed I would follow the same path. They only asked me if I wanted to play piano or violin, and I picked piano. Honestly, I never regretted my choice. I started my piano lessons under my mother´s guidance, and continued until I was 17 years old, when I began my education at the Royal College of Music in London, studying with wonderful Irina Zaritskaya.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career? 

When I moved to Spain with my family, I met the pianist Krystian Zimerman, and was inspired by his interpretations of Chopin’s Ballades and Concertos, and Liszt Sonata. I also had a chance to hear him live several times in my hometown in Spain performing with orchestra. He introduced me to music I had never heard before, and I was so stunned by its beauty that I was desperate to get those scores out and start learning. I think I sight-read everything we had at home, and it got to the point that my mother had to hide music from me, as I did not want to practice works she assigned. That was probably the time when I realized I wanted to devote my life to music. I always felt that knowing that pianist at that age was crucial for my development. Later, as I grew up, my attention shifted to other musicians. I admire Grigory Sokolov. I should not dare to say he is my influence, but he is the type of musician whose artistry resonates with me most. He fills each note with meaning when he plays, each silence has a meaning, and each note has its beginning and its end! Every single phrase is preciously delineated, well thought and deeply felt. His musicianship is so powerful that he takes control over you and is capable of hypnotizing you. He neither tries to impress, but remains authentic. I think his performances are transcendental experiences, at least for me, and he is an artist who speaks from his truest self.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far? 

I think everybody has to go through some challenges, but personally I tend to be quite private about difficulties I go through. What I can share, perhaps, is that I learned how to remain true to myself no matter what others think of me and expect from me. I found it quite challenging because I am a vulnerable person. When you are surrounded by many musicians and participating in competitions, the pressure grows even greater. Very often your thoughts can be scattered around in your mind about other contestants, and whether the impression you left on the jury was positive or negative. With a bit of experience I realized that all these thoughts are very distracting, they separate you from who you are, and don’t let you express yourself authentically. Eventually, during my competition performances, I was able to attain the freedom I feel when I perform any public recital.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?  

I am not sure the word “proud” is the most appropriate; I am a perfectionist and always feel I can do better. However, I would probably say that I am happy with my most recent album dedicated to Rachmaninoff.

Tell us more about your new recording…

The album features Variations on themes by Chopin and Corelli. I was dreaming about this project because Rachmaninoff is a composer whose music I find very close to my heart and my soul. I have to say that I had an absolutely awesome team: I was lucky to work with an amazing producer Elaine Martone, who was extremely supportive, encouraging and inspiring during the recording sessions. Chelsea VandeDrink is a fantastic recording engineer who did her work fabulously, and Anilda Carrasquillo created a booklet I could only dream about. I felt that it was a very strong team, and it was an excellent experience to work with these people, with whom I created a strong bond and most importantly, a lasting friendship. This CD was possible thanks to the Cincinnati World Piano Competition, which I won in 2013.

What is the particular appeal of these works by Rachmaninoff for you? 

I have always felt a close relationship with this composer, and considered recording some of his compositions a long time ago, but then in my twenties discovered his Variations on a Theme of Chopin Op.22, a work that unfortunately is not often performed. I was fascinated by the incredible variety of moods and emotions Rachmaninoff reveals in this music, as well as by the way he transforms the theme throughout the composition, making it barely recognizable. It is a work with endless possibilities for a pianist to display his or her mastery.

I often think that composition’s fate grows from the roots. What I mean in this case is that the work had a very moderate reception when Rachmaninoff premiered it in 1903 in Moscow. The preludes Op.23, written during the same summer, enjoyed a bigger success, and his other major hits, like his second sonata, or the second concerto, for example, completely overshadowed this composition. Even though nowadays you may find a few recordings, I feel pianists are afraid of its length and that it might not be an easy piece for the audience. This set of variations lasts about half an hour, but isn’t the Liszt Sonata thirty minutes long? Any late Schubert sonata would be even longer! When I performed this work in the semifinals of Seoul International Piano Competition in 2008, one jury member asked me at the end of the competition why I chose this piece and told me that it is inappropriate for a competition, and that instead I should have played the second sonata. I made to the finals anyway, but am still puzzled why this composition is not appreciated. It is an actual gem in the piano repertoire!

Regarding the Variations on a Theme of Corelli I have to say that at the time I was making my decision what else would go together with Chopin variations, it happened I was working on Corelli variations, and thought both sets would work greatly together. Thirty years separate both pieces and they are incredibly different. The Corelli Variations exhibit a stylistic growth and some kind of a structural compactness: he expresses his ideas in a more concise way, somewhat similar to a mature person who prefers to speak less, but whose choice of vocabulary is very accurate. I do love this composition, but in a different way.

Which particular works do you think you play best? 

Works that speak to me emotionally. But not necessarily has to be from the same period. I played Scarlatti sonatas that were very precious to me. I felt a particular affinity with Haydn Andante and Variations in F minor that I recorded for NAXOS a few years ago, for example. My attention usually shifts to different composers at different periods of my life. There were years when I felt too attached to Chopin, but thought I would never understand Schumann for his crazy and hectic romanticism. A few years later I felt I only wanted to play Schumann, and it was never enough of him. To name a few that deeply belong to my heart: Schubert Sonatas D.845 and D.959, Schumann F sharp minor Sonata Op.11, Brahms Intermezzi Op.117, Liszt Sonata, Debussy Preludes Book II, obviously Rachmaninoff, including the second Sonata, Prokofiev Sonata No.8 Op.84, among many others.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season? 

I feel that every time I go through a difficult internal process before I make my repertoire choices. I always play what I want, what I like most and what I feel is right for me at this moment. What it means is that for some reason, on some kind of subconscious level, a particular piece rings my doorbell. It happens when I constantly hear this music in my head, and it does not cease until I take the score and start learning it. It is as though the piece was being chosen by itself, asking to be played. I find it very interesting. And what is even more surprising is that I usually never misunderstand the signal. If I feel the need to play a particular composition, it means I feel something very special for it, a very strong emotional connection. I should probably say I am lucky, because I usually build my own recital programs, however I wish I had the same freedom to choose concerti I want to play with orchestras.

I have also had other experiences. I forced myself to play something that did not seem the right choice, and all of a sudden, when the work began, I realized that I made a huge discovery, a work that I never thought I would enjoy became one of my favourites.

My former teacher Boris Berman told me one day: “Try to learn to love a piece you do not like.” At that time I did not understand how that was possible, I neither wanted to try. I guess now I know what he meant.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why? 

I can name several venues where I felt particularly good. A concert hall in Malaga, Sala Maria Cristina was a very special venue where I played all Schumann recital. I loved their Steinway, and the decoration of the hall and its acoustic were very inspiring. I enjoyed immensely performing at Weill Hall in New York, as well as remember wonderful experiences performing at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama.

Favourite pieces to perform? Listen to? 

This questions is partially related to my choice of repertoire. I prefer to perform works that are emotionally intense and that speak to me most. Compositions I choose to play become my favourite pieces to perform. I do like listening to music, in fact I only listen to classical music, and I should probably feel ashamed that I do not listen to anything else. It all depends on my mood. One day I might want to hear a Baroque ensemble, another evening I want to listen to Schubert’s Lieder or Brahms, or may be Haydn’s symphonies.

Who are your favourite musicians? 

If we talk about living pianists, I would name Grigory Sokolov, Murray Perahia, Mitsuko Uchida, Radu Lupu, Evgeny Kissin, András Schiff.

What is your most memorable concert experience? 

I have several. I will never forget my experience performing Brahms d minor piano concerto with Kazufumi Yamashita and Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in the final round of Sendai International Piano Competition in 2010. It is an exceptionally rare experience when you feel that the orchestra, conductor and yourself blend into one organic whole, and music drives you with its force somewhere beyond reality. And I give thanks to this conductor for making me feel that way. A similar experience occurred performing Chopin e minor concerto with Stamatia Karampini, she made me to forget that I was not playing alone, and with Chopin that is really dangerous, because the conductor and the orchestra have to be constantly alert, Chopin´s rubato is unpredictable and too fragile to foresee. I have also enjoyed tremendously performing with Roberto Trevino and Cincinnati Symphony, and with Carlos Prieto and David Danzmayr and Louisiana Philharmonic. My solo memorable experience was probably my Weill Hall debut and a recital I performed in Baltimore with Schubert A major Sonata D.959, a work I have a very intimate connection with; in fact all Schubert occupies a very special place in my heart. I am not sure what happened that evening, but I was watching my hands and thought I am witnessing my own playing. My intensions were shaping phrases with no effort, and music was being created in the moment. That state of mind is not something you can experience every time you go to play on stage.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians? 

I think the most important advice I would give is to stay true to yourself, avoid being influenced by others and do not give up.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time? 

I am not sure I can answer this question. I like the idea of not knowing what is ahead in my life. I have learned not to rush things, and that everything comes at its right time. I try to enjoy living in the present moment.

What is your idea of perfect happiness? 

To feel internal harmony and see my family healthy and happy. 

What is your most treasured possession? 

The ability to feel and understand music.

What do you enjoy doing most? 

Playing the piano.

What is your present state of mind? 

I feel pretty balanced and in peace with myself.

cincinnati_disk_230Marianna Prjevalskaya’s all-Rachmaninoff CD is available now. The recording features two works for solo piano: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op.22, and Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op.42. (Fanfare Cincinnati FC-008) Marianna Prjevalskaya plays Rachmaninoff

Born to a musical family, Marianna benefited from early lessons with her mother from age six, her principal mentor for more than eleven years. She continued her studies at the Royal College of Music in London with Irina Zaritskaya and Kevin Kenner. In 2003 Marianna moved to the United States where she joined the Toradze Piano Studio at Indiana University. She also holds an Artist Diploma and Master of Music from Yale School of Music, where she studied with Boris Berman. Currently Marianna is a doctoral candidate at Peabody Conservatory of Music where she studied with Boris Slutsky. At diverse festivals, she has studied with renowned pianists such as Liliya Zilbernstein, Emmanuel Ax, John O’Conor, Leon Fleisher, Choong-Mo Kang, Richard Goode, Peter Frankl and Piotr Paleczny, among others.

www.prjevalskaya.com

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Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music? 

My father, Alberto Caruso, was a surgeon and the son of an Italian violinist, my grandfather Salvatore Caruso (both my paternal grandparents were Italians from Calabria). He took me to my first piano recital when I was four, then to my first opera, ‘Rigoletto’, when I was six. I grew up listening to classical music at home and going to concerts thanks to my father and my mother, who is also a doctor, and she enjoyed listening to Bach and Mozart while looking at the microscope. My parents told me that when I was a baby, they put me to sleep listening to Chopin Nocturnes. My grandfather used to play the violin for quite a lot when I was a child, and I listened to him for hours delighted. I inherited his violin, the most precious possession he took to Argentina, when he emigrated before World War II started.

Who or what were the most important influences on your musical life and career?

As a pianist, I have always been very influenced by Martha Argerich, Maria João Pires, and Sviastoslav Richter. My first piano teacher was a big influence too, Gustavo Gatica, with whom I studied for about ten years until I moved to New York. Even now, I still think of everything he taught me when I practice or teach piano to others.

As a composer, my strongest influence has been Portuguese composer and guitarist Pedro Henriques da Silva, my husband. I had my first composition lessons with him when we were just friends, and he prepared me to audition for my masters in composition and film scoring at New York University, where he eventually became a member of the composition and film scoring faculty. I learned the most of composition, counterpoint and orchestration with him. Pedro, in his doctorate thesis, compiled more than two thousand modes and scales from all around the world, which I use a lot in my compositions. I learned a great amount of world music and how to compose including many unusual world instruments with their exotic tunings. Pedro has a collection of 25 plucked string instruments from different parts of the world, which certainly influenced my music. For example, I based a few of my compositions on the magical sound of the open strings of the Portuguese guitar (D-A-B-E-A-B), an instrument that is normally just used to play fado music from Portugal.

Film Composer Miklós Rózsa was a huge influence in the way I write my melodies, the modes I use with their modulations, and in the way I orchestrate. He is the film composer I admire the most, especially for his music for the biblical epics of the 50s and 60s. The scores to ‘Ben Hur’ and ‘King of Kings’ were the reason I decided that my life would be music and made me fall in love particularly with the idea of being a film composer. I even started dreaming then that I could be able to make my own films. I was 12 when I discovered Miklós Rózsa, and I feel he opened the door to the film world for me. Tchaikovsky is also a big melodic and orchestral influence in my compositions. Ravel and Liszt would be probably the strongest influence in my piano writing. Ravel is also my favourite orchestrator to learn from, especially for his brilliant orchestral special effects.

My film scoring teacher Ira Newborn during my masters at New York University was a very important influence in my scoring techniques. Ira wrote the scores to ‘Ace Ventura’, ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, and ‘Naked Gun’, among others.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

Balancing being a composer and being a performer is always a challenge. But the biggest challenge of all has been how to describe the style of music Pedro and I compose. To classify it in a genre has always been a challenge. So, after many years of trying to fit our music into a style I came up with the idea that I needed: to create my own musical style: “Transclassical Music”. I coined this term to describe exactly the kind of music that my husband and I compose and mostly perform with the chamber orchestra that we founded together in New York: the Manhattan Camerata. Pedro and I work most of the time as a team, I am the Artistic Director and Pedro is the Music Director of the Manhattan Camerata, being both the founders of the ensemble. Transclassical Music, is music that is grounded on classical techniques of performance and composition with the influence of elements from different cultures from all around the world, including improvisation and world instruments. The Manhattan Camerata is the first chamber ensemble to perform Transclassical Music.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of? 

I am very proud of the recording I did together with my husband of our orchestral music with the London Metropolitan Orchestra at the Abbey Road Studios in London 2012. Besides having our compositions recorded, we also played as soloists on our works for piano and orchestra, and Portuguese guitar and orchestra, respectively. These compositions were commissioned by the Ahae foundation.

Another recording I’m very proud of, is the one Pedro and I did together of two commissioned film scores for full orchestra and choir for two of Georges Méliès’s masterpieces: “Joan of Arc” and “Trip to the Moon”. We recorded the two film scores with an extended version of the Manhattan Camerata to make it a full orchestra, together with Voices of Ascension, one of the best choirs in New York City. We composed the scores together, however the score of “Joan of Arc” is a little more mine and “Trip to the Moon” is more Pedro’s. We recorded at one of the best studios in the U.S., the Dolan Studios at the New York University.  We have the mission to score as many films as we can from 1928 and earlier, because since they were silent films they did not have a score composed for them. We want to help to revive many lost, forgotten, undiscovered, or damaged masterpieces, through music. The idea is to bring old films back to life with newly composed scores, so they can be projected again in theatres. This is one of our main goals with the Manhattan Camerata. Maria H. Connor was the executive producer of this project and recording, with Pedro being the music producer.

I am very proud as well of our latest album of our Tango Fado Project with the Manhattan Camerata. We recorded it also at the New York University Dolan Recording Studios and it was executive produced by Maria H. Connor, and the music producer was Pedro. We had special guests artists: Nathalie Pires, one of the best fado singers of our generation; legendary Daniel Binelli, one of the best living Bandoneon players, who used to perform alongside Piazzolla and Aníbal Troilo, the great masters of Argentinean tango; and Polly Ferman, Uruguayan virtuoso pianist and musical ambassador of the Americas. Pedro and I also perform as soloists on the album, with him on Portuguese and classical guitars, and me on piano. The album was taken by the Sorel Classics label and by Naxos  for international distribution. We are extremely proud of this recording.

I am very proud of two performances at the Versailles Palace of our compositions with a string quartet formed by members of the Orchestre the Paris and the then assistant concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Tomo Keller, as first violin. The first one of these performances was on June 23rd 2013 and the second one on September 9th 2013. Another performance I am very proud of, is the one we performed of other works of ours with the same string quartet at the Louvre Museum in Paris on June 26th 2012. In most of these compositions, Pedro and I performed alongside the string quartet with me on piano and harpsichord and Pedro on Portuguese and classical guitars. Pedro and I also performed at the Kew Palace in London together with violinist Tomo Keller on August 25th 2011. Totally unexpectedly, they gave me a harpsichord instead of the piano I had asked. So the day of the concert I had to just think fast and rearrange the whole repertoire to be able to play what I could and I improvised solo harpsichord pieces and in duet with Pedro on the Portuguese guitar. Since that day I got new commissions to compose for the harpsichord and I started my studies of harpsichord with one of the most respected harpsichordist of America, Kenneth Hamrick.

Most of our compositions performed at all these concerts I just mentioned, were commissioned by the Ahae Foundation to accompany his photographic exhibit that took place in many countries in the world, including the Louvre Museum and Palace of Versailles in France, Kew Palace in London, Grand Central Terminal in New York City, and Magazzini del Sale in Venice.

I am also very happy to perform and donate my concerts as a fundraiser to the Breast Cancer Foundation “Fundafem”, in Mendoza, Argentina, whose president is Dr. Francisco Gago. The first concert for this foundation was at the Independencia Theatre, the most important theater in Mendoza, Argentina, on May 14th 2014.

Lastly, I am particularly happy about the two concerts we did with the Manhattan Camerata of our Tango Fado Project at Kennedy Center in Washington DC on March 13th 2015 and at Lincoln Center in New York City on August 3rd 2016.

Which particular works do you think you perform best?

I have a great affinity with Mozart, his piano concertos, especially No.13 K415 and No.20 K446. The same goes for Mozart sonatas such as the ones in G Major K.283 and C Major K. 330.

I would say that Debussy’s ‘Estampes’, Chopin ‘sBallade No 1, Ginastera Tres danzas argentinas, Grieg Piano Concerto, Beethoven Sonata No 6, are among the pieces I perform best.

But in the last several years, I have focused on performing my own compositions and Pedro’s, and those are the pieces that I always have ready in my fingers, and if you to ask what pieces I play best, I would have to say that it is our works.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

I plan according to the concerts I have to play. I mostly perform my own works because of the limited time I have to learn new repertoire besides all the composition commitments I have.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

Yes, I love performing at le Poisson Rouge and in Lincoln Center in New York City, and at the Monserrate Palace in Sintra, Portugal. Le Poisson Rouge has one of my favorite sound systems and a great piano. I also love the nature of the venue, which is quite creative and multicultural. It looks like a jazz bar or restaurant with tables where you can eat and drink while you enjoy the show, but you don’t necessarily listen to jazz or music that would suggest that kind of ambience. You can listen from classical to any other style of music there. This is for me one of the perfect ways to enjoy classical music: in a more relaxed and enjoyable environment than in a strictly serious one. I love to listen to classical music while enjoying a glass of wine, and not always sitting stiffly in a concert hall. When we perform there, the set up of the tables and the stage creates an intimacy that connects the audience with the performer in a very Close and warm way. It is also located in the heart of the West Village in Manhattan, one of the most alive neighborhoods of the city.

Lincoln Center is just one of the best venues I’ve ever performed in. Great acoustics, fantastic piano, great stage, huge, perfect for a big audience. Another special place where I love to perform is at the music room in the Monserrate Palace in the middle of the Sierra of Sintra (20 minutes from Lisbon) in Portugal. This last one is my favorite in terms of Magic. The room is round and has a gorgeous cupola with the most astonishing decoration, including busts of the nine muses and famous female poets all around it. The acoustics makes the sound go up and swirl around you and everything sounds even more beautiful. It is impossible not to get crazily inspired…This room has one of the best Steinway pianos I have ever played, which belongs to my dear British friend Emma Gilbert. Before Emma owned this piano, it previously belonged to Vianna da Motta, one of the most important Portuguese composers of the 19th century, and a disciple of Franz Liszt. It is a big honor for me to play on that piano. I feel it has a soul and has become one of my closest friends. I don’t only perform at the Monserrate Palace, but I also compose there most of the time when I’m in Portugal (my husband is Portuguese and I have also adopted the Portuguese nationality by marriage, that’s why I often visit). The fact that this palace is kind of hidden in the middle of the forest of the Sierra of Sintra, most of the time surrounded by a fantastical fog, typical of the sierras, it makes the whole experience absolutely magical. The Monserrate Palace is one of my favorite places to work in the world.

Favourite pieces to perform? Listen to?

From the standard classical repertoire I love to perform Mozart concertos, I would actually love to play all of them if I had the time. I also love to perform early Beethoven sonatas, Chopin Ballades No 1, 2, and 4; Schumann’s ‘Carnaval’ Op.9, Schumann ‘The Prophet Bird’ from Waldszenen op.84.

But lately I’ve been more focused on performing my works and Pedro’s works. We’ve been composing difficult music that requires all our focus, such as a piano concerto, other works for piano and orchestra, and chamber and solo pieces that often include difficult virtuosic writing. I love creating something that I will enjoy performing.

I love listening to Medieval and Renaissance music a great deal, some of my favourite pieces of the period being “Viderunt Omnes” and “Beata Viscera” by Pérotin; Cantigas de Santa Maria (12th C.), “Moro lasso al mio duolo” by Gesualdo; Dowland’s “Lachrymae”; Tallis’s “Spem in alium”; and I love everything by Josquin des Prez. My music is somewhat influenced by Medieval and Renaissance music in its colours, modes, and in instrumental timbre. Some of my music has a medieval flavour within the “modern” compositional techniques I use.

I am also a big lover of Celtic music. I am in love with the Celtic harp and bagpipes. I have a big collection of Celtic music from Ireland, Galicia, and Portugal, one of my favourite ensembles being “Strella do Dia” from Portugal.

The classical pieces I like to listen to the most are both of Liszt’s piano concertos; Brahms’s piano Concerto No.2; Tchaikovsky’s “Pathetique Symphony” (which in my opinion contains some of the most beautiful melodies ever written); Puccini’s “Turandot”; “El Amor Brujo” by Manuel De Falla; Wagner’s Ring Cycle; Ravel “Piano Concerto for the Left Hand”; Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony, “Le banquet Celeste”; Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem”, Ligeti’s “Lux Aeterna”.

In film music, my favourite scores are: Miklos Rozsa’s “Ben Hur”, “King of Kings” and “Quo Vadis”; Bernard Hermann’s “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”, “Vertigo” and “Psycho”; Max Steiner’s “Gone with the Wind”; John Williams’s “The Prisoner of Azkaban”, “The Empire Strikes Back”; John Brion’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”.

Pop Rock and other music I love listening to: Nils Frahm’s albums “Spaces” & “Felt”; Bjork’s albums “Vespertine”, “Post”, “Homogenic” and “Vulnicura”. I like some of the most unusual songs of the Beatles: “Blue Jay Way”, “Within Without You”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, and also “Girl”, “Norwegian Wood”, and “Dear Prudence”. I am crazy about the song “Nobody Does it Better” by Marvin Hamlisch.

Who are your favourite musicians?

Pianists Martha Argerich, Maria João Pires, Radu Lupu, Daniel Barenboim; violinists Nathan Milstein, Itzhak Perlman, Gidon Kremer; conductors Georg Solti, Carlos Kleiber, Alondra de la Parra; bagpipe player Patricia Pato; guitarist Pablo Sainz Villégas; bandoneonist Daniel Binelli; cellist Sol Gabetta. I have the honor and privilege of being friends with the last five, and have collaborated with most of them.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

One of the most memorable and beautiful concert experiences Pedro and I had was at the Louvre Museum/Jardin des Tuileries with the Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris. We were commissioned the orchestral and chamber music for a big photography exhibit at the Louvre Museum and performed it live outdoors in two concerts at the Tuileries Garden in front of a crowd of thousands in beautiful Paris in summer. My husband and I both played as soloists with this orchestra: him on his Portuguese guitar and orchestra composition “Snow”, and I played as a soloist in my piano and orchestra piece “Clouds”. More orchestral works of ours were performed while beautiful photographs were shown on two giant screens on a huge stage that was built just for these concerts.

The other great experience in performance was the one we had last month at the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival in New York City. We performed our Tango Fado Project with our chamber orchestra, the Manhattan Camerata. We also had more than four thousand people in the audience – with a few dozens more standing – and had one of the most positive and effusive reactions from the crowd and the Lincoln Center authorities. An unforgettable evening!

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

As a composer, I think that the purpose of music is to touch people’s hearts and to be able to produce goosebumps as a symptom of emotional catharsis. This is more important than trying to be original or complex. As a performer, simply enjoy every musical line as if you are making love to your instrument.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?

I want to keep doing what I am doing now, but more so. I want to have more concerts, more compositions and commissions and more recordings at Abbey Road, and more important concerts like the ones I have done at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Palace of Versailles, Louvre Museum, etc. I just want to write more pieces and complete my Portuguese opera and my novel about Sintra. I am at the happiest place I could possibly be right now. Of course I could always have more fame and money, but I am doing exactly what I love: composing and performing concertos and my own music, and I see myself doing the same but more so in ten years. But my greatest ambition is to be able to have a child and being able to continuing doing what I’m doing. I have talked to many artist mothers, and they just wrap their child and play piano, paint, write, and travel with the child to tours and everywhere.

I want to always live in New York, the city where all my dreams came true, but I also want to have a home in the countryside. I see myself in 10 years composing in my own studio or house either in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate NY, or in Rhode Island (US East coast) or somewhere in the countryside in England or in the south of Argentina, in Patagonia… It is crucial and vitally important for me to have a home in the countryside and in the middle of nature, so I can be fully creative.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Being able to be eternally in love with the loves of your life, such as romantic love, platonic love, special friends and family members. I love spending time with friends who are as close as family and with family members who are as close as friends. To fall in love with what you do as a profession, and being able to make a living or make that your everyday responsibility, has no price.

What is your most treasured possession?

My grandfather’s violin.

What do you enjoy doing most?

Besides making music, I love traveling around the world and learning as many languages as possible. I love being in the countryside and wilderness. I love riding my bike next to the ocean in Portugal with my father in law, Francisco H. da Silva. I love going to art museums with my mother, Lucia Morales, especially the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and discuss art and painting for hours. I love spending time with my sister Carla, one of my closest friends and favourite people. I love being a Druid and praise nature constantly. I love climbing mountains, as I used to do since I was a child with my father and sister in the Andes Mountains. I love fencing, reading and writing. I love going to Burning Man. I love laying on the ground in the fields, mountains or on the beach to watch the millions of stars above me and look for shooting stars. I love doing wild things… I love being free…

What is your present state of mind?

Constantly in love…

Argentine-born pianist and composer Lucia, will demonstrate her technical and emotional mastery of a concerto premiered by Mozart himself, one of three designed to be accessible and a happy medium between the easy and the difficult, the brilliant and the pleasing, on Tuesday 11th October in ‘Mozart and Friends’ with the Orchestra of the Swan in Stratford-upon-Avon, details here, and further concerts in Birmingham and Cheltenham on 12th and 19th October.

Lucia Caruso’s website

 

 

 

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Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and pursue a career in music? 

I hardly remember when I first started to play the piano. I remember that I used to have a red toy piano. My mom bought it when my older sister was born. I grew up playing this toy piano, played some songs which I just learnt by singing. When my grandmother saw me she decided to buy a piano for me.

My family is pretty musical family. My father plays the guitar and sings opera, my mother used to play the Koto (japanese traditional instrument), and my sister played the piano, the clarinet and a bit of the violin. For me it is pretty normal to play some instruments. But I was passionate about the  piano and loved the piano’s sound. But also I played percussion in the kids orchestra and played little bit of the violin.

I have always felt passionate about the beauty of piano sound and the piano pieces composed by others. I tried hard and explored how to get better, how to play that sound, how to express music and I enjoyed those processes…  I love it and I feel restless if I don’t;  so I thought I might as well make it my profession.

Who or what were the most important influences on your musical life and career? 

Alicia de Larrocha definitely comes on top – I used to listen to her Granados/Goyescas and Albeniz/Iberia all the time before studying with her. I became a huge fan and fought for the privilege of becoming her pupil in Barcelona. I succeeded!  I also owe a lot to Carmen Bravo Mompou  – a great pianist and the widow of Frederic Mompou – one of my favourite composers, and Carlota Garriga – also a great pianist and the widow of one of renown conductors, Igor Markevich.

When composing I think I am between Japanese and some mixture of those countries I  was stimulated by  – I intuitively belong to Japanese culture because I grew up there but at the same time I absorbed lots of mixed cultures. I like Japanese composers, such as Toru Takemitsu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Joe Hisaishi etc. and the most of classical music composers like Debussy, Mompou, Chopin, Granados lots more..

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far? 

To find my own way and stick to it.  Combining ambitious classical performance with being a composer is not always easy.  I try hard at my composing and my performing leveraging each other.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of? 

Finishing my ‘Brightwater’ CD gave me a great sense of achievement – I worked on it really hard for more than a year with the help of a number of people, including OBC concertmaster Christian Chivu and the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu the 1st soloist-cellist Cristoforo Pestalozzi.  I should say, as well, that felt really emotional when I played one of my pieces in a full Barcelona’s Palau de la Música in the context of a charity event to raise funds to support people affected by Japan’s big earthquake.

Which particular works do you think you play best? 

Probably French and Spanish classical.  I also get carried away with romanticism in music such as Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn lots more… And my own pieces!

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season? 

I think carefully about how the pieces tie with one another.  I think about the concert as a whole, trying to give it different moments, different emotions and would usually challenge myself to leverage on my cross-cultural musical background to choose the pieces.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why? 

I might say there is a venue in each city of each country. I like those places because they are fruits of cultural heritage from there. I especially like Palau de la Música in Barcelona, beautiful architecture, the size of the place and the acoustics are perfect.

Favourite pieces to perform? Listen to? 

Beyond classical, I listen to lots of electronic and ambient music – I like Anohni (Antony Hegarty), Tori Amos, Sigur Ros, etc.

Who are your favourite musicians? 

I would go for Martha Argerich, Maria Joao Pires, Daniel Barenboim, Mitsuko Uchida, Joshua Bell, Ryuichi Sakamoto.

What is your most memorable concert experience? 

Playing Schumann Piano Concert in Bulgaria. I hardly communicated with most of orchestra members because of the language barrier, but on with the conductor, Sir Palikalov who is great musician and speaks English. But through music, we communicated very well and we understood each other. That process was a wonderful experience.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians? 

I guess be ambitious with the quality of the product and be yourself. Never give up making steps ahead.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?  

I would like to have made an impact in the musical circles – big or small – but an impact which I feel proud of.

What is your most treasured possession?  

My Steinway…….

Ayako Fujiki’s new album ‘Brightwater’, featuring her own original pieces, was released on 30th September in UK. Ayako composes her own music, incorporating classical and electronic music techniques.

Born in Tokyo, Ayako Fujiki started playing the piano as a young child and performed her first concert at age seven, playing Beethoven and Chopin.  She has performed in Japan, Spain, UK, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Colombia and Bulgaria.

ayakofujiki.com