Preview
ALESSANDRA MARIA AMMARA
Saturday, March 29
Rozsa Centre (U of C)
"In music there is art, philosophy, life, stories," says pianist Alessandra Maria Ammara. "Music has a much wider context than just the notes. When I play a certain piece, I want to know all there is about it."
It is this assiduousness and breadth of knowledge that Andrew Raeburn, artistic director of the Honens International Piano Competition, believes is fundamental to creating what he glibly calls "the complete artist."
"I was concerned with the fact that many of the emerging young pianists were intellectually ignorant or neglectful of many important aspects of the music they were performing," says Raeburn. "It’s just not enough to know the piece of music – a good musician knows the work in relation to the works by the same composer, as well as the social and historical context and the philosophy, art and architecture being created at the time."
What has emerged from this philosophy is a competition very close to the original conception of Esther Honens, the philanthropist and music enthusiast whose backing made it possible to build one of the world’s greatest piano competitions in Calgary.
"When I came to Calgary it became clear to me that if a piano competition was to succeed, it needed to stand out in some way," says Raeburn. "By attracting concert pianists who share this point of view, we have created what I feel is a different kind of competition… somewhat like a festival, competition and celebration."
The 2003 Honens International Piano Competition opens with a solo concert by Ammara, who has been lauded for her intriguing interpretations of Debussy, Chopin, Scarlatti and Scriabin.
Ammara has performed throughout North America and Europe to great acclaim and, in addition to her achievements in the last Honens competition, was also a semi-finalist and an audience favourite at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Last fall, she made a recording of works by Chopin, Debussy and Scriabin at The Banff Centre, which will be released in late 2003 on Canada’s Arktos label.
Born in Florence, Italy, Ammara gave her first public performance at age 14. She has studied under some of the best teachers the world has to offer, and earned her degree at the Accademia Pianistica in Imola. Like fellow laureates Marko Martin and Catherine Chi, Ammara acknowledges the edge that Honens has given her in the extremely competitive world of concert pianists.
"Honens has taught me to be independent," admits Ammara. "I have to be competitive when looking at my career. In the world of piano, it is very difficult to find an agent, so I had to learn about self-managing. Honens helped me with that."
For more information visit the Web site at www.honens.com.
SIDEBAR:
The Honens International Piano Competition is dedicated to bridging the gap between classical music and the classroom. Alessandra Ammara, Katherine Chi and Marko Martin, the three top winners of the 2000 competition, are part of a pilot project launched in 2002 called "Laureates in the Classroom." Under the auspices of the program, laureates go into Calgary classrooms to present lectures and performances relating to the curriculum being studied.
As Honens community coordinator Carmie Nearing explains, the laureates become ambassadors, making it possible for them to give back to the community by offering new perspectives in learning.
"They came from all over the world and we thought this was one way we could use their talents to give back to our community," says Nearing. "We feel that everyone should be exposed to music and the arts. By going into the classroom, the laureates are closing the gap between professional musicians and high school students that have never heard classical music before."
For example, at Forest Lawn High School, Martin presented a one-hour session on Russian history jointly with a social sciences teacher.
"I talked about the political climate in Russia and how that influenced the music of three composers – Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Pärt," says Martin. "I then played works by them showing how the politics influenced the compositional lives of these composers. Most of the kids are 16 to 18 years old and they hadn’t heard a live performance of classical music. I think it’s important for them to hear live music now. Hopefully they will become our audience later." |
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