Downward dogs and descending scales are not commonly heard in the same sentence or the same room for that matter, but pianist Erik Azzopardi tells Veronica Stivala they go hand in hand.
Erik AzzopardiMeditation and yoga have been an important part of pianist Erik Azzopardi’s life since childhood. In its truest sense, he says “yoga is about transcending your limitations – physical, emotional and psychological”.
And this, he goes on, really complements music. On a mundane level yoga can help to restore energy and strengthen the body, for instrumental practice and performance can take its toll on your health.
On a spiritual level you gain freedom that allows you to love, express and give more.
While we only communicate by e-mail (Azzopardi is based in London), this pianist’s energy and zeal for life is still noticeable and he evidently enjoys the interview exchange.
In addition to practicing yoga, Azzopardi is a qualified yoga teacher and offers yoga tuition designed to aid instrumental practice and performance.
But we are mostly here to talk about his latest concert, which forms part of the International Spring Orchestra Festival.
He will open the festival on Tuesday with the Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds and Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Winds with the London-based Reigate Wind Ensemble.
The quintet has been described by the composer in a letter to his father Leopold as “…the best work I have ever written…”.
The Mozart quintet is possibly the parent of all compositions for piano and wind ensemble, in that many after Mozart modelled their own works on it, including Beethoven. Azzopardi feels like he is a soloist in a concerto when he plays it and approaches it in the same way.
Together with festival director Karl Fiorini he agree that this and the Poulenc go very well together.
The Poulenc is also a special piece because, according to Azzopardi, it explores so many emotions: “It is in turn visceral, quiet, romantic, tender, crude, bleak, lyrical, percussive, childish.... It is really fun to play,” he says, “and keeps everyone sitting on the edge of their seat.”
Both are difficult to play. The Poulenc is manic, note-wise. Even though Azzopardi has already performed it a few times, it is only now that he is beginning to feel able to play it.
“The Mozart is difficult to play, because it is Mozart. The simplest truths are the hardest to express in life,” he says.
He will be playing with the Reigate Wind Ensemble, with whom he has been working for well over a year, and thus has a good working relationship.
It is hard for people to appreciate the finer things in life if they are worried about not having food on their plates or roofs above their heads
It is not easy for a pianist to perform with a wind quintet and, as Azzopardi explains, one of the main challenges in such a situation is the sheer force of projection required to be heard in balance with them.
The piercing sound of blown wind travels much more directly to the listener’s ears than the ring of hammered string.
In addition to the Mozart and Poulenc, Azzopardi will also be premiering Marlijn Helder’s Sextet, the winner of the composition competition for piano and winds.
He describes hers as an interesting work that the audience should find easy to listen to and appreciate.
The work is in two parts: an opening cantabile, with its lush and romantic piano part and a Caballetta that is jazzy and livelier.
We discuss Azzopardi’s career as a pianist. Having started his training and career in Malta, he moved on to study in London aged 22.
“I needed to pack up and go,” he tells me.
“The need became so strong that I could not bear even walking back and forth the street from my house to the town centre, where I would normally catch my bus. I craved more experience of the world, of music, of human expression.”
The opportunity came through the benevolence of Janatha Stubbs and the grace of Trinity College of Music. He accepted a place on a post-graduate course and made London his new home.
“I love my family and I love Malta and I never turned my back on either. I see my family regularly and we keep the ties strong in many ways,” he reassures me.
Azzopardi is currently working at Thomas’s Day Schools as a repetiteur and piano teacher, while developing as a performer.
By this last part he means that he always experiences the joy of music: “to give joy, to create wonder, to work with more people, to travel more, and to one day make a difference to people in an economic way too.”
For a lot of people, learning an instrument and going to concerts is a luxury that they cannot afford, he says.
This makes him very sad. “It is hard for people to appreciate the finer things in life if they are worried about not having food on their plates or roofs above their heads.”
Erik Azzopardi opens the International Spring Orchestra Festival on Tuesday at 8pm at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta.
www.iso-festival.com