-Интервју со Дуо-пијано М - Мимоза Ќека и Маја Божиновска, млади уметници со големи амбиции
-Interview with Piano-duo M - Mimoza Keka & Maja Bozinovska, young and ambitious artists
(15.07.2016)
"Every city gave us something unique.."
We had the opportunity to talk with two young pianists, who recently added freshness in the cultural scene in the country - Mimoza Keka and Maja Bozinovska have performed their first Macedonian tour in several cities with great success, performing as a piano-duo. Performing in Gevgelija, Kavadarci, Veles, Skopje, Bitola and Prilep, they've managed to bring classical music closer to many people living in smaller cities, who do not get an opportunity to listen to classical music often. For those who admire classical music, Mimoza and Maja are already well-recognized names - both of them graduated at the Faculty of Music Arts in Skopje, and have been performing together for several years. Their creative energy and effort is a direct reason to talk with them about their impressions of the tour, their views on music and culture, as well as many other subjects.
Dino Imeri: At the very beginning, of course, welcome to Musical Journeys and thank you for finding the time to do this interview.
Мimoza & Maja: Hi, Dino - thanks for the invitation!
D.I.: Нow did you came about to the idea of forming a piano-duo - a type of ensemble that we rarely see in the country?
М.М.: The birth of this duo came about shortly after we began our studies when we got to know each other better as musicians and as personalities above all. The more our friendship grew, the more the desire grew to perform together. So, as two young enthusiasts led by love for music, we had decided to form this ensemble, noticing that it's what our scene lacks.
Our first performance as a chamber duo came at the festival "Golden Lyre" in Skopje, after which we performed several concerts at the concert-series "Musica Viva" at FMU-Skopje, but also other festivals as well where we were constantly active until we had graduated. In 2014, we collaborated with the FMU Chamber Orchestra and conductor Sasho Tatarchevski performing "Carneval of Animals" by C. Saint-Saens. Ever since then, with every following performance our pleasure grew and plans multiplied, so here we are now.. slowly but surely intensifying and realizing new plans, this time a concert tour in Macedonia.
D.I.: You performed in several cities, what are your impressions? Have you noticed interest in the audiences and do you think that concert tours throughout the country should be seen more often in young artists' itineraries?
М.М.: The concert tour went great! We were accepted graciously in every town by the audiences who showed an increasing amount of interest for such events. They were very supportive and attentive! We realized that the audiences are thirsty for such concerts. They gave us back with the same amount of love and energy as much as we gave to them in every city.
We believe that such tours and events are very rare with young artists today, and it's definitely something that should happen more often.. so the audience would have a chance to get to know and to be in constant contact with classical music. The whole idea of the tour, beside the promotional character, was to motivate audiences in Macedonia to visit classical music concerts so it would become their everyday, and not just in bigger cities but also in the smaller towns where the opportunities to listen to concerts are scarce.
That's exactly why we, the young artists, should put in a lot of effort to perform more around the country and enable high quality concerts so the audience would get to know us and at the same time receive beautiful music. I hope all of this will encourage young artists to organize more tours in different cities in the country - it would definitely bring freshness to the musical life here.
Dino Imeri: At the very beginning, of course, welcome to Musical Journeys and thank you for finding the time to do this interview.
Мimoza & Maja: Hi, Dino - thanks for the invitation!
D.I.: Нow did you came about to the idea of forming a piano-duo - a type of ensemble that we rarely see in the country?
М.М.: The birth of this duo came about shortly after we began our studies when we got to know each other better as musicians and as personalities above all. The more our friendship grew, the more the desire grew to perform together. So, as two young enthusiasts led by love for music, we had decided to form this ensemble, noticing that it's what our scene lacks.
Our first performance as a chamber duo came at the festival "Golden Lyre" in Skopje, after which we performed several concerts at the concert-series "Musica Viva" at FMU-Skopje, but also other festivals as well where we were constantly active until we had graduated. In 2014, we collaborated with the FMU Chamber Orchestra and conductor Sasho Tatarchevski performing "Carneval of Animals" by C. Saint-Saens. Ever since then, with every following performance our pleasure grew and plans multiplied, so here we are now.. slowly but surely intensifying and realizing new plans, this time a concert tour in Macedonia.
D.I.: You performed in several cities, what are your impressions? Have you noticed interest in the audiences and do you think that concert tours throughout the country should be seen more often in young artists' itineraries?
М.М.: The concert tour went great! We were accepted graciously in every town by the audiences who showed an increasing amount of interest for such events. They were very supportive and attentive! We realized that the audiences are thirsty for such concerts. They gave us back with the same amount of love and energy as much as we gave to them in every city.
We believe that such tours and events are very rare with young artists today, and it's definitely something that should happen more often.. so the audience would have a chance to get to know and to be in constant contact with classical music. The whole idea of the tour, beside the promotional character, was to motivate audiences in Macedonia to visit classical music concerts so it would become their everyday, and not just in bigger cities but also in the smaller towns where the opportunities to listen to concerts are scarce.
That's exactly why we, the young artists, should put in a lot of effort to perform more around the country and enable high quality concerts so the audience would get to know us and at the same time receive beautiful music. I hope all of this will encourage young artists to organize more tours in different cities in the country - it would definitely bring freshness to the musical life here.
D.I.: On the other hand, what difficulties did you encounter during the process of organization?
М.М.: Well, above all, organizing a tour like this was a big challenge for us, but every challenge brings its own difficulties. Despite of the artistic portion, it was up to us to take care of the organizational-managerial portion - choosing dates, places, hiring halls, printing propaganda materials - all of the things that you can file under technical portion of giving a concert. It took a lot of time and effort, especially because we're talking about 6 different cities. We handpicked the cities counting on the conditions, proper concert halls and instruments. Every city gave us something unique, we received a warm welcome everywhere and were surprised by the excellent conditions in the smaller towns.
In Kavadarci, we were part of an "artistic" day filled with all kinds of events such as poetry, painting, music.. we had the pleasure to get to know different young artists from Macedonia, and it was a pleasure for the audience who got to listen to music and look at wonderful paintings while enjoying poetry at the Poetry Slam competition. In Prilep, we were honored to be part of the program of Prilep Cultural Summer, where the organization was flawless from the beginning to the end.
Still, despite the effort to organize such tour, it was very meaningful to us to have such a huge support, so we would like to use this opportunity to thank the "Tomislav Zografski" Foundation and Madam Panda Zografska Belichanec who gave us a self-less support in several of the concerts.
D.I.: Маја, what is music to you? Why is it an important part of your life and in life of other people?
Маја: Hmm, that's a tough question. Music.. for me is something higher, something.. iconic that brings me in other spheres - spheres where I can fly to the unknown, to the undiscovered, something through which I can discover myself and find the essence of my existence. With performing music, I always discover new worlds and every world has its own magic. I might sound like an introvert, but it's where I live all by myself, with my dreams, fantasies, and it makes me very happy and fulfilling.
Through music, I felt that I became a person that is opened to the beauties of this world, I deepened my aesthetical nature and that's why I chose music to be a huge part of my life. This is why I believe every person should allow music to be part of their lives.
D.I.: Мimоzа?
Мimoza: Music for me, is a spiritual feeling with many variations depending on the life experience in different periods, it's a voice that touches every soul, it is like a timeline that brings me in different periods and enables me to get to know the world in which the composers created. Concerning the possibilities for young artists, it depends on many factors. We need a great support for the affirmation of young artists which means a systematical organization. Cultural centers in the country are one of the options.
D.I.: Tell us more about the program that you performed during the tour?
М.М.: We have chosen our program in a way that would contain different styles and periods, so the audience could get to know them better. Works such as, "Fantasy" f-minor by Schubert, "Six Antique Epigraphs" by Debussy and "6 Pieces" by Rachmaninoff - bringing a wide range of feelings and imagination.
We would begin our concerts with Schubert, touching the hearts of the audience with the first theme, and then continue with Debussy with every epigraph bringing a new and unusual feeling, and of course Rachmaninoff's pieces who have a wealthy melodic and harmonic structure which gave a special charm at the epilogue of the musical journey. All of the works performed got a wonderful response by the audience.
D.I.: At the end, future plans, new concerts, recordings?
М.М.: Of course, there are always plans that we would like to realize. We are very happy with the tour and are already invited to perform again in some of the cities. We noticed that the program was very well received so we had made a recording which we hope we will publish in the near future - a new reason to talk in another interview.
The Musical Journeys team wishes many more success to Mimoza and Maja, and we hope to see more artists performing tours around the country!
М.М.: Well, above all, organizing a tour like this was a big challenge for us, but every challenge brings its own difficulties. Despite of the artistic portion, it was up to us to take care of the organizational-managerial portion - choosing dates, places, hiring halls, printing propaganda materials - all of the things that you can file under technical portion of giving a concert. It took a lot of time and effort, especially because we're talking about 6 different cities. We handpicked the cities counting on the conditions, proper concert halls and instruments. Every city gave us something unique, we received a warm welcome everywhere and were surprised by the excellent conditions in the smaller towns.
In Kavadarci, we were part of an "artistic" day filled with all kinds of events such as poetry, painting, music.. we had the pleasure to get to know different young artists from Macedonia, and it was a pleasure for the audience who got to listen to music and look at wonderful paintings while enjoying poetry at the Poetry Slam competition. In Prilep, we were honored to be part of the program of Prilep Cultural Summer, where the organization was flawless from the beginning to the end.
Still, despite the effort to organize such tour, it was very meaningful to us to have such a huge support, so we would like to use this opportunity to thank the "Tomislav Zografski" Foundation and Madam Panda Zografska Belichanec who gave us a self-less support in several of the concerts.
D.I.: Маја, what is music to you? Why is it an important part of your life and in life of other people?
Маја: Hmm, that's a tough question. Music.. for me is something higher, something.. iconic that brings me in other spheres - spheres where I can fly to the unknown, to the undiscovered, something through which I can discover myself and find the essence of my existence. With performing music, I always discover new worlds and every world has its own magic. I might sound like an introvert, but it's where I live all by myself, with my dreams, fantasies, and it makes me very happy and fulfilling.
Through music, I felt that I became a person that is opened to the beauties of this world, I deepened my aesthetical nature and that's why I chose music to be a huge part of my life. This is why I believe every person should allow music to be part of their lives.
D.I.: Мimоzа?
Мimoza: Music for me, is a spiritual feeling with many variations depending on the life experience in different periods, it's a voice that touches every soul, it is like a timeline that brings me in different periods and enables me to get to know the world in which the composers created. Concerning the possibilities for young artists, it depends on many factors. We need a great support for the affirmation of young artists which means a systematical organization. Cultural centers in the country are one of the options.
D.I.: Tell us more about the program that you performed during the tour?
М.М.: We have chosen our program in a way that would contain different styles and periods, so the audience could get to know them better. Works such as, "Fantasy" f-minor by Schubert, "Six Antique Epigraphs" by Debussy and "6 Pieces" by Rachmaninoff - bringing a wide range of feelings and imagination.
We would begin our concerts with Schubert, touching the hearts of the audience with the first theme, and then continue with Debussy with every epigraph bringing a new and unusual feeling, and of course Rachmaninoff's pieces who have a wealthy melodic and harmonic structure which gave a special charm at the epilogue of the musical journey. All of the works performed got a wonderful response by the audience.
D.I.: At the end, future plans, new concerts, recordings?
М.М.: Of course, there are always plans that we would like to realize. We are very happy with the tour and are already invited to perform again in some of the cities. We noticed that the program was very well received so we had made a recording which we hope we will publish in the near future - a new reason to talk in another interview.
The Musical Journeys team wishes many more success to Mimoza and Maja, and we hope to see more artists performing tours around the country!