Maria Joao Pires
Kate Molleson is in rural Portugal to visit pianist Maria Joao Pires, who's 80 this year. She learns about her career and her social work with children... and gets a piano lesson!
Kate Molleson travels to the Belgais Center for Arts in rural eastern Portugal, to meet pianist Maria Joao Pires, who celebrates her 80th birthday this year.
Among the low buildings, olive groves and orange trees of the arts complex, education centre and home which Pires created in 1999, she talks about her lifelong journey with the piano the age of 3; sharing her views on the classical music industry, explaining how she channels her 'aggression' through music, and stressing how important the arts are, as a meeting point for humanity.
Sitting at the piano she gives Kate an exclusive lesson, including tips on how to acquire the proper body posture to play, and demonstrating how she developed a technique of her own, to make the most of what she describes as her small hands. And walking around the site, Kate visits the centre's concert hall, and Pires explains why she cares so deeply about her social projects which use music to connect with children.
Producer: Juan Carlos Jaramillo
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Sat 16 Mar 2024 11:45大象传媒 Radio 3
- Mon 18 Mar 2024 22:00大象传媒 Radio 3
Knock on wood 鈥� six stunning wooden concert halls around the world
Steel and concrete can't beat good old wood to produce the best sounds for music.
The evolution of video game music
Tom Service traces the rise of an exciting new genre, from bleeps to responsive scores.
Why music can literally make us lose track of time
Try our psychoacoustic experiment to see how tempo can affect your timekeeping abilities.
Podcast
-
![]()
Music Matters
The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters
