In which groups do you play?
I'm a professional accompanist. I often accompany Frank Grimaud, who has created three shows that feature operatic singing and the piano: "Luis Mariano," Neapolitan arias with "Bel Canto," and "Trumpets Brilliantes" for children. It's not just about the piano; we play, we sing, and it's truly a musical show. People love these shows. Children do too, like at the Collège de La Sède last week. I also occasionally play for other artists, such as opera singer Sylvia Miranda. Or Eliane Saint-Jean, who reads Gainsbourg texts, whom I accompany on the piano. I also play with choirs that need a pianist, such as Mezza Voce last year. I also worked for three years at the Saint-Laurent de Neste Music School. And I give private lessons.
But that's not where you'd expect a 7-year-old girl spotted for her talent!
No, it's true. I was selected when I was 7. There were 100 of us at the beginning. There were selections from year to year. We worked a lot, spending 4 or 5 hours at the piano every day. We received classical training with all the great composers: Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven. Eleven years later, there were only 17 of us left. We were on the fast track to Moscow for a concert career. I thought I'd have a career as a concert performer on a major stage. And then the Berlin Wall fell, and Kyrgyzstan gained its independence. The Russians told us that now that we were independent, there was no more room for us in Moscow. We were swept away. Some left music for business; I taught in small schools. And when I realized I could get out, I looked for work elsewhere. That's how I ended up at the piano in the lounge of a large Middle Eastern hotel. That's where I met the man who would become my husband. That's how I arrived in Pouzac.
Would you like to finally become a concert pianist?
No. Being a concert pianist is a lot of work. It also means putting your career before everything else. And I don't want to sacrifice my family life to become a concert pianist.
Is this a missed opportunity with Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Chopin?
No, I return to solo piano as projects arise. Like three years ago with Katerina Barsukova's show at the Halle aux Grains in Bagnères, where what she draws with sand is projected on a big screen while I play Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" on solo piano. I like to rediscover the great composers. That's what I do with Frank Grimaud when we go through well-known arias. He sings a piece that I accompany, and I play a piece on solo piano like Liszt's "Liebesträume," Ravel's Boléro, and Mozart. People love listening to these well-known arias.
Where can we hear you play?
We'll be with Frank Grimaud on June 27th in Saint-Gaudens with the show about Luis Mariano. In September, there will probably be "Trumpettes éclatantes" in Toulouse. In October, it will be at the Carmel with Sylvia Miranda and Anne Burgaud, who perform an alto and soprano duo.
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