A piano teacher in Noisy coming from Malaysia, Muzaffar Abdullah will be performing at Saint-Sulpice church with students from the Maurice-Baquet conservatoire. Western and Asian pieces of music will be on the programme. Joint interview with Director of the Conservatoire Eric Delabre:
Noisy Mag: How did you come up with the idea of giving this concert?
Muzaffar Abdullah: In 2014, Eric offered me to play with the string orchestra students on the occasion of their year-end concert. I really enjoyed this experience. The following year, I had the Conservatoire students join in a concert I gave at Unesco, where we mixed musical repertoires. And we just felt like repeating this experience! Besides, this concert is supported by the Embassy of Malaysia on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebration of our two countries’ diplomatic relations.
What do you like in this format?
M.A.: I like playing with people I know. When you perform as a soloist, you meet the orchestra musicians just a few hours before the concert starts to rehearse and once it’s over, we all leave. This is a bit frustrating.
Eric Delabre: Muzzafar, who has been teaching at the Conservatoire for over ten years, is an experienced international concert performer. He is a highly talented musician. And for the students, playing with him is an extremely rewarding experience.
What will you play during this concert?
E.D.: European music to start with, including Bach, Vivaldi, Mendelssohn and Hindemith pieces. And then, two pieces of Malaysian traditional music and a Chinese lullaby in arrangements by the Conservatoire teachers and myself.
Who will perform during this concert?
E.D.: It will be a chamber orchestra concert including around twenty senior students playing in the string orchestra and three teachers. Young violin students will join us to play the Malaysian and Chinese music.
M.A.: And we will also have with us playing the gamelan Shahanum Shah, who is a famous Malaysian gamelan player. This concert is about sharing, exchanging with the audience and with the students. Showing that Western music can be played by an artist from a different culture and that Westerners can play a repertoire different from their traditional one is important.
