Flutist relishes instrument’s versatility
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 9, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Friday, May 10, 1996
Virtuoso Piccinini brings talent to Schoenberg tonightBy Cindy
Liu
Daily Bruin Contributor
They say genius must be born and can never be taught.
That must have been the case for Marina Piccinini who, at the
tender age of 7, was so impressed by Mozart’s "The Magic Flute"
that she decided to take up the instrument.
Now, 24 years later, the 31-year-old Piccinini is an
accomplished flute virtuoso, lauded by critics for her technical
and tonal mastery. But, despite all the acclaim she’s received, she
refuses to believe her own press.
"Reviews are wonderful when they’re great, but I don’t think a
reviewer has ever defined my nature," says Piccinini, who will be
performing tonight at Schoenberg Hall.
Critical acclaim aside, her list of achievements can testify to
her great talent, not to mention her meteoric rise to the top. At
age 20, she captured first prize in New York’s Concert Artists
Guild International Competition. Five years later, she became the
first and only flutist to ever win the prestigious Avery Fisher
Career Grant. She was also a two time recipient of the Solo
Recitalist Grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Her career, however, has not always been so picture perfect.
There have been frustrating moments when she showed little
improvement. Yet through it all, her music continues to grow.
"Everyday is a defining day. My life is a series of
revelations," she says. "Being a musician involves constant soul
searching. It’s not a career. It’s a life."
That "life" includes competing in major summer festivals,
releasing recordings on the Sony and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation) labels and performing as recitalist and soloist in the
United States, Europe and Japan.
"It’s the intimacy with the audience," Piccinini says of her
love of performing. "It’s the visceral excitement that’s very much
a part of music making."
Perhaps more than anything else, it is what she strives for in
her performances that gives her a definitive edge.
"One thing I try to do is bring a greater awareness of the
tremendous capacities of the flute. People often think of it as a
very pastoral, very pretty instrument, which I don’t agree with at
all. I think its a very rich instrument."
MUSIC: Marina Piccinini, flute and William Wolfram, piano
Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m. in Schoenberg Hall. TIX: $23.50, $9 for
UCLA students. For more info., call (310) 825-2101.
Flutist Marina Piccinini.
