CoM UPH Hosted Talkshow and Masterclass with Valentina Lisitsa

MC, Dr. Mario Santoso, Valentina Lisitsa and Alfred Situmorang on the talkshow

As the only university in Indonesia that offers Bachelor in Musical Arts (S.Sn/Sarjana Seni), UPH Conservatory of Music (CoM) keeps developing supportive programs, both in the aspect of academically and practically for its students. These are shown through partnership with various parties, locally and internationally. On Friday, 15 May 2015, CoM UPH exclusively invited Valentina Lisitsa, a Ukrainian-American classical pianist who becomes a phenomenal Youtube star. Her Youtube videos were watched by over 9,482,137 times.

 In her visit to UPH, Valentina shared experiences and knowledge in her expertise to the Conservatory of Music through the Talkshow and Masterclass program at UPH. Talkshow was hosted by Dr. Mario Santoso and Alfred Situmorang, lecturers of CoM UPH who have extensive experiences in the classical piano world as well as scrutinizing various aspects in classical piano played by Valentina, through in-depth questions.

Responding to her forte in playing classical piano, Valentina admitted that she never feels the greatest pianist among others, since she does everything daily just like normal people. She also emphasized that each pianist owns signature style of playing piano. Even the most well-known classical pianists in the world who were taught by the same teachers, still have different style. In addition, Valentina also stated the challenging issues faced by pianists these days are when all piano styles sound similar. One of the causes is when the young pianists must follow the criteria determined by the judges, where all standards of competition worldwide are equalized. Pianists no longer have freedom of expression like the old times.

 Several talkshow participants asked questions to Valentina regarding how to maintain concentration and stage fright on a recital or concert. She suggested that when practicing, pianists could switch songs to prevent losing concentration as well as experimenting with those songs. Then, always remember when pianists are about to perform on stage, the audiences do not come only to see us nervous and stop playing, yet to enjoy the music. ?You?re there to play music for music,? stated Valentina.

 Henceforth, the Talkshow was continued with the Masterclass. Masterclass was joined by four CoM UPH students by playing different songs, they were Indra Cipta Sugandha (CoM 2013) performed Etude Op. 25, No. 9 in G-flat Major, composer: F.Chopin, Chelsea Lim (CoM 2013) with Sonata in F Major, Hob. XVI/23, Allegro Moderato, composer; Sergei Prokofiev and William Bunjamin (CoM 2014) performed Moment Musical Op. 16, No. 4 in E minor, composer: Sergei Rachmaninov. They performed the songs, and then Valentina directed and gave suggestions for each about their play for around 30 minutes each. There are approximately 100 students and lecturers who attended to watch the Masterclass.  

Valentine was really impressed because the Masterclass students performed really well and have high musical techniques. She hopes to come back to Indonesia. ?Music is social, it means to be shared to others. Music gives enjoyment to our soul,? ended Valentina.

Here are the photos taken on Masterclass session:

Followings is the testimony from one Masterclass participant:

?Being taught by Valentina in this Masterclass is such an honor to me. I am truly grateful to get a lifetime opportunity to learn and meet face-to-face with Valentina, a world-renowned pianist and perhaps the admiration of all pianists in Indonesia. I learned a lot on the talkshow and masterclass that playing music is not only for our own. With our own imagination and interpretation, we should produce a music that can ?talk? to the audience so they can understand the message from the songs played. (Chelsea Lim, 2013)

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