María Parra: «My intuition was not to leave music, my profession and my salvation»
Interview with María Parra in the newspaper La Razón, by Marina Cartagena.
The pianist who publishes a new album, «Intuition», and is godmother of «Piano City», the great popular, transversal and inclusive piano festival in Madrid
The cultural roots come to her almost from the cradle. Her father was a painter and passed on his desire for all types of arts. Even at a very young age, she was sensitive to dance and music, and this was confirmed by the piano that her grandmother had as a relic locked in a room. It was when they let her try it and listened to her that they confirmed that María Parra had talent potential to polish.
Very young she started at the conservatory and combined dance with the piano, in addition to the regular studies at school. «There came a point when I had to opt for a discipline, and I concluded that music could accompany me all my life, while dance would have an end, much to my regret, the body demands it.» She never doubted her path, from a very young age she detected it as something inherent and the sacrifices that her musical career has demanded never grieved her. However, she recognizes that «there was also a certain sadness, when you see that you are left alone; It is a personal choice, but you become aware that it is a very lonely path. In fact, the piano lends itself to being a very autonomous instrument», she reflects.
María Parra ha ido evolucionando tanto personal como profesionalmente, porque este tipo de profesiones difícilmente se pueden separar del sentido emocional. Se especializó en lo que entendemos como música clásica, pero con el tiempo descubrió que también había espacio para el pop, el rock y otros estilos del piano. En este contexto, en paralelo a la música clásica, estudió música moderna. Tuvo matrícula de honor en España, se perfeccionó en el Impresionismo en París junto con estudios de jazz e hizo un máster de Música Española en Barcelona junto a Alicia de Larrocha, una referente en el mundo del piano. Y como ocurre en estos campos del arte, la profesión se convierte, en cierto modo, en una terapia y en un altavoz emocional que refleja todas las montañas rusas que se atraviesan en el camino: «Muchos momentos de dudas y de incertidumbre. Sin embargo, siempre he conseguido seguir mi intuición, que fue y es la de no dejar jamás la música, mi profesión y mi salvación», explica la pianista.
María Parra has been evolving both personally and professionally, because this type of profession can hardly be separated from the emotional sense. She specialized in what we understand as classical music, but over time she discovered that there was also room for pop, rock and other piano styles. In this context, in parallel to classical music, she studied modern music. She had honors in Spain and perfected herself in Impressionism in Paris along with jazz studies and did a master’s degree in Spanish Music in Barcelona with Alicia de Larrocha, a reference in the world of piano. And as happens in these fields of art, the profession becomes, in a way, a therapy and an emotional speaker that reflects all the roller coasters that are crossed along the way: «Many moments of doubt and uncertainty. However, I have always managed to follow my intuition, which was and is to never leave music, my profession and my salvation,» explains the pianist.
First connection with Madrid
In 2014 she presented her first album in the capital, specifically at La Quinta de Mahler, located on Amnistía Street and owned by Juan Lucas, today director of Scherzo magazine. «La Quinta de Mahler was a kind of catapult place for all national performers. Also a place for the exchange of classical music in Madrid as well as a specialized record store.
In 2016, María Parra settled permanently in Madrid and confesses to LA RAZÓN that she felt «very welcomed and embraced by the city.» The response to her disco, as well as the awards she received from it, encouraged her to embark on a new path. In her opinion, «after having lived in numerous places, in Spain there is a lot of talent, in abundance, and nothing to envy those from other countries. Mistakenly, there is a collective imagination that good music is only in the center of Europe and that is not the case.»
In this sense, she highlights that «in Spain there are great profiles, which happens to be a country that does not give as much cultural impetus from the cradle.» In fact, María Parra exemplifies that, in Switzerland, music is present in the Constitution as a right. «Music is a fundamental right for all citizens, for their spiritual development as people.» This is how María Parra understands it, and she laments that «everything that has to do with the plastic, musical, philosophical arts… and everything that makes you feel, is disappearing.» In her words, «we are very immersed in the search to make work profitable and report profits, which is very good and is a very important part of human development, but if we remove feeling, sensitivity and an intimate haven of peace, such as music, reading or nature… we would go completely crazy.»
Por ello, festivales como Piano City y otras propuestas gratuitas por las que apuestan las instituciones son tan cruciales. Igualmente, la pianista diferencia la concentración con predisposición: «Todo el mundo que quiera, desde su lugar, puede optar cómo repartir las competencias de lo que la ciudadanía necesita. Es una sensibilidad de los políticos». En base a su experiencia, «Madrid despierta una inquietud por hacer cosas, para mí fue una cuestión de replantearme dónde puedo trabajar más y mejor».
This is why festivals like Piano City and other free proposals that institutions are betting on are so crucial. Likewise, the pianist differentiates concentration with predisposition: «Everyone who wants, from their place, can choose how to distribute the powers of what citizens need. It is a sensitivity of politicians.» Based on her experience, «Madrid awakens a desire to do things, for me it was a question of rethinking where I can work more and better.»
María Parra estrena disco: «Intuition», que define perfectamente la trayectoria de la artista y que condensa en 12 temas un viaje de jazz, pop y elementos clásicos. Se trata de un formato «trío» con diferentes influencias y fusiones. Y en Piano City podrá conocerse.
María Parra releases her album: «Intuition», which perfectly defines the artist’s career and condenses a journey of jazz, pop and classical elements into 12 songs. It is a “trio” format with different influences and fusions. And in Piano City you can get to know it.
►Piano City is a must for music lovers. A unique festival that the city hosts with the aim of becoming a great stage that brings together numerous musical styles and cultures played with the piano. The third edition has already started with more than 50 free concerts that will be distributed throughout Madrid between June 7, 8 and 9.
The styles range from classical music to jazz or electronic music, as it is made for all audiences. On the official website you can find all the programming, which will be located in spaces such as CentroCentro, Serrería Belga, UMusic Hotel and many more. For her part, the pianist María Parra will be the godmother of the event.
Photo: © Jesús G. Feria
