In tune with India’s music divas

It was a few years ago when a young Parvesh Java walked into a master class conducted by renowned pianist Marialena Fernandes. A class, that he says, changed his world for good. Then last year, he walked into another master class, this time by soprano Patricia Rozario. 

A wave of nostalgia hit him. “She reminded me of my first master class and I was struck by how similar they both are,” he says.

Then an idea struck. Here were two extremely talented musicians, from similar backgrounds and yet had never performed as a duo. Java, the director of the Con Brio, The John Gomes Memorial Piano Competition and Festival, decided to change that. The result: western music aficionados can watch Marialena Fernandes and Patricia Rozario perform together as a duo for the very first time. 

Was it a coup? “Their show sold out the fastest,” says Java. In its second year, the Con Brio festival organised by Furtados aims to promote better relationships among western classical musicians, from India and abroad. Last year, the concert was a tribute to composer William Howard Schuman on his 200th birth anniversary, this year it is dedicated to Hungarian virtuoso pianist, Franz Liszt.

The highlight, of course, will be the duet by Fernandes and Rozario. All the performers are staying at one house, music and discussion flow freely, making it seem like a “week-long party of music” according to Java. Rozario and Fernandes in particular have hit it off well, acting like “crazy Indian girls”. No exaggeration this.

“We were discussing what saris to wear and the colour scheme even before boarding the flight here,” says Rozario. Rozario and Fernandes have a connection that goes way beyond music.

Both Bombay girls with Goan roots, they grew up in musically-inclined families where the love for music was nurtured at a young age itself. Both won scholarships to pursue music, Rozario to London and Fernandes to Vienna.  

Through the course of their careers, they met on and off, performing chamber music with other groups. And when the call came to perform together, both instantly said yes. “Our backgrounds have been so similar. It is a throwback to a thousand-year-old culture that has inspired both of us,” says

Fernandes. Sunday’s duet will feature both of them decked up in saris, adding a touch of Indian folksongs to their otherwise western classical show. While they haven’t confirmed it, there could be also be a few Konkani songs thrown in there too. Watching them rehearse together, it’s clear that they are in tune with eachother, perhaps because of their strong cultural identities. 

Half Goan and half Mangalorean, Fernandes is currently writing a thesis on the influence of Portuguese colonisation on her cultural identity. A professor professor of Chamber Music at the State University for Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, she comes to India only for certain occasions.

“I believe that if I come back to my home that I left over 40 years ago, it should be for something worthwhile, to bring a message, to teach,” she says. And Rozario, a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music, London makes frequent trips to India to hold singing master classes. Watch history being made this Sunday evening, 7pm at NCPA’s Experimental Theatre, Mumbai. 
For more information, visit http://www.conbrio.in/