MISHKA RUSHDIE MOMEN

Please share your background with us. 

I’ve lived all my life in London and when I was four and my older sister began learning to play, I immediately fell in love with music and the piano. My musical education happened very fortuitously – when I was six my mother took me to the Purcell School of Music purely to ask for advice and I ended up studying there for the next nine years, before I went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I think I always knew that I couldn’t be anything other than a pianist.  

 

When did you first perform in India? 

My recital at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Bombay in 2010 was a very special experience for me and was one of my most memorable concerts. I feel a very powerful sense of connection to India and I was thrilled to be able to play in my mother’s home town .  

 

What are your thoughts on the developing Western classical music industry in India?

I’m really pleased to see there is a growing appetite for Western classical music in India and there are great concerts given by the Symphony Orchestra of India. I was especially touched by Zubin Mehta’s initiative to give a concert in Kashmir as our family is Kashmiri and the degradation of the region is such a tragedy. It was also fantastic to see such exciting programmes for the concerts to celebrate his 80th birthday. I hope that more international orchestras and artists will have the chance to play in India.  

 

What is your favourite piece of music and composer?

My favourite piece is always the one I am playing. When you are studying a great work, it requires so much emotional energy and focus to try and decipher its meaning that it really becomes a part of you.  

 

What is your advice for aspiring pianists in India ?

Listen as much as possible and with as much intensity of concentration as you can, especially to live concerts. Play chamber music with your friends – this is the most joyful way to discover the repertoire and will make you much better at listening and communicating.  

 

When do you plan on performing next in India?

When I am invited – I would absolutely love to come!

 

http://www.mishkarushdiemomen.com/