> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://serenademagazine.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # MISHKA RUSHDIE MOMEN - URL: https://serenademagazine.com/mishka-rushdie-momen/ - Published: 2016-05-09T11:20:25.000Z - Updated: 2016-05-09T11:20:25.000Z - Author: Nikhil Sardana - Tags: Interviews, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-08-26 18:53 **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! **