Piano has to be my favorite musical instrument. I think it is the one instrument besides the voice that has a beautiful melodic quality to it, almost like a lullaby. I had never seen a solo piano performance live before, so when the opportunity arose to see a UNH professor, Victor Markiw, perform live at the Verdi School of Music in Prato, Italy, last weekend, I jumped at the chance to attend.

I was not versed in piano etiquette so it was difficult to not clap until the end of what seemed like five different pieces. There is an entire science behind performing piano to an audience, which I never knew existed. It was so interesting to see the inner workings. As a singer myself, I am used to your run-of-the-mill performances where you sing a song, everyone applauds, and you move on to the next number. This was a very different and enlightening cultural experience.

After the concert I was able to interview Markiw, who is also my music theory teacher currently in Prato and previously back at the West Haven campus.

“I began playing piano at age eight,” said Markiw. “When I was 10 I had a long hiatus from piano playing until the end of my senior year in high school.”

It was amazing for me to see that after such a long break from piano, the instrument came as second nature again.

I later asked him who his musical inspirations were, and what musicians or composers inspired him to start and continue playing classical music.

“Great composers inspire me weather it be Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Scriabin, Schubert or opera composers like Verdi, and Puccini to name a few. As far as pianists, I continue to be inspired by greats like Sviatoslav Richter, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Alicia de Larrocha and Claudio Arrau. Naturally, I listen to many more, which are not listed above.”

As a music industry student at UNH, I was interested in how the entire showcase came about.

“The UNH Prato campus director Kevin Murphy and the coordinator of student activities, Lara Pugi, asked me if I would be willing to perform in Prato. They coordinated this opportunity with the Verdi School of Music to make it a reality. This was my first performance in Italy so it was quite special,” said Markiw.

I also asked what made Markiw choose the pieces that he performed at the show.

“I chose many works I recently recorded for my solo CD released in February of this year,” he said. “I also performed some works by Liszt, like Sposalizio, inspired by Raphael’s painting The Marriage of the Virgin and included in his Deuxième Année de Pèlerinage: Italie (Second year of Pilgrimage: Italy), published in 1858. I found this fitting since Liszt was inspired to write many works after his travels through Italy.”

I found it interesting that so much thought went into the selection of his pieces. Whenever I see recorded piano performances, I feel that a lot of the songs are merely ones that the pianist finds challenging, or melodically pleasing. I now see, however, just how much thought goes into a performance showcase such as this.

“I don’t have a favorite piece though,” said Markiw. “It is too difficult to choose since I love so much music. I generally gravitate toward the romantic composers, but I feel comfortable performing Germanic repertoire and certain 20th century composers.”

Markiw has two CDs that have recently been released and available for purchase. The Litwin-Markiw Duo is available at CDBABY and amazon.com, which contains songs by Debussy, Obradors, Rachmaninoff, Copland, Liszt and Bernstein.

“My solo disc will also be available at CDBABY, Amazon.com and iTunes sometime this summer and feature works by Skoryk, Mompou and Villa-lobos. Both discs are available at the UNH bookstore and can be found on www.youtube.com,” he said.

When I asked Markiw on his impressions of the music industry and sound recording programs at UNH, as a performer himself, he answered, “I enjoy teaching different music courses and hope to guide students to discover something new. I believe live performance can often have a profound effect on a young student. Some years ago, I was involved in coordinating and performing in a UNH concert series…Recently, UNH has continued to present more and more arts events, resulting in increased student-faculty inspiration and participation. It would be great to see UNH create more opportunities for those artists and performers seeking more visibility in communities both near and far.”

I could not agree with this answer more. I feel that UNH does a great job of showcasing its student and faculty talent for those willing to get involved.

Due to the fact that Markiw is also my professor, I was able to hear him practice every day after class, and grow with each rehearsal. It was nice to see the final product finally come together into an amazing concert that demonstrated his talents and hard work. It is nice to see the talents of UNH back home being showcased across the ocean to the Prato campus and community as well.