Piano Masterclass at the MAVC Gozo VPA School

The piano is an acoustic instrument, meaning its sound is produced and amplified physically. Because of this, interpreting the music written on a music sheet by a maestro requires, not only a vast amount of practice but an intimate knowledge of the instrument and the music on the sheet.

On Saturday 5th of November 2022, the MAVC Gozo Visual & Performing Arts School was honored to host an Piano Masterclass by international pianist Corinna Simon aimed at high grade piano students.

The event was organised in conjunction and sponsored by the German Embassy in Malta. During the three-hour session, Ms. Simon along with five piano students went through the inner aspects of the interpretation of 5 classical pieces.

Ms Simon encouraged and corrected students with sentences “... Can you play the right hand very piano and the left hand espressivo…” or “… The music from Gershwin has very often a constant tempo … you must be in sync with that tempo even before you start playing. Feel it inside and keep it with you throughout the performance …” and “… here we should be hearing two distinct voices, it’s like a discussion …” or “This goes legato … you see, Bach music is full of ornaments and we need a chance to hear them clearly …“.

A hand-on guidance which was brilliantly to the point and which was was very appreciated by the students and the small audience, who included the Mikiel Anton Vassalli Head of College Victor Galea, as well as Gozo VPA Head of School Vince Caruana and Assistant Head Joy Frendo.

At the end of the Masterclass, Ms. Simon was presented with a copy of the publication “A College for the Arts“, a volume containing the history of the four Art schools which are part of the Mikiel Anton Vassalli College and which have been the backbone of Art Education in the Maltese Islands.

Berlin pianist Corinna Simon studied at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin and at the Musikhochschule in Munich .

Engagements have taken her to many countries in Europe, the USA, Latin America, Asia and Africa. In 1984 she had her solo debut in the Berlin Philharmonie. She has given guest performances in important music centres such as Paris, Moscow, Vienna, Stockholm, Oslo, Singapore, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Washington, San Francisco, New York and at the Lucerne Festival.

Corinna Simon has worked with renowned conductors such as Jakov Kreizberg, Marc Piollet, Walter Weller, Lior Shambadal, Christóbal Halffter, Lukas Karytinos and Hans Werner Henze.

In Berlin, she leads a private training class for highly gifted young people and aspiring musicians. Many prize winners of international competitions and successful professional musicians have emerged from it. Among her best-known students is the internationally successful pianist Martin Helmchen. Corinna Simon regularly gives master classes at internationally renowned music academies.