It’s been a while since Pallavi Mahidhara (pictured left) was with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (she has performed twice before with the CPO), and after two lauded concerts in Johannesburg and Durban the anticipation of her return is even greater, says PETA STEWART:
Pallavi Mahidhara will perform the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 with the CPO on Thursday 12 September 2024 with Arjan Tien on the podium. This is the third concert in the CPO’s current Spring Symphonies at the City Hall and includes Michael Moerane’s Fatse la Heso and the 1945 version of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
Pallavi’s career was cast in stone when she was two. “I used to watch an American TV children’s programme, Mr Roger’s Neighbouthood. He had a piano on the show. My parents tell me I pointed to the TV and said: ‘I want to play that’.”
At two of course she was too small, so at three years old, she began piano lessons, and took up the violin when she was six.
“I was ten, participating as a violinist in a two-week orchestral summer camp for young people my age, when the piano soloist who was to perform with the orchestra broke his wrist while playing frisbee. The director of the orchestra knew I was first and foremost a pianist and asked me to substitute. So, within a week, I had learned and memorised the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21, and made my debut with an orchestra at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, in front of thousands of people. It was such a formative experience that I knew in that moment I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.”
She loves performing with CPO because “every experience has been great, the hall is beautiful, the audience lovely, and it is always a pleasure to return to South Africa”. She has been coming to perform regularly since 2008. Performing this particular work, the Second Saint- Saĕns Piano Concerto, is really meaningful.
“Seeing how it has evolved”
“I first performed it with an orchestra when I was 12. I have played it dozens and dozens of times through the years, and I love seeing how it has evolved since I was a child, and the things I used to do as a child that my adult musical self still enjoys. It’s beautiful to witness the evolution of the music and my connection to it.”
One of the things that keeps this busy musician even busier is giving regular master classes around the world in between her solo and chamber performances and, when her schedule allows, teaching. She was Artistic Advisor of the Young Artists Summer Programme at the Reina Sofia school in Madrid for several years.
Another is her podcast, The Conscious Artist. (It can be found on Spotify, Apple, Google and other platforms.
“My podcast began as a project during Covid and a desire to create a safe space for conversations around mental health awareness in this industry. It became a healing project I didn’t know I needed for myself and for many, and it has become an incredible way to connect with people from around the world, whether as my guests on the show or my audience.”
“Having a podcast on mental health awareness, I value human connection greatly, because it is the single universal factor that binds us all together. With the daily stresses in life, the hardships, the difficulties, etc, connecting with others in a genuine way makes us feel less alone, and music is one of the most beautiful ways we humans can experience that connection.”
Connections
The music world is small, and Pallavi and Melissa White, the soloist with the CPO this August, were classmates at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
“We reconnected when I had her as a guest on my podcast, became friends, and started performing together regularly since last year and have several upcoming concerts this year.”
After the concerts in Johannesburg and Durban, Pallavi rushed back home to Madrid then on to Bulgaria for two concerts before heading back to Cape Town. And before Johannesburg she has been in Greece performing at the Samos Young Artists Festival. before I came to South Africa. She leaves us to return to Europe, the US, and Asia all through the northern autumn and winter.
“It will be a lot of traveling, but I love it!”
What: Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra with pianist Pallavi Mahidhara
Where and when: Cape Town City Hall on Thursday 12 September 2024
Tickets: Artscape Dial-A-Seat 021 421 7695 and Webtickets
WS
