Magias en Contrapunto: 10 (and more) years of piano adventures

It was 1998 when cuban pianists Liliana Fleites and Maritza Sánchez first arrived to Venezuela and began teaching in San Cristóbal upon Rafael Saavedra's request. The initial plan was to start Liliana's piano class for young beginners at the "Miguel Ángel Espinel" Music School, as well as a more comprehensive and ambitious project for an integrated arts educational center named after the celebrated local pianist Judit Jaimes, with both Liliana and Maritza as piano teachers. 

Liliana and Maritza started working on it and, in a very short timelapse, managed to raise a succesful and very serious piano class. The organization of small concerts in different venues around the city, with the involvement of the families of their students, became then a priority. There was an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust one had to be part of and care for during and after the lessons, and discipline and commitment were expected from all parties. 

It was never boring, though.

I recall one general rehearsal in which all the children had to practice their bow before an empty theater countless times. It was a rather comical situation, as we were all under 11 years old. However, there would be some surprises, as Nico, who was back then just 8 years old, would go instead for a rockstar-like entrée, sporting sunglasses and flashing a V sign before playing Gerald Martin's Boogie No. 1 the night of the concert. That was, certainly, a huge scandal in the little piano world we had just entered, but it also hinted what our lives would become after some years. Music was thereupon a central part of our young existences: music played with love, passion and lots of fun!

One of the first milestones for this troupe of little pianists was the 2001's Silvia Einsenstein Piano and Violin Competition: organized by tireless pianist and teacher Olga López, young musicians from all over the country would gather together in her music school, located in the beautiful El Hatillo neighborhood, east Caracas, and show their skills and musicianship before a jury for the first time. 

It felt like an extended family trip, going 811 Km from our peaceful mountains to the noisy and chaotic capital city. It was also the first time many of us had the chance to hear pianists from the rest of the country. We were thirteen children travelling with our parents on a bus and just could not stop thinking of those first notes away from home. The Sánchez brothers both got prizes, and that was a great joy for all of us. "¡Sin duda el viaje mas emocionante de mi infancia!", said recently Enma. The most exciting trip of our childhood, indeed.

Of course there were some silly disputes here and there, normal for the little kids we were back then and our occasionally more-involved-than-desired parents. But that would not stop these concerts and competitions from taking place and, as the years went by, some of us were lucky enough to even play with the Táchira's Simón Bolívar Orchestra... one movement of the Haydn Piano Concerto in D major each!

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The birth of Magias en Contrapunto (2005) was just the natural consequence of Liliana's relentless effort in bringing us all together, starting as a sort of Davidsbündler, in order to discuss all those subtleties and precisions we had no time to talk about during our piano lessons. Our meetings were basically a never-ending source of knowledge and inspiration, with lectures and conferences by experts on diverse subjects, such as piano history, art history, film appreciation, music therapy, theater... always ending up with some jamming on the piano, playing our own versions of Hey Jude or Bohemian Rhapsody or just having some (non-alcoholic) drinks! This would happen on a monthly basis.

Liliana's embryonic idea quickly evolved and became a non-profit organization (2006). Since then, it has served as a link between Táchira State's institutions and young pianists from the region. Didactical concerts, masterclasses, tournées and conferences have been produced by Magias during the last decade. Pianists are now an important part of the cultural life of the city and even its musical ambassadors in the rest of the country and abroad, as Carmela well attested by playing alongside many other children, Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang at the O2 Arena, in Berlin, in 2012.

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Magias en Contrapunto has been, througout the past decade, a second family for many young musicians.

Last Saturday evening, there was a big celebration for the 10th anniversary with a Gala Concert. Some of the kids in the pictures are not kids anymore. They all played alongside a new generation of joyful and promising young pianists. It served as the epilogue to a whole month filled with special events, but also as the initial step towards the future of piano music in San Cristóbal.

Projects like Magias are extremely meaningful, yet another proof of the ubiquitous transformative power of music, and particularly relevant under such challenging circunstances as the ones people have to face day by day in our country.

I just owe Liliana and all of my fellow adventurers over there the deepest gratitude. Keep up the great work, never stop dreaming and ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Magias!

Joseph Avila

March 22, 2015. Vienna, Austria

Liliana Fleites and Maritza Sánchez with their students in El Hatillo. Caracas, 2001.