The Malta Independent on Sunday
A pianist from The Ukraine in Senglea
Khoen Liem’s home in Senglea is full of ambience. He has turned it into a cosy and welcoming oasis with many paintings of contemporary artists bought here in Malta but also of photos of his family. It is a reflection of his international career and of his generosity. I have been to another of his musical evenings. That time we enjoyed music by his piano teacher and excellent pianist who lived much of her time in Italy.
This time he had a Ukrainian pianist up his sleeve. He provided his guests with drinks and canapes, laid out on his dining room table, where they remained throughout the evening so that those who were interested could help themselves.
Khoen put me into the picture: “The Ukrainian pianist Elena Pogulyaeva is not unknown in Malta. Among others, she performed here at the April 2017 Malta International Music Festival and at the Baroque Festival in January 2020 just before the lockdown. The COVID pandemic prevented her from coming back to Malta, until early October, when she came again for a few days.”
When I spoke to Elena at the end of her recital having given us extra pleasure by acceding to my request to play some Liszt, she told me how much she loves Malta and had been here some ten times already. Khoen had taken the opportunity when she told him she was hoping to visit, to spontaneously invite her to play in a house concert, inviting a few friends to join him in his music room.
Carlo Muscat, the Maltese saxophonist and Elena’s boyfriend and who is also living in Ukraine, accompanied her on the saxophone. They concentrated on Ukrainian composers, short attractive pieces. “What initially was planned to be one evening among friends, has become three concerts, to which about 50 friends attended,” Khoen told me.
Elena was born in 1988 in Slavuta, Ukraine. She started playing the piano at the age of seven. In 2008, she graduated from Kyiv’s ‘Reinhold Glier’ Music College and, in 2013, from the Ukrainian National Music Academy named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, as a solo pianist, concertmaster, ensemble musician and piano teacher. Since 2017 she has been a student at the Piano Academy Neue Sterne Hannover with professor Albert Mamriev. Elena has had quite a difficult year. She normally lives in Kyiv. After the Russian invasion into Ukraine and during the Russian bombing of her home city, she had to leave her apartment and her pianos there to stay in West Ukraine with her parents. To come to Malta Elena has to take the bus to Warsaw, Poland to catch the flight to Malta. The whole journey takes 28 hours.
During the concerts, a top hat was passed round and guests had the possibility to put money in it to help Elena pay for her fare to
come to Malta and her stay here. Says Khoen: “I am happy that we could collect a tidy sum that well covers Elena’s expenses and even a little more which Elena said she would donate to a good cause. The destruction of civil infrastructure in the wartorn Ukraine causes a major burden to many living there and if we can soften that just a little why not.”
Another pianist giving us pleasure that evening was Yun Cai. This Chinese pianist graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music: Bachelor in Multimedia and Visual Design. She started playing keyboard at the age of four years, classical piano at six years, and drums at age 16 after passing grade 10 in piano exams.
Back in China, before she moved to Europe in 2013, she had gathered plenty of experience in the music scene, releasing music with UK producer Conrank, cohosting in one of the first 24/7 electronic podcasts in China, giving interviews for documentaries such as The Underground Electronic Music Theme in Shanghai and working with artists such as Mumbai Science and DJ Cut Killer.
In 2013 Yun moved to France and New York, reading for a Master’s in business and marketing. Then to Spain for further studies while starting to play keyboard in alternative rock band Nurk in Madrid,
touring within Spain. The project led to a studio album being released with the band.
Moving to Malta in 2016 after a 5-year break focusing on her business and commerce career, Yun picked up classical contemporary piano improvisation in early 2021 again. While in Malta she got involved in creating events and performing around the island. Projects include an event co-created with fashion designer Carla Grima entitled Silk in Motion series. She performed at the Mediterranean Conference Centre for the Order of St. John’s Knights of Malta postulant ceremony. This was followed by curating an improvised collaborative performance with Visual artist Nigel Baldacchino Parallel Lines on sound, movement, space and time.
Afterwards she created the performance White Clouds Look Dark on the closing exhibition of CO-MA , as well as the closing event at the Lily Agius Gallery. There were other performances. “It is my hope that my performances will create a ‘bubble’ of space for those in attendance, allowing us all to slow down, be present, be soothed and experience moments of genuine peace, harmony and serenity.” That is Yun’s aim and she achieved it that evening chez Khoen, in Senglea. She sat down at the piano and improvised music to soothe the soul. Many of us had not experienced that kind of improvisation before.
The first to perform that evening was Karol Zammit who was present with his teacher Yvette Grixti. He played with great competence The Bach-Busoni Chaconne D minor which he explained is a transcription of a work for solo violin, bearing the same name, which was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, supposedly upon being informed of the passing of his first wife, Maria Barbara Bach. Karol explained: “The original work is considered to be amongst the finest in all of the repertoire for solo violin, and has occupied the thoughts of many a great composer, resulting in numerous transcriptions, including a piano transcription by Johannes Brahms, to be played using only the left hand.
Ferrucio Busoni’s transcription, the final version of which was published in 1916, is considered a uniquely transcendent accomplishment as Busoni manages to reconcile the original intent of Bach with the style and manner of writing favoured amongst his contemporaries.”
The original material consisted of two sets of variations, with the theme on which these were based occurring at the beginning and the conclusion of the piece as well as between the two contrasting sets of variations. Whilst Busoni kept strictly to this structure, he also managed to introduce a variety of harmonic and melodic embellishments leading to a two-pronged effect. Firstly, the music was given a more pianistic flair, appealing to the musical culture of the time. Secondly, Busoni’s carefully crafted additional material gave listeners a whole different perspective on this already popular piece of music, introducing them to what seemed like a new world of sound.”
Khoen is excellent at bringing together the Maltese and those from a variety of foreign lands who are living and working here, especially if they are music lovers. I wish to thank him on behalf of those of us who were given the chance to listen to some excellent music in the beautiful ambience of his music room. Of course, thanks go to the musicians too.