"Ever so radiant Maria Maria João Pires - shining from within, then on what she plays, and then on her audience.
It isn't the size of her hands, or her technique, or even the way she dresses, that makes her stand out, so such comparison would be pointless.
It is that special eloquent radiance that brings messages from worlds beyond that makes her one-of-a-kind."
This isn't about personality cult. I know Maria João Pires would not like it, and neither do I. And it would not be true, anyway.
So, this isn't about that and it will never be.
This is about what we exchange with each other. It is about composer's ability to connect with something from a greater beyond, and then the performer's ability to connect with that and us, and then us able to connect back, and then back to the source.
It is the energy exchange circle I speak about here, not a personality cult. It is about ability to connect, to share, to respond, to include and be included. It is about the circle of togetherness.
When I speak about Maria, I do not speak about Maria João Pires celebrity pianist, not only because I don't see her that way; I speak about that energy exchange and how wonderful is that Maria is able to bring that to us and include us in that exchange, and us to respond, which results in so many wonderful things, positive changes, and even transformations.
Maria João Pires believes that music-making is a two-way process.
"The public gives you as much as you give them, to create this relationship, this flowing energy that we are together."
But then, there is also a composer, and the creative energy in the core of it all. That 'something' a composer connected to when he or she was creating a music piece.
So, what I believe is that music-making is at least a four-way process: energy beyond (creative energy)–composer–performer–audience and back, in which every step or every 'participant' is equally important.
In that process or exchange we are all equally important, so there could not be a personality cult.
Some people are just more inclined to facilitate and get involved in that process.
Not fully possible to explain by words, because every time I try, different words come to mind, and yet, I feel it is impossible to find the right ones.
So I could endlessly change those words I wrote on the photo above, and each time they would be close to the truth, but never the complete truth ...........
Picture below: Maria João Pires bowing to and thankful for that energy exchange.
Beautifully and poetically written!