One-night stand with music

His recent performances have been hailed as "powerful, introspective and inspiring". Timothy Marthand is undeniably one of the aristocrats of the piano music, forging a new understanding of an art that has already seen many heroes.

Born in Hyderabad his encounters with classical music began at home with his father, a concert violinist and his mother, a pianist and pedagogue.

“The memories that I have of Hyderabad is the essence and the flavour of the city. When I was growing up, it was the environment where people did not encourage arts.

People in Hyderabad had this love for art and artist but they would not do anything about it. For me, it was strange as they had this inclination towards art but there was nothing to nurture it,” he says.

However, his entry into the world of the piano was unexpected and took off rapidly. In 1992 he gave his debut, playing Mozart and Chopin with members of the Nizam's Symphony Orchestra.

Timothy shares that he was very touched when he heard Polish pianist Chopin and started growing a keen interest in music.

“My parents were very fond of music, although they had a lucrative career - my father was an engineer in the airlines and my mother was an oral surgeon, but their love for music was immense.

Between them, they had around 50 students. One day my father brought someone home. I was in my room and was overhearing the conversation.

They were talking about a particular piece of music and my father said that when the pedal of piano is pressed at right time a different world opens up.

I did not believe that, but later when my father was playing that piece, and at that ‘moment’ he pressed the pedal and I realised that seriously a new world opens up.

I could not believe it, and I was in trance and thought can music really do this? And from then on I picked up in the music and that piece was from Chopin,” he shares his inspiration.

“I grew up in a house where there were 15 pianos. My father used to collect all the music instruments like cello, guitar, etc, which the British had left behind, so I was surrounded by the music and it was inevitable for me not to ignore it,” he adds.

Following his initial success in India, he decided to embark on formal studies, residing in the US and in Europe to work with some of the eminent musicians and illustrious minds of our time.

He is to date the only Indian to have been resident at the prestigious International Piano Foundation, Lake Como, Italy. His teachers have included, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Nabore and Andreas Staier.

Speaking about the current trends, he says, “People have better opportunities today; back then it was hardly anything.

We did not have the right music shops or schools, and teaching was very different. Now, I feel, because of the internet, people are more aware of the standards of music.”

Marthand has performed all over the world, including Rome, Brussels, New York, Berlin and Paris. He possesses in his playing, a unique ability to imbibe ideas from varying fields - ranging from sculpture to literature.

Their influences in his performances are undeniable. He insists on deep reflection and communicative insight to give form to the architecture of his performances.

After conquering the world, he is back in Hyderabad for a one-night show at Taj Falaknuma today.