After a three year wait, world-renowned pianist Maksim is returning to Australia for the first time since the pandemic on his Oceania tour. Born in Šibenik, a coastal city in Croatia, Maksim Mrvica began playing and performing piano at just nine years old and was performing just three years later. When war out in Croatia in 1991, Maksim was adamant to not let his tumultuous surroundings get in the way of his dreams of pursuing a career in music, and he went on to be recognised as the world’s biggest-selling crossover pianist, with over four million copies of his albums sold throughout 57 countries. Ahead of his performance at Perth Concert Hall on Wednesday, September 7, BRAYDEN EDWARDS spoke to Maksim to find out about a life dedicated to the craft of piano playing, and why he can’t wait to hit our shores.
It’s great to have you coming to Perth for the Oceania tour! How does it feel to be coming back to perform in Australia and New Zealand?
It was a difficult time for all of us. I would say it was a big gap especially for me as a performer because all the concerts around the world were put on a hold during almost three years. Needless to say, I’m looking very much forward to my upcoming Australian and Oceania tour. I hope that my fans have missed me as much as I missed them, and I can’t wait to be on stage and perform again for them.
It must have taken a lot of practice, especially when you were young, to be able to play like you do! Do you recall what inspired you when you first started playing?
It took a lot of practice and a lot of sacrifices. I remember there was a period during my childhood when I didn’t want to practice at all, but then my motivation would start to kick in. I always enjoyed public concerts. I constantly felt enthusiastic of performing live; to be on stage and to perform pieces for the audience. However, to be on stage, and to perform, you must practice. So, this motivation of constantly being on stage and performing live was my inner power/motor which determined me to practice more and more and to became better and better.
Classical music has a real timeless quality to it, but as someone who is closer to the craft than us, how would you say it has changed in the time since you first started performing?
I believe that classical music didn’t change much. Some of the most famous pieces have been written 200 maybe 300 years ago. What has maybe changed is the interpretation of it. Crossover music is the best example. The twist infused by electronic music to classical music made us look at classical music from a different perspective, a more modern one I would say. That’s the beauty of music – you can always interpret it in many ways but the base, the fundamentals, remain the same.
You have performed such a range of songs from contemporary to classical, what have you found to be the most challenging, and rewarding artists to perform?
I started as a pure classical musician, so all my youth was influenced by this segment of music. Later, I started to juggle with the idea of crossover music. At first, I was experimenting integrating parts of electronic music with pieces of classical music. After that I began playing covers of mainstream songs, however with a touch of classical music by having an orchestra accompanying me. I was still trying to keep the vibe of a classical concert/piece. Nowadays, I would say that pure classical pieces are still some of the most difficult and complex segments for me to play.
What can we look forward to at your upcoming Perth show? How is this tour different to what we might have seen from you before?
On my upcoming show in Perth, I’m gonna perform my crossover repertoire including some of my most popular pieces which my audience has always requested and enjoyed very much. I will also perform some pieces from my latest album The New Silk Road and a couple of pieces from my classical repertoire as usual.
What’s next for the rest of 2022 and beyond? Any more new music or tour plans to look forward to?
I will be very busy for the remaining part of 2022. As a result of the previous years, when COVID decided to put a pause on everything, I must catch up with my fans and all my delayed concerts. Once I start my tour in autumn, I won’t be having a break until probably next summer. After I finish my tour in China, I will be starting my European tour in spring followed by my tour in the United States, Canada, and many other countries.
