Mangaluru: We all know that “Music” is a universal connector of people. It breaks barriers of nationality, religion and economic status. With this mission in mind, Marialena Fernandes (whose parents hail from Mangaluru, now settled in Mumbai) from Vienna, Austria has organized a music tour to the country of her birth, India.
We should also know that Vienna is the City of Music because of its musical legacy, and is also said to be “The City of Dreams” because it was home to the world’s first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. Vienna is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century.
Music is one of Vienna’s legacies. Musical prodigies including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Robert Stolz , and Arnold Schoenberg have worked there. From the “City of Music-Vienna” comes Marialena Fernandes along with a four member band called “Hotel Palindrone” to entertain music lovers of Mangaluru. So get ready folks to experience some true European folk songs, and the band is all set to also add some masala of Konkani Mandos and Dekhnis to their show.
You will also witness some rare Instruments from many different families, eras, regions, well known as well as very rare ones are used by the band on stage. Wind instruments like shawms, saxophones, different bagpipes – French cornemuses in G, D or A, Bohemian bock or Renaissance dudey -, overtone flutes and whistles, clarinet and chalumeau meet stringed instruments like mandola, electric bass, valisette, 5-string fiddle, nyckelharpa, bouzoki, hurdy gurdy. And they are joined by jaw’s harps, piano, diatonic accordion, melodic and small percussion like spoons… And, of course: singing, yodelling, vocal percussion. Wow.. a mixture of everything that music instruments have to offer!
Marialena and the Hotel Palindrone are already in town, and they had an interaction with the media persons and also with visually challenged children from Roman and Catherine School for the Blind at Hotel Ocean Pearl today ( 13 February), a initiative hosted by Mangalore Coastal Round Table 190. The concerts in Mangaluru are organized by Joyland School-Mangaluru, Mandd Sobhann, and Mangalore Coastal Round Table 190. Eric Ozario of Mandd Sobhann welcomed the gathering and briefed on the concert to be held at Kalaangann Amphitheatre, while Arjun Pinto from Joyland School and Neil Rodrigues from MCRT 190 briefed the audience about the band and the concert schedule.
The band played some European folk songs using various musical instruments, which enthralled the children and the guests present. The band members interacted with the children, and also answered some queries posed at them by the media persons. The band members also gave a brief description of the unique musical instruments that they used while performing. Shrinivas Nayak- a visually challenged child from Roman & Catherine School joined by Marilena enthralled the audience with his musical talent by playing the keyboard with a tune ” Sare Jahan Se Aacha”, which also mesmerized the Austrian Band members and made them to ask what the tune/lyrics meant- for which the principal of the School replied, “(India) Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan”. Wow-Nice, yelled the band members.
Through the press meet/press release it is learnt that Marialena is a world renowned pianist and has performed in many countries of the world from Venezuela to Russia. She has played with the Vienna philharmonic (One of the world’s best orchestras) and conducted many music workshops in India and abroad. In India she has partnered with Zubin Metha’s music foundation to help train young musicians in Mumbai.
Hotel Palindrone has 4 members of Austrian & German nationality. They have a cult following among followers of folk fusion music. They are a muti-talented group and among them play more than 20 different instruments. They also do beat boxing and yodelling. Marialena’s initiative has been supported by the Austrian Culture Forum, Berndorf AG (an Austrian company) and the University of performing Arts, Vienna. The band already performed yesterday in Mumbai, and tomorrow in Mangaluru, and later in Calangute (Goa) & Bangalore.
Mangalore has been specially included in the tour as Marialena is originally a Mangalorean. Also one part of the performance is dedicated to a fusion of Konkani folk music like the Mando & Dekhi with European folk songs. Looking at their performance at Hotel Ocean Pearl, the band members are determined contrarians going beyond musical borders. It was just amazing to have a look at their large number of instruments. The musicians succeed in uniting craziness and harmony by a blend of folk traditions, archaic sounds, jazz, electronics, pop, classical music and even yodeling – which resulted in a new, sparkling and powerful style: It was truly amazing and unbelievable music. You got to watch them to believe! So make your “Valentine’s Day” evening quite romantic tomorrow at Kalaagann, in the company of Marialena and Band Hotel Palindrone.
omorrow, 14 February , the Music concert will be at Kalaangan, Shaktinagar from 6.30pm-7.30 pm. This will be a free concert open to the music loving public of our city. The talented musicians from Hotel Palindrone will play nearly 20 different instruments and Mangaloreans will get to hear a live performance of many of their unique instruments for the first time here. The concert will also be unique as it will be one of the first European folk music blended with Konkani Mandos and Dekhnis. The best duo of Soad-4 a TV singing contest will also perform. This event is being supported by the Mandd Sobhan
On Feb 16th- the Band will conduct a Music workshop for students at Infant Jesus Joyland School, Bolar. This event is being conducted to increase music quotient in students. This will be a foundation course to learning music with a plan to increase children’s exposure to different musical instruments and music styles. Marialena’s plan is to continue to help children based in Mangaluru learn & appreciate music and this will mark the start of this initiative.
Marialena Fernandes – a brief history:
Born in Mumbai, she completed all the examinations of the Royal Schools of Music culminating with the LRSM (Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music) with distinctions then she graduated from the Bombay University with Psychology and Philosophy Honours with a First Class. A scholarship given by the Austrian Ministry of Education brought her to Vienna to further her musical education at the prestigious Academy (now University) of Vienna for Music and Performing Arts. Here she attained her Diploma in Piano Performance with unanimous distinctions. Her professors were Walter Panhofer, Bruno Seidlhofer, Stanislav Neuhaus,Tamas Vasary.
Already during her education, Marialena participated in several international Competitions in which she was awarded prizes, e.g. Bösendorfer, Beethoven Piano Competition. Solo, Chambermusic and Orchestra Concerts followed in most European capitals, Asia, Africa, America and Australia, at the renowned Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Festwochen, Haydn Festspiele, Styrian Autumn.
Marialena is regularly on Radio and TV Broadcasts, also artistic director for several musical events in which she acts as programme curator and presenter. Her special interest goes for cross-over projects in which she lets classic meet jazz, fusions with ethnic music and international artists interpret their own compositions.
As a profound Chamber-musician she has participated in international recitals with members of the Vienna philharmonic orchestra, much enthusiasm is involvement with the youth, improvisation and spontaneous music making.
Professor of Chambermusic at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, till 2006 professor of solo piano at the Joseph haydn Conservatory. Regular master classes, participation as jury member at international competitions, exchange programmes with other universities as teacher and performer.
Affinity for contemporary music, artistic director for projects on CD with living austrian composers. Fernandes idealism goads her on to more musical energy which in turn enables her to express emotions and hence initiate a sense of communication.with her students and with her audience in general.
About Hotel Palindrone:
Hotel Palindrone was founded in 1995 and includes- Stephen Steiner, Albin Paulus, Peter Natterer-& John Morrissey. The group plays folk music from Scandinavia, the Balkans, the Alps and also classical music. Subtle arrangements were combined with intensity, original compositions complement traditional melodies. The band’s continuous development was very successful: Hotel Palindrone were awarded several prizes at contests and for their CDs. More and more they performed at renowned festivals and concert halls.
Their new project with Marialena Fernandes. is “Hotel Haydn” the Indian-Portuguese-Austrian pianist and Hotel Palindrone play Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Scarlatti and Bartok combined with world and folk music. Thus showing that those great composers were world musicians in the truest sense of the word. But also their latest album “Jodulator” (two international awards) demonstrates where music is moving to: A pop hit meets traditional dance tunes, Joseph Haydn goes to Transylvania – and Jodulators tell us what the universe will look like in the year 3000. Their message: “All will be fine!”
The members of Hotel Palindrone are masters of an impressive multitude of instruments ranging from early to electronic. And they produce a wealth of sounds – from ancient to brand new and often spectacular, both with feeling and power and combined in intricate arrangements. The Band has received various awards- to name a few : 2005 – Austrian World Music Audience Award; 2007 – Performance of the Year (Folk Club Züri / Switzerland); 2007 –Bravos!!for album “Dial 1702” (Trad Magazine/ France); 2010 – European Folk Music Award “Eiserner Eversteiner” (Germany); 2011 – German Record Critics’ Award for album “Jodulator”; and 2011 –Bravos!!for album “Jodulator“ (Trad Magazine-France)
Please visit the bands website for more information on them- http://hotelpalindrone.com/start-2/
Please also find below 2 youtube clips of the bands performances-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hDjFlF8bv0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrfo5KYbWiI&list=PLNSiKfx9L9fZgxOkXFDoQMb6LX90srY3t