'The piano is like my skin'

Magical fingers

It was love at first sight, an unusual kind that caught him in his tracks. He had just walked into his fourth year of life when Marcos Nimrichter stumbled upon his first (and probably last) love. “I was four years old when I first saw the piano; it was sitting in a room in my first school. Even before I heard it, I asked my mother to put me in piano class,” says the Brazilian pianist, who is in India to teach at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music.

He is serious when he says that he wanted to learn the piano for its physical features. “I was impressed by the image; I just saw it and got inspired, I’m not joking. It’s very strange because I was just a child and don’t come from a family of musicians. When I asked my mom to put me in piano class, she was surprised but she did it. After that, I got accustomed to the sound, harmonies and melodies.” The next ten years were spent submerged in Western classical notes. “I started playing Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and more, and studied the techniques and harmonies. I continue to learn it even now,” he says without hesitation. 

At 14, he found himself straying from classical tunes, leaning towards jazz and Brazilian sounds. He started to play popular music and studied the different genres of Brazilian music. “I was introduced to jazz when I was a teenager and I took it more seriously.” Until the age of 30, he composed, taught and played at various clubs, as part of jazz groups. “When I was 30, I started concentrating on my own work and recorded albums. I started to change my professional style, and turned into a lead artiste.” This is when he won a Grammy Award for his piano pieces in the album ‘Jobim Sinfônico’.

In addition to composing and playing the piano, he is well-versed with the accordion. But he does dabble with many other instruments on the side. “The piano and accordion are the two instruments that I have studied. Now, I’m learning how to play the bandoneon, an accordion-like instrument popular in Argentina.” His visit to India has given him the opportunity to immerse himself in all three instruments. “I have brought the accordion and bandoneon with me here, where I’m far away from children and women!” he says.

In honour of ‘Piano Month’, he elaborates his passion for the instrument, “The piano is like my skin, my fingers; it’s the thing I’m most familiar with and I’ve have spent most of my life playing it. As a composer, I’d say that it is the most important instrument but as an instrumentalist, there’s no instrument greater than the other.” But he can’t help speak up for the toothed instrument. “It is a big part of music; it’s the chief instrument in Western music. It’s the king of instruments!” he chuckles.

This is Marcos’ first visit to the country and he says that he jumped at the chance.
“I have loved India since I was a teenager. I was very interested in yoga books and the masters. I can’t exactly explain why, but when someone offered me the chance to come here, I didn’t think twice. But I was a little afraid that there would be a big cultural difference, and I didn’t know what to expect.” However, on arrival (after a 30-hour journey), he knew he had nothing to worry about. “The weather is similar to that of Brazil — it is hot. And the people are kind and gentle. Just like Brazil, India is hospitable to foreigners.”