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Italian pianist Enrico Pace makes Dubai debut at InClassica 2024

The musician engaged in a discussion about his time in the city and his experience at the music festival organised by SAMIT Event Group

Having performed in countless countries around the world, with some of the most prestigious soloists, ensembles and conductors of our time, it is fair to say that pianist Enrico Pace has experienced more than most within the world of classical music.

However, one experience that appears to have so far eluded the Italian maestro has been the opportunity to perform in Dubai, with the city being a conspicuous absence from his storied resume.

This has now all changed, however, with the pianist marking his Dubai debut at the 2024 InClassica International Music Festival, organised by SAMIT Event Group. Appearing in not just one, but two different concerts within the festival, Pace collaborated with Japanese violinist Daishin Kashimoto for a duo recital on the February 8, before teaming up with Armenian cellist Alexander Chaushian and Kashimoto once again in a trio recital on the March 10.

Across both performances, the pianist presented works by Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann, and the festival’s Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor.

We sat down with Pace for an engaging discussion with him about his time in Dubai, and his experience at InClassica 2024.

How have you found your time in Dubai?

“It is the first time that I play in Dubai. It’s an incredible city because it’s exploding with new architecture, every corner, and it’s amazing that it has been done in the desert. I’m a little amazed by the fact that I don’t see so many solar panels here. It’s new architecture, and I see on all sides that it’s talking about sustainability but with all these skyscrapers, all these towers, I’m a bit amazed about how this hasn’t been thought of, especially now that there's the technology to have photovoltaic panels integrated in the glass itself. I really hope that with this beautiful architecture and the development that there is here, there could also be development of a real sustainability.”

What did you think of the audiences present during your concerts?

“It seems that the public is very enthusiastic. I don’t know who is in the public exactly, or what nationality they are. The fantastic thing about Dubai is that you can see burqas, you can see people in bikinis going around… everything is very easy going and there is no prejudice. This I like very much. This is how the world should be. So everybody has their own convictions and they should follow them without saying that the others are wrong, and I think this is very good. The public probably is a very mixed public because I hear that there are a lot of nationalities here and it’s quite a good attendance so I’m very happy that InClassica is doing so well.”

How did the collaboration with your two colleagues go?

“I’ve performed with Alexander Chauchian quite a few times so it was quite easy. With Kashimoto, it was actually the first time, but we had a lot of fun; he’s a fantastic musician and violinist so it’s a great experience to be here with them both.”

As a pianist, you are used to performing in duos and trios as you have done here, as well as in solo recitals and collaborations with orchestras and ensembles. Which would you say would be your preferred medium, if you had to choose?

“If you have a great orchestra and a great conductor, then that may be the most beautiful thing, to play with an orchestra, because the sound of the piano against all the instruments is a special combination I think. Because we have a percussion instrument and we try to sing on this instrument, but the others have a bow or they blow and this mixture makes the fascination of it.

Of course in terms of music what we did tonight is the same but much reduced – we have only strings and piano, we don’t have any woodwinds, we don’t have brass, we don’t have percussion. So this is also very nice and so is to play alone. I mean it’s music, ultimately, my life is music and I’m glad that in all these settings I can experience music and share it with other people.”

You’ve performed quite a few different works here in Dubai, including pieces by InClassica’s Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor. How was your experience with this repertoire?

It’s the first time I’ve performed Shor’s music. I think music, contemporary music like 40 or 50 years ago, had to be dissonant. There could not be any consonant and if it were consonant it was not regarded as music. Since around 20 years it has also become accepted for music to be a language of a different time. For instance, let’s say someone like Rachmaninoff, he was not in his times, he used a language of a post-romantic era, but I think he’s a great composer. So I don’t think that the way you have to write is specifically tied to the trend of the time, and nowadays there is a lot of freedom so many people do very different things.

I think that everybody must have his own inspirations and his own feelings. For instance, in the violin sonata that I performed the other day there is a lot of passion and nice melodies which of course, one wouldn't say that they are modern or contemporary, but I think they are heartfelt and this is the important thing.”

What’s next on the horizon for you now that InClassica is finished?

Well, I have some concerts, chamber music and some solo recitals coming up. There are several things, always very mixed, and perhaps some teaching too, so I’ll be kept busy!”

For more information about InClassica, visit the official website at inclassica.com.