Philip Rham meets up with our two soloists in a break from rehearsal at the Royal College of Music . They will perform the Brahms Double Concerto with KPO on 25 June 2023.

 

Philip  I’m here with Lucilla Rose Mariotti and Marion Portelance. Marion, you’re originally from Montreal, aren’t you?

Marion  Actually I was born in Taipei. I was adopted at seven months old by a family from Quebec so I spent my entire life there.

Philip  And was it a family of musicians?

Marion  No, but they’re in the artistic world, the TV industry.

Philip  So how did you get into playing the cello then?

Marion  I was a kind of quiet kid. I didn’t feel comfortable doing team activities and my parents thought maybe music would be a good thing. They signed me up to a music theory class when I was three years old. After two years we were introduced to many instruments and I announced to my parents “I’m going to be a cellist!”

Philip  And the rest is history, as they say! Now Lucilla, originally from Lucca, in Tuscany. How did you start on the violin?

Lucilla  My family are not musicians at all, not even artistic. My father is an engineer and my mum is an English teacher. They both like music and thought it was important as part of a general education.

Philip  So when did you really get serious?

Lucilla  It was just part of my life. I couldn’t imagine life without it.

Philip  Yes, but to get to the level where you are now, it needs a lot of work. It needs a conscious decision.

Lucilla  Yes, my mother said if you want to become professional you need to practise but they said if you don’t want to do it you don’t have to!

Philip  Oh, that’s nice liberal parents. Were your parents as liberal as that, Marion?

Marion  Even more liberal. All my life I think they were the ones to say practise less! No, they always encouraged me - it was really natural.

Philip  Now I remember when I was about 8 or so, a piece of music had a huge impact on me - can you remember that piece of music for you, when you suddenly thought “Oh my God, that’s taking me to another world, or that’s the world I want to live in”? It could have been a record, a CD or a performance you downloaded? Or a concert you went to?

Marion  Actually I’m passionate about orchestras and the first concert that really changed everything for me was one by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Kent Nagano. A moment that made me want to be completely in this world was when I played Firebird Suite with the Canadian National Youth Orchestra, touring Europe. It confirmed to me that I wanted to come to Europe.

Philip  And how old were you?

Marion  Actually not long ago, maybe five years ago - I always had those magical moments but that was the one for me.

Philip  And what about you, Lucilla?

Lucilla  I remember it very well. it was Zubin Mehta and Janine Jansen in Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto at the Maggio Musicale at Florence. I remember literally every detail of that concert - I was just 10. Ever since, that concerto has been my favourite. My first concert was the Tchaikovsky. My teachers asked why? I said I wanted to do that one!

Philip  Wonderful story. Now, Marion, you did your degree in Montreal and then you came to Europe and specifically here at Royal College of Music doing a masters. Is this your first time in London?

Marion  Actually last September, starting the course here was my first time in London.

Philip  How have you found it?

Marion  It’s amazing; I love it; there’s so much going on culturally and musically here. London feels like home - it’s open like Montreal. But I like doing music outside the classical world.

Philip  Ah yes since you mentioned it, I noticed in your bio you have credits for film on an IMDB profile.

Marion  I like combining both worlds doing TV, the music side of it and classical. I like this other side to my musical life.

Philip  And Lucilla, do you venture into other media?

Lucilla  Not other media but this year I’ve got very interested in music therapy - something in Italy we don’t have much of - at least it’s not organised. At college I did a module called “Performance and Well-being”. I’m going to do some more specific music therapy courses.

Philip  Fantastic. Now looking at your bio, I was impressed that you studied under Salvatore Accardo. How was that??

Lucilla  I studied with him at college in Cremona. Unfortunately, the first year was online because of Covid. Then the second was kind of half, half but then I came to London and I had to stop. He is a legend.

Philip  Unforgettable, I can imagine. Marion, I see Melissa Phelps is your professor.

Marion  It was really intense because of the pandemic. I had online lessons with her from Montreal during lockdown.

Philip  Did that work ok? It’s not quite the same, is it?

Marion  Even online she literally changed my life.

Lucilla  I found it different online but I actually enjoyed it. The main problem with online you can’t really work on the sound you produce. But I found it more interesting - your teacher works in a different way. I could record the lessons so I have an archive of almost two years of lessons. Sometimes I still use them if I need to pick up a piece I’ve studied before, reminding me of specific things we worked on.

Philip  Interesting that. Talking about preparing for a piece, when you approach a piece of music for the first time, do you like to create images for yourself, do you look at the context of the piece, do you listen to other recordings, or do you just want to look fresh at the score and respond to it instinctively? Marion, where do you stand on this?

Marion  Actually as regards recordings, I try not to listen to them too much. I don’t want to be influenced by something I’ve heard. I also try to change recordings every time I listen to a piece so I don’t have this pre-fixed idea then it’s not just automatic.

Lucilla  And for me, I actually listen to lots of recordings but I do have my favourites. But I love creating stories in music. I know some people like colours. I love stories. When I play a new piece I need to find the movie or the book somehow connected to it; I love watching movies even if it’s not the same period, but I like to have the feeling about the movie in my mind. Even for the standard repertoire, I have other pieces that are related to the piece. Before a concert I listen to piano pieces that give me the same feeling that I want to transmit to the audience. For competitions, though, I need to watch a movie, something completely different. For me it’s very much a story-telling.

Philip  Interesting. Now how have you both approached this Double Concerto? There aren’t that many double concertos around. Obviously together, but do you still have your own instinctive response to the music? How have you come together on this, although you are soloists in your own right?

Lucilla  It’s been fascinating.

Marion  Yes we’re still different. I come from a more orchestral background.

Lucilla  And I tend to come from a more soloist background. Coming together has been actually very interesting for both of us. I discovered new things I hadn’t thought about.

Marion  I love playing solo but the real connection to my soul is playing with people. I was struggling when I started approaching the Brahms Double. Working with Lucilla has been marvellous.

Lucilla  I’ve also found I need to listen in a different way - obviously as a soloist I listen to the orchestra but here I’m listening to another soloist as well.

Philip  So you’re learning from each other.

Lucilla/Marion  Yes!! Very much so!

Philip  But this is what’s fascinating about this concerto. There are moments when you are definitely a soloist and then together creating one sound., Other times you are supporting each other.

Lucilla  It’s very much a conversation.

Philip  Yes, you’re taking us on a journey - it’s like acting - there’s a twist and you find yourself going in a different direction, as if it’s a revelation for you AND for the audience.

Lucilla/Marion  Absolutely.

Philip  Now, do you like any other type of music other than classical, like rap or folk?

Lucilla  Yes, folk music. I’m very into that from all over the world, especially the gypsy traditions of Eastern Europe.

Philip  Right. Now, Marion, I can’t go on without mentioning the fact that you featured at the Coronation Concert playing King Charles’ cello!! Tell me a bit about that. How did that happen?

Marion  I was there as a student from the RCM, as a quartet, along with all the other Royal institutions, Royal Ballet, Royal Shakespeare CoMarionany, Royal Opera House. His cello is actually now in the RCM’s collection. And the arrangement of the West Side Story song started with a solo cello passage, specifically to show off the instrument.

Philip  So how exciting was that?

Marion  Mindblowing! Completely unforgettable!

Lucilla  I didn’t know before - I only saw when Marion posted it online (laughter).

Marion  It was huge - all the Canadian press latched onto it - it obviously went around the world.

Philip  Brilliant. Now just to finish, I always ask this of my guests. Who would you invite to your ideal dinner party, - it could be composers or players from the past, or painters or anybody?

Lucilla  Ooh let me think. Let’s say Janine Jansens and Tchaikovsky.

Philip  And what would you cook for them?

Lucilla  Pasta al pesto.

Philip  And you Marion, what about you?

Marion  Definitely Jacqueline du Pré - she was very close to my teacher, Melissa Phelps. She’s such an inspiration, I think I would need her but also Bach.

Philip  That sounds like a great dinner party, can I come? And what would you cook for them?

Marion  I’m very good at cooking pancakes!! And I’ve brought the maple syrup from Canada!

Philip  Fantastic. We can’t wait to hear you both playing the Brahms Double with us on 25 June. See you then. And thank you.