“I am Francesa Khalifa, an Italian-Egyptian artist, born and raised in the suburbs just outside Milan. Italy never felt like the right place for me, so after my bachelor, I moved to The Netherlands for my Masters, spending 4 years there and becoming a founding member of the Van Eyck Piano Trio and the Zannin- Khalifa duo. When the political situation shifted there, and I felt it was time to expand my experiences, I eventually won the President’s Trio Fellowship at the University of South Florida and moved to the States.
In the past 10 years I have made New York City a place that I am happy to call home. Here, I gained a post-graduate degree from NYU on a talent scholarship and, most importantly, I met my mentor, the late Cuban pianist German Diez (1924-2014). The encounter with German marked a turning point in my life, both as a person and as an artist.
A longtime pupil of the great Claudio Arrau, German had made his mission to pass on the principles of the piano playing tradition he inherited from him, and which traces back to Franz Liszt (via Martin Krause and Claudio Arrau). As Arrau would say, one of the main elements of the approach is relaxation: relaxation and no stiffness in the joints is the ultimate tool to allow our soul to pour into music, to express itself and give flesh and blood to the score. But If I had to summarize the most important lesson I learned from German, is the recognition of the value, and the respect towards, the artist’s struggle: understanding its importance and embracing it are the path to become an authentic artist, big or small is not relevant.
German’s life and impact on many artistic journeys has been captured in the documentary Piano Lessons, shaped out of my research on my late mentor and officially endorsed by the American Liszt Society for its value in brining light to Franz Liszt’s legacy. The movie received many screenings, at festivals and institutions, and is now released on Amazon Prime Video worldwide and Tubi Tv in the US.
But aside from German, I was lucky enough to have other relevant presences in my life who have been, and continue to be, a lighthouse in my artistic journey: Chilean pianist Ena Bronstein-Barton, also a longtime student of Claudio Arrau, and German pianist and friend Marcus Baban.
Though with much differences, all these artists share the same vision, artistically and personally: they seek to elevate (others) through art, serve and contribute to a better human community, and to celebrate the greatness of humanity. Their dedication is the biggest encouragement I have ever received in my life.
And so, in spite of the many challenges that becoming an artist meant for me (from unsupporting family members to societal pressure into fitting and conforming to stingy artistic parameters), I feel strong today in saying that I have made my childhood’s dream come true: I am making contributions and engaging on the issues that are closest to my heart with my music. This, to me, is success.
As I continue to shape my contribution to this world, I am currently keeping my curatorial position at EXTENSITY Concert Series, which I co-founded and which, at its core, is a place for cultural, racial and gender diversity and equity in the classical music scene, a scene with some of the most conservative tendencies in the artistic world. The series was featured on NPR, WWFM, I care if you listen, and other major media outlets in the country and it has received support from Yamaha Corporation and many, many members of the artistic and non-artistic community in the City (for which, I am extremely and eternally grateful).
I also continue my work on Legado, a project recipient of the New York City Artist Corps Grant, and dedicated to the performing, commissioning and recording of music by under-represented, under-performed Latin classical living composers. Most recently, the project has led me to a collaboration with SOLA (String of Latin America) for the critical edition of music by Alfredo Diez Nieto.
If I had to ask for one more dream to come true, given the state of the affairs in the world, it would be for the awakening of humanity: as we stand on the edge of this abyss, risking to lose our planet and the memory of our existence, I can’t help but feel that if more people were to stop chasing inhumane ideals of success and happiness, and really question the meaning of self-realization, we would surely solve the majority of our problems.
To finish up, as Jimi Hendrix said, “music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.”