Céline Voccia - Sunday Interview

 

Photo by Cristina Marx/Photomusix

1. What is your greatest joy in improvised music?

I don't know if the term “joy” is appropriate . I think this is all about a mental process leading to a play-in-flow and a secondary state of mind. This instant when I hear the music and realize : yes, that's it, we reached it, it is working, and we get more and more energy to play further.

2. What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with?

The ability to listen to the other musicians and to enable a symbiosis between each other, while keeping their own musical identities.

3. Which historical musician/composer do you admire the most?

This is a very, very difficult question. I would say Johann Sebastian Bach.

4. If you could resurrect a musician to perform with, who would it be?

Without hesitation Jimmy Giuffre !

5. What would you still like to achieve musically in your life?

I don't want to achieve anything , because if I did it would mean this process would end at some point … I would like to develop my music further as long as I am on this earth, continuously get to know new musicians, play concerts and do new recordings.

6. Are you interested in popular music and - if yes - what music/artist do you particularly like?

Of course yes, even if I am not listening to it all the time … I like the old bands from the 70-80's, Deep Purple particularily, Led Zeppelin, also Iron Maiden, Iron Butterfly, Black Sabbath. I also have to admit to I like the soundtrack of “Frozen” of Walt Disney, which I am obliged to listen every day to because my children are real fans of it ...

7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would like to be less shy and doubting about myself , and also to be able to make decisions quicker (which is not easy as I am a gemini …).

8. Which of your albums are you most proud of?

Honestly I am completely unable to make a choice … I am proud of every album, they are all different and have a particular meaning to me. I would not have realeased them if I hadn't be proud of them all.

9. Once an album of yours is released, do you still listen to it? And how often?

Yes I still listen to it, after the release 1-2 times and then later from time to time. It is difficult to say how often as it depends on the album, generally I have some CDs in the car and listen to them while driving.

10. Which album (from any musician) have you listened to the most in your life?

Rachmaninov's. Piano Concerto nr.2 in C minor, the interpretation by Julius Katchen.3

11. What are you listening to at the moment?

Now I am listening to the trio with Ab Baars, Meinrad Kneer and Billy Elgart and to the piano works of Alberto Posadas.

12. What artist outside music inspires you?

I am feeling inspired by abstract painting in general, but Nicolas de Stael in particular has inspired me a lot.

Céline Voccia reviews:

Céline Voccia: Energetic Dissonance and Contemplative Restraint