“To me, it’s a great honor when someone says that after attending the workshop, they understood how they should study and found it very useful. I am delighted when that happens,” remarked the musician at the Portuguese Cultural Center’s auditorium in Praia, surrounded by students from music schools, singers, and instrumentalists.
“In an hour and a half, you can’t teach much, but I think you can provide hints” to “motivate” and that represents another facet of the Portuguese pianist, opening doors to his experience: “what I studied, what motivated and excited me, what frustrated me.”
The audience is diverse, ranging from the youngest, Joana Lopes, nine years old, who already shows skill at the piano, to Bertânia Almeida, one of Cape Verde’s recent vocal revelations.
“I came to meet the new teacher. I play the piano because I like it and it makes me happy,” Joana states, while Bertânia raises questions about opening traditional repertoire to new influences: “sometimes, on this musical journey, we encounter some obstacles, resistances, and there is a desire to take other steps.”
In this context, “it’s always good to hear from someone who has already walked another path,” like Mário Laginha, with his diverse collaborations and styles.
Bertânia believes it is important “to preserve the traditional,” but also that there should be room for “young people to try new things” and a “masterclass” with Mário Laginha seems to her an inspirational place.
“I don’t know the participants, I try to adapt what I will do, it’s not something rigid. I will try to be as useful as possible,” promises the pianist, who is passionate about “diversity” where everyone has “something to learn from each other.”
This context of sharing gains even more strength in Cape Verde, he says, because “it’s a country with a great profusion of musical talents. I think it’s a very musical society, with many people playing different styles, different instruments,” as a talent that seems to be part of their DNA.
It was in this environment that he met Tcheka (Manuel Lopes Andrade) ten years ago.
“I was dazzled by what I heard,” recalls Laginha.
“The possibility of playing together was born and we never stopped,” combining piano with Tcheka’s guitar and voice, a singer and composer who goes beyond the ordinary.
The duo premiered now in the archipelago as part of an initiative by Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, within the framework of the Portuguese Cultural Center’s programming, with concerts in Praia (last Thursday) and Mindelo (today, supported by the municipality).
In addition to this organization, another show is being prepared for Friday, November 28, in Cidade Velha.
Between concerts, a “masterclass,” and impromptu encounters, Mário Laginha says it’s “unlikely” not to hear “something or meet someone who isn’t stimulating from a musical standpoint.”
“My musical activity is always connected to the idea of writing more music, composing, getting to know, playing with different people, experimenting, taking risks (…). Everything will influence what I will do,” he concludes, on the brink of launching a solo album “early next year”—his second, in a career that has privileged live performances.
