Brillante Piano Festival brings harmonies in ebony and ivory to Bengaluru

From a previous edition of the Brillante Piano Festival
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Brillante is a Nagaland-based piano festival which is into its fifth year and is coming to Bengaluru for the first time. The event will see musicians from 15 Indian States and 18 countries, make music over two days.

Khyochano TCK, founder and director of the Brillante Piano Festival, says the festival began in 2017 as a response to what was needed in the community at the time. “We are from the northeast part of India and a rural community, with exceptional talent in music. However, there was no infrastructure in place to direct music lovers, students or their parents, to energise, inspire and motivate the youth,” says Khyochano.

“We were drawn to the need to provide a dignifying of arts, culture and music within the State,” she says, adding that though it was initially envisioned for the local community, it has since spread to different parts of India, following the response garnered from the second and subsequent editions.

Khyochano TCK, founder and director of the Brillante Piano Festival
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“Brillante is about awakening possibilities in the lives of people, in their dreams and goals, awakening possibilities in neighbourhoods when they see how creative engagements can bring about a change in perspective and as well as the way we live and do things.”

As altruistic as that sounds, the multi-genre, piano-centric festival focuses on “performance, pedagogy and competition.” This edition themed Magic of the Keys, highlights not only the history of this instrument, but also its relevance in the future, as the piano has adapted to change over the years.

Magic of the Keys will see performances by Bengaluru talents Aman Mahajan, Derek and the Cats, Radha Thomas and others from outside the city such as Adam Greig and Grammy winner Manoj George, as well as those from Nagaland.

Moroccan-Hungarian concert pianist Maroun Benabdellah has been associated with Brillante since 2022. “That was the online version due to the pandemic; this will be the first time I will be attending such a major piano event in India in person,” says Maroun over phone.

He will be presenting music by Spanish composer Enrique Granados and Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 among other pieces. While it may seem like an overkill on classical pieces, Maroun says the Rhapsody is quite well known. “Everyone has heard it because was used in the Tom and Jerry episode The Cat Concerto.”

From a previous edition of the Brillante Piano Festival
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

He goes on to share an interesting detail — even though it was for an animated cartoon, The Cat Concerto, was accurate down to the minutest detail. “For instance, whenever there is a C-sharp in the music, Tom is seen playing C-sharp on the piano too, even though only a pianist would recognise it.”

Musician Lydian Nadhaswaram from Chennai who will also be at Brillante, is thrilled as most major music events, “stop at Mumbai or Delhi.” Apart from a few Western classical, jazz and improv pieces, he will be playing Dance of Spring by Chinese composer Lang Lang, which Lydian says, “is not very common but quite beautiful.”

The Brillante Music Festival will include workshops and masterclasses. There will also be a flea market featuring goodies and wares from Nagaland. The Festival moves to Kochi following its performance in Bengaluru.

Brillante Piano Festival will take place on September 28 and 29 at the Prestige Srihari Khoday Centre for Performing Arts. Tickets starting at ₹499 are on BookMyShow. For other details log on to brillantefest.org