Composer’s Spotlight: Katia Mestrovic performs ‘Baroque Flamenco’

In this interview, Katia Mestrovic shares her experience playing ‘Baroque Flamenco.’ Lorem impsum

Katia Mestrovic

Australian harpist-composer resonating with new music and new sounds on the harp!
For a full bio: https://katiamestrovic.cargo.site/

Continue reading below for the full interview with Katia Mestrovic

Watch Katia perform Deborah Henson-Conant’s ‘Baroque Flamenco‘, at a Mattutino series at Tempo Rubato, in Melbourne, Australia (September 15th, 2024). For those that couldn’t make it (and because people loved the program), she made a youtube playlist of all the pieces. This performance was taken in her practice space (The Parish of Sacred Heart and Saint Columba) in the week leading up to the concert.

A Mini-Interview with Katia

How would you describe your experience of playing the piece?

Five words to describe it: physical, fun, gusto, character, effective

What do people say when you play this piece? Do you have favorite memories of people’s reactions to it?

People said: “It’s just so uplifting” “It’s a crowd favourite” “I never knew the harp could do that” “the harp IS just one big guitar”

What drew you to this piece – why did you choose to learn it?

It’s incredibly effective, dramatic but simple

The premise is very relatable for an audience – “The harp is just ONE BIG GUITAR”
People like repetition in performance as it gives them something familiar to hold onto – this piece does it in a way that maintains interest. For the performer, even though it’s lengthy, it uses the same material, so is quick to memorise, and fabulous to include in a longer program. I love to open with it because it gets people’s attention.

What does this piece add to your repertoire (and/or your life) that you didn’t have before?

Something very refreshing, and in line with the type of music I want to be learning and sharing with audiences.

What would you tell someone else who’s thinking of learning this piece that you wish you’d known before you learned it?

Your wrist must be completely relaxed to strum upwards. Angle the hand diagonally downwards and keep the thumb up.
Not necessarily something that I wish I’d known before, but a word of advice…. For performance, and especially if you’re opening with it, perform the first two pages cold every day before you start your practice (leading up to the concert) – it requires a lot of focus and surety to just come in with it at speed and with the energy it requires.

What do you think you can get from working directly with the composer of the piece that you can’t get from the sheet music?

I loved reading about her inspiration behind the piece, and would love to hear more about it in detail.
It would be fascinating to understand the process of how she came to the strumming technique, and how she decided to organise the piece.
I would love to hear how she understands the performance practise of her own piece.

Please follow this artist on social media and let them know what has opened up for your own self-expression in seeing and hearing their performance, and please share in the comments below.

Instagram: k.mestrovic.harp
Web: katiamestrovic.cargo.site
Youtube: @katiamestrovic7145

Stay tuned for more artists soon and check out my Composer’s Spotlight blog series, featuring other talented musicians who played my song!  If you’re playing my music, apply here to be in the ‘Composer’s Spotlight’ blog series.