Maria Raduto in interview – Looking forward to the Piano Festival: “The public can also experience it!”

BVZ: You already gave an insight into the new concept with a preview concert in March. What then?
Maria Raduto: We arrived in Eisenstadt, and that was exactly the plan: with the pre-concert we wanted to attract the audience and show how easy and easy our style is.

Keys to Heaven is also about breaking down boundaries between artists and audiences – and between individual styles. People might say, 'They don't know exactly what to expect, but it feels good.'

As you can see in the program, there is a lot more to come! Was it also the main idea – as happened with Herbstgold in September – to create a music festival that would cover the entire castle district of Eisenstadt and bring people closer together?
In any case! I think festivals should grow in the region, they shouldn't be a foreign body. We may have a different approach, but we want to gain the public's trust.

The basic idea of ​​the festival is to meet, get closer and experience something together. Personally, I feel very comfortable in the Burgenland and the Schlossquartier: the acoustics in the Haydn Hall are fantastic and there is history in the air.

Did the famous hall inspire you, so to speak, in awe?
Being able to design something here with your own ideas is very special. I heard about this hall when I knew nothing else about Austria, that was when I was young and played Haydn for the first time. Then I moved to Austria and saw the hall for the first time.

And now I can create something new there. Of course, I treat the task with great respect. And with much anticipation!

What's new at the festival, primarily in terms of presentation formats?
We show passion and connect with other visual art forms. You can watch the movie “Pianomania”, and the music is sometimes accompanied by sand drawing and modern dancing. The piano is always the leitmotif and unifying element, but it is as diverse as art forms.

There are concerts where you can leave the hall and come back again, such as Haydn Hive or Piano Meditation. After the concerts, shows continue at the Galanthá Hotel's rooftop bar. You don't have to worry about getting bored. There can be movement, things can be experienced!

What else can audiences look forward to in the concert programme?
First, I want to show with Tango5 and the works of Piazzolla, Bartók and many others how the connection between popular music and art music can develop.

The great Onder Sisters are also our guests, playing the Ravel Bolero on a piano, with a dancer visually expressing the music. At the end of the Director's Party I will be on stage with Julian Rachlin and Jan Erik Gustafsson. There is a lot to look forward to!

There are always ideas to attract young people to the audience. Are the keys to heaven a way to achieve this?
I always tell young guests that they can compare it to the Frequency Festival, only without the tent and without the gaiters (laughs). The boys are in a time of discovery, and the Keys to Heaven are programmed to be discovered on their own initiative.

There are many people who say they love going to concerts, but feel “untalented” when listening. But I think if someone can let the music get to them, that's understanding. I would like to remove this discouragement, especially for young people; Alternative concert formats give them the opportunity to participate.

I would also like young musicians in Burgenland to be addressed and have a place in the festival events. You can also try yourself on stage.

And the classic concert audience doesn't have to worry, right?
Of course not, there is Haydn, Shostakovich, Bach. The idea is that there's something everyone should stop by, something you already know – and something new everyone should try!

“Keys to Paradise” – the program

Friday 26 April
4pm: Hayden Hive – Next Generation Project (free admission, secure online tickets)
7.30pm: Piazzolla on the floor – Maria Raduto and Tango 5 at Haydn Hall
10pm: Milonga with tango crash course at Galantha Hotel, The Top

Saturday 27 April
9am-7pm: Infinite Retreat at Empire Hall – free admission with festival pass and day pass
11am: Piano and Sand in Haydn Hall – Anna Vidyakina (sand painting), Thomas Tobler (speaker), Sabina Hasanova (piano)
3.30pm: Film screening in the Garden Hall – “In Search of the Perfect Sound”
7.30pm: Farhan and Farzan Onder at Haydn Hall, with Maria Raduto and Jonny Österlund (dance)
10pm: Speak Easy – silent films with piano improvisation at Galantá Hotel, The Top
10pm: Night concert at Empire Hall with Tanya Huppert

Sunday 28 April
11am: Director's Concert at Haydn Hall – with Julian Rachlin, Maria Raduto, Jan Erik Gustafsson

All information and tickets as well as other shows at the Schlossviertel or details about childcare during the concerts are available online www.pianofestival.at