Event Calendar & News: Alumni News
MSU Alumna's Debut CD Recieves Three Grammy® Nominations
After her 2003 debut recording of Transfigured Bach: The Bach Transcriptions of Bartók, Lipatti and Friedman, Petronel Malan found herself in the national spotlight with three Grammy® award nominations, including Best Instrumental Solo Album. The surprise nomination put her up against some of the biggest names in classical music today.
Petronel Malan received a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from MSU in 1995, and a master’s and doctoral degree in piano performance from the University of North Texas. She is currently artist-in-residence at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Following is a Q & A with Malan about her reaction to the nominations and future plans.
Q: What is unique about your CD?
About Petronel Malan
Petronel Malan was born into a political family in South Africa. In 1988, her uncle founded the Democratic Party that helped end apartheid in South Africa. Her father is a lawyer and real estate developer. Her mother, an opera singer, began teaching her piano at the age of 4.
Considered the "last prodigy" of the late South African pedagogue Adolph Hallis, Malan debuted with the Johannesburg Symphony at age 10, won her first national gold medal at age 12, and her first international gold at age 14 in the Third International Piano Competition in Marsala, Sicily. At 17, she was the youngest musician ever to be awarded the SABC Music Prize in South Africa, the country's most prestigious competition. Malan won every competition she entered before moving to the United States in 1991 for further studies. At MSU, she studied with Professor Emeritus of Piano Ralph Votapek, gold-medal winner of the First Van Cliburn International Quadrennial Piano Competition, and winner of a Naumburg Award.
“I remember Petronel Malan as extraordinarily enthusiastic with a unique and charismatic personality that enabled her to communicate well to audiences,” said Votapek.
In 2003, Malan received an award denoting her as one of the 10 most inspirational women achievers in South Africa. In 2000, she won gold medals at four international piano competitions: Louise McMahon, Missouri Southern, Hilton Head, and Los Angeles Liszt. She was grand prizewinner in the 2000 Web Concert Hall Auditions, silver-medalist in the 1999 New Orleans International Piano Competition, and gold medalist in the 1998 Young Texas Artists Competition, to name but a few. She also performed at the 1993 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
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A: “The transcriptions on the CD contain music originally written by Bach for other instruments. It includes three hard-to-find, world-premiere pieces never recorded before.” The CD is available at Amazon.com and at the BMG Music Club Collection: www.bmgmusic.com.
Q: Did you ever expect your career to go this far; was this something you were striving for?
A: “Not at all. I recorded my CD and received good reviews, but there is quite a leap from ‘good reviews’ to Grammy® nominations. Although my CD company said it was ‘Grammy® quality’ all along, I didn’t pay much attention. On the day of the announcement, you are supposed to wake up at 5 a.m. to hear the nominations live. I didn’t even know what day it was when I received the call around noon that day! Not believing it was true, I didn’t tell anyone until after I confirmed it myself. I had no hopes of winning, and as a matter of fact, I would have considered it very odd to have won above people like Evegeny Kissin and Andras Schiff (two of my favorite pianists who were nominated in the category with me)! But, it’s nice that for the rest of my life I can say that my debut CD was awarded three Grammy® nominations.”
Q: Did the nomination change any of your hopes and dreams?
A: “My hopes and dreams are no different than before the nominations––simply to continue playing concerts. But I must say it is a nice tap on the shoulder, and of course it opens doors and creates opportunities, but my personal outlook did not change.”
Q: What's next on your agenda?
A: “We are currently discussing repertoire for the second and third recordings. It is a very difficult decision since so many parties have to agree on choosing the right repertoire. But I am looking forward to––for the first time––getting some input on the repertoire that will be recorded. We hope to record early in 2005. Other than that, I am still playing
concerts and presenting master classes.”
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