Meet extraordinary violinist Aylen Pritchin

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) presents "Europa" the fourth concert of its 40th Season (Forte) under Maestro Grzegorz Nowak. Our featured artist today is violinist Aylen Pritchin, the featured artists for the Jan. 17 show.Aylen will perform on the said date at 7:30 p.m., at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater. We had a chance to chat with him recently and here is that conversation.Tell us about yourself and your journey as an artist. Why did you pick the violin among other musical instruments?I was born in a non-musical family in St. Petersburg, but luckily my parents took me once to a symphony concert. Afterwards I was asking them to buy me a violin, I was 6 years old. I went to a music school and then to Moscow Conservatory with professor Eduard Grach. But even after graduation from the conservatory, I never stopped to learn and to discover new ideas, new music.What is it like working with conductors like Olivier Ochanine? Do you research them before each performance? I don't believe it's really necessary to research about your stage partners in advance, the more important thing is what's happening right at the moment of rehearsing and on the stage during concert. Once there is a connection between artists on the stage, we can start to make music.How will you treat your performing piece, Tchaikovsky's Concerto, for the PPO concert on Jan. 17?I didn't play Tchaikovsky concerto for five years, so for me it will be very nice to re-discover the piece again. It's always good to put some piece you know well aside and to come back to it with fresh attitude and having more experience. The emotional palette of the concerto is very diverse: you can find some exciting moments of imperial polonaise and ever more exciting lyrical and intimate moments like in his opera "Eugene Onegin," and a lot of other different characters in between.Is this your first time performing in the Philippines? What are your expectations?Indeed it will be my first time in the Philippines, I am looking forward to play there.What advice can you share with our readers who want to follow in your footsteps and become excellent artists like you someday?A: One of the most important things is not to be afraid of trying different things, of doing mistakes — it's inevitable anyway — and to remember why you love music.For more information on the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Forte: PPO 40th Concert Season-Concert IV "Europa" call the CCP Box office at 09310330880 or email: [email protected].