Harp

Maria Zorkina

In the orchestra since 2011

Biography
Interview

Maria Zorkina was born in Leningrad. She started studying music at an early age. She played the piano, sang in a choir and learned to play the harp.

In 1998, she graduated with honours from music college where she had studied harp playing (under prof. I.A. Donskaya) and symphony conducting (under prof. L.Ya. Savich).

In 2004, Maria graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg Conservatory (prof. A.A. Varosyan’s class).

She has worked at the Mikhailovsky and Mariinsky theatre orchestras, at the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Academic symphony orchestra, at Macao Symphony, and at Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Since 2011, Maria Zorkina has been a member of the musicAeterna orchestra.

In 2018, Maria Zorkina graduated with honours from the Perm State Culture University where she had studied symphony conducting under prof. V.I. Platonov. In November 2018, she made her debut as a conductor at the Perm State Opera and Ballet Theatre.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU INTO THE WORLD OF MUSIC?

It was “who”, not “what”. My mother did. It was she who once took we to a concert at the St. Petersburg Philharmonia. That concert witnessed the birth of my dream to be on that stage one day. I was particularly charmed by the conductor, Evgeniy Alexandrovich Mravinsky, who had such clear and precise control over time.

THE HARP IS SUCH A ROMANTIC INSTRUMENT. WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE IT OVER ANY OTHER?

I once saw a golden harp in one of the rooms at music school and instantly fell in love with it. I wanted no more black pianos, and I insisted on being put into the harp class instead, which ultimately happened. If you think of it, you have 7 pedals, 47 strings, 70kg of weight to carry, and 1500 parts to wrap your head around; that is not romantic at all. I am not going to discuss things that frequently come up when talking about the harp: its magical timbre, harp therapy and the like. To me, having a good command of the instrument is more important than just playing music in an eloquent way. Truth be told, I have always been an odd harpist. Harpists tend to be melancholic ladies in long dresses, but that is not what I am. I try to stay busy every minute, during every break we get — and we get plenty of those. For instance, right now I am learning to be a conductor, so I observe the musicians and Maestro and think what I could have done differently to get a different sound.

WHAT DOES MUSIC MEAN TO YOU?

Music is a language. Get fluent at it, and you will be able to express all your thoughts. Moreover, hearing someone play just a few notes can tell me much about that person. They play and I understand whether we would be of interest to each other.

WHAT SYMBOLIC MEANING DOES MUSICAETERNA HAVE TO YOU?

MusicAeterna is the last name of Teodor’s large family. It is a locomotive of the modern music world. It is a jewellery workshop of musical diamonds. MusicAeterna means quality.