‘For me,’ says Tatiana Svetlova, ‘music is a blending of the heart and the mind.’ Not an uncontroversial opinion, although the fervor with which the poet and composer wants to connect the hearts and minds of everyone she encounters is exceptional. She points to Plato’s assertion that ‘the patterns in music and all the arts are the key to learning.’

Svetlova is wasting no time putting that idea into action. With her Mosaic Festival in the south of France, she has presented countless opportunities for professional musicians to perform on new stages to new audiences. But her current focus is on audiences with very little experience of music - or indeed life. After two sell-out performances in Monte Carlo in 2023, the children’s show she has developed with pianist Edna Stern is about to come to Paris and London. Carnival Party! mixes poetry, animation, spoken narration and a performance of Robert Schumann’s Op 9 Carnaval - all designed specifically for young listeners.

‘Children should be introduced to music as early as possible,’ believes Svetlova, ‘it’s just as critical as numeracy and literacy.’ Her zeal on the subject is infectious. Carnival Party! promises to introduce children to the wonder of the classical repertoire in the most imaginative possible way. Vital to that are the talents of Svetlova’s collaborator Edna Stern, a distinguished pianist and seasoned recording artist whose albums have been highly praised in Gramophone. ‘Stern’s sincerity, conviction and masterful control of the instrument prove utterly disarming,’ wrote Jed Distler of her juxtaposition of Bach and Brahms on the Zig Zag Territoires label.

While more introducing listeners to the music of Hélène Montgeroult (a Critic’s Choice in December 2017), Stern has also made the music of Robert Schumann something of a specialty. In October 2024 she released her recording of the composer’s Carnaval (coupled with Kinderszenen, the ‘Intermezzo’ from Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26 and the pianist’s own composition, To-Nal or not To-Nal). Carnaval enjoys a special place in Schumann’s output and its clear structure often conceals poetry, mystery, contemplation and joy.

Over the course of 35 minutes, Carnival Party! leads children into the magical world of Schumann’s imagination in the hope of firing their own. It weaves Svetlova’s own narrative through Schumann’s music with projected animations. Not only are children introduced to classical music, they are led into a world of theatre, storytelling and literature. Each leaves the performance with the Carnival Party! book and a digital recording.

Evelyne Berezovsky features on Tatiana’s debut album

Svetlova and Stern have history together. The collaborated extensively at the composer’s own Mosaic Festival in Villa Ephrussi in St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in the south of France, an event that underlines the power of music by connecting artists, composers and audiences and thinking constantly about the interaction between all three. It has welcomed artists including David Fray and Elisabeth Leonskaja and has proved an important platform for emerging talent.

Mosaic’s own written Manifesto sets out the organization’s aims to give the best professional musicians platform to meet the widest possible range of audiences - ‘from the very young to the very old and everyone in between’ and promises to ‘proselytize shamelessly that music makes a difference’ and to ‘shout about that from the rooftops to ensure the message is heard wide and clear.’

Edna Stern, who has just released a new album ‘Carnival’

In an age of scarce funding for the arts and little music education in schools, Svetlova is unflinching in her determination to take matters into her own hands. At the Coronation of King Charles III, she presented the music-loving monarch with her newly-composed set of Humoresques on God Save the King for piano, which the palace received with gratitude. In keeping with her determination to persuade decision makers and opinion formers as to the power of music, she didn’t miss the opportunity to include a copy of the Mosaic Festival Manifesto with her score - taking her mission to the very highest level.

‘This was an important step,’ says Svetlova, who is now working on Mosaic’s next step: a public-private initiative to bring music and musicians together online in new, unprecedented ways. But for now, it’s Carnival Party! that is proving Svetlova’s primary focus. After the great success of its outing in Monte Carlo, Svetlova is excited about its arrival in Paris and London from next year. Again, she points to Plato: ‘music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.’

Tatiana Svetlova’s album Poetic Dialogues is now out on all streaming platforms.

www.mosaic-festival.com

www.edna-stern.com

www.evelyneberezovsky.com