The String Virtuoso: Olivia Steiner

Olivia Steiner. Courtesy of 22nd International Guitar Festival, Fribourg

Despite her very young age, guitarist Olivia Steiner has already experienced almost all possible stages of a musical career—solo artist, quartet member, concert performer, and teacher. Now she has been chosen to play the world premiere of the latest work by Laurent Mettraux, specially composed for this year’s International Guitar Festival in Fribourg, Switzerland.

Fribourg’s International Guitar Festival showcases a new program every year with different artists, and always includes guitar players and musicians playing on guitar-like instruments. The program typically includes different styles of music, like classical, world music, flamenco, and so on. This year the concert will feature the musical flavors of Balkan, Turkish, Indian, and African cultures.

Ms. Steiner will debut at the festival with pieces influenced by different cultures, including one piece for sarod, which is a classical Northern Indian instrument, among other classical works.

But the high point of the festival may well be Laurent Mettraux’s Sonata.

“As we say in German, it will be the dot on the ‘i,’ as the composition was specially ordered for the festival and Fribourg is the composer’s hometown. It will be, of course, important for the whole festival as it is played in the opening concert,” Ms. Steiner said.

The 22nd International Guitar Festival in Fribourg heard of Ms. Steiner’s playing at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Fribourg. She was invited to play a short recital before the organizational commission, and then invited to play a concert at the following festival. At the same time, organizers commissioned Laurent Mettraux to write a piece for solo guitar for the same festival.

Mettraux is an important Swiss composer with an international name, living near Fribourg. According to Steiner, he had already had an idea about a sonata for a guitar earlier but composed a complete sonata with new ideas for the festival.

Ms. Steiner says Mettraux’s Sonata “is a very interesting contemporary work for guitar. It consists of several connected movements, each with its own mood, but at the same time building a unity. In the first movement, Misterioso, there are melodic fragments, interrupted by insistent rhythms. The second one, Presto, is in the mood of a Toccata, then a short Furioso, dancing in 7/8, where there are two developed memories of the first movement and finally a very melodic and slow Meditativo.”

Born in 1981 in Basel, Switzerland, Steiner recalls that music is part of her earliest memories: “I was singing and took lessons in elementary music for children. Later I played the recorder [flute]. My teacher always insisted I should continue with a wind instrument. But the guitar fascinated me so much. I knew this was my instrument from the first time I held it in my arms. It was like love.”

Her teachers included Martin Oser, her first, who “gave so much energy and inspiration” to his students, and Pepe Romero, who inspired a turning point in Ms. Steiner’s career. After attending his master class, she decided to become a musician. “I will never forget it. … He was a great model and master to me.” And at the Haute Ecole de Musique, from which she graduated in 2007, she studied with Joaquim Freire, a great master, musician, and teacher.

Her interest in world cultures and music began as a result of her travels.

“I travel a lot, mostly in Asian countries. Those cultures evoke a great fascination in me. It is a completely different way of playing and learning music—a much more free way of expression. European classical music is very fixed and strict in the tonal system, while in the ethnic music there is more space to improvise.

“It is a great chance for me that Ken Zuckerman, one of the most important sarod players, lives in Switzerland. He brought me to Indian music eight years ago. This meditation tool gives me so much inspiration and energy, which I can also express in my classical playing. I constantly gather new ideas of interpretation and performance; traveling through countries, which means feeling the mood of the culture, also inspires me. What is more, my brother is an artist, a painter. He lives in India. The first time I visited India was with him.”

Ms. Steiner has played other string instruments. Beside guitar and sarod, she has played a pipa (Chinese lute), a lute from Vietnam, and some other self-made instruments consisting of a resonant body and strings. And during her training, she studied the flute and the piano.

According to Ms. Steiner, one life is not enough to become a real master of even one instrument. “So musicians play till the last days of their lives and still find things to improve. That’s the way we’ve chosen. But as it is well known, the way is the aim!”

Ms. Steiner believes that “music is the language which connects all people. It speaks from inside and reaches the heart of the listener. Young or adult, it accompanies us throughout our life. Playing music is communication with the soul. It helps in good and bad situations. It can reflect the person and make him attain balance. It is no surprise I have a black belt in karate. Martial arts are very important for my body and soul. They give me the energy for playing music.

“My dream is to make music not only for myself but for everyone who listens to it. I want to give the listener time for going into the sound, into the composition, and let him be connected to that moment. My goal is to touch the listener and to reveal the joy for music. Besides all that, I like to work with children very much. It is very nice to see how they develop and discover their personality while making music. So my goal is playing, playing, playing ... performing and teaching. And give as much love as I can.”

The 22nd International Guitar Festival will take place in Fribourg, Switzerland, May 1–9. For more information please visit www.figf.ch/

For more information about Olivia Steiner: www.art-of-guitar.ch