MARIKA BOURNAKI

Piano

Twenty-year-old pianist Marika Bournaki is an exciting young artist. Marika Bournaki began her piano studies at the age of 5. At 9, she was a soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. She played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the age of 11. At 15, Marika won the Third Prize at the 17th International “Roma 2006” Piano Competition, and won First Prize at the 2002 Pro-Piano Romania International Piano competition for young pianists, and was awarded a prize by the Association of Music Critics for her recital.

"It began when I entered school at 5," the pianist says." I wanted to study music and discussed it with my father, who asked if I wanted to learn to play the piano. He first suggested violin, but I was really more interested in piano, so when school started he registered me at Ecole de musique de Verdun."

Marika follows regular school while managing to practice three or four hours daily. Until last year she also took ballet classes, but she decided to stop these to make time to practice since she wants to succeed in playing the works of her favourite composer. "Since the beginning this has always been Beethoven,"she admits. "I began by listening to Beethoven Lives Upstairs, a CD that tells the life story of the composer. I liked to listen to it before falling asleep and told myself that I would like to learn those pieces. When I was in fourth grade I did a project on Beethoven, and I found it wonderful to understand his life better and see how this is reflected in his music."

Ms. Bournaki is the subject of a documentary selected to screen at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece. She has been heard on radio stations. She has been featured on television networks. Flare Magazine named Marika Bournaki one of Canada’s brightest young stars in culture, and Chatelaine magazine named her one of “2011 Women of the Year”.