偶像派鋼琴王子馬克西姆

Maksim Mrvica knew he wanted to play the piano when， aged just eight， he caught a glimpse of the instrument at his best friend Alexander's house. That was in 1984 and although 23 years later he is one of the most famous pianists in the world， the journey hasn't always been easy.

Born in Sibenik， a small， but beautiful medieval town on Croatia's Adriatic Coast， the odds seemed stacked against Maksim achieveing his dream.

His mother Slavica and father Karmel knew nothing about classical music (even now they still prefer to listen to pop music on the radio). But although they were confused by their son's new passion， they were supportive and lessons were duly arranged.

It wasn't long before it became obvious to Maksim's teachers that he had a rare talent and the boy was enrolled in Sibenik's state music school. It was there that Maksim began to harbour dreams of being a concert pianist and working hard to make those dreams a reality.

He was 15 when war broke out in Croatia and life became almost unbearable for the Mrvica family. Bombs fell almost constantly on Sibenik: Maksim remembers \"There were more than 1，000 grenades a day. At one point there were seven whole days when we stayed in the basement and didn't see the sun.＂ \"But you got used to it: you had to go on living.\"

For Maksim， living meant playing the piano. He would meet his teacher Marija Sekso in the basement of Sibenik's music school and forget the war， losing himself in the music for hours at a time.

As well as grenades， there was the constant threat of being attacked by Serbian snipers—any time spent outside was a danger. For three years the whole family slept each night on the concrete floor of the shelter in their basement. They occasionally were able to escape to a house on one of the islands off Sibenik's coast， but although he was away from the bombs， being away from his piano was tortuous for Maksim and， despite the dangers; he always welcomed the family's return to the city.

Eventually a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Maksim entered his first competition in 1993， practising feverishly to reach the high standards he knew were expected of him. War still raged in Sibenik， but there was peace in Zagreb where the competition was held. The 18 years old Maksim had already charmed the judge and audience just by turning up， but when he played the applause was purely for the music. The judge stopped the competition after Maksim's performance， immediately announcing him as the winner.

\"They said I ought to win just for coming from Sibenik.\" He laughs. \"They said 'We know it is hell. Where did you practise?' But after I played and won there were hundreds of people shouting for me and not because they felt sorry for me.\" The pianist says it was one of the best experiences of his life and it seems that however successful he has gone on to be， the joy of that first win remains vivid in his mind.

Maksim went on to study in Zagreb with Vladimir Krpan， one of country's most revered music professors， then to the Ferenc Liszt conservatoire in Budapest and finally to Paris before returning to Croatia to record his first album Gestures in 2000. He had modest hopes for the record， but it surpassed all expectations， becoming one of the fastest selling albums ever released in Croatia and winning four Porin awards (the country's equivalent of a Classical Brit).

In 2001 Maksim met Tonci Huljic， a musician and composer who not only wrote some original pieces for the young pianist (and continues to do so)， but introduced him to music impresario Mel Bush.

Bush had been looking for a classical pianist for some time， having masterminded the success of all-girl string quartet Bond he was convinced that there was huge potential for a pianist to break into the classical/pop crossover market， but hadn't been able to find the right person. On meeting Maksim he was immediately impressed by his charisma and signed him on the spot after hearing him play just one piece.

Maksim's first crossover album for EMI Classical， The Piano Player， was a huge success in 2003. It went Gold in Malaysia， China and Indonesia and Platinum in Taiwan， Singapore and his home country Croatai and Double Platinum in Hong Kong. It contained what has become， to many， his signature piece: a particularly energetic version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight Of The Bumblebee. He is particularly proud that there is now an annual competition named after him in which amateur pianists play the piece.

Variations III in 2004 won him yet more fans and a platinum disc for sales in Taiwan. On a tour of South East Asia fans received him like a rock star as he played his unique crossover music accompanied by strobe lights and video screens and dates in Japan where he played in a more purely classical style accompanied by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra were greeted just as rapturously.

Earlier in 2006 Maksim pushed the boundaries of crossover with his third album， A New World， toured again in Japan and Asia and was delighted to play an outdoor 'homecoming' show in Zagreb.

The trajectory of his fame is set to rise even steeper with the release of Elektric and a forthcoming tour of Asia， where he will perform in both crossover concerts with his band and again with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.

Maksim is married to childhood sweetheart Ana and the couple have a daughter named LeeLoo. They divide their time between Sibenik and London.

8歲那年，當(dāng)馬克西姆·姆爾維察在他最好的朋友亞歷山大的家里瞧見那架鋼琴的時候，他就意識到，自己想彈鋼琴，那是1984年。23年后的今天，他已經(jīng)是全世界最有名的鋼琴家之一了，然而，這條路走得并不平坦。

他出生在希貝尼克，克羅地亞亞得里亞海岸上一座美麗的地中海小鎮(zhèn)。對于馬克西姆來說，要想實現(xiàn)他的夢想，前方荊棘叢生。

他媽媽斯拉維卡和爸爸卡梅爾對古典音樂一竅不通（即便是現(xiàn)在，他們聽收音機(jī)時也只喜歡流行音樂）。盡管他們不太理解兒子的“新歡”，但他們還是支持兒子，并為他安排了鋼琴課。

很快，馬克西姆的鋼琴老師就發(fā)現(xiàn)他有著不同尋常的天分，于是他進(jìn)了希貝尼克的國立音樂學(xué)校。在那里，馬克西姆開始打造他的夢想，成為一名音樂會鋼琴家。他開始為之奮斗，努力將夢想變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實。

馬克西姆15歲的時候，克羅地亞爆發(fā)了戰(zhàn)爭。姆爾維察一家的生活苦不堪言。希貝尼克不斷地遭受著炸彈的襲擊：馬克西姆記得“那時候每天有1 000多個榴彈。我們曾經(jīng)一連7天躲在地下室，不見天日。”“但是你會習(xí)慣的：你必須要生活下去。”

對于馬克西姆來說，生活意味著彈鋼琴。他在希貝尼克音樂學(xué)校的地下室和他的老師瑪麗亞·塞克索見面，這時他就能忘記戰(zhàn)爭，好幾個小時都陶醉在音樂的海洋中。

除了榴彈之外，他們還隨時面臨著塞爾維亞阻擊手的威脅——任何時候待在外面都很危險。3年來，全家人每天晚上都睡在地下室的水泥地板上。偶爾，他們能夠逃到離希貝尼克海岸不遠(yuǎn)的小島上的一座房子里。雖然這樣能夠避開炸彈，但是，離開鋼琴對于馬克西姆來說是一種折磨。盡管存在著危險，他還是盼望著全家能夠回到城里。

最后，隧道的盡頭終于出現(xiàn)了光芒。馬克西姆在1993年參加了第一次大賽，為此他興奮地練習(xí)，以期達(dá)到更高的水準(zhǔn)。希貝尼克仍然彌漫著戰(zhàn)爭，但是大賽的舉行地點(diǎn)薩格勒布卻很和平。一露面，18歲的馬克西姆就已經(jīng)迷倒了評委和觀眾。然而他一開始彈起琴來，掌聲就純粹為音樂而響起了。馬克西姆的表演剛剛結(jié)束，評委就停止了大賽，立刻宣布馬克西姆為優(yōu)勝者。

“他們說就憑我是來自希貝尼克的，我就應(yīng)該獲勝。他笑著說。他們說‘我們知道那里像地獄一樣。你在哪里練習(xí)呢？’但是當(dāng)我演奏完畢并獲勝時，就有成百人為我歡呼，而這并不是因為他們同情我的境遇。”鋼琴家說這是他人生中最美好的經(jīng)歷之一。盡管他繼續(xù)走在成功的路上，但第一次獲勝的歡欣仍然活現(xiàn)在他的腦海中。

后來馬克西姆來到了薩格勒布學(xué)習(xí)，師從于該國最有名的音樂家之一萬拉迪莫·科爾潘，后來又來到布達(dá)佩斯的弗蘭茲·李斯特音樂學(xué)院，最后到了巴黎。2000年，他回到了克羅地亞錄制他的第一張唱片Gestures。他原本對這張唱片并沒有寄予過多的期望，然而它卻超過了所有人的預(yù)料，成為克羅地亞所發(fā)行的唱片中最暢銷的一個，并獲得了博靈獎的4項大獎（該國與全英古典音樂獎齊名的獎項）。

2001年，馬克西姆見到了音樂家和作曲家托那齊·胡里齊，后者不僅為年輕的鋼琴家寫一些原創(chuàng)的曲子（而且現(xiàn)在也一直這樣做），而且把他介紹給了音樂制作人麥爾·布什。

布什曾經(jīng)成功策劃了女子弦樂四重奏樂隊。一段時間以來，他一直在尋找一個古典鋼琴家。他深信，對于一個鋼琴家來說，古典/流行跨界音樂市場有著巨大的潛力，但他一直沒能夠找到合適的人選。見到馬克西姆之后，他立刻被他的魅力所打動，僅僅聽他彈了一首曲子，就當(dāng)場與他簽了約。

馬克西姆在2003年為EMI Classical制作的第一張跨界音樂專輯《鋼琴玩家》獲得了巨大的成功。在馬來西亞、中國和印度尼西亞達(dá)到了黃金唱片的銷量，而在臺灣、新加坡和他的祖國克羅地亞則達(dá)到了白金唱片的銷量，在香港，甚至達(dá)到了雙黃金的銷量。在很多人看來這個唱片里包含有馬克西姆的標(biāo)志性作品：里姆斯基·科薩科夫的《野蜂飛舞》，他將這個曲子演繹得活力四射。現(xiàn)在，每年有一場以他的名字命名的大賽，在比賽中業(yè)余鋼琴家都彈奏這首曲子，對此，他尤其感到自豪。

2004年的《變奏曲III》為他贏得了更多的粉絲，并在臺灣獲得了白金唱片的銷量。在巡演中，當(dāng)他在閃光燈和電視墻下彈奏那獨(dú)特的跨界音樂時，東南亞的粉絲們?yōu)樗蜕狭藷崃业臍g呼，就好像他是一個搖滾歌星。而在日本舉行的音樂會中，在莫斯科交響樂團(tuán)的伴奏下，他的彈奏風(fēng)格則更加古典，同樣引起了聽眾的強(qiáng)烈反響。

2006年早期，馬克西姆以他的第三張專輯《一個新世界》將跨界音樂又向前推進(jìn)了一步。他又一次巡游日本和亞洲，并愉快地在薩格勒布舉辦了一場室外“回鄉(xiāng)”音樂會。

隨著他的新專輯Elektric的發(fā)行和即將來臨的亞洲巡演，他的聲望將愈加顯赫。在這次巡演中，他不僅要與他的樂隊舉辦跨界音樂會，而且還要再次同莫斯科交響樂團(tuán)合作。

馬克西姆娶了他青梅竹馬的甜心安娜，他們有個女兒名叫利魯。他們在希貝尼克和倫敦交替居住。

Maksim Mrvica小檔案

Place of Birth: Ibenik， Croatia.

出生地：克羅地亞的希貝尼克

Birthday: 3rdMay 1975

生日：1975年5月3日

Living in: London

現(xiàn)居住在：倫敦

Horoscope: Taurus

星座：金牛座

Favourite Colour: Black.

最喜歡的顏色：黑色

Favourite Drink: Evian Water and Red Bull

最喜歡的飲料：依云礦泉水和紅牛飲料

Favourite Bands: Groove Armada， Scissor Sisters

最喜歡的樂隊：古菲阿曼達(dá)，剪刀姐妹

Favourite composers: Chopin， Mozart and Bach.

最喜歡的作曲家：肖邦、莫扎特和巴赫。

Languages: English， Croatian， French， Russian. (most Croatians can speak more than 2 European languages)

語言：英語，克羅地亞語，法語，俄語（大多數(shù)的克羅地亞人都能夠講兩種以上的歐洲語言）

◆編輯：譚添夏