Upclose with Laurent Korcia
French violin impresario Laurent Korcia plays renditions from film scores as part of the opening to this year’s Le French May. Beverly Cheng talks to Korcia about his love of movies, his passion for music and how he got hold of a priceless 1719 Stradivarius violin, on loan from LVMH
HK Magazine: Is this your first time in Hong Kong?
Laurent Korcia: I first came in 1997. It was one of the first concerts after the Handover. I returned in January 2011, when I played a Stradivarius on loan from LVMH to perform at the Christian Dior store in Hong Kong.
HK: Where did your nickname “Laurent Le Magnifique” come from?
LK: I have no idea.… Maybe my mom?
HK: Are you a lover of cinema?
LK: Cinema is extremely moving, it talks of emotions, arts and humanity… it touches me a lot. I particularly like Chaplin, François Truffaut and Kubrick.
HK: At what age did you first play the violin? And why?
LK: I was seven or eight years old. In fact I wanted to play pop music or electric guitar. But I lived in an area [of Paris] where there were no guitar instructors, so I took up violin.
HK: How did you first meet the legendary pianist Pierre Barbizet?
LK: I met him when I was in France. He heard me play [at a violin competition] and he invited me to perform concerts with him when I was twelve. It was a fateful meeting—he is a very cultured man. He’s also someone who can communicate, which was very important for me as a child. [Barbizet] was someone who had a lot of individuality, personality—a musician from a different era.
HK: How would you describe your musical style?
LK: I don’t know how to define myself as a musician. It’s something that I like being unconscious of. Even with classical compositions, which are more technical, there’s still a way of playing freely. I try to be as sincere and true and free as possible.