Pianist Francesca Khalifa brings Bach and Haydn to life at her Bengaluru concert
Italian-Egyptian pianist Francesca Khalifa performed a classical concert in Bengaluru, featuring works by Bach and Haydn. The article discusses her artistic approach to polyphonic music and her experiences as a woman in the classical music industry.
Why it matters
It highlights the intersection of cultural diversity and gender challenges within the professional classical music landscape.
Italian-Egyptian pianist Francesca Khalifa performed for Bangalore’s International Music & Arts Society at Bangalore International Centre recently. It was a welcome offering after a fairly long period without any concerts. Francesca raised exotic expectations, though her appearance turned out to be normal southern European — with a number of striking tattoos!
A co-founder and artistic director of EXTENSITY Concert Series, that aims at “the disruption of gender, racial and cultural inequity in the classical music world”, Francesca has not found herself excluded because of her mixed background, nor has that created a special niche for her. If it did define her, she would not mind if it also created an opening for others of ethnic multiculturalism. She has found being a woman more of a problem, “the gender challenge is still difficult to overcome in the western classical music world”.
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