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Ladies and gentlemen, Maksim M rvicatalented and has very large feet ...

IS gorgeously tall,TEXT SUZAN E AVADIAR ,

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In a plush deluxe hotel room, a slender young man sprawls languidly on a comfortable sofa. Even in the spaciousthree-seater his lanky frame sits awkwardly. A towering 6ft 4, Maksim Mrvica (pronounced 'Maravitsa' with a rolled 'r')is terribly easy on the eye. His angular face is defined, handsome and manly. His eyes reflect a lush pasture and, whenhe breaks into a big smile, his soft expression lines radiate boyish charm.Maksim is thankful to be in the cool and hushed room, isolated from the bustling city that is sweating in humidity.

In the midst of his publicity tour, Maksim is in KLfor only a couple of days before flying off to another over-populatedcity. He tries not to think about his hectic schedule because the glimmering light at the end of the tunnel is glowingbright - he is going back to Croatia, and the home he misses dearly.Though he has travelled the world over, Maksim has a soft spot for Croatia. He grew up there with his childhood

sweetheart of IO years and, a little over two years ago, he married her. Itwas also in this land that he first found thepiano and gave his first public performance, at the tender age of nine.Born in Sibenik, a town on Croatia's Adriatic coast, Maksim did not revel in his hometown sunshine much because

of the war. He spent most of his adolescent years in the basement with his professor, Marija Sekso. This wasn't anarduous task for Maksim as his piano was a consoling refuge in the war-torn country.When he did get out, he would dash to the corner shops to purchase canned food before the grenades got to him.

"There were a thousand grenades a day in my town, but you can't just stop living - you must go on. The only thing Icould find to help me was my piano," he reveals. Since he was nine, Maksim has trained rigorously on the piano. It wasall he ever knew~

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Despite the awful circumstances of war and hardship,young Maksim entered and won his first major competitionin Zagreb in 1993. 'I've always felt that that was my greatestvictory, and the most wonderful memory of my wholecareer,' he says.Despite wanting to be a pianist, Maksim found it a

difficult decision to leave his home. But he knew thattravelling around Europe would broaden his horizons. Itproved to be a turning point in his career because he wassoon working on his first album, Gestures. Maksim had arealistic view of this CD of contemporary Croatian pianopieces. He expected it to shift a handful of copies andlanguish on the shelves like so many other experimentalCDs. Yet he was wrong.

Gestures became one of the fastest-selling classicalrecordings ever to be released in Croatia, and won fourPorin (Croatian Grammies), including one for Best ClassicalAlbum. Maksim was even invited to open the Porin awardceremony - an honour not usually granted to a classicalartist. Gestures broke through and touched an audiencethat classical music never could before. His spectacularlaunch recital, in the 2000-seat Lisinski Hall in Zagreb,included a laser show, dry ice and a video wall. And halfof the audience was under 30.Maksim's life revolves around his favourite piano, the

Italian-made Faziolli, and the Yamaha, which he religiouslyuses for all his performances.Still, there are drawbacks to being a professional pianist.

In fact, he can name a few!For one thing, taking long

breaks away from his workis a definite no-no. "I haveto practise a lot to keep inform - all day sometimes.So unless I can pack mypiano into my suitcase,long leisure holidays areout of thf' qUf'stion!" heconfesses.However, as you probe

deeper, Maksim admits thatthis situation is partly bychoice. "I'm addicted to thepiano! I do get a little lost ifI don't see it around me formore than IO days," helaughs. The excitement ofperforming and the responsefrom engaged audiencesfuel his addiction.Nevertheless, Maksim

still immerses himself inthe simple pleasures of lifewhenever he can. He allowsthe haunting operatic voiceof Maria Callas to soothehis soul after a long day.

The passionate words of his favourite author, GabrielGarcia Marquez, are another ideal way to spend a weekendunwinding - especially 100 Years of Solitude. Friends thatsurround him for mindless chatter and old movies arealso treasures to Maksim.Exploring the world has taught him to speak Italian,

French and English. He loves exotic Cuba and luxuriousParis, where he lived for two years. "Paris is a city no onecan dislike - it simply grows on you," he reminisces.Though the piano is his first love, Maksim has other

interests - such as the cello, which he vows to learn toplay some day, although it is "not so good for my fingersand the piano!" he jokes. Evidently, it all comes back tothe keys of his piano and the astounding performances hetries to give his fans.

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"Unless I can pack my piano into my

suitcase, long leisure holidays are out

of the question!"

Experimentation is a major focus of his music. He iscompelled to make his music simple and tasteful enoughto attract young people. He strives to shed a new light onclassical music. His concerts involve drama. He's notafraid to create atmosphere with video screens, lightingand laser shows either. He likes to be at the cutting edgeof fashion, too.Yet Maksim believes in the power of music alone to

reach people. It was this conviction that moved him to putup his own concert posters in small Croatian towns toattract audiences. It also sustained him when grenadesstarted exploding during the Croatian War. And it continuesto sustain him now that he has the chance to reach theaudience he wants.Soon after Gestures, he was spotted by the musician,

author and poet Tonci Huljic (composer of several tracksfor crossover string quartet Bond), and he put Maksim intouch with impresario Mel Bush. Bush had been lookingfor some time for an exciting new pianist, and immediatelyrecognised Maksim's enormous potential to appeal toclassical, crossover and pop audiences. The Piano Player,his first crossover album, was born."Being a professional pianist is a very hard career. If

you want to become a professional, there is no room foranything else. This is probably why there are not manyprofessional female pianists around. You need to sacrificea great many things and, unless a woman has no desirefor a family or children to care for, it is hard to make thisyour life!" he says earnestly.The piano is almost an obsession to Maksim and he

ardently observes its rituals and customs faithfully. Whenhe practises, he talks to no one but his wife - cutting off allcontact with the rest of the world. On performance nights,he abstains from practising and focuses only on meditation.When he finally sets foot on the sanctuary of his stage,

he gives himself up openly and wholeheartedly - toenchanted fans and to the instrument that has clearlyclaimed his soul. This is the only way that Maksim has gotto where he is today and the way this modern piano playerkeeps travelling further. V

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