By Joana Patacas, on March 23, 2024*
Unfolding the buttons and bellows of your accordion, Inês Vaz h harmonizes melodies where the traditional intertwines with the erudite, creating a soundscape that transcends borders, fusing diverse influences into a unique expression that defies convention.
An accordionist of recognized talent, his musical career is the result of a deep commitment to art, which began at the age of six. His mastery encompasses different styles, but it is in classical and chamber music that he finds his highest exponent.
After the success of " Timeless Suite ", her first solo album released in 2021, Inês Vaz is now preparing to release “ Pétala ”, her second work, which has already been pre-presented on Antena 2, and whose release is scheduled for the beginning of May 2024.
“Inês throws a petal that we can almost feel between our fingers. It suggests to us a journey that involves us escaping further inward, while navigating what is outside. (…) Throw a petal: fragile matter amidst the harshness of the days. It summons color and shape, then dissolves, like an experience we live and only memory – this fragile membrane of sensations – can support. Delicate and sensitive, this way of weaving petals with your fingertips, between a melody that is breath and fire sculpting emotions.” in Antena 2 (Ana Lázaro, 2024)
In this interview with ProART conducted by Joana Patacas (JP) , Inês Vaz shares her musical itinerary and talks about the creative process behind "Pétala", revealing that music acts as a bridge to more unknown parts of ourselves that helps us to overcome some challenges inherent to the human condition.
JP: Hello Inês. Tell us about your first contact with the accordion. What captivated you about this instrument?
Inês: I started playing when I was six years old. In my father's village, there was a very old accordion that I was always playing with. Furthermore, I was a fan of Quim Barreiros – from what they say, he was always singing his songs – and, when my parents suggested that I learn to play an instrument, it was this inspiration that pushed me to learn the accordion (the only instrument that I wanted to play!).
JP: So you started studying music very early.
Inês: Yes. At the age of six I went to the Semibreve Music School, in Odivelas, where I took classes with Professor José António Sousa. In fact, he was the one who always accompanied me in studying the accordion, until I finished secondary school. To this day, he is still a great friend, and I owe almost everything I know about music to him.
JP: Did you continue with your musical training?
Inês: Even though I never stopped playing, after finishing the 12th year, I started studying Pharmaceutical Sciences. In 2011, after finishing the course, and because music was always present, I decided that this would be the predominant and only area of my professional life. The desire to explore new paths led him to study harmony and improvisation with Professors António Palma and Victor Prieto, and alongside this study, chamber music, with Professor Paulo Jorge Ferreira (accordionist and composer). Nowadays I study a lot independently, but I always try to get an external opinion from my professors.
JP: Inês considers herself a professional accordionist, but she also gives lessons, right?
Inês : Yes. At the moment, I give private classes, online or in person. I see teaching as an exchange, as a reciprocal relationship, because for me it is also a moment of learning. Perhaps one of the points I like most about teaching is this interaction that allows an exchange of knowledge and experiences, which leads me to reflect on the importance of the human side in this process. Error, for example, a constant concern for students, is also a transversal concern for musicians. Recognizing that your existence is part not only of learning but also of an entire musical journey is fundamental. This dynamic is very interesting as it puts us on the same level, avoiding the traditional relationship of superiority between the teacher and the student. Demystifying this idea is crucial, obviously, without undermining a high level of demand. This is my vision about teaching, reinforced by the diversity of my students, who come from all age groups. I like the idea that music can be accessible to everyone, recognizing the individuality of each student and the way in which they want music to be integrated into their lives.
JP: Going back to your career as an accordionist. From an early age, she was recognized with several awards, both solo and for chamber music. Was it important for your career to have this type of recognition?
Inês: I confess that nowadays I give little importance to prizes. I can't think of music as a competition. This is not to say that I don't recognize that there are some awards that can catapult a musician's career. But talking about my experience, what I feel is that it was something that gave me a great capacity for work, organization and resilience. All the work that preceded preparing for a competition was so intensive and thorough that it took us to another point. All of this brings a capacity for study, perhaps otherwise unattainable. For me this is the important side of the competition, the side that really remains today.
JP: And who are your biggest influences?
Inês: My musical training was very focused on classical and contemporary music, so I cannot fail to mention the teachers who made an impact on me, Professor José António Sousa, and, later, Professor Paulo Jorge Ferreira, one of those responsible for a great opening of the instrument to “other” spectrums, which nowadays is gaining more and more space. Furthermore, I listen to a lot of music, there are many influences! But I'm fascinated by soundtracks, by that idea of there being a story being told. No matter how much I look for other composers, I always return to Alberto Iglesias, composer of most of the soundtracks for Pedro Almodóvar's films. Outside of the soundtracks, I can mention a few others that I always return to, such as Egberto Gismonti, Hermeto Pascoal, Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Vicente Amigo, Philip Glass, Gustav Mahler, Camille Saint-Saens, and many others who would be entitled to this same prominence.
JP: Comprehensiveness is also one of the characteristics you attribute to your work.
Inês: Although my focus is classical and contemporary music, sometimes I feel
need to have projects with different sounds. Maybe this taste for listening to a lot of music, very different from each other, also leads me to like some variability when I play.
JP: Is this reflected in the variety of projects you participate in? He was part of bands like Donna Maria, but also in the instrumental duet Ciranda or the Quinteto Velvet, all of them with very different styles.
Inês : Without a doubt. All the projects I was involved in, as well as the people involved, were an influence on who I am today as a musician and even as a person. In addition to all the shared musical moments, there are also several friendships that remain. At the age of 17, I played for the first time professionally with Donna Maria (in that first concert, just to make a substitution), but later I ended up joining the project, something that is still very significant and special for me today, as it allowed me to maintain a connection to music even during the Pharmaceutical Sciences course. This whole path of different projects and influences ended up culminating in the recording of my first solo work, “Timeless Suite”.
JP: Are you currently still part of any of these projects?
Inês : Yes. Until the end of last year I was part of the instrumental duo Ciranda, with Gileno Santana (trumpet). The Velvet Quintet (accordion and string quartet) is still active, and more recently I have a project with accordionist Pedro Santos, the concert “As Quatro Estações de Vivaldi”.
JP: You recently mentioned your album “Timeless Suíte”, released in 2021. Was it the realization of a dream?
Inês : I consider it a preponderant point of my journey, which ends up being quite different from the usual path of a classical musician, and also the realization of a dream, without a doubt! It was not a stipulated path, or rigorously thought out, but the idea existed, which ended up being driven by a friend, José Rodrigues Cardoso, who was also responsible for publishing the album, through “Jugular Publishing”.
JP: Tell us about the creative process.
Inês : On this first album, I chose several pieces by composers such as Bach, Gismonti, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Rossini that I intended to record, and I composed two original pieces. This is where the creative process emerges, also driven by José Cardoso, who suggested to me, for example, imagine a waiting room and everything it can evoke, from here one of these pieces came about, “Waiting Room”. It was at this point that I realized that I could compose something, although I confess that for me it is not an immediate process, it only makes sense when some inspiration wanders, and I feel the need to try to translate it into music. It is a process that occurs spontaneously, in its own time, almost unconsciously, simply because something touched me and ended up remaining.
JP: Can you reveal some details about your second solo album?
Inês: This second album is called “Pétala”, a title inspired by a poem by Maria Teresa Horta that ends with “Pétala, après petala, après petala, until it reaches me”, and which sets the tone for the narrative I imagined for the disc. As if throughout it, the journey of a petal was described, in its metaphorical sense. And that petal could be us, in the world, or who knows, each of the layers of our inner world. But the journey will be whatever each person wants to take when listening to the album, “petal, after petal”. As for the launch, if everything goes well, it will be at the beginning of May.
JP: Do you feel that you have contributed to demystifying the idea that the accordion is an instrument predominantly linked to popular music?
Inês: The accordion will always be inseparable from popular music and our cultural tradition. There is no doubt that it is a regular presence at all popular festivals. And it makes perfect sense that this essence is preserved. However, all the richness of an instrument like the accordion is much more comprehensive. Little by little he is occupying the prominent place to which he is truly entitled. It is an instrument that is increasingly accepted in the world of classical, contemporary and chamber music, which also reflects a change in perception among musicians and composers. Despite everything, I continue to believe that there is still a long way to go. I always say that as long as there are people who at the end of a concert say that they had never heard the accordion from that perspective, it is because there is still something to be done! And I certainly hope to make my contribution to this demystification.
JP: What are your plans for the future?
Inês: I never thought about my journey in much detail, despite knowing where I want to go, and more than that, where I don't want to go. This second album appears in that sense, in the sense of continuing a path that I began to follow with the first, and with which I feel comfortable. Therefore, my shortest plans are to promote this second album, and who knows, start thinking about the next one.
JP: Do you want to pursue a solo career?
Inês: It's something that is gradually becoming part of me, and without a doubt there wouldn't be two solo albums if I didn't have this intention. Although it is always essential for me, alongside this solo career, to play with other musicians and think about other projects. For example, this year I already have several concerts scheduled for Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” project.
JP: And what does an accordionist do when she's not playing the accordion?
Inês: I really like reading. I spend most of my free time reading or watching films. More recently, I discovered a passion for photography. Of course, from time to time, I also like to go to a concert or the theater.
JP: Do you have any advice for young musicians just starting their careers?
Inês: I would say that it is important to be able to hear a no (or several) and to have the patience to understand that it is necessary to travel a difficult, often long, path so that in the future closed doors can, who knows, open again. And be aware that being a musician almost involves feeling like a hostage to your instrument, or to the music itself. It is something that will always be part of us. I like to believe that the work and all the love we put into it will unequivocally lead to a good place!
JP: Finally, tell us what music means to you?
Inês: This is a difficult question, but sometimes I say that music is a kind of salvation. Above all, I believe that music is a point of contact with a perhaps deeper and unknown part of us. Through it, we are able to access certain sensations and emotions that, under normal circumstances, we would have difficulty understanding or dealing with. For me, it is a relationship of love, of pure mystery, one of those relationships that can only be felt, not explained, and to which we don't even need to give a name!
Interview with accordionist Inês Vaz originally published at www.proart.art .
* Joana Patacas - Communication and Content Advisor
Want to know more? Watch and listen to one of their beautiful performances below:
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