Below the domed wooden ceiling and hanging golden light fixtures of the Robinson Concert Hall, Middleburians young and old gathered on Friday evening to see one of the most unconventional concert pianists of the modern era. Mahani Teave without a doubt has the resume to match any of her contemporaries. She attended prestigious music schools worldwide to hone her crafts and studied under several notable concert pianists, including Roberto Bravo, Sergei Babayan and Fabio Bidini.
Indeed her ability as a concert pianist was put on full display in front of the large crowd in attendance this past Friday. What truly sets Teave apart is a connection to her home island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, which is so strong that she put her budding career on hold to give back to it.
The pianist’s artistry was unmistakable, seemingly lost in her own music as notes cascaded from the Steinway grand piano. The setlist began with an intricate yet lively fugue by Bach, followed by Chopin’s “Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9, No. 1,” which concluded in a dark furor of notes. Teave continued with four other Chopin pieces, including the stormy intensity of “Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20.”
The pianist then paid homage to her beloved home island, with a piano arrangement of the traditional Rapa Nui song “I hē a Hotumatu’a” and pieces from Alejandro Arevalo’s “Suite Rapa Nui.” While the former consisted of beautiful swelling arpeggios, the latter had moments of crashing magnitude and cascading notes. The highlight of the night, however, was Teave’s rendition of Franz Liszt’s “Ballade No. 2 in B Minor.” The pianist’s hands were a blur as a concatenation of rich melodies rose from the piano. Finally, the setlist concluded with two well-executed Sergei Rachmaninoff pieces.
“Teave is an unheralded master of her craft. Her performance was a demonstration of incredible emotional and technical range; almost effortlessly, she captured the intimacy of Chopin’s Nocturnes and drama of Liszt’s Ballade,” Rohan Davies ’27 said of the performance.
Teave grew up surrounded by music. In “Song of Rapa Nui,” a documentary about Teave that was screened on campus on Thursday, Oct. 19, Teave mentions that everyone on Rapa Nui is a musician in some way. Fittingly, Teave’s father was also a singer and songwriter.
When the island of less than 8,000 got its first piano, Teave was overjoyed that she could finally take an active role in her culture’s musical legacy. At the young age of nine, she spent almost every day at the piano teacher’s house, quickly mastering the fundamentals in her hours of practice. At this point, although Teave didn’t have the acclaim that other talented prodigies might enjoy at her age, she possessed an unyielding resolve to get better.
Recognition of her efforts came in the form of a visit from Bravo. Teave had heard of the pianist’s upcoming concert on Rapa Nui and asked him to listen to her play while he was there. Upon hearing her play, Bravo suggested that she leave the island to develop her skills. It was then that Teave’s career truly gained momentum. She went on to develop her skills first at the Astral University of Chile and then at some of the world’s most renowned music schools, including the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Hans Eisler School of Music in Berlin.
While in Germany, nightly concerts became a common occurrence for the pianist, which would eventually turn into tours across several continents. For many, this meteoric rise would have signaled the start of a new star-studded life. Yet Teave’s mind never left Rapa Nui.
“You had all these opportunities. There are lots of other children who are waiting to have them too,” Teave reflected while playing “Song of Rapa Nui.”
Those children to which Teave referred began to receive the support they needed when Chilean benefactors donated two pianos to Rapa Nui, and Teave met with Rapa Nui native Enrique Icka to discuss how he could use his knowledge of sustainable architecture to benefit his home island.
In 2012, Teave helped found Toki Music School, offering free music lessons to inhabitants of the island and setting an example for recycled architecture. The building itself was built using recycled waste such as old tires, bottles, and cardboard, and a rain collection device was installed. Once the building was completed, Teave left behind her performing career to work for Toki full time.
Now, Teave is touring to raise awareness for her school and promote her album, “Rapa Nui Odyssey,” with all album sales benefitting her Toki. Middlebury stood out particularly to Teave because of a connection with Middlebury alumnus Mike Nunziante ’19 who studied abroad in Chile and had worked at Teave’s school. Nunziante was among the sizable MAC audience on Friday as Teave put on her masterful performance.
Amidst the busyness of her current tour, Teave still found time to visit Middlebury, including going to a class, answering questions at a Q&A and performing for the community.
It was evident to all in attendance that Teave is a master at the height of her abilities. Yet following the conclusion of the tour, Teave will likely return to work bettering her music school, and with it, hopefully the lives of many back on her home island.
Teave made mention of the reason for this in her Q&A – “There really is this umbilical cord for all the Rapa Nui people that really pulls you back,” she said.
It seems even accomplished pianists cannot resist this pull; and especially for Teave, heritage will always be more important than fame.
