Tamar in Albert I'mStein & Kaleos
Music only makes sense when you're sure of yourself.
20. January 2025, Author: Barbara Garaj, Photo: Jakub Čaprnka
Piano student Tamara has plenty of stage experience. When she attended the conservatory, she wrestled with fear. She was even afraid to express herself freely in front of her teacher. The nerves and uncertainty grew stronger before every concert. The confidence she's gained over time now shows in every performance, and it's directly tied to how she feels inside.
These past few years, she's felt at home on stage. She finds certainty and safety in performing. She enjoys the present moment and doesn't dwell on everything that could go wrong. Recently, she fulfilled a dream – she performed Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 with a symphony orchestra, one of her favourite Russian composers from the 20th century.
"I played a piece with the orchestra that's very close to me. It's full of wit, sarcasm, sharpness, but at the same time it's beautifully balanced by the middle section, which is more lyrical and slow. For me, it represents an expression of who I am. Sometimes I'm sharp and very direct. What I love about this piece is precisely that hint of humour."
Did you know you can hear irony or sharp sarcasm in classical music? Tamara told us that if we know the composer's intention, we can identify things like caricature or social criticism.
"I came across sarcasm in a piece where one composer quoted another's theme and made fun of him, for example by exaggerating the tempo and turning it into a caricature. Sometimes the music served to entertain the regime as well, which meant that in Russia music could be banned and rejected by people, but on the other hand it could also influence the awakening of a nation."
Tamar has been close to music since she was small. She tried her first notes on the piano as a baby in nappies, but she was most influenced by her older brother, who used to play piano pieces at home. At seven, she started attending music school, where she honed her piano skills. At the conservatory, she developed a hobby that eventually grew into study, work, and calling.
Today, the young musician studies piano in Brno at the Janáček Academy and also teaches small children at a music school, where she discovered her pedagogical talent. She grew up with her siblings on folklore and folk songs. Their parents didn't push the children toward musical instruments – they shaped themselves among each other, until one day they founded the folk band Súrodenci Michalcovi. They perform mainly for friends and acquaintances, and always for joy. Tamar took on the cimbalom, which she learned to play from her older brother.
What songs does the young pianist put in her ears? Though she listens to classical music, she doesn't stop there. She loves discovering new things. She's drawn to styles like folk, RnB, and indie. Her playlist always includes music by Jonathan Ogden and Josh Garrels. Whenever she has time, she sings or practises calligraphy and writes out quotes in beautiful script. When she focuses on writing, the words feel as if they're carved into her heart.
"Artists outside classical music often inspire me through their personality and who they are as people. A musician has to be a personality for me – rarely does someone win me over just by how they perform. It's not about the complexity of the music for me, but about what lies behind their work. Classical music has a completely different dimension. I'm more interested in the music, not the specific composer."
When Tamara wants a break from the piano, she heads to nature. She's been used to hiking and camping since childhood, when her dad would take the whole family on adventurous trips. Once they tried cycling to Paris, a journey that lasted a month. In her free time, she enjoys the company of friends and family. She invites friends over for lunches or dinners at home, where she feels safe.
Tamar had been planning a visit to ZITA, but she first came to the optician's as her brother's adviser. After his quick selection, she still had half an hour left, which she used to try on frames herself. Within moments, she found glasses exactly as she'd imagined. The Marais model by Polish brand Albert I'mStein captivated her especially with its delicate colours and playful design.
"These are my colours. I love pale blue and pastel shades. I have quite a small head and not much suits me, so I'm really happy about this frame."
The young pianist returned to our Živnostenská optician's for sunglasses as well. Again, the play of colours was decisive in her choice. On Tamar you can spot a round frame by Kaleos, which caught her attention at first glance with its shape and contrasting detail. At ZITA, she simply confirmed that colours and pastel tones are part of her personality.
"There's one funny thing connected to colours. Suddenly people started complimenting my winter jacket. They'd never praised it before, not until I started wearing it with my ZITA glasses, which have an interesting detail in the same colour as the jacket. I realised how well they go together, and that colours were decisive for me even when choosing frames."
