What is the best thing that I love about my work?

To be the vehicle of a message, from the composer to the listener in the hall.

What is my idea of happiness?

Happiness has not a precise and defined form for me and it is linked to many different situations and people. I believe in any case that happiness is often a state of mind, a way of being that is also detached from external situations. 

What is my greatest fear?

My greatest fear is related to loss, and the idea that everything ends with this earthly life.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?

Perhaps too much distrust in people. 

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire?

Purely in the accordion sphere, Stefan Hussong.

If we extend the scope from the musical to the artistic, the person I most admire is my partner, the figurative painter Andrea Fontanari.

What is my greatest extravagance?

I think I have a lot of aspects that can appear extravagant, but it depends a lot on who is reading them and the context. I was born in a very small town in Trentino Alto Adige, a region in northern Italy. Even just deciding at the age of eight that I wanted to be a professional accordionist was considered an oddity!

On what occasion would I lie?

The truth can hurt, very often it does. But I believe it is the best choice, even if it is not always the easiest to accept.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? 

I don’t like compromises or impositions. Often the musical environment, at any level, is based on compromises. Staying true to one’s own principles and professional needs and standards means often clashing with this system.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?

 I cannot say for sure! Many places, whether important or not and at various times in my life, have stuck with me because they seemed particularly happy. I like to think that happier moments, in any case, are yet to come. Ad maiora.

If I could, what would I change about myself?

I like to think that every aspect, good or bad, of myself contributes to making me who I am.

What is my greatest achievement in work?

Being able to almost always take freely the musical choices I love most, hence the freedom.

Where would I most like to live?

Probably any venue is the right one if you are in harmony with what you do and with whom you share your life choices. As I travel quite a bit for concerts, I often do well in quiet places. At the same time, however, I need constant artistic stimulation, a living city. Maybe the perfect place I haven’t found yet!

What is my most treasured possession?

My instrument and myself.

What is my most marked characteristic?

I am a very determined person, almost obsessive in my choices and interests.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?

My partner’s atelier.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink in my city?

I changed several cities and several small places. I lived a lot in Germany and then I moved to Trentino, Italy. The place, however, that I feel most is mine and that really has a special atmosphere is the restaurant La Vecchia Segheria in Baselga di Pine’, Trento. The chef is also excellent as a sommelier.

What books influenced my life and how?

Two books that particularly inspired me are ‘Siddhartha’ by Hermann Hesse and ‘Zen and Archery’ by Eugen Herrigel.

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?

If I have the chance to walk on my last day, I will not listen to anything special, but to anything that happens to me while walking: music in the street, in bars, noise. 

If not, I think I would listen to classical music from Claudio Monteverdi’s Fourth Book of Madrigals, to Wolfagan Amadeus Mozart, to Georg Friedrich Haas, or to something really newly composed, even in the pop sphere, so as not to die without being updated! 

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?

There are lots and lots of them! 

Jo March from Little Women Grow, Jane Eyre in Charlotte Bronte’s book, Hamlet in Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, Neo from The Matrix…just to mention a few of them. 

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

Without a doubt, my parents. Incredibly strong, tenacious and forward-thinking people. Capable of constant transformation.

Which movie would I recommend to see once in a lifetime?

Inception di Christopher Nolan

Fight club di David Fincher 

What role play stories in my life and work?

I have always loved stories. My father is a great storyteller and I grew up surrounded by stories that were read, invented extemporaneously and passed down orally. When you get on a stage you are telling a story, which you have the privilege of telling to the listener. Whether this is our story or that of others, we filter and internalize it to make it intelligible.

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me?

In an increasingly connected world, we talk more and more about everything and everyone. 

I believe that it is sometimes actions rather than narratives that write our story. I read this phrase in this sense: you write your own story, with your own decisions and consequences.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?

My partner. 

Which people or companies would I like to work with ?

Actually, I would like to be followed by managers, both in the solo and chamber music sphere. Among the Italian agencies that most interest me is Calma Management. I am interested in the artistic and curatorial work of Clara Iannotta, composer and director of several festivals, and the manager of Neue Vocal Solisten Stuttgart Christine Fischer

What project am I looking forward to work on?

From October 2023 I will be busy recording my first solo CD, BEYOND, published for the italian label Stradivarius, which includes pieces by Younghi Pagh-Paan, Keiko Harada, Samir Odeh – Tamimi, Manuela Kerer, Roberto Vetrano and Nicolaus A. Huber. This will be followed by concerts as a soloist and new collaborations with composers such as Anna Sowa, Anda Kryeziu and Gianluca Verlingieri.

Where can you see me or my work?

This September 2023 will be a very exciting month for me because I will open the season with a concert for OpenDays Festival in Aalborg, Denmark with my ensemble Azione_Improvvisa, then I will be in residence with Divertimento Ensemble at Orsoline 28 Foundation where I will play the world premiere of a piece by Mikel Urquiza for accordion solo and ensemble. Then I will be a guest at Transart Festival (Bolzano, SudTirol) with a solo concert and a premiere by Manuela Kerer, composer and new director of the Music Biennale in Munich.

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me?

Those who make art feel the need to express themselves in this way, precisely through their passion. A musician may decide to retire, but if he has truly experienced music as a need, he cannot stop studying, playing, marveling and learning.

Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story?

Manuela Kerer (composer and curator)

Claudia Perez Inesta (pianist)

Carla Esperanza Tommasini (cultural manager)

Alba Nabulsi (phillsopher – writer)

Anna Sowa (composer)

Angela Demattè (dancer)

Giulia Zaniboni (singer) 

Dorota Jasinska (violinist and director)

Andrea Fontanari (painter)

How can you contact me?

On my website http://www.margheritaberlanda.com 

On my Insta account https://www.instagram.com/margheritaberlanda/

On My fb account https://www.facebook.com/margherita.berlanda/