107-Year-Old Pianist Releases her Sixth Album
Centenarian shares her life’s wisdom.
Colette Maze, who turned 107 in June, has been playing piano for over a century. Music is spiritual food, Maze explained to National Public Radio. Her passion and her friend, the piano instills a sense of wonder in life each day, making her a source of inspiration to all.
Maze was born in Paris in 1914. She started playing piano at the age of five and has never stopped. As a young student, she was taught a special technique by the legendary piano master Alfred Cortot, which focuses on relaxing the arms and hands when playing. To this day, the soft, calm, and gentle way Maze touches the piano while playing the tender music of Robert Schumann and Claude Debussy is unique and enchanting.
It was her love of piano that inspired her to take her destiny into her own hands. Defying the social conventions of the times, Maze decided to pursue music as a career as opposed to a pastime. “She decided she was an artist, a musician, not a housewife, so she married the piano,” her son Fabrice Maze, told National Public Radio.
She became a piano teacher and a single mother with her piano always bringing solace in difficult times. “Music is an affective language, a poetic language. In music there is everything — nature, emotion, love, revolt, dreams; it's like a spiritual food," Maze explained to National Public Radio.
When Maze was in her 80s, her son Fabrice decided it was time to capture his mother’s talent in a professional recording. Colette Maze was reticent about the idea, but soon after agreed. Maze now has six albums, with her sixth recently released in April, 2021, reported by Reuters.
Maze’s talent and enthusiasm offer inspiration to many, especially during the times of the pandemic. “On one hand she helps morale. That at 106 you can be in good form if you have passion and look after yourself—that’s good news. And then her sense of humor, her joy, her love of life, it makes you smile,” Fabrice Maze told Reuters just before his mother’s 107th birthday.
She is a testimony that living a life filled with music offers health benefits that include flexibility and dexterity, according to ClassicFM. She practices four hours a day and her fingers never tire. “My fingers are always working,” Maze told ClassicFM.
In addition to the physical aspect, Maze feels that playing piano also keeps her mind and emotions engaged. In a Euromaxx video, Fabrice Maze explained that playing piano gives his mother strength, motivation, and positive energy. He says that being highly active and passionate are the keys to living a long, fulfilled life. “Life is all about staying passionate and curious. You can’t let that slip away,” he explained in the video.
As his mother sat at her piano smiling, she explained that life is not about being old or young. The secret is mindset. “Youth is inside us. If you appreciate what's beautiful around you, you will find a sense of wonder in it,” Colette Maze explained to National Public Radio. Every day she plays, her fingers lightly touch the keys, embracing life and engaging with the love and tenderness of her music.
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