Mai Lan Morini

Mai Lan Morini
Mai Lan M., thirteen years old. Thirteen years, and already... nine spent at the piano, in front of those white and black keys—small, tightly nestled rectangles, with whites coated in ivorite, a faux ivory, and blacks plated in ebony.

Keys that must be brought to life—first with tentative, too-small fingers, and now with greater mastery, even dynamism, drawing out the sounds that can move both people and, perhaps, even the stars.
Nine years already in front of this set of white and worn-down teeth, trying to make them smile, or even laugh, while taming the delicate mechanical precision of this Yamaha, meticulously crafted in Hamamatsu on Honshū, Japan’s main island, by master woodworkers. This instrument crossed oceans, like a tale from a fairy book, landing on her living room floor. A treasure of ivory, ebony, and craftsmanship, housed in an Aladdin's cave, where fifty-two wild whites and thirty-six wild blacks—spirited dancers—move in a sarabande under the fingers of a child.
“Mai Lan, have you practiced your piano?” her father often asks. He’s a bit insistent, this father, always reminding her. After all, at her age, aren't there more exciting things than hours spent toiling over eighty-eight keys? Is it reasonable to leave a young girl alone with such a mischievous black box, conjuring strange musical alchemies and magical spells? Hours spent before this music-making machine—an art both mysterious and enchanting... A large, lacquered black jewel box, where the world of childhood is evoked in pieces like "The Child and the Spells" or "The Wonders of the Sea." A box that also recalls the origins of jazz, where Black musicians, with African roots, birthed the radiant energy of the genre. Mai Lan, whose name means "apricot blossom" and "orchid" in Vietnamese, embodies the fusion of Tonkin, Finistère, and Lombardy—a reflection of modern France.
At four years old, barely as tall as three apples, perched on her stool, she met Daniel Gardiole, a Parisian of Caribbean descent, her first teacher. He taught her the basics, the ABCs of music, from do-re-mi to fa-sol-la. This marked the start of a long and affectionate student-teacher bond. With Daniel’s patient yet demanding guidance, Mai Lan made quick progress, entering the Maurice Ravel Conservatory at the age of eight, where she joined the class of Carine Zarifian. Carine, a dedicated and generous teacher, pushed Mai Lan to reach her potential, nurturing a close and supportive relationship with her.
Aspiring to become a sharp, well-rounded musician, Mai Lan has expanded her musical education by studying theory, harmony, improvisation, accompaniment, and chamber music. She has grown into a teenager—precocious and independent, much like the teens of today.
Daniel remains a steady presence in her life, not only as her teacher but as a confidant during difficult times, a kind and caring big brother figure, full of enthusiasm and ideas. As a devoted interpreter of Anthony Girard's piano works, it was Daniel who invited Mai Lan, in 2019, to record "The Wonders of the Sea" for the first time under the direction of the composer.
In 2022, they recorded together again, teacher and student walking side by side, continuing a joyful partnership under the watchful and supportive eye of Anthony. The highlight of this journey was the creation of "Floraison," a piece for four hands, born out of the composer’s generosity and nurtured by the deep friendship between the adult and the child—a bond sealed in music, forever.