National Child Award winner has been enthralling audiences
with classical piano pieces
House lights dim as a
yellow spotlight shifts focus towards the wood-paved stage, where a fine piano
glistens. A burst of applause and a young lad walks briskly towards the
instrument, and begins to play. His music rouses the audience as he plays a
sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven composed in 1904, followed by Gaspard de la nuit
by Maurice Ravel. Meet 15-year-old Milen Earath, who began his classical music
journey in 2010. Little did he know that he was set out to taste success.
Unlike other children who inherit musical traits from their parents, Milen's
story is unique. His parents are both doctors, and no one from his family is a
musician. His father, Manoj Earath hails from Kerala, and his mother Alena
Vladimirovna Earath, is Russian. Settled in Thrissur, Kerala, Milen discovered
his love for music when he was studying in Class 3. “I was on a vacation when
my mother and I visited my grandparents in Russia. My grandfather took me to a
music school where I saw the piano for the first time in my life. Listening to
it being played, I fell in love with its sounds, and from that day I just
wanted to learn music,” says Milen. His father Manoj recalls how overjoyed
Milen was when he returned from the trip. “We gifted him a small Casio keyboard
for his birthday that year. He was nine then, and would come home from school
and spend the rest of the day hitting away the keys and experimenting with it,”
says Manoj. Recognising his love for music, Milen's parents sent him to study
music at Chetna Music Academy back in Kerala, where he trained under the guidance
of Father Thomas in 2010. Soon Milen completed all eight grades in pianoforte
from Trinity College, London, and passed with a distinction. Soon after, he
went on to complete three diploma courses in music, giving exams for Associate
of Trinity College London (ATCL), Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL),
and Fellowship of Trinity College London (FTCL) and was certified in 2014. In
2016, Milen received the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in
the field of music by President Pranab Mukherjee, as he was also the youngest
and the fastest Indian to have completed professional music training in a span
of four and a half years.
“I received immense support from my school principal at
Devamadha CMI Public School. Instead of attending school from 9 am to 4 pm, he
used to allow me to leave by 3 pm,” says Milen. Spending most of his time at
home practicing on his keyboard, Milen feels that learning music requires great
perseverance. “Learning to read music can be a complex process, but there was never
a time when I wanted to give up. My parents are my mentors, and my biggest
support,” says Milen. He is currently receiving guidance from Prof. Heribert
Koch, President of European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA) Germany, on
Skype. Milen believes that India would have far more youngsters joining the
Indian music scene provided there were good teachers. “One problem is finding a
good teacher. If you want to be a professional musician, no matter how
well-taught, you need a teacher by your side to practically show you how to
play a certain piece better,” expresses Milen. However, for now, his home is
back in Kerala, where he will continue to practice and travel to places to play
whenever possible, as his dream is to be a full-time concert pianist.
Source: DNA-7th May,2017
