“Piano Girl” in Berlin. Her melodies are magic and an inspiration to creativity.

A warm fall afternoon, very unusual for late September in Berlin, I witnessed the friendship that emerged from this journalist and an extraordinary artist, capable of the utmost beautiful melodies, those that come from the angels.  The music that Robin composes is heavenly and gets through one soul making it peaceful and tranquil.  I now share with you this beautiful interview and magnificent concert.

Robin Meloy Goldsby, is a composer, pianist and writer. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but since 1994 she lives in Cologne, Germany with her husband, John Goldsby (jazz bassist) and her two children of 18 and 15 years old.

I was lucky to meet her through the “Berlin International Women’s Club” (BIWC), Robin was the guest of honor for a small concert in the Steinway-Haus, a magic place with more than one hundred years of history related to international piano players. Her tight schedule only allowed us to have her in the city for a few hours, no more than twelve. I volunteered to pick her up at the airport, so I could share with this “Piano Girl” more time and enriched my recently created blog with her story.

Around 2.30 pm we arrived to the Steinway-Haus for the sound proof tests. Took a look at my watch and for my surprise I still had four long hours before Robin’s performance. I decided to relax and sit at the front row to enjoy the artist that I had in front of my eyes, I was not emotionally prepared to witness the incredible transformation of a professional pianist, the expression in her eyes, the movement of her hands and the passion that she transmitted in every key stroke, made my body shivered all across my spine. I did not want to interrupt her with my questions so I decided to leave her in her “habitat”. Robin is a very charismatic person with a great sense of humor, but when her fingers touch the keys of a piano, the outside world losses its brightness and there is no better refugee for her than hiding into the keynotes of her own melodies.

A cup of tea and a walk by the City.

Before retiring to get ready for her upcoming concert that night, Robin asked me to take her for a walk around Berlin, to take a breath of fresh air and relax a little. The day couldn’t be better, clear sky, smooth breeze and a very fresh temperature of 21 degrees. There is no doubt that when you truly want something the universe conspires in your favour. We walked, we laughed, and our fashion taste coincided in a very sexy and modern white dress showcased in a trendy boutique. “A design just perfect for a skinny girl like you” she said before sitting down for a snack in a Hindu style Café.

- When did your romance with the piano started?

When I was 9 years old, which is a little bit late for this kind of instrument. Thankfully my father’s presence being a musician influenced in my education. Then, my private teacher helped me discover the beauty of different styles like the classics, modern, jazz, etc.

Robin studied in Chatham College, in 1980 moved to New York to give recitals in the great hotels of the city, like The Grand Hyatt, The Plaza, The Pierre, The Waldorf Astoria and the Sheraton Centre. She spent seven years captivating the New York audiences in the prestigious Hotel Marriot Marquis. Her unique and particular style is the secret for her success.

- How many hours a day you require for practice in order to maintain your professional level?

When I am working in a certain project or when I have programmed a concert I dedicate two hours a day, but if I do not have any recital scheduled I just have fun playing one or half an hour a day.

- Besides being a pianist, you compose and write, since when?

I started writing back in 1994, right after settling in Cologne with my husband and two children. We used to live in New York, but John’s work (jazz bassist) brought us to Germany, he is a member of the “Westdeutscher Rundfunk Big Band” (Big Band Radio of Cologne).

In Cologne, very different from Berlin, most people do not speak English and I felt the need to communicate in my own language. My husband works most of the time and my children go to school, that is why I started to write stories about the experiences that changed my life, in order to keep me busy in my spare time.

In her last book, “Waltz of the Asparagus People”, Robin tells what meant for her going to a sauna in Cologne for the first time. “I've always been a big fan of the sauna. A good sauna can relax you, clean your head and made your skin look great”, her first chapter “Naked” starts.What is anecdotic about this story, is that in Germany all saunas are mixed and nudist, and nobody would dare to stare at someone else’s body. Everybody walks and talks without any complexes or taboos, even if this means crossing paths with one’s neighbor, boss or in law.

- What are the things that inspire you?

Meet new people, visit friends and new places. Every person has an extraordinary life, its only about paying attention to recognize and value it.

Her second album, “Twilight” features songs that inspired Robin like “One Woman's Journey” (about her trip to Europe), “The light in Julia's Eyes” (about her daughter’s birth), “When Stars Dance” (romances),“Miss you most of all”, (about the solitude of living overseas).

- Which countries of Latin America have you visited?

A couple of years ago I was in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I had the chance to meet Joyce Moreno, he is a well known and recognized composer and Brazilian singer. We worked together the album Slow Music and we were nominated to the Latin Grammy in 2010.

I would like to say thank you to Robin for the wonderful afternoon we spent together in Berlin. I really appreciated the company with you. Vielen Dank!

CD's: 

Somewhere in Time 

Twilight 

Songs from the Castle

Books: 

Waltz of the Asparagus People (English version and German)

Rhythm (Novel)

Piano Girl 

Webpage: www.goldsby.de

Living in Sydney,Toronto and Berlin: 3 Peruvian Girls in 3 megacities

Nobody said it was going to be easy; we all knew this. With doubts in our minds but without any hint of pessimism we embarked on our new lives and pressed "play" on the new movie scripts of our lives and discovered that life had put us on the road to Sydney, Toronto and Berlin.

The idea to record the Peruvian experience in three countries to show that there is more in common than different (despite the thousands of miles separating Australia, Canada and Germany), came after long and endless conversations on skype and facebook, where every day the story of living away took shape and gained all kinds of stories.

The first to travel was my school friend Carla, she left Lima in March 2008. Her journey lasted an eternity, an endless 25-hour flight with two stops, one in Chile and the other in New Zealand. She chose the other side of the world because she knew that the opportunities to study and work were appealing for a Systems Engineer with experience in banking. She didn’t know much about Australia. She only knew what she had seen in the movie "Finding Nemo".

The second to leave Peru was my cousin Maria Elisa, she, her husband, and their two children arrived in Canada in September 2009. Loaded with everything they were allowed: 8 bags, 4 carry-ons and 3 laptops. The aim of moving from countries was to offer their children a better future and seek new horizons in her career as a lawyer.

The third to follow the international trend was me. I crossed the pond and settled on the old continent in May 2010. I wanted to live in my country but my husband was not convinced. "It's much easier for you to work in Berlin, than for me in Peru," was his strong argument and I had to agree with him, though that meant a farewell to my career as a communicator (I didn't know any German). Fortunately, the benefits of Internet technology now allow me to work as a freelance creative writer for an international company, until the "deutsch" decides to settle comfortably into my neurons.

Culture shock and technological advances.

The human being has the advantage of being able to adapt to any environment, whether favorable or adverse. Even if we lived there for more than a hundred years and we became accustomed to the culture, it would still feel strange, sometimes funny. Let's see what anecdotes we find in Canada, Australia and Germany:

• The future is now the present. Without wishing to become fans of the label "Made in Canada, Germany and Australia", the first experience we had, after leaving the plane, was asking if we had crossed the barrier of time and by mistake we were in a futuristic city.
• Is it a holiday today? The calm and silence is constant in Toronto, Sydney and Berlin. Nobody honks their horns, nor is it permitted to have speakers with loud music in public transport, taxis, vans or buses.
• The zebra crossing is not graffiti. You don’t have to be afraid of dying because you will get run over by a reckless driver. Even though the pedestrian light is green, it doesn’t hurt to look left and right, although sometimes this angers the other pedestrians.
• The time is the time. Punctuality is the key to these advanced societies. If you arrive one second later, you miss the train;  and that means losing an interview or important appointment. The Germans have zero tolerance for tardiness, and to a lesser degree the Canadians and Australians.
• Full-time security. All the money in the world can’t buy the wonderful feeling of going out without the fear that a stranger will steal your wallet or personal items. Germany and Australia are very safe but Canada is like paradise:24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the doors of the houses are kept open, and no one steals from each other. 
• Goodbye cheap labor! It is much cheaper to buy a new pair of shoes before taking them to be repaired. There are no ticket collectors on public transport, domestic workers, people who carry the bags in the supermarkets.
• Ambulances and firefighters. If the sirens are turned on, means that possibly there it an emergency. People understand it well and immediately clear the roads (in some cases are parked to the right of the road) in order to save lives.
• Regards evokes respects. The rest and peace of every person is sacred and no one can stop that right we have as human beings. In Germany it is forbidden to use the vacuum cleaner, stereo or hair dryer between 13:00 and 15:00, Monday to Saturday. On Sundays no one makes noise because it is a day for family and rest.
• Disability is not a problem. People with any disability problem find no impediment to be transported by bus. All public transport services have adapted a special ramp to access these vehicles, and the driver is obliged to help these people up and down without much effort.
• Fines if you wash the car on the street. If you do, your neighbors feel the moral obligation to call the police and report you as a polluter of the environment. For that there are special places that filter chemicals without damaging the planet.
• Healthy body, healthy mind. Older kids and elders make all kinds of sports 365 days a year. The weather is not an impediment to play football, hockey, swimming, cycling, etc. With the proper clothing, can withstand temperatures down to -30 ° or 50 ° bordering the heat, such as Canada.
• Art is not a pose. People regularly go to museums, the Philharmonic, the Opera. It is part of their personal development. 
• The umbilical cord is broken with parents at a young age. The emotional and economic dependence ends at age 18. Men and women are taught more independence than Latinos, in order that they can fend for themselves at a young age.
• Less expressive, more analytical. The physical contact and expressiveness that characterises the Peruvians is not observed in the offspring of anglos. It is not uncommon or in poor taste to wave instead of kissing on the cheek. To communicate is more or less the same; we often have to suppress our emotions and exuberance to avoid missing characters with a screw loose in their head.
• It cries out for Astrid & Gaston!  All three cities lack a good Peruvian restaurant with an attractive menu. It is difficult to get the ingredients to prepare dishes. In Canada they are available in specific locations that are not always just around the corner and in Germany I can smuggle them in my suitcase as long as no one comes to check your bags. However, in Australia do not bring anything in because customs authorities are very picky about quality control and prefer to restrict the passage of all food packaging or bottling (dairy), from other regions so that disease can not enter.

  
  
  Copy Editor: Carla Vargas.