In a world where music often rushes past us, some artists choose instead to pause—listening deeply to memory, land, and emotion. In this exclusive interview, Sicilian composer Maria Rago offers a rare glimpse into the intimate forces that shape her work: identity, spirituality, youth, and the transformative mystery of sound itself. Her reflections reveal not only the soul of an artist, but the profound humanity behind every note she writes.
New Edge Times: You are Sicilian. How much of that culture is woven into your music?
Maria Rago:
When you are born on an island, the essence of that island—with its quirks, contradictions, analogies, injustices, humanity, enigmas, and landscapes—becomes ingrained in your very being. It’s an inescapable truth. Upon leaving Sicily, the memories of that land crystallized into sensations: scents, flavors, sounds. That Sicilian reality, drenched in grief and brimming with unanswered questions, alongside its striking beauty, resides within you. You translate it into melodies, songs, or acts of defiance, only to intermittently flee, sometimes with a forceful exit. Sicily stirs something deep inside you, compelling a certain distance. Music becomes the ideal “bridge.”
New Edge Times: When composing, do you adhere to a specific method or create spontaneously?
Maria Rago:
My creative process is always unique: at times, I find myself taking mental notes, humming fragments of melodies, unsure of their final form. I extract these notes thoughtfully, layering them, allowing them to coexist, blending them until they find an identity. When they solidify, they awaken, often taking a direction different from my initial vision. Music is inherently unpredictable; one might attempt to mold it, yet ultimately, it evolves with its distinct character.
Composing embodies the Socratic acknowledgment of “I know that I do not know.” I have self-awareness, but the music remains a mystery. Occasionally, I can craft intricate pieces swiftly, while at other times, relatively straightforward compositions demand intense effort.
In essence, music exists in a realm where simplicity becomes elaborate and profound, leading you into uncharted paths of discovery. It is in this space that one glimpses infinity. Composing also requires physical energy, as one liberates those “notes,” those elements that dwell within, circulating through the body, resulting in a process of release and purification that opens up space for new “creations” yearning to come into existence.
New Edge Times: What is your connection to reality, particularly young people, and what unique role can music play?
Maria Rago:
My engagement with the world beyond music holds significant importance. I possess a curiosity about understanding both the world and others, who embody shifting and evolving realities. We are dynamic beings, both spiritually and physically, perpetually influenced by change. It is our responsibility to grasp the richness of this transformation. Music has the potential to catalyze our metamorphosis.
New Edge Times: What significance does the contemporary composer hold today?
Maria Rago:
In today’s world, a composer often begins to gain recognition posthumously, a rather disheartening reality. We honor and cherish the past, which is essential, yet we find ourselves in an era where the present is often overlooked. Listening demands time, presence, and focused attention, making it challenging to connect.
Composing has become an abstract, seemingly irrelevant pursuit, where self-expression without support feels like a mere ripple in an expansive ocean. However, it is precisely within that ocean that a composer thrives, and ultimately, one cannot exist without it.
New Edge Times: A perspective on the world. How do you perceive it?
Maria Rago:
People align themselves with their fears. You can observe how the wise and the just unite in rational fear, while the deceitful and malicious come together in a misguided fear. Humanity is divided by agreements and alliances formed in response to these fears.
Music and art serve as tools to liberate us from these anxieties; they represent a commitment against the false established system—or at least, that is what I believe.
New Edge Times: If you had not been a musician, what would you have done?
Maria Rago:
It’s hard to say, but perhaps I would have become a missionary. I would have wanted to touch the true face of the world, the one where suffering lives every day, where life strips away embellishments and is rooted in essentials, where love becomes the only thing without a price—
the place where you encounter God in the eyes, in actions, in smiles.
A world where even surviving becomes a privilege, where reality, though harsh and unfair, holds a sense of pure humanity we are no longer accustomed to, or perhaps even unfamiliar with.
But perhaps, for better or worse, that is what I attempt to do through music.
Through her deeply reflective words, Maria Rago reminds us that music is far more than a sequence of notes—it is a vessel of identity, memory, resistance, and spiritual truth. Her perspective bridges the intimate and the universal, revealing a world where art becomes both refuge and revelation. As New Edge Times concludes this conversation, one thing is clear: Maria Rago’s music is not only heard, but profoundly felt—an invitation to confront our fears, rediscover our humanity, and listen with renewed presence to the world within and around us.
