A fascinating combination of music and dance with Alistair Wroe and Raffaello Moretti at the Ghione Theatre in Rome.
A programme that will be repeated in London on the 21st April at St John’s Smith Square.
An eclectic choice of music superbly played by a pianist trained at the renowned International Piano Academy in Como with a Masters degree too from the Royal Academy in London.
A dancer with a honours degree in contemporary dance from Trinity Laban music Academy in London.
Raffaello Moretti also has a degree in Philosophy from Milan University and has just completed his PHD at Kings College London with a thesis on Alfred Cortot.
A true renaissance man.And indeed it was a new art form that was reborn on the ‘wings of music’.
Alastair Wroe has worked with many of the most important contemporary dance companies in Europe.

There was a very eclectic programme that was slightly modified after the interval due to the after effects of Covid on the artists a few weeks ago.Instead of the six short contemporary pieces that were in the programme we were treated to Chopin Preludes op 28 n1-12 and the Fourth Ballade op 52.Amazingly a change only decided after the fatigue of the first half on the dancer .These complex masterpieces by Chopin were performed with masterly style and authority and it should also be noted that Raffaello played the entire programme without the score.Even the complex transcription of the Shostakovich Quartet n. 8 in C minor which Boris Giltburg himself plays with the infamous I pad unfortunately too much in vogue these days !

The first impression listening and watching them perform together is almost like that of Eurythmics.
A lost art form which has gone completely out of fashion these days but in the 20’s and 30’s was very much in vogue with Isadora Duncan the inspiration for many less professional would be dancers!
This obviously was just a first impression but looking at the carefully constructed programme and the professionalism of these two artists they were able to shed much new light on classical music both old and new.
It made this combination a fascinating art form and a ‘new route’ to a ‘recital’.
It brings the message of music to an audience who also derive much enrichment from having a visual element synchronising and enhancing the musical performance.

D. Scarlatti. Sonate K 99,87, 155. These three sonatas were carefully chosen from Scarlatti’s output of over 500 and were played with scintillating style and clarity.From the simple beauty of K.99 to the beating of the drum and hypnotic dance rhythms of K.87 to the mellifluous outpouring of K.155 which led without a break into the bleak world of Shostakovich

D.Shostakovich. Quartetto in do minore ( trascrizione B. Giltburg).A long and complex work played without the score as they were both involved in interpreting this strange wondrous landscape that Shostakovich describes with such overwhelming power.

The promised second half that will be performed next time but today had to be substituted with:Chopin Preludes op,28 n. 1-12 and the Fourth Ballade op 52.A much requested encore was a very atmospheric performance of Satie’s Gnossienne n.1

T.Riley. Etude from the old country

J Adams China Gates

M. Price. Easter
G.Ligeti Musica ricercata N 7
T. Riley. Simon’s Lullaby

E. Wild. Tre Studi da Gershwin

Alistair Wroe: Originario del Worcestershire, Alistair Wroe ha iniziato la sua formazione di ballerino presso il Center for Advanced Training di Birmingham e la Worcestershire Youth Dance Company. Ha completato un-BA (Hons) in Danza Contemporanea al Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Durante la sua laurea ha lavorato con diversi coreografi tra cui Gary Lambert, Struan Leslie e Marie Gabrielle- Rotie. Inoltre, Alistair ha lavorato a stretto contatto con Alison Curtis- Jones e la Dott.ssa Valerie Preston-Dunlop, in particolare su nuove realizzazioni delle opere di Rudolf Laban Nacht e Green Clowns. Ha quindi continuato la sua formazione presso la London Contemporary Dance School, dove ha conseguito il suo Master of Arts, seguito da un tour internazionale come membro di EDge. Alistair ha avuto l’opportunità di lavorare con Philippe Blanchard, Alexander Whitley, Dazed Magazine per Craig Green, Tom Rosenthal, Tom Roden e Joseph Toong, rivelandosi come uno degli artisti più̀ talentuosi ed interessanti della nuova generazione di ballerini britannici, per carisma, presenza scenica, tecnica, eclettismo e profondità̀ di interpretazione.

Si è esibito a livello internazionale in Svizzera, Malesia, Norvegia e Italia. Attualmente continua ad esplorare ulteriormente il suo ruolo di interprete ed é inoltre interessato ad acquisire una profonda comprensione della pratica coreografica.

Raffaello Moretti: Diplomatosi a 18 anni con il massimo dei voti e la lode, Raffaele Moretti é stato allievo prima a Parigi di Aldo Ciccolini e Marie- Françoise Bucquet, ed in seguito di Alicia de Larrocha (Master triennale presso l’Academia Marshall- Barcellona) e Tatiana Sarkissova (Master biennale presso la Royal Academy of Music – Londra).Ha inoltre studiato per quattro anni presso la International Piano Foundation- Lake Como, presediuta da Martha Argerich, seguendo le lezioni di William Grant Naboré, Leon Fleisher, Claude Franck, Menahem Pressler, Charles Rosen, Dmitri Bashkirov, Fou Ts’ong ed Andreas Staier. Ha quindi lavorato intensivamente con Galina Eugiazarova, a Madrid. Masterclasses press il Mozarteum di Salisburgo (Andrzej Jasinski), la Foundation Yamaha di Parigi (Elisso Virsaladze) e lo Schwelzig Holstein Musik Festival di Lubecca (Bruno Leonardo Gelber). Laureato della Fondazione Cima in Toscana, ha inoltre vinto il Primo Premio assoluto presso diversi Concorsi Internazionali (tra cui Moncalieri e Mondovì). Concerti in Italia, Francia, Spagna, Germania, Inghilterra, USA, Messico ed Argentina. Ha inoltre collaborato per diversi anni con il Quintetto de I Solisti Aquilani. Laureato in Filosofia con il massimo dei voti presso la Università Statale di Milano, dove ha discusso con Carlo Sini una tesi su Nietzsche, ha seguito altresì le lezioni di Jacques Derrida presso l’HESS di Parigi. Sta completando un PhD su Alfred Cortot presso il King’s College di Londra con Daniel Leech- Wilkinson.