Sunset in Rome with the sumptuous sounds of Stravinsky from Francesco Bravi and Adriano Leonardo Scapicchi

An illustrious public including Beatrice Rana and Massimo Spada whose Rite of Spring was the last time I heard it played in public on one piano .It is fifty four years since the very first time in London at the South Bank Festival with Ashkenazy and Barenboim in 1968.( As Beatrice kindly pointed out her ‘mother’ would have been 4 years old then !) Alberto Portugheis adds:’And l turned pages 54 years ago for Vloda and Daniel at the QEH. I will never forget Danny’s confusion in rehearsal, with the repeated chords, because Vladimir counted them aloud in ………. Russian!’

Even Michele Suozzo of the historic Barcaccia -the opera buff’s delight on Radio Rai 3 – was here to check out these two young musician’s dance steps .

Such an overwhelming success that these musicians from the Avos Academy were persuaded to add Stravinsky’s Danse Russe and Ravel’s Habanera as encores.

Opening with Debussy ‘Après-midi d’un faune’ as the sun turned the sky red over the Eternal City and the magic was set for the supreme artistry of two pianists who play as one!

From the very first notes there was a clarity that was slightly helped by very discrete amplification but maintaining still a kaleidoscope of colours that matched those that were being formed over the Eternal City with the sun setting on such a balmy night as this.( Hugh Mather full of admiration for this duo ,who he has invited back to Perivale next season, tells me it is raining in London as always!).There were washes of sound out of which emerged the magic atmosphere that only Debussy could conjure ( “Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir”,’Springs’ to mind).

But it was the ‘Rite of Spring’ that truly ignited the atmosphere already with the wistful seeming innocence of the ‘Adoration of the Earth’. Here,immersed in the luxuriant vegetation of the Botanical Gardens, at the foot of the Gianicolum Hill overlooking Rome,we found ourselves involved in a monumental drama every bit as terrifying as the one played out centuries ago in the Foro Romano below us.

A beautiful sense of balance on a magnificent piano that had been especially prepared by that technical magician Mauro Buccitti.

Bravi – Scapicchi at St Mary’s A Piano Duo playing with one mind and one heart with ravishing colour,refined brilliance and savagery.

I have already written about their performance but I was struck by the freshness of their interpretation today where they played as one.An artistry that allowed them to show us such a clear path through this meandering drama as it unfolded before our eyes. Linking up so beautifully with the etherial beauty of Debussy ,the peace was soon to be broken by the throbbing savagery as the ‘Dances of the Young Girls’ were performed with naked abandon.Radiant beauty and delicacy with the ‘Spring Rounds’ where Francesco’s endless trill seemed to signify the trembling expectancy of all that was to follow.Adriano’s beautifully simple melodic line was like the first rays of sunlight illuminating such an intense scene.

A relentless forward movement and technical mastery brought this first part to an extraordinary close.Interrupted only by the etherial beauty of the ‘Sacrifice’.I had never been aware of the ravishing beauty and subtle shading of Stravinsky’s mellifluous outpouring until today. It was soon interrupted by the ‘Glorification of the Chosen One’. The menace behind the notes in the ‘Ritual Action of the Ancestors’ sent a shiver down our spine as we were now all totally involved in this drama that these two young artists were unfolding before us with mastery and absolute conviction .The throbbing intensity from Adriano was played with terrifying ‘sang froid’ whilst Francesco shot rays of light of brilliance over the proceedings. A tour de force of mastery and artistry brought this Rite vividly to life with a clarity and sense of architectural line that rarely I have experienced before.

Above all I was left with the impression of how much beauty there was in Stravinsky’s soul.It was Nadia Boulanger who told me as I played his 1924 Sonata to her how much sentiment there was in Mr Stravinsky’s music .Fifty years later I realise how right she was!

An ovation from a large audience who had come to hear these two young pianists from the Avos Academy in the last in their series in collaboration with La Sapienza University of Rome.

Danse Russe and Ravel’s Habanera were offered to an audience not wanting to break this magic spell too soon.Ravel was full of the insinuating Spanish idioms that only a French composer could imagine and was played with ravishing colours and passionate intensity.Danse Russe ,one could almost see the ballet being performed before our very eyes.A tempo di ballo rather than of showmanship virtuosity which opened up a tone poem of scintillating vibrancy.

Roma 3 Orchestra -Young Artists Series streamed live from Teatro Palladium Rome