Mese: settembre 2025

The highlight of the Cremona Musica Experience was the award to Bruno Canino for a life dedicated to music with the same humility, simplicity and burning passion that Angelo Fabbrini also still has. Both in their 90’s with a voyage of discovery that continues unabated to this day.

Angelo spoke of his friend Bruno Canino who he has heard in the greatest theatres in the world, large and small, always playing with a passion for everyone where music reaches the heart.

Not just in the great centres but also in the smallest towns where music is rarely heard. A social service taking music to places that have never known music, playing with the same love and passion for everyone, with humility and simplicity.

This is what we call Art and true love for Art .

This was spoken with the passion and conviction of a great man who has never sought fame or fortune but has worked steadily to give the possibility to artists to excel, eliminating the barrier between the instrument and the public. On wings of song indeed, celebrated in the city where great artisans have made Cremona what it is today. Sharing his love and passion with his lifelong colleague and friend Bruno Canino with simplicity, humility and burning conviction!

A lesson for us all in this world where quantity takes precedence of quality.

The day had started for me with the recital by Massimo Urban ‘Onde di Passione’. A programme that included Schumann Sonata op 11, ‘Une Barque sur l’Océan’ from Ravel’s Miroirs and the Liszt Second Rhapsody with Urban’s own cadenza. An encore brought another composition by this genial artist with a movement from his own piano suite.

I only caught the final bars of the Schumann but heard enough to realise what passion and conviction this young man now brings to his music making. An enormous technical baggage that he has acquired from that master trainer of the keyboard Vincenzo Balzani, silver is now being turned into gold. Some very eloquent introductions in no way prepared us for such mastery. Ravel, that for me was a little too agitated, but this was masterly playing of burning conviction that won me over with the final ravishing notes. Liszt was a ‘tour de force’, not only of masterly playing but also of the style and fearless abandon that illuminated this well worn war horse. Even his cadenza was refreshingly full of colour and fantasy before linking up to Liszt’s final blast of octaves with a scintillating brilliant ending of dynamic flourishes.

I had heard Massimo Urban play in Florence two years ago and it is wonderful to see how his artistry and musical curiosity is maturing as the world awaits all that such an eclectic master musician has to offer.

Massimo Urban- The prodigious intelligence and refined sense of colour of a born pianist

What a choice I had to make or ‘Timeless Chopin’ with Luigi Carroccia playing op 11 or a homage to that very private and unassuming master, Sergio Cafaro, by two of his past students, Roberto Prosseda and Francisco Libetta?

As it turned out I was able to enjoy both!

I had heard Luigi recently play the Chopin concertos in the amphitheatre of Minturno in this same chamber formation. I had also heard him play them with full orchestra in the beautiful Sala Accademica in Rome , conducted by that genial musician Luigi Piovano in the presence of Luigi’s mentor Louis Lortie.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/05/04/luigi-carroccia-the-poet-of-the-piano-chopin-concerti-op-11-and-21-in-rome-orchestra-delle-cento-citta-directed-by-luigi-piovano/

Luigi Carroccia flying high on wings of song The art of Chopin’s Bel Canto seduces the senses in the Riviera di Ulisse

Chopin’s Bel Canto is in someway enhanced by this chamber ensemble especially when they are not playing in the open air, as in Luigi’s Festival in Minturno, but creating an intimate atmosphere of sublime beauty around this magnificent Fazioli Concert piano. Luigi playing with masterly weight and subtle style where his long fingers seemed to draw the sounds out of the keys with bird like beauty. Hovering above the keys with the hand gently swooping in on the keys with the beautiful natural movements of a master painter and the strokes of the brush on his canvas.

Each of the players were masters in their own right and I only realised afterwards that they were being formed, or do I mean transformed, at the magnificent Stauffer Academy, where I had been with Midori the evening before. I have never seen players looking at each other with such burning intensity and anticipation, waiting to see which way they would turn on their voyage of discovery together. Salvatore Emanuel Borelli’s viola later substituting the horn call with ravishing beauty ( in n. 2) and even the second violin of Samuele Di Gioia playing with unusual intensity that matched his partner Ilaria Taioli’s masterly playing. Double bass and ‘cello side by side ,Caterina Vannoni and Edoardo Dolci ,how beautiful to see ,especially in Cremona, the wonderful autumnal colours of such instruments and to see with what artistry they were being allowed to sing.

Luigi sharing the platform with Francesca Antonucci who would play the second concerto in the afternoon.

At the end of the first concerto there was such an overwhelming ovation in a hall I have rarely seen so full , that Luigi played the opening of the Larghetto of the second concerto as an encore.

The second concerto op 21 is shorter than the more brilliant first op 11 and although actually written one before the other, the concerto op 21 is, like Chopin’s late Barcarolle op 60, an outpouring of Bel Canto, from the first to the last notes. It was this element of song and youthful delicacy that Francesca Antonucci was able to bring to her performance in a hall even more full this afternoon.

Word had obviously spread of the wonders that were unfolding in the Fazioli Hall or could it have been that some even wanted to celebrate Francesca’s 21st birthday! A remarkable performance of a pianist only a few years older than Chopin would have been as he astonished his Parisian public with Schumann pronouncing on his arrival from Poland: ‘Hats off,Gentlemen, a Genius’. Playing of delicacy and beauty as the Bel Canto was allowed to unfold with the same love and care with which it had been penned.

Now a rush to hear Roberto himself at the helm with Francesco Libetta.I was just in time to catch the duet that Cafaro had written and which they had played in the Teatro Ghione nearly thirty years ago to celebrate Sergio Cafaro’s 80th birthday .

A fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen of genial invention and Victor Borge enticement. Francesco had given a talk and recital :’ Sergio Cafaro and the Piano in Rome in the second Half of the Twentieth Century’ with music by Porena,Cafaro,d’Avalos,Marinuzzi,Battiato and Capograsso.

I was glad to see such a distinguished audience and arrived just in time to see two ex students of the Cafaro’s together at the keyboard. Reminding all of us, who had been in Rome in that period ,what selfless musicians we had as our friends and mentors.

Cafaro and Mimi lived just behind the theatre and Sergio would often pop in to discuss programmes he would like to play for us, in between collecting insects and painting quite beautiful watercolours.Sergio gave me one of his watercolours, ‘La Cathedral Engloutie’. I had no idea that there was a paining on the back too until Mimi told me Sergio would often do that, when I encountered Mimi after Sergio’s death at student concerts of the Prize winners of the competition in Sergio’s memory that she had organised annually in Rome.

At one of the finalist concerts in the Sala Accademica of S. Cecilia in Rome ,there was a magnificent Steinway on stage but to my surprise Paolo Fazioli was in the front row. When I asked Mimi about this anomaly she explained that Paolo,who came from a cabinet maker family, had been her student whilst studying engineering at Rome University. Not destined for a concert career she advised him to go away and make pianos instead of breaking them !!!!! Ing Paolo denies all knowledge of this remark but then anyone who knew the Cafaro’s would know that their innocent indiscretions could be very revealing !

The penultimate recital was a breathtaking event of monumental playing by an artist I had heard a year ago in London .

Tamta Magradze from ‘Liszt to Liszt’ with a programme that would have scared the life out of most pianists, but not this young lady who attacked the piano like the Lioness she truly is. Completely in a world of her own as she played with wondrous beauty and mastery:Liszt ‘Sarabande and Chaconne aus Singspiel Amida’ and the ‘Grosses Konzertsolo.’ As a filler a wondrously beautiful and etherial Franck /Bauer ‘Prelude, Fugue and Variation’, two demonic Rachmaninov ‘Études Tableaux’ op 39 n. 1 and 2 and an astonishing performance of Ravel’s own transcription of ‘La Valse’. I had intended to listen to part of this recital before slipping off to hear the genial pianist Vincenzo Maltempo with ‘The Strange Case of Charles Valentin Alkan – Life and Works of a Forgotten Genius’. Programmed at the same time, but on listening to the opening of the Franck from Tamta ,like the Pied Piper I was attracted ever closer to this powerful instrument to be near the origin of such wonders.

Lisztomania with Tamta Magradze Amazing,astonishing,breathtaking as the greatest showman on earth ignites the National Liberal Club .

Sorry to have missed Alkan who will have to stay in oblivion for me for a bit longer but this hypnotic playing was too good to miss.

Actually Mark Viner is recording all the works of Alkan and is already at his 8th CD . https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2020/11/15/mark-viner-at-st-marys-faustian-struggles-and-promethean-prophesis/

I am an assiduous follower of his and have been curious about Alkan ever since I was in London when Raymond Lewenthal brought the world of Alkan and Liszt to the Wigmore Hall in what are now considered landmark, legendary performances.

Just one more event to go, and what a discovery to find Carlo Grante seated at the practice piano as he prepared to perform Prokofiev 7th Sonata on the Disklavier, and to hear his performance played back in ghostly form with Carlo himself seated not at the piano but in the audience!

Carlo Grante who as a student would come to the Ghione theatre and offer us not one but a series of concerts that were so interesting and played with such mastery that we could never resist. He recorded all 550 Scarlatti Sonatas and I gave one of the CD’s to Peter Frankl who immediately wrote to Carlo to express his admiration for his playing and scholarship.

One of the most remarkable musicians I know, he even penned a short description of what my wife and I were trying to do at the Ghione theatre in the 80’s and 90’s when it became the cultural centre of Rome.

We had invited him to came back home with us on New Years to celebrate with the fireworks that we could see from our house on top of Monte Parioli. This was after a performance in the theatre of Oscar Wilde’s ‘Importance of being Ernest’, that we had produced and toured for twenty one years all over Italy. My wife, Ileana Ghione, I had persuaded, on the wave of Peter Hall’s persuasion with Judy Dench at the National, to play the character part of Lady Bracknell.

I managed to hear Carlo play with his usual undiminished mastery but I could not stay for the play back as I could not miss Canino and Fabbrini even for Carlo!

Now to let my hair down for a surprise dinner engagement with Pasquale Evangelista e Eleonora Crivelli two musicians transferred to Cremona from Latina. I had met Pasquale at Angel Hewitt’s masterclass a few years ago when she was so pleased that someone had presented the Ballade by Fauré that she had even recorded three times but is still rare to see on concert programmes.Eleonora’s father is the well known composer and actor Carlo Crivelli

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/08/24/angelas-generosity-and-infectious-song-and-dance-inspires-her-illustrious-students/

Pasquale a student of François-Joël Thiollier in Paris now, and Eleonora in her final year reading Musicology at University . The surprise they had in store for me was a visit to that jewel, in the land of Verdi. that is Busseto, and dinner at the salumeria which Verdi himself used to frequent .

A poster of Bergonzi reminded me that Carlo Bergonzi had made his final appearance aged 75 at the Ghione Theatre when even he was surprised at the voice that he could still produce. A programme for ‘La Barcaccia’ on the radio.I had a video camera on too as he sang ‘Non ti scordà di me’ with Vincenzo Scalera at the piano. I had arranged flowers to shower down for this last time from the gallery and cover this legendary figure with the blooms he truly deserved. He had no idea the voice would open up for this last time and my video was proudly shown at Madison Square Garden for the celebration of his 40th anniversary at the Met. Small world, but what a joy to he who surrenders his life to the wonders that music can reveal.

Canino and Fabbrini are of course in our hearts and minds today at the end of these wondrous three days in a City where dreams really do become reality .

Cremona The city where dreams become reality Day 1

If music be the food of love …..Day 2 Cremona Musica

Ruben plays with a great sense of style but being also a conductor he never gets lost and always there is a sense of architectural shape to his playing no matter how sensitively and stylistically he plays. Nowhere more was this evident than in the Waltz op 18 where you feel a real sense of theatre with a grace and beguilingly seductive charm. A lightness of Les Sylphydes where you could almost see the dancers enjoying every moment of this early Waltz with playing of such refreshing ‘joie de vivre’. The concert had begun with a ‘bang’, metaphorically speaking, because Ruben’s playing is all horizontal and with beautifully relaxed movements like birds just fluttering over the keys. So Chopin’s mighty Octave study was played as a true tone poem with the outer episodes played with clouded clarity. Octaves became waves of shifting harmonies before settling into a central episode where Chopin’s octaves become a glorious bel canto of ravishing beauty. Played with a whispered delicacy of great beauty where Ruben’s refined sense of phrasing was that of a singer where every note had an inflection and subtle meaning. A magical transition back to the more voracious octaves was one of the many magic moments where Ruben’s artistry held us spell bound. 

The Second Ballade with its gently whispered opening and tumultuous interruptions all played under an umbrella of a sound world that united the work into an architectural whole. Ruben always thinking up from the bass that gave a sumptuous richness to this extraordinary work. After a very passionately driven coda the gentle opening returns in a stroke of Genius as Chopin’s magical journey comes full circle.

The Preludes op 28 from 19 to 24 include some of the most beautiful ‘problems (to quote Fou Ts’ong) that Chopin ever penned. The beautifully mellifluous E flat ,one of the technically most difficult as the continual leaps should give the impression of the magic of an Aeolian Harp ( as op 25 n. 1 without the leaps!). Played with mastery where the difficulties just disappeared as the music was allowed to flow with such natural beauty and shape. Ruben brought a remarkable control to the mighty C minor Prelude used by Busoni and Rachmaninov as the theme of a series of variations. A sound world that Ruben created without any hardness as one phrase melted into the other, until was left only a barely whispered outline where even the final chord, marked ‘forte’ was more of inner than outer meaning.The twenty first prelude was played with fantasy with exquisite ornaments as this is an artist who listens to himself and plays with impeccable style .His octaves in the twenty second prelude sang in the left hand as they rarely are allowed to do .Just growing out of the previous prelude with a magical legato that belied their technical proficiency. The twenty third was ‘au bord d’une sourse’ of exquisite timeless beauty. The final prelude showed us Ruben’s quite unique sound world of sumptuous sounds without ever becoming hard or ungrateful as the temperature rose. There were breathtaking moments of passionate involvement and sublime beauty where Ruben’s love for the sound world of the piano shone through all he touched .A Midas touch indeed!

The three posthumous studies written for the treatise that Fétis was preparing, are three jewels where the problems of rhythmic juxtaposition and difference of touch are wrapped up in works of wondrous beauty. Chopin on his deathbed had asked Alkan to complete it. A rubato of an elasticity that passed unnoticed as Ruben cast a spell over us in a world where technical problems just did not exist. The opening of the D flat staccato and legato was of such refined elegance that ‘we could have danced all night’. 

The third Scherzo began with mysterious menacing beauty opening out to a chorale where Ruben’s sense of line was quite unique . Magical embellishments just illuminated the sumptuous beauty of a chorale that was worthy of Chopin’s inspiration: J.S. Bach. Exhilaration and excitement but above all as I told Ing Fazioli :’ This young artist makes your piano sing as never before’ .

An encore of a Mazurka that was a true dance of subtle colour and beguiling insinuation. Roberto Prosseda looking proudly on, as they had worked on these works of Chopin together over the past year . I remember Fou Ts’ong whenever he heard that Robert was in his class was thrilled at the journey of discovery that they would share together.

Roberto Prosseda pays tribute to the genius of Chopin and the inspirational figure of Fou Ts’ong

Ruben Micieli triumphs with Chopin in Florence with Music al British in the Harold Acton Library

Day two started for me with an interesting recital by Claudio Sanna with ‘Contemporary Sardinian Composers’

Followed by a recital in the room upstairs of another contestant for the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw who was being given a platform by Paolo Fazioli.

‘Ruben Micieli a poetic kapellmeister getting to the heart of Chopin’

Ruben plays with a great sense of style but being also a conductor he never gets lost and always there is a sense of architectural shape to his playing no matter how sensitively and stylistically he plays. Nowhere more was this evident than in the Waltz op 18 where you feel a real sense of theatre with a grace and beguilingly seductive charm. A lightness of Les Sylphydes where you could almost see the dancers enjoying every moment of this early Waltz with playing of such refreshing ‘joie de vivre’. The concert had begun with a ‘bang’, metaphorically speaking, because Ruben’s playing is all horizontal and with beautifully relaxed movements like birds just fluttering over the keys. So Chopin’s mighty Octave study was played as a true tone poem with the outer episodes played with clouded clarity. Octaves became waves of shifting harmonies before settling into a central episode where Chopin’s octaves become a glorious bel canto of ravishing beauty. Played with a whispered delicacy of great beauty where Ruben’s refined sense of phrasing was that of a singer where every note had an inflection and subtle meaning. A magical transition back to the more voracious octaves was one of the many magic moments where Ruben’s artistry held us spell bound.

The Second Ballade with its gently whispered opening and tumultuous interruptions all played under an umbrella of a sound world that united the work into an architectural whole. Ruben always thinking up from the bass that gave a sumptuous richness to this extraordinary work. After a very passionately driven coda the gentle opening returns in a stroke of Genius as Chopin’s magical journey comes full circle.

The Preludes op 28 from 19 to 24 include some of the most beautiful ‘problems (to quote Fou Ts’ong) that Chopin ever penned. The beautifully mellifluous E flat ,one of the technically most difficult as the continual leaps should give the impression of the magic of an Aeolian Harp ( as op 25 n. 1 without the leaps!). Played with mastery where the difficulties just disappeared as the music was allowed to flow with such natural beauty and shape. Ruben brought a remarkable control to the mighty C minor Prelude used by Busoni and Rachmaninov as the theme of a series of variations. A sound world that Ruben created without any hardness as one phrase melted into the other, until was left only a barely whispered outline where even the final chord, marked ‘forte’ was more of inner than outer meaning.The twenty first prelude was played with fantasy with exquisite ornaments as this is an artist who listens to himself and plays with impeccable style .His octaves in the twenty second prelude sang in the left hand as they rarely are allowed to do .Just growing out of the previous prelude with a magical legato that belied their technical proficiency. The twenty third was ‘au bord d’une sourse’ of exquisite timeless beauty. The final prelude showed us Ruben’s quite unique sound world of sumptuous sounds without ever becoming hard or ungrateful as the temperature rose. There were breathtaking moments of passionate involvement and sublime beauty where Ruben’s love for the sound world of the piano shone through all he touched .A Midas touch indeed!

The three posthumous studies written for the treatise that Fétis was preparing and are three jewels where the problems of rhythmic juxtaposition and difference of touch are wrapped up in works of wondrous beauty. Chopin on his deathbed had asked Alkan to complete it. A rubato of an elasticity that passed unnoticed as Ruben cast a spell over us in a world where technical problems just did not exist. The opening of the D flat staccato and legato was of such refined elegance ‘we could have danced all night’.

The third Scherzo began with mysterious menacing beauty opening out to a chorale where Ruben’s sense of line was quite unique . Magical embellishments just illuminated the sumptuous beauty of a chorale that was worthy of Chopin’s inspiration: J.S. Bach. Exhilaration and excitement but above all as I told Ing Fazioli :’ This young artist makes your piano sing as never before’ . An encore of a Mazurka op 24 n. 1 , that was a true dance of subtle colour and beguiling insinuation. Roberto Prosseda looking proudly on, as they had worked on these works of Chopin together over the past year . I remember Fou Ts’ong whenever he heard that Roberto was in his class was thrilled at the journey of discovery that they would share together.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/01/13/roberto-prosseda-pays-tribute-to-the-genius-of-chopin-and-the-inspirational-figure-of-fou-tsong/

Ruben Micieli triumphs with Chopin in Florence with Music al British in the Harold Acton Library

In the meantime the adorable, indefatigable Valentina Lo Sordo had arrived for the presentation of the Cremona Awards 2025

At the same time Lucrezia Liberati was presenting a recital entitled ‘ ‘Respighi,Casella and Filidei: Sound Genealogies Between Memory and Modernity’. She was to play later too, at the awards ceremony performing a work by Francesco Filidei greeted with delight by the composer and the distinguished audience in the Auditorium G . Arvedi of the magnificent Museo del Violino https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/03/08/lucrezia-liberati-at-roma-3-virtuosity-and-freedom-in-the-name-of-music/

In the media lounge was the presentation of Luca Ciammarughi’s new book,’ Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.The Mystery of a Genius’ in a fascinating and very amusing conversation with the director of Amadeus, Filippo Michelangeli who had written the preface to the book and whose birthday he was celebrating today as well.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2019/11/25/the-hills-of-rome-are-ringing-to-the-sound-of-music-donchev-in-velletri-and-taddei-ciammarughi-in-ariccia/

Followed, in an ever more crescendo of activity, by a concert of Virginia Rossetti entitled Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Vittorio Rieti : ‘A Shared Destiny ‘

A magnificent recital by Alessandro Stella and Marcos Madrigal presenting their new CD with four hand music by Ildebrando Pizzetti and Italo Montenezzi .

This was no ordinary recital but a lesson in how to play four hands with ravishing sounds and colours from two master musicians who listen to each other and play as one. Alessandro’s masterly pedalling gave the platform for the chiselled beauty of Marcos’s masterly hands . Creating atmospheres and colours that I have rarely heard from a piano before.

Marcos Madrigal with Roberto Bolle and Friends ‘I could have danced all night ‘

Two concerts at 3.30 saw me race from Stradivari to Zelioli Lanzini halls of Yamaha and Fazioli. The first with Alessio Santolini Raggi,a young man who with Francesca Antonucci had helped me find my way at one of the first Cremona Musica events a few years ago . From the class of Roberto Prosseda they have both become artists in their own right . I reviewed a superb recital Alessio gave in Rome and he is now completing his studies at UCLA ( Los Angeles University) with Inna Faliks.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/10/06/inna-faliks-grandiose-brahms-of-aristocratic-intelligence-and-passion/

Pianist and composer he was demonstrating today the Disklavier piano programme ‘ Diagram and Projection’

Francesca I was to admire the next day playing very sensitively Chopin’s Second Concerto and to see them both together going off to celebrate Francesca’s 21st . A fascinating talk and demonstration from Alessio who from a student is fast becoming a force to reckon with! A breath of fresh air to see such talent flowering so naturally https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/05/08/alessio-santolini-at-roma-3-the-fantasy-and-invention-of-a-composer-pianist/

In the Zelioli Lanzini Hall Leonora Armellini ( a top prize winner in the last Chopin Competition three years ago). An established much loved artist from Padua where her family reign magnificently.

She was presenting her new CD with the distinguished viola player Anna Serova : ‘ The Late Brahms’ choosing though to play an encore by Schumann from that curious trio made up of Robert ,Johannas and Clara ! Superb playing with the weight of supreme mastery enjoyed by a more than full hall not wanting their music making to stop. But Mr Amadeus is a stern and decisive policeman and being his birthday he had every right to call the tune!

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2020/06/23/leonora-armellinis-glorious-chopin-piano-city-pordenone/

I was able to listen to part of the recital by Jorge Juarez Alvarez with playing of Chopin ( that I recognised) and of Giulio Ricordi and Manuel Ponce ( that was unknown to me).

Some very persuasive performances of great beauty illuminated this delightful salon music from another age. Music of simple beauty with the ease of teasing melodies and embellishments of the ‘Victorian’ era .

The final concert of a long but very enjoyable day was presented by Ruben Marza who had to rush to deal with the torrential rain that was creating some problems in another part of the Exhibition Centre. Rogliano’s masterly playing spoke so much louder than his exhaustive introduction. Music has the power to speak louder than words when played with the mastery of Marco Rogliano.

‘Music made in Italy’ was the title of the Gala Evening in the Museo del Violino. An award’s ceremony and concert with the special Cremona Music Awards being given to Rosa Feola, Francesco Filidei and Franco Scala.

Cremona The city where dreams become reality Day 1

Cremona Music 3 ‘ The day of reckoning.Our ‘Elders’ point the way

Pedro on his way to Warsaw was invited to play some of the works that he will present in the 19th International Chopin Competition next week. The main works being two of the greatest masterpieces ever written for the piano. The Barcarolle op 60 and the Sonata in B flat minor op 35, surrounded by miniature masterpieces : Nocturne op 62 n. 2 ,Waltz op 34 n.1, Étude op 25 n. 11 ( Octave ) and finishing ( officially) with the youthful Andante Spianato e Grande Polonaise Brillante op 22. Unofficially we were rewarded with the Polonaise Héoique op 53 that I have not heard played with the same aristocratic authority and exhilaration since Rubinstein.

The Nocturne was played with refined elegance but also a passionate outpouring from a soul full of ravishing sensitivity. Pedro’s playing needs no projection as his palette of colour and supreme sensitivity to the harmonic layers of sound draw the public in to him ,enticed like the Pied Piper by such opulant beauty. The opening of the Waltz ( another favourite of Rubinstein) was played with elegance and style rather than a brash declamation. Jeux perlé just poured from Pedro’s fingers with enticingly embracing streams of multicoloured sounds where the sudden contrast in dynamics was of a pianist from the Golden Age when technical perfection meant a supreme Bel Canto as was Chopin’s inspiration.

The Barcarolle op 60 surely ,Chopin’s most perfect creations, which is a song from beginning to end. Chopin’s ‘Lied von der Erde’, from the opening C sharp that just illuminates the sounds that will follow and close this marvel with the four final chords. Inbetween Pedro played with delicacy and poetic beauty that did not exclude passion and seduction, but all in the shadow of the Venice that was in Chopin’s imagination. Magic sounds played with superb clarity and subtle beauty with Pedro’s masterly use of the pedals, that was to be admired throughout the recital. A kaleidoscope of unexpected colours of delicacy and simplicity created this extraordinary sound world with so many different layers that it was like a flower opening and blossoming before closing. The Étude op 25 n. 11 was conceived as waves of horizontal sounds rather than the more mundane verticality we usually suffer! Maybe a little too much pedal but strangely enough Pedro played the central episode with such refined pedalling that it went unnoticed, such was the musically inspired perfection, that contrasted so well with the outer more dramatic episodes. I have never heard this central episode sound so beautiful and instead of waiting for the re-entry of the octaves I wanted this marvel to continue for much longer! Re creation can be so stimulating from the hands of a true poet!

The Sonata in B flat minor that Schumann described as one of Chopin’s craziest children was given a masterly performance . The much discussed repeat ,like all great pianists, was just ignored as the opening motif was allowed to be developed as only the genius of Chopin could contemplate with such originality.There was again whispered beauty in the second episode of the ‘Scherzo’ where Pedro drew us in to hear harmonic marvels unfolding beneath the beauty of bel canto. A sombre ‘seemingly’ expressionless ‘Funeral March’ with its barely whispered Trio where Pedro suddenly allowed the cloud to pass and we got a momentary glimpse of the paradise that was awaiting to finish this remarkable movement. The ‘wind over the graves’ was played with superb control and above all masterly pedalling that made these washes of sound have the personality of the ‘mad children’ that Schumann had mentioned. Schumann not having realised to what heights the Genius he had recognised from Chopin’s first appearance could lead to! The Andante Spianato was played with masterly control and the refined subtle beauty that we had experienced throughout this recital .There was subtle phrasing to the mazurka episode that I have never heard played so convincingly . Passion and energy too from this young Spaniard with fire in his veins , but even in the most exhilarating passages it was the poetic content that shone like a golden star and illuminated all he did. A much requested encore – not least from Ing.Paolo Fazioli was treated to a performance of ‘the’ Polonaise op 53 where even the wondrous cavalry were given a sense of direction and a voice of Patriotic revelation not only revolution !

Pedro Lopez Salas at St James’s Piccadilly with refined elegance and passion reaching the very heart of Chopin

Some superb playing from Francesco Carletti to open the piano concert season at Cremona Music which will end on Sunday with the prize ‘A Life in Music ‘ being awarded by Angelo Fabbrini to Bruno Canino . Stefano Golinelli one of many forgotten Italian composers being celebrated this year in this extraordinary round up organised by Roberto Prosseda, whose class in Rovigo attracts the finest talents of the day ,many of whom are being rediscovered here in Cremona this weekend.

Stefano Golinelli (26 October 1818 Bologna – 3 July 1891 Bologna) was an Italian piano virtuoso and composer. In 1840 he was appointed

by Gioachino Rossini , then an Honorary Councillor of the Liceo Musicale di Bologna, professor for piano at the Liceo (now the Conservatorio ), a post he held until 1871. He composed a large number of works for the piano, especially noteworthy 3 Sonatas, and 2 collections of 24 Preludios, op. 23 and 69. He is buried at the Certosa cemetery in his hometown. At his death, he left his Érard piano to the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/09/01/pedro-lopez-salas-at-st-jamess-piccadilly-with-refined-elegance-and-passion-reaching-the-very-heart-of-chopin/

Pedro on his way to Warsaw was invited to play some of the works that he will present in the 19th International Chopin Competition next week. The main works being two of the greatest masterpieces ever written for the piano. The Barcarolle op 60 and the Sonata in B flat minor op 35, surrounded by miniature masterpieces : Nocturne op 62 n. 2 ,Waltz op 34 n.1, Étude op 25 n. 11 ( Octave ) and finishing ( officially) with the youthful Andante Spianato e Grande Polonaise Brillante op 22. Unofficially we were rewarded with the Polonaise Héoique op 53 that I have not heard played with the same aristocratic authority and exhilaration since Rubinstein.

The Nocturne was played with refined elegance but also a passionate outpouring from a soul full of ravishing sensitivity. Pedro’s playing needs no projection as his palette of colour and supreme sensitivity to the harmonic layers of sound draw the public in to him ,enticed like the Pied Piper of such opulent beauty. The opening of the Waltz ( another favourite of Rubinstein) was played with elegance and style rather than a brash declamation. Jeux perlé just poured from Pedro’s fingers with enticingly embracing streams of multicoloured sounds where the sudden contrast in dynamics was of a pianist from the Golden Age when technical perfection meant a supreme Bel Canto as was Chopin’s inspiration.

The Barcarolle op 60 surely ,Chopin’s most perfect creations, which is a song from beginning to end. Chopin’s ‘Lied von der Erde’, from the opening C sharp that just illuminates the sounds that will follow and close this marvel with the four final chords. Inbetween Pedro played with delicacy and poetic beauty that did not exclude passion and seduction but all in the shadow of the Venice that was in Chopin’s imagination. Magic sounds played with superb clarity and subtle beauty with Pedro’s masterly use of the pedals, that was to be admired throughout the recital. A kaleidoscope of unexpected colours of delicacy and simplicity created this extraordinary sound world with so many different layers that it was like a flower opening and blossoming before closing. The Étude op 25 n. 11 was conceived as waves of horizontal sounds rather than the more mundane verticality we usually suffer! Maybe a little too much pedal but strangely enough Pedro played the central episode with such refined pedalling that it went unnoticed, such was the musically inspired perfection, that contrasted so well with the outer more dramatic episodes. I have never heard this central episode sound so beautiful and instead of waiting for the re-entry of the octaves I wanted this marvel to continue for much longer! Re creation can be so stimulating from the hands of a true poet!

The Sonata in B flat minor that Schumann described as one of Chopin’s craziest children was given a masterly performance . The much discussed repeat ,like all great pianists, was just ignored as the opening motif was allowed to be developed as only the genius of Chopin could contemplate with such originality.There was again whispered beauty in the second episode of the ‘Scherzo’ where Pedro drew us in to hear harmonic marvels unfolding beneath the beauty of bel canto. A sombre ‘seemingly’ expressionless ‘Funeral March’ with it’s barely whispered Trio where Pedro suddenly allowed the cloud to pass and we got a momentary glimpse of the paradise that was awaiting to finish this remarkable movement. The ‘wind over the graves’ was played with superb control and above all masterly pedalling that made these washes of sound have the personality of the ‘mad children’ that Schumann had mentioned. Schumann not having realised to what heights the Genius he had recognised,from Chopin’s first appearance, could lead to! The Andante Spianato was played with masterly control and the refined subtle beauty that we had experienced throughout this recital .There was subtle phrasing to the mazurka episode that I have never heard played so convincingly . Passion and energy too from this young Spaniard with fire in his veins , but even in the most exhilarating passages it was the poetic content that shone like a golden star and illuminated all he did. A much requested encore, not least from Ing.Paolo Fazioli, was treated to a performance of ‘the’ Polonaise op 53 where even the wondrous cavalry were given a sense of direction and a voice of Patriotic revelation not only revolution !

Elia Cecino at the Quirinale in Rome – Realms of Gold in the President’s Palace

Just time for the final chords of Eliana Grasso’s :’Around Clara Wieck

A fascinating glimpse into the unknown world of Julius Benedict with some ravishing playing from an always inquisitive musician .

Nicolò Giuliano Tuccia -A star in ascent in the shadow of Guido Agosti

Almost at the same time in the hall nearby Adriano Murgia with some masterly playing : ‘Mario Castelnuovo- Tedesco ,a journey to Italy’.

Hollywood comes to Cisterna di Latina Adriano Murgia plays Castelnuovo-Tedesco

And on the way there were many other delights that would deserve much more time to give more than a passing glance

And on the way to a round table discussion, streamed live with that legendary giant, Bruno Monsaingeon ( director of historic videos of Richter and Glenn Gould). ‘The present and future of Cultural Programming on Television Channels ‘ with fascinating comments from Francesca Nesler of RAI TV and M. Belluzzo and C.Prakken . A discussion chaired by our indomitable host Roberto Prosseda.

And the next three appointments in the Monteverdi Hall with its superb Yamaha piano . After Nicolò Giuliano Tuccia his friend and colleague from the Rovigo Academy, Filippo Tenisci, with his inspired and inspiring ‘Reimagining Wagner’

Wagner & Liszt embark in Deal with Filippo Tenisci at the helm.

Star students from the Cremona Conservatory where I heard a superb ‘Trio elegiaco’ by Rachmaninov with Pasquale Evangelista at the helm with a superb Stefano Stancic on violin and Cosmaola Nitti on the cello.

Getting my breath back, who should pass by but Midori on her way to receive Cremona’s finest award for one of the great violinists of our time.

Not only Midori, but in should pop the crowned Prince of the Piano Angelo Fabbrini about to give the same award to Bruno Canino on Sunday for a ‘Life in Music’. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/12/12/martha-argerich-the-queen-of-the-keyboard-salutes-angelo-fabbrini-the-prince-of-the-piano/

Insisting I look at his superb Bechstein piano that Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella will play on Saturday with their piano duo of works by Pizzetti and Montemezzi .

And finally the prize given to Midori ,one of the greatest violinist of our age and much more besides as the citation most eloquently outlines :
Dettagli dell’evento

‘Midori is a visionary artist, activist, and educator who explores and builds connections between music and the human experience. In the four decades since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, the “simply magical” (Houston Chronicle) violinist has performed with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and collaborated with world-renowned musicians including Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, and many others. Midori is the Artistic Director of the Piano and Strings Program at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute; summer 2024 will be her first year in this role. 

This season, she will debut Spirituals, a new work written for her by Che Buford, in a recital with pianist Özgür Aydin, at the Edinburgh Festival, New York’s 92nd Street Y, Boston’s Celebrity Series, San Francisco Performances, and the Colburn Celebrity Series. Other highlights of Midori’s 2024-25 season include performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and Oklahoma City Philharmonic. 

Outside the United States, he performs with the Vienna Philharmonic under Andris Nelsons in Vienna and on tour in Japan and Korea (Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto); he will perform twice in spring 2025 at the Berlin Philharmonic, with the Deutsche National Youth Orchestra in May, performing Glanert’s Second Violin Concerto, and with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) in June, performing Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. He will also join the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Jonathan Nott, performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto on a tour of Spain, and will give concerts in Geneva, Cologne, and Nuremberg, as well as in Mumbai, Istanbul, İzmir, and Colombo. 

Deeply committed to promoting humanitarian and educational goals, Midori has founded several nonprofit organizations: Midori & Friends, based in New York, and MUSIC SHARING, based in Japan, both of which have been active for over thirty years. For the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP), which supports youth orchestras, Midori commissioned a new work by composer Derek Bermel, Spring Cadenzas, which premiered virtually during the COVID-19 lockdown and continues to be performed; this season, she is working on creating a video recording of the work, to accompany a tutorial. The ORP also recently collaborated with the Afghan Youth Orchestra, which relocated to Portugal to continue its operations. Midori’s Partners in Performance (PiP) program helps bring chamber music to smaller communities across the United States. In recognition of her work as an artist and humanitarian, she is a United Nations Messenger of Peace and was named a 2021 Kennedy Center Honoree. 

Born in Osaka in 1971, she began studying violin with her mother, Setsu Goto, at an early age. In 1982, conductor Zubin Mehta invited the then eleven-year-old Midori to perform with the New York Philharmonic in the orchestra’s annual New Year’s Eve concert, laying the foundation for her subsequent career. Midori holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Violin Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She has received honorary degrees from Smith College, Yale University, the Longy School of Music, and Shenandoah University, and in 2023 she received the Brandeis Creative Arts Award from Brandeis University.

 She plays the 1734 ‘ex-Huberman’ Guarneri del Gesù and uses four bows: two by Dominique Peccatte, one by François Peccatte and one by Paul Siefried.’ P.S. I can add that this was the legendary violin of Huberman that had been stolen from the green room in Carnegie Hall.On it’s recovery it belonged to Ruggieri Ricci who used to play for us at Teatro Ghione for many years in his Indian Summer . One concert he was on his own, as Julia his wife could not accompany him but knew with us he was in good hands. Having given a solo violin concert trying to hide the fact that he had packed two different shoes, one foot balanced on the other, and after an after concert supper next to the theatre ,I accompanied him home to the Santa Anna Hotel the other side off St Peter’s Square.No one had told us that at night the square was closed. No problem for Ruggiero as he climbed over the barrier and we crossed the square but chased by the police , as we ran away with the priceless violin under Ruggiero’s arm.

The day was almost over but the best was kept to last …….a masterclass with Midori at the beautiful Stauffer Academy with a prize student of Salvatore Accardo ,whose 84 birthday was yesterday. Sofia Catalano, the youngest student at the academy, played Wieniawski and Sarasate ………..wonderful,playing but the finesse of listening more carefully was the precious message passed between these two ‘gals’ . The voice of a master to a violinist on the crest of a great career.

And walking down the street passing Stradivari’s house , who should pop out but an old friend and master violinist , Fabrizio Von Arx , who is artistic director of the Fondazione Casa Stradivari .

…………If music be the food of love …….please play on …..perchance to dream!

If music be the food of love …..Day 2 Cremona Musica

Cremona Music 3 ‘ The day of reckoning.Our ‘Elders’ point the way

Ayane Nakajima in a room with a view. Finishing her recital on this rainy day in Florence with Earl Wild’s ‘Embraceable You’ played with ravishing insinuating beauty. Irresistible indeed ! 

A C.P.E Bach played with brilliance and clarity where the rapid changes of character had nothing on Schumann. Washes of sound of rapid lightweight embellishments between the intervals of melodic recitativi Languid beauty of the second movement played with delicacy and poignant nobility and a surprise final movement all halting elegance and lilting charm.

Ayane has an extraordinary palette of sounds that with her searching musicianship could bring Tsontakis’ ‘Sarabesque’ inquisitively to life and even combine his world of gentle floating sounds with those of another dreamer, Mompou.

In Tsontakis there was a fluidity of sounds spread over the keyboard with luminosity and beguiling atmospheres. Gently floating sounds of glissandi and pulsating notes on high gradually building in intensity only to disappear into the magic world from where it had been born.

An unexpectedly dramatic entry of Mompou out of which emerged a song etched always in Spanish idiom. Lonely isolated melodies heard from afar with a hypnotic repetition of great suggestion.Bursting into a wave of sounds over the entire keyboard. All played with Ayane’s extraordinary kaleidoscope of sounds of poetic sensitivity.

A performance of Schumann’s Études Symphoniques found an ideal interpreter where the subtle beauty of her playing was contrasted with the dynamic drive of a Florestan of quite considerable technical mastery.The opening theme played with delicate beauty as the variations unfolded with ever more poetic poignancy. Gradually the architectural shape took her to great flights of dynamic drive with the great ‘Gothic Cathedral ‘ variation unfolding with majestic nobility. A finale after the most Chopinesque of variations sprung from her fingers with dynamic drive and brilliance. Like with Schubert there was always a song ready to burst into bloom and Ayane allowed these moments the time of aristocratic freedom in-between the energy that took us to the triumphant conclusion .

‘Embraceable You ‘ floated on a magic carpet of irresistible sounds of poetic beauty.

played with the subtle beauty and stylistic intelligence of a real musician.

CPE Bach  Sonata in F sharp minor H.37
Tsontakis  “Sarabesque”
Mompou  Cants Mágics
Earl Wild  Virtuoso Etude No.6 based on Gershwin’s song ‘I Got Rhythm’
Schumann  Études Symphoniques (1853 edition)
Earl Wild  Virtuoso Etude No.4 based on Gershwin’s song ‘Embraceable You

Japanese-American pianist Ayane Nakajima has garnered recognition for her “emotional warmth and celestial lyricism” (Elena Vorotko, Keyboard Charitable Trust) as a soloist and chamber musician. Active across the United States and Europe, she has appeared in major venues such as Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, New World Center, and both Steinway Hall New York and London. She will make her German and Italian recital debut in the 2025/26 season with performances in Florence, Bayreuth, and Fulda.

She is a celebrated prize winner of the Pianale, YoungArts, International Keyboard Odyssiad, and Young Texas Artists competitions, and is a member of Talent Unlimited and the Keyboard Charitable Trust. Among numerous accolades, she was nominated as a 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholar, awarded the 2023 Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts from Rice University, and named the winner of the 2024 Royal College of Music Concerto Competition. Additionally, she has participated in masterclasses with renowned artists such as Jeremy Denk, Dina Yoffe, Akiko Ebi, Uta Weyand, Ronan O’Hora, Caroline Hong, Elena Levit, and Marina Lomazov.
A devoted song pianist and chamber musician, she has won the top prize at the Young Musicians’ Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center competition, as well as the pianist prizes at the AESS Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition and the RCM Brooks Van der Pump English Song Competition. She has received coachings from Malcolm Martineau, Radu Bildar, Simon Lepper, Audrey Hyland, Kathleen Winkler, and Desmond Hoebig.

Growing up in New York City, Ayane began her piano journey at the age of three under the mentorship of Chaim Freiberg at the Kaufman Music Center. From ages six to seventeen, she studied with Dr. Hiromi Fukuda and graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She received her Bachelor of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas, under Dr. Jon Kimura Parker, and completed her Master’s degree at the Royal College of Music in London, under the guidance of Danny Driver. She is now perfecting her studies at the Guildhall with Ronan O’Hora.

Ayane Nakajima at Steinway Hall. ‘Noble grace and celestial lyricism ‘

Sonata in F sharp minor, H37 Wq52/4 Allegro- Poco Andante – Allegro assai

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-17880

The sonata in F sharp minor H37 (Wq52/4) dates from 1744. The most remarkable movement is the opening Allegro, built on a contrast between fantasia and lyric passages. The movement opens with rapid passagework in semiquaver triplets. After the first four bars, which are grounded by irregularly spaced accented notes in the bass, Bach confuses the rhythm through metric displacement of the lowest notes within rising scalic or arpeggiated passages. Rather than reinforcing the beat, these low notes are often placed on the second semiquaver of a triplet. The result is rhythmic instability, resolved only by the ultimate arrival on a long note at the end of the phrase. Bach follows this fanciful opening with a contrasting galant theme accompanied by steady repeated quavers. Although the movement as a whole is in a standard rounded binary form, within each section the fantasia and lyrical elements alternate, sometimes in short fragmentary phrases.

In comparison to this unusual opening movement, the following Poco andante, in D major, is a study in restrained elegance. Here Bach evokes a trio sonata, with two treble voices in imitative texture set over a steady bass in quavers. The finale is again in binary form featuring dotted rhythms and occasional sudden rests setting off dramatic harmonic progressions. In one case, the rest lasts for an entire bar, placing in relief a diminished third in the bass, soon followed by still another silence preceding a diminished triad. More restrained than some of his other early finales, this movement balances continuity with rhetorical irregularities.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composed over 300 works for solo keyboard, with the majority being sonatas, and also composed numerous other pieces including over 200 symphonies, 21 settings of the Passion, about 70 cantatas, motets, and liturgical pieces, along with various other concertos, secular cantatas, and chamber works

His works have been catalogued in different ways. The first comprehensive catalogue was that by Alfred Wotquenne first published in 1905, and this led to Wq. numbers being used. In 1989, E. Eugene Helm produced a revised catalogue, and H numbers are now also used.

Schumann’s Op 13 is one of a number of his piano works—others include the Impromptus, Op 5, and Davidsbündlertänze, Op 6—that exist in two distinct published versions, the first dating from the 1830s and the second a consequence of a process of revision undertaken in the early 1850s. In the case of Op 13, the original composition took place between December 1834 and January 1835, and the resulting publication of 1837 was entitled XII Etudes symphoniques; the revision, issued by a different publisher in 1852, bore the title Etudes en forme de Variations; it is this version, from which the third and ninth pieces of the original sequence are omitted, and other revisions made, that is recorded here.

Each of the two titles both reveals and suppresses information about the music. The 1852 version acknowledges that the work effectively belongs to the genre of theme and variations, each ‘study’ being a relatively strict variation on the sixteen-bar theme heard at the outset. (Moreover, the individual variations are identified as such, whereas in the 1837 edition the term ‘étude’ is employed, consistent with the overall title.) On the other hand, the reference to ‘symphonic’ quality in the 1837 version acknowledges the frankly orchestral conception of much of the writing, which demands real pianistic virtuosity; to this extent, the designation ‘étude’ is appropriate, in that each étude/variation explores a particular pianistic figuration and thus fulfils Schumann’s demand that an étude should ‘develop technique or lead to the mastery of some particular difficulty’.

An even earlier idea for the title is more revealing still: ‘Etüden im Orchestercharakter … von Florestan und Eusebius’ not only reinforces the understanding of symphonique noted above, but offers a means of understanding the ‘poetic’ content of the music. Evidently Schumann meant to express the contrasting aspects of his own character through the fictive personalities of his two ‘best friends’, as he called them: the active, dynamic Florestan, and the more passive, introspective Eusebius. Whether he initially intended to sign each of the études ‘F’ or ‘E’, as in the first edition of Davidsbündlertänze, is unclear; in any case, neither in 1837 nor in 1852 did Eusebius feature very prominently, despite the ostensibly Eusebian nature of the theme itself, marked ‘Andante’. (That there was originally more of Eusebius in the work is suggested by five further études, omitted from both versions and published posthumously in an edition by Brahms.)

Schumann claimed that the sixteen-bar theme was composed by the Baron von Fricken, father of Ernestine, with whom Schumann had fallen in love during 1834 (the family lived in Asch, the musical translation of the letters of which name provided Schumann with the ‘Sphinxes’ which underpin the music of his Carnaval, Op 9). The études/variations which follow tend to hold fast to the harmonic and melodic structure of the theme, though not to the suppression of all inventiveness: in Variation II, for example, the original melody becomes the bass underpinning of a new soprano line; and Variation VI substitutes E major for C sharp minor, the key of the theme and all other variations except the extended finale, which provides a triumphant major-mode ending and incorporates in its main theme a quotation from the (then) well-known Romance ‘Du stolzes England, freue dich’, from Marschner’s Der Templer und die Jüdin: a subtle homage, perhaps, to the nationality of the dedicatee, Schumann’s friend and fellow-composer William Sterndale Bennett. Prior to the finale, fugato and canonic writing are prominent in Variations I, III, and IV, while Variation VII alludes to the stylistic world of the Baroque, and specifically the French overture.

In his sketches for the first version, Schumann completed five further variations and the majority of a sixth further variation. These are sometimes incorporated into and played with the set.

Douze Études symphoniques (1837)	Études en forme de variations (1852)
Thème	Thema
Étude I	Variation I
Étude II	Variation II
Étude III	–
Étude IV	Variation III
Étude V	Variation IV
Étude VI	Variation V
Étude VII	Variation VI
Étude VIII	Variation VII
Étude IX	–
Étude X	Variation VIII
Étude XI	Variation IX
Étude XII	Finale

A musical giant of the 20th century is the pianist Earl Wild (1915-2010). His name might not be all that familiar, but he was one of the last of the great Romantic pianists in a long line of great virtuoso pianists/composers. In fact, he was called a super virtuoso. He was the first pianist to perform a recital on U.S. television in 1939 and the first to stream a performance over the internet in 1997.Wild had immensely large hands, absolute pitch, a graceful stage presence, and an uncanny facility as a sight-reader and improviser. Already as a teenager, Wild started to produce devilish difficult transcriptions of romantic music.Every great virtuoso Romantic pianist was a master of composing piano transcriptions, just think of Franz Liszt . Earl Wild is a direct descendant of that golden age of piano transcriptions, and he was called “the finest transcriber of our time.” And it is not surprising that Wild would turn his attention to the music of George Gershwin.

Gershwin’s songs are miniature masterpieces, full of enduring charm, melodic appeal, and twinkling wit. Earl Wild’s arrangements are an affectionate tribute from one American virtuoso to another. As Wild writes, “Out of respect for Gershwin’s original notation, I have not changed one rhythmic value of the melodies in my transcriptions of the Seven Virtuoso Études.” Wild started work on his virtuoso Gershwin etudes in the late 1950s, but he revised the set and added another song in 1976. They are all based on some of Gershwin’s most popular songs and are strictly treated as études or studies. And this kind of treatment is closely associated with the Chopin’s Études to highlight some particular technical difficulty.

Already, the Chopin etudes go far beyond mere technical exercises, and the same is true of Wild’s handling of the seven Gershwin songs as they transcend any mere technical achievement. That does not mean that the virtuosic demands are out of this world, as they address almost every piano technique known to the best players. However, once the focus falls on the music, they are delicious pieces to savour.It has been said that Earl Wild managed to pack more notes per square inch than anyone else to produce etudes of obscene difficulty. Once you have all the notes down, however, how do you not make it sound too square and too classical? The solution to that problem is given by Wild’s arrangements.

They are not mere literal translations of Gershwin’s song but use the original melodies simply as a springboard for something far more elaborate and interesting. Wild always colours the tunes with exotic harmonies and complex counterpoint. The combination of Gershwin’s tunes and Wild’s harmonies and lines is a winning combination.

“Sarabesque” is a six minute solo piano work written in 2003 for his friend ,pianist Sarah Rothenberg . It was first recorded by Rothenberg and later included on the 2005 CD Man of Sorrows, which featured Stephen Hough performing Tsontakis’s tone poem for piano and orchestra alongside the solo piano work. Described as a “delicate bagatelle” and a “bijou,” the piece is a short but evocative work that showcases the composer’s strengths in creating a resonant musical soundscape. 

Dear All,

As you have probably seen, we have lined up an exceptional series of piano recitals in the Library this autumn.  As someone who has enjoyed our Music al British concerts, I do hope that we will have you with us for some of the concerts by these brilliant young pianists:

25 September Ayane Nakajima performs music by Bach, Wild and Schumann
09 October Nicolò Giuliano Tuccia performs Clementi and Respighi
23 October – Alessio Masi performs Mozart, Beethoven and Rota
27 November – Gabrielé Sutkuté performs Debussy, Scriabin and Beethoven

These remarkable talents have been brought to us by our friends at the Keyboard Trust, whose mission it is to identify the finest young pianists in the world and give them vital experience of professional concert making.  We are so fortunate to have them come to play in our glorious Library with its perfect acoustics and magical view!

Hope to see you there!

With my very best wishes,

Simon

Simon Gammell OBE  Director

The British Institute of Florence

Palazzo Lanfredini, Lungarno Guicciardini, 9, 50125 Firenze 

Tel: +39 055 26778280 Email: director@britishinstitute.it

Web: www.britishinstitute.it

Nicolò Giuliano Tuccia -A star in ascent in the shadow of Guido Agosti

Alessio Masi at Palazzo Caetani Cisterna di Latina ‘Latin blood ignites and illuminates his musical heritage’

Gabrielé Sutkuté at Lansdowne Club ‘A star in Mayfair shining ever brighter’

I first heard Ryan Wang four years ago in Florence when as a fourteen year old boy he played Chopin Preludes with such artistry that he won first prize at the final of the Montecatini Competition.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/10/21/montecatini-international-piano-competition-final-in-the-historic-teatro-niccolini-in-florence/

I later heard him several times at Eton where he held a music scholarship . Recently he also won the BBC young musician of the year award with a prize winning performance of the Rachmaninov Second Concerto broadcast on television.

Ryan Wang takes Windsor Castle by storm

Last summer I heard his farewell performance of Tchaikovsky as his schooldays came to an illustrious end .

Ryan Wang ‘Goodbye to all that’ A farewell to Eton in music

Now as an eighteen year old artist he was playing a Chopin recital in the sumptuous salon of the Boas . Little were we aware that Ryan had played Chopin’s First Concerto in Paris last night.

So at 18 he is already a consummate artist on his way to Harvard to complete a NEC Dual Degree Programme under Wha Kyung Byun.

Before crossing the Atlantic there is a small matter of having been selected to take part in the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Hence today’s concert with the ever generous Boas promoting a try out recital for Ryan before he steps into the Circus arena where many of the finest young pianists of their generation are preparing to fight it out like Gladiators in Roman times .

Ryan playing a long programme including such masterpieces as the Fourth Ballade op 52, the Polonaise – Fantaisie op 61, together with the Waltz op 34 n 1 , the Nocturne op 62 n.1, the Winter Wind Étude and the Mazukas op 59 . Not forgetting the Polonaise Héroique op 53 . But it was the Variations on ‘La ci darem la mano’ that Chopin had played at the same age as Ryan today, on his arrival in exile, that brought forth the finest playing of the evening. Schumann had written ‘Hats of Gentleman , a Genius’ and it was exactly the same words that could follow Ryan’s inspired performance. A performance that showed all Ryan’s youthful exuberance but allied to a masterly control and breathtaking technical mastery. A scintillating jeux perlé played with teasing brilliance and even a glimpse of the Bel Canto that already gave a taste of the genius who was to create new art forms on a piano that now had a ‘soul’.

The concert had begun with Chopin’s late Nocturne in B that was played with nobility and delicacy giving an architectural shape to this most eloquent of tone poems. There was magic in the air as trills unfolded with vibrations of extraordinary poignancy.

A passionate fearless ‘Winter Wind’ from a young man with fire in his veins. If it had moments when the strain of this ‘tour de force’ that Ryan is attempting in these days leading up to Warsaw, it has the making of something very special full of breathtaking exhilaration and excitement .

The Waltz op 34 n 1 lept from Ryan’s fingers with youthful brilliance but he could now have more fun and playful delight. Aristocratic charm and beguiling subtlety mark Chopin’s waltzes as jewels that can be made to sparkle with refined brilliance.

The Ballade op 52 is one of the pinnacles of the romantic piano repertoire and Ryan played it with masterly control and understanding . Allowing the variations to unfold with ever more intricacy until the final passionate outpouring and dramatic chords . Five gentle chords followed after such a tempestuous full stop, and they were played with beautiful shape until the explosion of technical bravura of the coda.

If sometimes Ryan played with too much vehemence and his forte was too uniformly passionate it is because this young man has a God given talent and an urgency to express what is in his fiery heart.

The opening of the Polonaise- Fantaisie was played with masterly control and a palette of sounds that until now he had not fully revealed. An architectural shape to this masterpiece where Chopin combines a fantasy world with the dance of his homeland that was always in his heart.

It was in the Mazurkas that the poetic mastery of this young man was revealed and where these ‘canons covered in flowers ‘ to quote Schumann again, were given a palette of colour allied to a beguiling freedom that was really the highlight of the recital. Gone was the temptation to throw himself into the fray, as here was a young artist listening to every note that he was conjuring from his poetic fingers . This was an oasis of beauty and calm after a truly tempestuous Polonaise Héroique, where the military in the central episode have rarely been heard to March with such speedy perfection .

Ryan may have been exhausted after the strain of concerts in these past days but after such an exhilarating performance of Chopin’s youthful variations he could now let his hair down and treat us to a ‘Für Elise’ that became a true jam session of scintillating jazz . Ryan said he had picked it up off a performance he had heard on YouTube and obviously he relished every minute of it as we certainly did .

Surpringly a second encore was offered with the last of Chopin’s Preludes played with the breathtaking exhilaration and passion that this young man had demonstrated all evening .

A remarkable evening from a young man on the crest of a wave and the admiration and good wishes of every one present tonight will follow him to Warsaw next month.

Ryan Wang for the Vuitton Foundation in Paris – The genial artistry and mastery of a remarkable young musician

Ryan Wang ‘A star is born on the Wings of the Dragon’ at the National Liberal Club

A concert with a difference as Hugh Mather announced it . The eclectic Jed Distler ,composer, writer,critic ,jazz and classical pianist ,improviser and compère .

In London these past weeks playing Mahler Leningrad Symphony with Cristian Sandrin at the Liberal and Reform Clubs. Flying high, fearlessly with Thelonius Monk in St Pancras clock tower before flying to Finland to play Mahler 9th and give masterclasses.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/09/09/jed-distler-and-cristian-sandrin-beyond-the-siege-at-the-nlc-a-with-a-searing-tale-of-courage-and-resistence-that-we-must-never-forget/

Next month sees him compèring with Ben Laude of Tonebase fame , the television coverage of the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. In his spare time – in my guest room – he has been writing reviews for Gramophone and International Piano Magazines as well as recording his programmes for his radio broadcasts in New York entitled : ‘Between the Keys’ .Apart from this he has been supporting young musicians in London listening to their concerts and offering to share views with them. Humility and generosity is the name of the game for Jed and a vitality that he injects into all he does.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/09/20/evelyne-berezovsky-at-bechstein-hall-irresistible-you/

Today in Perivale he sat at the piano and played Schumann Arabesque with a freshness and the same sense of discovery that he was to share in the more complex works that followed. Just last night Jed and Damir Duramovic had been sharing views on the Arabesque and today I could see that the ideas they shared were being added to his Schumann in a voyage of discovery that illuminates all he does.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/04/03/damir-durmanovic-in-cyprus/

In fact we heard a concert by a Evelyne Beresovsky , who often plays in Perivale ,and plays with a freedom and emotional generosity ,with a daring that can be stimulating as it can be dangerous.Live dangerously and you will never be bored ….you might even be inspired !!!! Leaving the concert he declared that she had inspired him to be free and easy and constantly search deeply into the world of sound.

In fact we heard today a multi coloured Schumann played with the improvised freedom of a true musician, with subtle inner colours and tenor doublings. Bass notes that seemed to appear spontaneously as they illuminated a work that can sound so repetitive in less inquisitive hands. His own work taking up half of the recital was a work written thirty years ago when Jed was much influenced by Tippett’s fourth Piano Sonata. Very amusingly he described the piece as being like the offspring of Michael Tippett and Keith Jarrett ! One of the rare pieces by Jed’s teacher who mainly wrote for wind bands was a Piano Song by David Maslanka, that he followed with a Fantasy on John Lennon’s ‘ Give peace a Chance ‘ by his friend Frederic Rzewski .

‘In an interview Rzewski mentioned that he was commisioned to write a piece based on a song from The Beatles and then Rzewski did pick this song but it got several problems on publication sadly, mostly due of copyright issues but he was aware that Lennon actually took a theme from the finale of Brahms Symphony No.1 to make his song which he found kinda unfair (anyway Brahms is on public domain so it is not a big deal for that Lennon’s composition)… but anyway as you may notice the structure is quite reminiscent like as a North American Ballad from himself also, only with a different tune and not American also, such a nice piece, and have in mind that this performance contains several Improvisation by the composer himself, you can feel free to include these improvisations on the same passages or decide to not.’

Jed’s own transcription of a piece by Bill Evans concluded this fascinating unique afternoon. A sound world that is in continuous evolution, the same improvised freedom that a jazz player can have and that could inspire classical interpreters to recreate rather than reproduce. In fact to become a true kapellmeister as Karajan insisted on being described.
As Dr Mather said what an honour to have Jed in our midst and not a note of Chopin in the air !

Composer/pianist and Steinway Artist Jed Distler gained acclaim early in his career for transcribing jazz piano solos by Art Tatum and Bill Evans. As a pianist championing new music, his recitals have offered premiers of works by Virgil Thomson, Richard Rodney Bennett, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Lois V Vierk and many more. His master classes, lecture/demonstrations and work as a sought-after adjudicator have taken him across the United States and throughout Europe. Distler’s presenting organization ComposersCollaborative, Inc earned a Guinness Record for world’s largest keyboard ensemble, featuring his works for 175 electronic keyboards. In 2021 Distler embarked on a multi-year project performing all of Mahler’s Symphonies in four-hand arrangements with pianists around the globe. He currently is composing 1, 827 Bagatelles for the 2027 Beethoven anniversary year. Distler has recorded prolifically for the highresolution Steinway Spirio player piano, while TNC Music released Distler’s solo piano CD “Fearless Monk.” (available from Bandcamp). His 2025 fall tour includes recitals and master classes in the UK, Finland, Poland and Italy. 

As Artist-in-Residence for WWFM.Org the Classical Network, Distler is the creator, host and producer of the 2017 ASCAP Deems Taylor Virgil Thomson Award radio program Between the Keys. He also hosts The Piano Maven, a friendly podcast guide to piano recordings, and will be a television commentator during the 19th International Chopin Competition in October 2025. Distler contributes reviews and articles to Gramophone and Classicstoday.com and has written numerous CD booklet notes for Sony/BMG and Universal Classics. 

Jed Distler fearlessly on top of the world with Thelonious Monk

“A musician’s musician of considerable charm…” – Janina Fialkowska

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2018/10/26/miracles-in-eaton-square-janina-fialkowska-at-st-peters/

Amit Yahav at the 1901 Arts Club with three works by Medtner, Mozart and Chopin . They may all be of the same duration but of such differing content that Amit played with masterly control and commanding authority

A rarely played Sonata by Medtner quite rightly named ‘Minacciosa’ with a tumultuous outpouring of notes played with remarkable technical mastery but also with a musicianship that could carve it’s way through a maze of notes, playing with an architectural understanding of what many would describe as Rachmaninov without the tunes! Amit carved out the opening motif, that like Rachmaninov’s First Sonata is the leit motif that binds this continuous stream of notes together.A whirlwind of notes played with remarkable conviction and dynamic drive. Even Liszt’s fugato seemed to put in an appearance . Great drama and streams of notes brought this great virtuoso piece to a breathtaking finish. I doubt I could hum or sing anything from the sonata but it was mightily impressive in an empty sort of way .Musical sludge? Some had suggested, but that would not be fair. I think it is us that have to get attuned to a very unique sound world and wade through the massive amount of notes to find the very backbone of a composer who chose to finish his days in Hendon !

An enormous outpouring of notes too in Chopin’s ‘La ci darem ‘ variations that was heralded by Schumann with the arrival of a genius in their midst . Chopin, though, had Mozart to guide his virtuosity and of course his Bel Canto is already glimpsed in the distance too.Originally written for piano and orchestra ,it is more often played as a solo piece which brought luck to Bruce Liu in the last Chopin competition but which was really the reign of Magaloff or Cherkassky. Amit tells me he is making an arrangement for string quartet/quintet that like the concertos can be played in a Chamber music context. A very long introduction where Chopin’s beautiful Bel Canto is glimpsed inbetween a sparkling jeux perlé all played with scintillating bravura by Amit, where his solid musicianship could be tainted with more moments of magic lightness and subtlety. In this piece there is an element of showmanship and teasing almost improvised fantasy where the old world sense of style ( the so called Chopin tradition) was born. Amit’s masterly control was never more evident than in the treacherous leaps of the fourth variation. ‘Con bravura’ Chopin writes and Amit certainly played with that, in a breathtaking exhibition of precision and control. The second variation too had been one long stream of perfectly played notes that Amit shaped with sterling musicianship but he did not show us what fun he should have been having too .Drama and beauty of the fifth showed Amit’s aristocratic nobility and it lead into the final polonaise that was a non stop outpouring of exhilaration and brilliance. A remarkable performance greeted by an ovation where Amit’s brilliance and musical integrity won the day. I could not help thinking, though, that this was modern day playing whereas this early showpiece belongs to the Golden Age of a Rosenthal or Lhevine with a palette of sounds that glistened like jewels that would titivated and energise the senses.

Amit played this show piece with extraordinary dexterity and mastery and the final Polonaise reached dizzying heights of scintillating brilliance. Leaps played with fearless abandon and precision and bubbling elaborations passing with ease from one hand to the other with astonishing brilliance.

But it was the genius of Mozart where many less notes could say so much more . The A minor Sonata written shortly after the death of his mother and together with the C minor Sonata are the only two of his eighteen sonatas that are in the minor key.

Amit played with a poignant simplicity and extraordinary clarity with a driving rhythmic urgency to the outer movements. But it was the Andante that Amit played with a burning intensity and beauty that revealed the genius of Mozart. Amir chose a classical palette of sounds that gave great weight and importance to this masterpiece

It was though the final piece in the recital played as an encore that ignited Amit’s imagination as he discovered magical sounds out of which Glinka’s ‘Lark’ was given golden wings by Balakirev . Magic was in the air as Amit allowed the music to take flight with ravishing beauty and sounds of another age, that his masterly musicianship had chosen not to use until this glorious farewell.

Amit Yahav returns to the 1901 Arts Club with a recital of music by Medtner, Mozart and Chopin. Turmoil and tension are at the heart of this music.  Medtner’s Sonata Minacciosa – the menacing sonata – was composed in 1930, and is very much inspired by the political turbulence of the time.  This rarely performed work is one of the finest examples of the capabilities of this slightly less known composer. Mozart’s Sonata in A minor occupies a special place in his oeuvre, written around the time of his mother’s sudden illness and death in Paris.  Its themes presage the music he will go on to write at some of the most difficult moments in his life. Finally, the work that brought Chopin to fame and inspired Schumann to exclaim: “Hats off, gentlemen, a genius!”.  Chopin took one of the best music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and turned it into a virtuosic feast of variations, imbuing it with emotions ranging from utter despair, to boundless joy. ​Come and experience this special programme under the hands of a Chopin specialist.​​​

Programme N. Medtner   Sonata “Minacciosa,” Op.53 No.2 W. A. Mozart   Piano Sonata in A minor, K.310 F. Chopin   Variations on “Là ci darem la mano,” Op.2​ “A musician’s musician of considerable charm…” – Janina Fialkowska

Amit Yahav in Perivale with clarity and authority

A refreshingly varied programme in this beautiful church just a stone’s throw from Marble Arch . A cavernous edifice with a remarkable acoustic that is particularly suited to chamber music ensembles. It is this that Sasha Grynyuk and his wife Katya Gorbatiouk have dedicated their concert series, elaborating the evening with distinguished speakers linking music to a much bigger world .

Just as Rosalyn Tureck used to do with her Bach Institute ‘Symposiums’ in Oxford, where scientists and mathematicians would share their knowledge with musicologists and instrumentalists with many sides to a prism that shone rays in so many different directions.

Today the star of the concert was Rachmaninov. Following a performance of Chopin’s First Ballade that Sasha Grynyuk recreated with delicacy and poetic understanding .

Chopin’s often much abused score, where the composers very precise instructions were interpreted by a real musician today and not just turned into a showpiece for traditional virtuosi for self gratification .

Sasha managed to play with a disarming simplicity keeping the music always moving forward on an architectural wave of undulating beauty . There were of course explosions of passion and brilliance but always under the roof of a vigilant musician.

A short provocative and highly amusing talk by Professor Yang-Hui He, a distinguished mathematician from Princeton and Cambridge and now a fellow at Oxford .

He often gives talks at the Royal Institution where Rosalyn had been very happy to talk about Bach and Mathematics and to enjoy the stimulus of an exchange of views amongst intelligent experts of their various fields.

The main part of the evening was dedicated to the cello of Sandra Lied Haga and her wonderful 1730 Guidantus instrument ( Italian- Bologna) There is a growing tradition of wonderful Norwegian cellists appearing ever more regularly in concerts around the globe .

Sandra allowed this ravishing score to unite as one with Sasha, in a performance of beauty and passionate involvement . Listening to Sandra playing by heart, but also with heart, with an intelligence that could unite with Sasha’s committed playing . What a wonderful acoustic that belies the cavernous enormity of this church , as the sounds mingled together with sumptuous beauty and intimate vibrancy. It was Fou Ts’ong who told me he found it easier to play intimately in a big space than a smaller one . This was indeed a performance of intimacy and it made me think that this must surely be Rachmaninov’s finest work. It reminded me of Schubert in the way that intricate webs of sound would suddenly reveal so unexpectedly a mellifluous outpouring of beauty . Like a cloud suddenly passing and the radiance of the sun suddenly revealed . There was a burning intensity to their playing where the luminosity of the piano was matched by the sumptuous beauty of the cello . A duo of miraculous ‘mutual anticipation’, where we were on a wondrous voyage of discovery together and we,the public, were just as responsible for the destination as the musicians.

A Scherzo of menacing rhythmic drive where even here, like in Schubert, the composer has a song in his heart bursting to share.

And of course the most wondrous song was to be revealed in the aching beauty of the ‘Andante’, as the cello and piano vibrated together with Rachmaninov’s heart full of wondrous beauty. After this the brilliance and excitement of the ‘Allegro mosso’ was a glorious release to such poignant emotions .

The ‘Vocalise’ op 34 , a wondrous song without words, was the only way that such emotions could be reconciled after their masterly performance by the same composer of the Sonata op 19 .

Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, op. 19 was completed in November 1901 and published a year later.

Rachmaninoff regarded the role of the piano as not just an accompaniment but equal to the cello. Most of the themes are introduced by the piano, while they are embellished and expanded in the cello’s part.

Rachmaninoff dedicated the work to Anatoliy Brandukov, who gave the first performance in Moscow  with the composer at the piano, on 2 December 1901. Rachmaninoff seems to have made some last-minute alterations after the premiere, as he wrote the date “12 December 1901” on the score.

Vocalise” is a song by Rachmaninov , composed and published in 1915 as the last of his 14 Songs or 14 Romances,  op. 34.^] Written for high voice (soprano or tenor ) with piano accompaniment, it contains no words, but is sung using only one vowel of the singer’s choosing . It was dedicated to soprano singer Antonina Nexhdanova and is performed in various instrumental arrangements more frequently than in the original vocal version.

Although the original publication stipulates that the song may be sung by either soprano or tenor voice, it is usually performed by a soprano. Though the original composition is in the key signature of C-sharp minor, it is sometimes transposed into a variety of keys, allowing a performer to choose a vocal range more suitable to the natural voice, so that artists who may not have the higher vocal range of a soprano can perform the song.For solo instrument and piano.

Transcriptions abound but of course the ‘cello is the nearest to the heart strings ………

• for alto flute and piano, arranged by James Guthrie
• for clarinet and piano, arranged by Stanley Drucker
• for trumpet and piano, arranged by Romain Leleu
• for trombone and piano, arranged by Christian Lindberg
• for euphonium and piano, arranged by Steven Mead
• for violin and piano, arranged by Jascha Heifetz
• for violin and piano, arranged by Karl Gutheil
• for viola and piano, arranged by Leonard Davis, English viola player
• for viola and piano, arranged by Paul Silverthorne
• for cello and piano, arranged by Anatoliy Brandukov
• for cello and piano, arranged by Jascha Heifetz and Mstislav Rostropovich
• for cello and piano, arranged by Raphael Wallfisch
• for double bass and piano, arranged by Stuart Sankey
• for double bass and piano, arranged by Oscar G. Zimmerman (in D minor)
• for saxophone and piano, arranged by John Harle
• for horn and piano, transcribed by Himie Voxman
• for bassoon and piano, arranged by Leonard Sharrow (in C minor)
• for theremin and piano, arranged by Clara Rockmore
• for flute and piano, arranged by Robert Stallman
• for oboe and piano, arranged by Humbert Lucarelli

For solo instrument

for trumpet, arranged by Rolf Smedvig

for solo piano, many arrangements, including by Alexander Siloti, Alan Richardson (1951), Zoltán Kocsis, Earl Wild, Sergio Fiorentino

for organ, arranged by Cameron Carpenter

for double bass, arranged by Gary Karr

for guitar, arranged by Slash

for saxophone, arranged by Larry Teal

for theremin, arranged by Thorwald Jørgensen^[2]

Sasha Grynyuk in Milan and Florence Mastery and musicianship combine with poetic sensibility and intelligence

London Town Chamber Fest Grynyuk-Lameiko-Zhislin -Tatsuno ‘If music be the food of love ……play on.’