We could have danced all night with Gabriele Baldocci .
A kaleidoscope of emotions in words but above all in music in one of those unforgettable evenings that make one happy to know there are still people around who can touch us so profoundly with such simplicity, humour and extraordinary mastery. A love song dedicated to his wife Nagore opened the concert after a brief introductory improvisation. Immediately we were immersed into this magic world where Gabriele could transform his childhood experiences into music. And what music ! Playing of the beauty and mastery that I remember when he came to play at the Teatro Ghione in Rome as part of a series of the star students of the International Piano Academy in Lake Como founded by William Naboré. A rave review from Dino Villatico of La Repubblica for a twenty year old pianist, established this young man as one of the most versatile and eclectic musicians of his generation . A sensitivity that belies appearances ( forgive me Gabriele) with a series of beautiful youthful experiences told in words but even more vividly in music. The President of the Academy is Martha Argerich who has become a friend and mentor to Gabriele and his family and it was fitting that the final piece in the programme should be inspired and dedicated to her.
Every piece had a story and was evoked with playing of intensity and beauty. An improvised freedom that brought his music alive with fervent conviction and heartrending sensitivity. A series of emotions that rarely one experiences in concert . Told by this young man, we became part of this world and were embraced by the same experiences of his upbringing as a child in Livorno. ‘In their arms’ dedicated to the childhood love of his grandparents and remembering the feeling of warmth and love that a child could feel . It was moving to hear such radiant beauty but also at the end to see Gabriele with a gesture of embracing his loved ones.
‘Ashen firefly ‘ was a memory of his father coming to say good night and as he turned the light off he could see the glow of his cigarette like a firefly. ‘Valldemossa’ was a harrowing picture in sound of the impression of the damp cell where Chopin spent a fateful winter on Majorca .’Origami’ was the impression as a child who loved turning a blank piece of paper into many shapes ,but then discovering that it was always only a blank piece of paper.
Gabriele even asked one of the audience to join him so he could paint an improvised portrait of him in sound.
‘Verde Luce’ was the green light that shone in the dark of a hospital room as he spent months in hospital with an illness that had been hard to diagnose. ‘Silent watch’ was a portrait of his mother who would stay with him and reassure a frightened young child during the night.
Here are Gabriele’s own words that are much more poignant than any I could add:
‘I was seven, I fought sleep every night, afraid I might never wake up.
I was in the hospital with an auto immune condition, too young to fully understand my illness, but old enough to feel the weight of mortality. Sleep felt dangerous, so I resisted it the only way I could, by staring at the small green light above the door. That glow became my companion, my anchor, my way of holding on.
Verde Luce is the music of those nights. It is also the first piece in my Trilogy of ‘Becoming’, which I will unveil step by step in the coming weeks.
I hope it brings you the same fragile beauty it once brought me
Do you remember the little things you whispered to your parents before falling asleep? Your fears, your secrets, your dreams. Those fragile words inspired my new piece, Night Whispers, dedicated to my son Alessandro.
It is music about vulnerability and comfort, the quiet dialogue between child and parent that only happens when the world finally slows down.
Some have described it as “the lost Kinderszenen”, as if Schumann had written one more miniature, hidden away for a night like this. That thought makes me smile, and it captures perfectly the spirit of this piece.
I hope it brings you a moment of stillness and tenderness…”
A standing ovation greeted this evening of such emotions and masterly music making.
In the green room afterwards many friends and admirers came back stage , some had even travelled from Livorno to be present on such a poignant occasion.
Gabriele Baldocci (born May 10, 1980 in Livorno ,Italy) is an Italian pianist and composer naturalised British .
Baldocci is known worldwide for performing with the legendary Argentinean pianist Martha Argerich
After studying with Ilio Barontini, Franco Scala ,William Grant Naboré and Sergio Perticaroli and having studied with or having been coached by Alicia De Larrocha,Leon Fleisher and Dmitri Bashkirov at the International Piano Foundation “Theo and Petra Lieven ” in Cadenabbia, Baldocci began an intense solo career performing in important venues worldwide (Tonhalle in Zurich , Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires , Sala Verdi in Milan ). His large repertoire ranges from Bach to contemporary music and is especially focused on the composers of the Romantic Period such as Fryderyk Chopin (of whom he has recorded the complete Ballades and Impromptus),Franz Liszt , and Robert Schumann. In 2012 he began recording and performing the complete Beethoven Symphonies transcribed by Liszt for piano solo
Very active as a chamber musician, he has performed with Ivry gitlis,Marco Fornaciari,Mark Drobinsky, and other great names of the international music scene. Baldocci has toured extensively in duo with Martha Argerich , his good friend and mentor.
Since 2008, he has formed a stable piano duo with the Argentinean pianist Daniel Rivera; they have performed at important music Festivals around the world.
Since 2010, he has been artistic director and Ambassador of the Martha Argerich Presents Project (MAPp), an ambitious project launched by Argerich to encourage cooperation between famous artists and young talented musicians in order to create a worldwide circuit of performances and pedagogy.
More recently, Gabriele Baldocci has advanced his career as a conductor, collaborating with important orchestras in Europe and America, and he cultivates his interest for cinema producing and directing short and feature movies.
In 2016, he played keyboard in the Progressive Rock band The Gift, publishing the album “Why the Sea Is Salt” for Bad Elephant Music.
Baldocci is a Piano Professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance after spending six years at the Potenza Conservatory of Music and he is the Director of the London Piano Centre and of the Milton Keynes Music Academy.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 