Lya De Barberiis, a celebration of a great, much loved pianist who above all was a musician, a humble servant always at the service of the composer . An important figure for so many people for her warmth and humanity but above all for her strong personality which helped to shape and inform so many lives as we were reminded today. Everyone came armed with a story to tell about this remarkable woman who was such a dominant force in our lives. Her integrity, honesty and total dedication to music was an example to us all. A warmth from a woman who never ceased to learn, as she would come often with her students to worship at the feet of Guido Agosti as she would Rosalyn Tureck who she discovered in 1991 in ‘our’ theatre. ‘Ours’ because Lya so admired this Cultural Centre of Excellence that my wife and I had created in the 80’s and 90’s that she frequented not only to discover many great musicians who had been neglected in Rome but that she would join playing in duo with Ruggiero Ricci or giving many important solo recitals ( including the Beethoven Trilogy). Agosti would often be in the audience as would Arrigo Tassinari (Toscanini’s first flute ) who lived next door.

Finally when she heard me play with my wife she decided that we should play together which we did for nearly twenty years. The last time in 2012 a year before her death, when she invited Gianni Letta to the theatre to listen to us as he became honorary President of the Lya De Barberiis Association that was founded by her student Massimiliano Negri. Letta was very surprised to see the man who had moved the piano, worked the lights, show people to their seats ( including Valeria Valeri in the front row) and then sit next to Lya as they made music together ! Lya and I played all over Italy for many years, as she had so many contacts and admirers, but she preferred later in life not to be always alone on stage. I remember in Racconigi, a very imposing castle with Herons that slept on the chimney pots, and an entrance hall that was transformed into a concert hall for Lya. A Sunday morning concert and my wife when she was free would love to come with us too. After Lya and I had played and were much applauded, the Mayor appeared with a special prize which he proceeded to award to Ileana the much loved Piemontese actress. Lya and I looked on amused that we who had performed got nothing !!!!! Lya was part of our family and was very much part of out theatre,which was our life blood and it became hers too.She would arrive every year in her car, armed with three bottles of Tignanello because she knew it was my favourite wine. She even appeared one year with a cover for our Fabbrini Steinway,which she had ordered from Hamburg, because she did not consider our improvised cover to be sufficiently up to scratch for all that we were offering Rome!

Lya was like that, she was of a warmth and intelligence and a guiding light for us all.

It was good today to hear her students play works by Petrassi and Casella who had been friends and admirers of Lya, as had so many other illustrious composers who she tireless championed all her long life. Marco Scolastra who had studied with Lya in Masterclasses but whose main teacher was Aldo Ciccolini, played with the same clarity and precision of a ‘healthy musician’ who could carve out an architectural line with beauty and weight and above all total respect for the composer’s wishes. Lya took me to hear Aldo Ciccolini when he played Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto in an open air concert at the Campidoglio. After the wonderful performance Lya and he embraced each other and with a tear in his eye Aldo exclaimed :”But you are so faithful always Lya”.

Claudio Curti Gialdini had studied with Lya since his early teens and is now a Professor at the S. Cecilia Conservatory and he too played with chiselled beauty and authority the Eleven Children’s pieces op 35 by Casella. His student Milena Del Bene played the Casella Toccata and one could appreciate the same discipline handed down to her from her teacher and the school of De Barberiis