A room with a view shared with a recital by the young Alessio Tonelli as part of his Keyboard Trust prize awarded by Vitaly Pisarenko ( an emeritus KT artist ) at the Recondite Armonie competition in his home town of Grosseto. A programme he had already played with great success a few months ago at the Tuscia University in Viterbo .

Alessio Tonelli in Viterbo ‘Masterly playing of intelligence and beauty’

Here I include my review of the concert together with the superb live stream recording that Prof Franco Ricci has been offering young musicians for the past 25 years.

A career that is beginning to take flight as he finishes his masters at Perugia Conservatory with Mariangela Vacatello.

Beethoven op 109 Sonata , the first of his final trilogy, was played with fluidity and extraordinary musical maturity.The Brahms early Scherzo op 4 written in the midst of his Sonatas op 1 op 2 and op 5 which Schumann described as ‘veiled symphonies’. It was give a performance of orchestral colour where this 1890 Bechstein could reveal all the Daguerreotype colours that lie hidden within its noble framework, revealed only to those that delve deeply into its depths. Chopin’s Third Ballade played with youthful simplicity, untainted by the so called Chopin tradition as Alessio allowed its pastoral beauty to unfold with elegance and nobility.

Concluding with Liszt’s depiction of Dante’s ‘Inferno’, where this young man could unleash all the diabolical wizardry that had sparked the imagination of the greatest pianist the world has ever known. Not only pyrotechnics but the poetic musings of ravishment and seduction for which Liszt was also renowned on and off stage! An encore restored order with Chopin’s so called ‘Ocean’ study . ‘Waves’ of sound spread over the entire keyboard played with youthful mastery and refined intensity .

A wine tasting followed from the cellars of the sponsor the ‘Tenuta Bossi of Marchesi Gondi’, before I adjourned to my favourite wine bar in Via de’ Serragli to hear fascinating stories told by the extraordinary Florentines who are still so proud to be part of the Museum of the World.

I was happy to hear from Alessio of a career that is beginning to take wing . Thanks also to another emeritus Keyboard Trust artist, Gala Chistiakova and her husband Diego Benocci, who are bringing such cultural awareness to their home town of Grosseto .

As Alessio told me : ‘ Now I am attending a semester Erasmus at the Royal Conservatory of Liege in Belgium with the Belgian pianist Florian Noack (from February till July). I will play in China in the city of Nanping as a cultural collaboration between Nanping and my hometown city , Grosseto. (We will be 3 musician from Grosseto playing 1 recital each and then 3 musician from Nanping will come to play in Grosseto as well). In may I will also play a recital in Terni for a concert series dedicated to young pianists. (The week right after I return from China); In July I will play in Anghiari with the Sinfonia Smith Square Orchestra under the conductor Alessandro Crudele as part of my prize as the winner of the M.Giubilei international piano competition (section dedicated to pianist up to 25 years old).’

Hats off to Simon Gammell and his team who have created, in collaboration with the Keyboard Trust, a window where extraordinary young talent can flourish and be displayed . A ‘ Room with a View’ indeed’

L.V.Beethoven: Sonata n. 30 op. 109

I.-Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo

II.-Prestissimo

III.-Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung.

[Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo]

J.Brahms: Scherzo Op.4 

F.Chopin: Ballade n. 3 Op.47 

F.Liszt: Après une lecture du Dante – Fantasia quasi Sonata 

In the series of brilliant young pianists brought to the Library by our partners The Keyboard Trust, we are delighted to present a local prodigy, Alessio Tonelli from Grosseto.  Alessio is currently pursuing his masters at the Perugia Conservatory and has won top prizes at several major piano competitions. 

His performance at a prestigious concert in Viterbo in January was described as ‘Masterly playing of intelligence and beauty’

Sebastian-Benedict Flore Rising Star Series City Productions in Association with the Keyboard Trust