Some extraordinary playing from Cristina Bruno for the first in the series of Opus Musica concerts at St James’s Sussex gardens directed by Alberto Portugheis, the eclectic veteran pianist and Renaissance man par excellence.

A pianist of Swedish-German descent with a curriculum that would strike fear into any musicians setting out today.

Working with Lipatti’s teacher Florica Muzicescu and later with Maria Curcio in London. A personal invitation from Celibidache to play Schumann opened a career that has spanned many years of playing with some of the finest musicians and orchestras throughout the world .

But she was more interested in the potential of the human being, and new faculties arose in her which enabled her to broaden her professional activity by developing a totally intuitive capacity for empathy and connection with other people, for whom she improvises their personal music.

Improvising too for significant situations concerning Humanity and the Earth.

Although a classical concert pianist she has also been an instrument of therapy or healing since 1991, and as such she improvises inspirationally in individual or group sessions, or concerts for general situations or purposes.

Rosemary Brown springs to mind being visited by composers during the night and dictating to her new works, or Eurythmy conceived in 1911 when a widow brought her young daughter, Lory Smits, who was interested in movement and dance, to Rudolf Steiner.

It also coincides with how the winner of the Busoni competition was introduced to us by the directer of the competition. A young Chinese pianist who had to soak up the atmosphere before starting to improvise arriving eventually at works written by others.

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2026/01/26/yifan-wu-on-the-road-to-el-dorado-marco-scolastra-presenting-the-2026-concert-season/

As Fou Ts’ong explained when he was awarded the Mazurka prize in the Chopin competition in Warsaw much to the surprise of a populous who thought their National Dance could only be understood by them. ‘But the soul is universal and knows no barriers, and Chinese poetry contains the same sentiments as the music of Chopin!’ https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/01/13/roberto-prosseda-pays-tribute-to-the-genius-of-chopin-and-the-inspirational-figure-of-fou-tsong/

Madame Bruno opened her programme with music bequeathed to us by Mompou, Albeniz and Scriabin and immediately revealed a sound that I have not heard from this piano before. A luminosity and glowing radiance that belied its proud Bostonian pedigree. An arch of the hand that like Argerich or Rubinstein defies age as it can feel every key with an extraordinary sensibility as ten fingers are transformed into an orchestra of infinite colours. Some ravishing playing with passionate outbursts in Albeniz and refined good taste in Scriabin.

So this was the real thing and maybe we should sit up and open our ears to listen to what she has to say.

Since the piano cannot reflect the sounds and vibrations that would mirror the higher spiritual world or the earthy profundities ,Madame Bruno compensates by giving taps, light or strong if necessary, on the wooden part of the instrument; at the right corner for expressing high spiritual sounds ,at the left for deep earthy sounds.

There was not a big audience but such were the vibrations that we gave off that Madame Bruno whose pseudonym is Elyseï overran her improvisations time and as the church clock struck two, orchestral musicians started to appear for the rehearsal for the evening concert in this beautiful church.

So no time for Schubert or Bach but we had been treated to some wondrous sounds of glowing luminosity and beauty from a true artist with a soul and a pianistic mastery of enviable pedigree.