El Mercurio
Pietro De Maria: a splendid recital
Pietro De Maria’s performance was among the best we have ever heard under every aspect of the pianistic interpretation... A pianist who can play the Ballades in such a way immediately takes his place among the best we have ever heardSANTIAGO. The most exciting thing about a piano recital of well-known pieces is that, no matter what the fame of the performer, there is always an element of surprise that makes it impossible to foretell the artistic results with certainty. So it is that in recent years we have seen some concerts where famous soloists have not lived up to their reputations, but also others where less famous pianists have played perfectly and turned their performances into exceptional events. This is what happened with young Pietro De Maria, the Italian musician who played Chopin at the Teatro Municipal in a concert that can only be extolled. The program was ambitiously complicated and demanding as it included the four Ballades (unusual because of the difficulty involved) and the 24 Etudes. Divided into two parts, it began with Ballades n. 1 and n. 2, and went on with the 12 Etudes of Op. 10. In the second part were the other two Ballades and the 12 Etudes of Op. 25.
The Etudes are works of Chopin’s youth, but they are the best of their kind, not only for the technical challenge they offer, but because of the poetry a great interpreter can find hidden among the cascading notes and the amazing momentum.
Pietro De Maria’s performance was among the best we have ever heard under every aspect of the pianistic interpretation. Clearly, though, many artists tackle the Etudes, and those who have a solid technique obtain very good results. It is quite another matter to venture to play the Ballades, pieces in which, as the pianist and musicologist Charles Rosen says, Chopin succeeded in uniting the narrative and the lyrical veins in the best possible way without the need for a program or description.
From the moment the Italian pianist began to play Ballade n. 1 in G minor, he left no doubt as to his ability to interpret it flawlessly and with great musical sensitivity. He confirmed this with Ballade n. 2 in F major, whose idyllic passages are interrupted by impetuous outbursts that conceal daring dissonances. It was the same with the other two Ballades, especially the complex n. 4, in which the pianist has to deal with three themes simultaneously. A pianist who can play the Ballades in such a way immediately takes his place among the best we have ever heard
Pietro De Maria’s performance was among the best we have ever heard under every aspect of the pianistic interpretation... A pianist who can play the Ballades in such a way immediately takes his place among the best we have ever heardSANTIAGO. The most exciting thing about a piano recital of well-known pieces is that, no matter what the fame of the performer, there is always an element of surprise that makes it impossible to foretell the artistic results with certainty. So it is that in recent years we have seen some concerts where famous soloists have not lived up to their reputations, but also others where less famous pianists have played perfectly and turned their performances into exceptional events. This is what happened with young Pietro De Maria, the Italian musician who played Chopin at the Teatro Municipal in a concert that can only be extolled. The program was ambitiously complicated and demanding as it included the four Ballades (unusual because of the difficulty involved) and the 24 Etudes. Divided into two parts, it began with Ballades n. 1 and n. 2, and went on with the 12 Etudes of Op. 10. In the second part were the other two Ballades and the 12 Etudes of Op. 25.
The Etudes are works of Chopin’s youth, but they are the best of their kind, not only for the technical challenge they offer, but because of the poetry a great interpreter can find hidden among the cascading notes and the amazing momentum.
Pietro De Maria’s performance was among the best we have ever heard under every aspect of the pianistic interpretation. Clearly, though, many artists tackle the Etudes, and those who have a solid technique obtain very good results. It is quite another matter to venture to play the Ballades, pieces in which, as the pianist and musicologist Charles Rosen says, Chopin succeeded in uniting the narrative and the lyrical veins in the best possible way without the need for a program or description.
From the moment the Italian pianist began to play Ballade n. 1 in G minor, he left no doubt as to his ability to interpret it flawlessly and with great musical sensitivity. He confirmed this with Ballade n. 2 in F major, whose idyllic passages are interrupted by impetuous outbursts that conceal daring dissonances. It was the same with the other two Ballades, especially the complex n. 4, in which the pianist has to deal with three themes simultaneously. A pianist who can play the Ballades in such a way immediately takes his place among the best we have ever heard
Copyright 2018 © Pietro De Maria | by UbyWeb&Multimedia