“A superb recital from a true musician with a maturity way beyond his 24 years. [...] A gift of the Gods indeed.“
Filippo Gorini at Teatro Argentina
A superb recital from a true musician with a maturity way beyond his 24 years.
A Kreisleriana that crept in on the heels of the Mozart D minor fantasy to be crowned with a glorious account of Schubert’s Fantasy Sonata in G.
A small but discerning audience of connoisseurs judging from the total silence in which Filippo’s fantastic story could be told.
Entranced in this hallowed hall by his fantastic fantasies we were treated to two Schubert encores.
The last of which was a magical account of the first Impromptu op 90 where all his extraordinary gifts were displayed like a kaleidoscope of an entire recital dedicated to pure musical interpretation of the highest level.
Every note was given the just meaning in a continuous musical conversation .
A gift of the Gods indeed.
It is nice to see music back in the Teatro Argentina ,the historic theatre in the centre of Rome that was founded in 1732.
In 1816 “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini saw the light of day here followed by works of Cimarosa,Donizetti and Verdi.Paganini performed in the vestibule in 1827.
The Accademia Filarmonica Romana have been programming their main concert season here for the past few years as they advance towards their two hundreth anniversary 1821- 2021.
A series of concerts too for the younger generation of great talents in the Sala Casella in the grounds of their historic seat in Via Flaminia.
Concerts often recorded for the radio and including contemporary works mixed with the complete sonatas of Beethoven.
It was just this attention to detail and real musical values that allowed the young pianist Filippo Gorini to enter the main season at Teatro Argentina.
Only just 24 with rave reviews for his first CD of the Diabelli variations from such esteemed publications as The Guardian,BBC Music Magazine and Le Monde.
He was noticed when he won the “Telekom” Beethoven Competition in Bonn at the age of 20.
Having been formed and constantly guided by Maria Grazia Bellocchio at the Conservatory in Bergamo he has since received precious advice from Pavel Gililov at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and Alfred Brendel in London.
He tells me his next CD out on the 31st January will be Beethoven op 106 and 111.What more can one say!
One could see immediately from the programme he presented his very mature musical credentials.
Even more so when before his first encore of the Schubert Allegretto in C minor D.915 he explained why the Schumann Kreisleriana had interrupted the Mozart Fantasia.
In fact the Fantasia was unfinished when it was first published in 1804 after Mozart’s death with the last ten bars completed by August Eberhard Muller.
An amazing musical journey with his refreshingly original phrasing in the Mozart Fantasia of a real thinking musician.
Interpreting the music without rhetoric but with a musical simplicity that as Schnabel used to say is too easy for children and too difficult for adults!
A beautifully and clearly phrased Kreisleriana,Schumann’s eight fantasies, burst on to the scene before August Eberhard Muller could lead us astray!
An extreme legato in the second fantasy was followed by a third of great rhythmic energy contrasting with a sumptuously melodic outpouring in the central section .
A beautifully serene fourth was followed by the scherzo contrast of the fifth.
The tender song of the sixth with an unusually sombre but magical reawakening led into the driving energy of the seventh.
Always with great technical control at the service of the musical line.Theaccellerando so rarely attempted at the end was beautifully judged and allowed the last fantasy to creep in with deep gently syncopated bass notes .
There was a wonderful sweep to the melodic line in the central episode before disappearing into the depths of the piano.
The Schubert Sonata in G D.894 was played with great delicacy and luminosity with an enviable control of sound.
The extreme simplicity of the Andante was allowed to sing so naturally.TheMenuetto was followed by a Trio of extreme beauty and there was a joyous bubbling along in the Allegretto that contrasted so well with Schubert’s unexpectedly sublime explosion of magical song.
I have rarely heard this sonata played so convincingly in the concert hall since Mitsuko Uchida’s memorable account in the Festival Hall last year.
A wonderful evening of pure music making from an artist who like his peers we can already be sure will search unsparingly until he finds the true secret of legato that Kempff,Lupu and Richter spent a life searching for.