Greytown Music Group: Flavio Villani pianist

Reflections and Reveries

A Piano Solo Performance by Flavio Villani.

Wairarapa Audiences May Remember Flavio Villani, Whose Musical Journey Towards His First Major Performance with Orchestra Was Documented in the Internationally Acclaimed Film Crossing Rachmaninoff", Shown in Masterton As Part of a Film Festival. Flavio Will Be Performing in Wellington This Week, and the Greytown Music Group Was Very Pleased to Take up His Offer of a Concert on Sunday Th.

Having Forsaken Italy for Nz in 2008, Flavio Has Made Auckland His Home. He Has Founded and Directs L'accademia Music School in St Heliers, Where He Teaches Piano, Organises and Promotes Events and Masterclasses, and Generally Aims to Create a Vibrant Musical Community.

The First Half of the Programme Pays Homage to Franz Liszt, One of the Greatest Improvisors of the Th Century. His Ballade No 2 Draws Inspiration from the Myth of Hero and Leander, Conveying Their Impossible Love Drowned in the Sea That Divided Them. Liszt's Use of Technical Devices Such As Appeggiated Accompaniment, Broken Chord Figurations, Scales and Counterpoint, for Narrative Effect, Is Nothing Short of Astounding.

The Chopin Etudes - Which Liszt Used to Study - Are Complex and Harmonically Exploratory. These Provide the Foundation for Flavio's Own Ballade-like Piece Which, with Its Restless Tambourine-like Rhythms and Lamenting Melodies, Draws on the Folk Music of His Home Region, Campania. This Semi-improvised Piece Is a Reflection of Flavio's Experience of Loss. It Is a Poignant yet Liberating Expression of Grief and Transformation - an Epitaph to the Memory of What One's Place of Origin Means to Us After Change, Life and Loss.

The Second Half of the Programme Features Rachmaninoff's Preludes, Where the Russian Composer's Rich and Varied Preludes Op 23 Are Intertwined with Villani's Own Improvisations Inspired by Rachmaninoff's Harmonic and Rhythmic Ideas. This Musical Conversation Invites the Performer and Audience to Reflect on the Profound Impact of the Music on the Performer's Artistic Journey.

Advance Bookings Essential! Admission $30 for Adults, Children $10. For Bookings, Contact Ed and Juliet Cooke on 06 304 9497 or Efjacooke@gmail.Com.