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DE
MARIA, DEDICATIONS OF GREAT CLASS
It had been quite some time since I had heard
the young pianist Pietro De Maria who played the
other evening at the Conservatory for the Unione
Musicale. His name now figures regularly on the
billboards of the main concert seasons, and he
is applauded as one of the sure talents of the
younger generation. The impression he made on
me was not that of a promising young artist, but
of a perfectly mature one.
The program, entitled Dedications
presented three masterpieces, superlative for
their artistic quality and for the beauty of the
performance. To open with, Chopin’s Ballade
no. 2, dedicated to Schumann. Then Schumann’s
Fantasy in C major op. 17, dedicated to Liszt.
And it is here that De Maria’s playing revealed
itself: sensitivity, taste, and musicality that
spellbind the listener from the first note to
the last. Those hands that move with confidence
along the most dangerous passages offer no ostentation
of virtuosity: everything is at the service of
an intense, intimate expressivity capable –
and this is the sign of a great interpreter –
of giving the silence of the pauses an intensity
equal to that of the sound.
A warm, affectionate sound, always
just right for the dreamy atmosphere that makes
each successive vision of the wonderful Fantasy
evaporate into another by the magical power of
imagination. De Maria has a classical temperament,
free from any excess, and he aims entirely at
the intensity of expression which, evidently,
is not only the fruit of an irrational intuition:
behind an interpretation of this kind there is
an idea, a lucid rationale that gives depth and
consistency to the music. In the second part,
an equally fascinating interpretation of Liszt’s
Sonata in B minor, dedicated to Schumann: here
again a transcendental virtuosity is employed
with supreme class and sensitivity. It often seemed
we could hear Arrau playing once more. Thunderous
applause. A fairly large audience, and a lovely
string of encores.
La Stampa, 14.03.2003
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Listen to music
played from the CD by Pietro De Maria
All music selections
are partial clips except where noted.
Selected pieces:
composer Muzio Clementi
Sonata in G Major Op. 40, No. 1
Allegro
molto vivace (complete)
Sonata in B Minor Op. 40, No. 2
Molto
adagio e sostenuto
Sonatata in D Major,
Op. 40, No.3
Adagio
molto - Allegro (complete)
Allegro
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