There is MAGIC in music that never ceases to leave me with a sense of
wonder. Whether as a performer,
critic or listener and whether it is a professional concert or a student
concert, it is always present.
If, as parents, we give our children the best musical training possible
(regardless of whether they may initially show a huge talent), support their
hard work and encourage them to have the courage to walk across that stage and
sit down and do their best to make beautiful music - we have given them an
immeasurable gift. We may not all
end up with concert artists in our households, but we will have more complete
individuals with greater self-confidence and poise and a life-long love of the
beauty of music. It’s hard to ask
for more than that.
Tonight’s student concert by the PINAULT SCHOOL OF MUSIC under the
direction of the world renowned Ana Maria Trenchi de Bottazzi was full of that
magic.
The concert began with three beginners:
ANNIE BERESHEIM (four years old), CHELSEA TAYLOR (five years old) and NICOLAS GIACALONE (six years old).
Their determination and poise and courage set the tone of the evening.
Good playing greeted by a roar of approval from the audience.
CATHERINE LYNCH (five years
old) played her pieces with great character; THOMAS
GAVIN (eight years old) played with a steady rhythm and strong fingers and SARAH LYNCH (six years old) played with strong dynamics and rhythm.
GILLIAN FARRELL (eleven years
old) played her Burgmueller “Arabesque” with great character; DUSTIN
LEE (nine years old) played his Ellmenreich “Spinning Song” with good,
contrasting dynamics and handled the difficult middle section quite well; ALI ROSSLAND (ten years old) played the Burgmueller “The Chase”
with good portrayal of mood and strong fingers while SARAH SIU (eleven years old) gave an excellent performance of the
Clementi’s “Vivace” with a steady rhythm and strong technique.
COLLEEN STACK (seven years
old) played the tricky “Solfeggietto” with strong fingers and a good feeling
for dynamics; KATHRYN IMPERIALE (ten
years old) played an Ellmenreich “Spinning Song” with good rhythm, tasteful
use of pedal and good delineation of the melody; CHRISTINA
HANLON (ten years old) played the Massenet’s “Aragonaise” with great
flair; CLAIRE DRAGO (nine years old with only two years of study) played
the first movement of the great Mozart Sonata in C Major with strong fingers and
good control; SOPHIA SIU
(thirteen years old) played the Beaumont “Tarantelle” with great flair and
strong mood changes in the B section; NICOLE
SBARRA (eleven years old) played her first movement of the Mozart C Major
“Sonata” with great energy and good trills.
KATE
STACK (nine years old) played the Chopin “Waltz”, Op.
64, No. 1 (nicknamed the “Minute Waltz”) at an excellent tempo with good
fingers and notable nuances; ALEXANDRA
LETTIERI (fourteen years old) played the fiery Khatchaturian “Toccata”
with an unusual lyricism, strong technique and good dynamic balance; SHANNON SUN-HIGGINSON (fourteen years old) played the Gershwin “1st
Prelude” with excellent contrast of dynamics and texture along with good
rhythmic control; HANNAH---------------
(thirteen years old) played the Gottschalk “Banjo” with great flair,
character and control.
PATRICK CHIANG (fourteen years
old) played the Opus Posthumous e minor “Waltz” of Chopin with superb flair,
excellent control between the brilliant and lyrical sections and well-grounded
technique; ANDREW CIANCIMINO (sixteen
years old) played Billy Joel’s “Summer Highland Falls” with elegant
professionalism and control; CHRISTINA
BIANCO (sixteen years old) played the “Toccata” by Khatchaturian with
brilliance and excellent control; CHRIS
DEMARIO (fifteen years old) played
the Lavalee “Butterfly” with superb flair, technique and textural variety; HEATHER
LYNCH (sixteen years old) played the Debussy “Reverie” with great
serenity and a beautiful sound; HAYLEY
KUCICH (sixteen years old) played Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” with a
delightful character and flair and an impressive technique.
MARIA LETTIERI (eighteen years
old) played her movement from the Mozart “Sonata” in F Major with an
elegant, lyrical sound in the style of the period; KAROLINA
BAKER (sixteen years old) played Debussy’s “Prelude” from the “Le
Piano” suite with brilliance and a well-pointed texture; JOHN
KORCZYINSKY (eighteen years old)
played the Chopin “Etude”, Op. 10, No. 8 in a totally professional manner,
reflecting the inherent elegance of the piece laced with just a hint of humor
all controlled by a superb technique; ANNE
LEUNG (fifteen years old) ended the program with the impressive “Boogie
Woogie Etude” of Morton Gould with a great deal of technical brilliance
definitely enhanced by the dynamic contrast she discovered within the piece.