Entertainment
Published
in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle on Friday, September 22, 2006 12:03 PM MDT
Italian pianist Moretti to play with CSO
Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra's opening concert 'The Pines of Rome' will honor the late Attilio Bedont; performance is Sept. 30
By Karen Cotton
feat2@wyomingnews.com
When Italian pianist Maurizio Moretti is featured at the Sept. 30 season's opening concert, "The Pines of Rome" with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, it will be to honor the late Attilio Bedont.
Bedont was a Cheyenne resident, a long time supporter of the CSO and a CSO board member
Moretti will perform Brahms' "Piano Concerto No. 1" with the CSO. Other works featured in the concert are John Corigliano's "Promenade Overture," and Respighi's "Pines of Rome"
Moretti is an accomplished piano who uses techniques from the Italian school of pianoforte. He delivers breathtaking performances where he mixes incredible silences with the powerful and rich loud sounds that one can make on a piano, according to press materials.
Moretti said he had his first piano lesson when he was nine years old.
"In the beginning it was like a joke," he said. "My teacher was so nice with me, and step-by-step I was able to play.
"In 1974 I was in the Conservatory of Music in Cagliari and that was my professional start," he said.
He said his teacher was the Italian pianist, Aldo Ciccolini.
Moretti said Brahms' "Piano Concerto No. 1" is one of his favorites.
"It is like a big symphony for piano and orchestra," he said. "The first movement sounds like a musical monument. Piano and orchestra are always in the same line of interpretation, 'specially with the strings section. The second movement sounds really like a mass. Piano and orchestra are in the same emotional feeling - passion and love together.
"The last movement is really a big, 'rondo,' and is very, very difficult," Moretti said. "The music's emotion is more and more fresh ..."
Moretti said he and his wife have been playing together for 18 years.
One of the four-handed pieces the two will perform is Millhaud's "Le boef sur le toit," or "The Bull on the Roof."
"This is a very special program," Moretti said. "It's like a confusion ritmo of samba. The composer was in Brazil for many years, and this piece is an homage to this kind of music. Ritmo ... it's very, very difficult - believe me!"
Moretti and his wife, Angela Oliviero, plan the programs together with a special attention to mix different styles.
"To play piano duets is really like a chamber music, but on the same keyboard," he said.
Moretti toured Europe for three years with the director, Peter Maag, who is recognized as the best interpreter of Mozart's music.
"My experience together with Peter Maag was great," Moretti said. "I played the most important compositions for piano and orchestra touring all of Europe together. My favorite piano concerto is Mozart K 595 No. 27."
Moretti recently signed a contract with Camerata Tokyo-Sony. He recorded a CD dedicated to Mozart's piano concertos and will record music by Schubert, Mahler and Brahms with that company.
The new Mozart CD will be for sale at Hausmusik.
Moretti is the artistic director of the International Chamber Music Festival of the Roman theater of Nora, the Ente Musicale di Nuoro and the Europa Philharmonie Orchestra. He also teaches and tours.
"It is a difficult life, very busy, but when I finish my concert I always feel that this is the way!" he said. "The last time in Cheyenne was very nice ... standing ovation."
Moretti said he hopes audiences will walk away feeling a great passion for music and a global vision of music.
Moretti and his wife also will perform four-handed piano compositions at the Hausmusik at the Hereford Ranch Oct. 1.
Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra "The Pines of Rome"
When: Sept. 30 with Classic Conversation at 7 p.m. and the concert at 8 p.m.
Where: Cheyenne Civic Center, 510 W. 20thh St.
More info: Season packages are $35-$145. Single ticket prices are $11.50-$35.50 with student discounts. Call 778-8561, or 637-6363, or go to www.cheyennesymphony.org.
Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra's Hausmusik "Viva Maurizio and Angela" with Italian pianists Maurizio Moretti and Angela Oliviero
When: Oct. 1, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Wyoming Hereford Ranch, 1600 Hereford Ranch Road. Take Interstate 80 north to Campstool Road exit; turn right at the stop sign to the main house driveway.
More info: Adults are $25 and students are $15. Call 778-8561, or go to www.cheyennesymphony.org. |
