When you learn a classical instrument, you're taught early on that fidelity to the score is paramount. "Oh, so you're a composer now?" my teacher would say when I strayed from the printed notes. By age 10, I'd learnt that as a player you are there to do the composer's bidding; the score is sacred.
"Sacred for whom?" asks pianist Flavio Villani, whose September 3 show in Auckland challenges that edict with a selection of Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff, combined with storytelling and improvisations.
This story is from the August 26, September 1 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
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This story is from the August 26, September 1 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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