EUI spring concert

The audience who gathered in the Sala della Colonna for the EUI Spring Concert were treated to a wonderful array of performances on piano, guitar and voice.

In a change of schedule to the listed programme, Bernhard Clemm von Hohenberg began the concert with a performance of Étude No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, on guitar. He was followed by Kalliopi Geronymaki and Rasmus Hoffman who, alternately, gave a rendition of Bach’s Aria and Goldberg-Variations.

In the first half of the concert Nedra Cherif once again performed a song from Handel’s opera Rinaldo, accompanied by Valeria del Piccolo, and the EUI Choir, also directed by del Piccolo, sang Abschied vom Walde by Mendelssohn.

The second half was dominated by song, with Laura Lee Downs’ performance of songs by Mahler and Dvorak and Annelein Koot’s rendition of Memory from the musical, Cats. Two groups also performed: Donne per la Pace and, to close the evening’s events, Five Four Times.

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly Bogusz Lewandowski’s exceptional performance, on piano, of Chopin’s Étude no.12 in C minor, Op. 25 and Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major. Though the recital was impeccable, it would not do Lewandowski justice to describe his performance only in terms of proficiency. The researcher’s hands glided across the keyboard with a remarkable touch and great feeling. ‘That,’ one audience member commented, ‘is how you play the piano.’ The audience duly appreciated the performance, encouraging Lewandowski  to return and take a second bow.