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Honorary Mention of 2011 International Web Concert Hall
Competition
Palmas Piano Duo (Italy)
 How and why did you begin to play your instrument?
We
had a piano at home. Our mother had studied the instrument for a short
time when she was a young girl. It was she who decided that we should
take piano lessons. We don’t recalled being asked if we would like it or
not. We thought it was an obligation, like going to a school. My
grandmother also studied piano for few years in the past.
Who did you studied with?
We
owe something to everyone with whom we studied. All of them had given us
something of themselves, their personal and professional experiences,
and their musical ideas. Everyone was and still is, at a certain stage
of our process in learning... very important and special.
Luca: I recall with special affection to Mario Conter, whom I
studied many years. He had a very strong personality and
encourage me to play with great energy. He was able to bring out
the best of me, without overpowering my personality.
As
a duo, we owe much to Pier Narciso Masi. He can work miracles! He
has the gift to find and explain the essence of a piece,
working on the important details that make a difference. He gave us
encouragement and let us understand that it was worthwhile playing together.
Studying under
Trio di Parma was also exciting and extremely helpful in our
career.
Receiving important advice from a violinist and a cellist, besides a pianist, was
musically stimulating, therefore, prompting us to seek for different timbres on
the piano
playing.
Sergio Marengoni, a virtuoso, helped us to improve our technique
without loosing the expressiveness of piano playing.
Cristina: Last few years, I have been studying Lied
interpretation under Charles Spencer. He has given me a new insights to music . Working with a musician of such rare musical sensibility
has been remarkable experience and challenging but extremely rewarding.
 What was the musical composition that changed your life?
The
F minor Fantasy by Schubert and his Lieder.
The
Fantasy marks our beginning as a piano duo. It is one of the first
pieces we learned. Going through it taught us a new way of approaching
music.
On
one sense we faced the technical problems of playing piano
duet, such as, limited space on the keyboard, learning to adopt unnatural
and unusual fingerings, and learning to pedal in a new approach, to name just a few. Then there
was the more fascinating work of understanding and rendering the musical
ideas, through discussing, confronting, sometimes giving up one’s
individuality for the benefits of the music. We learnt to understand and
enjoy breaths and silence between phrases and how to build intensity of
music
and be able to sustain it throughout the piece.
Cristina:
Lieder also made a big mark on me. I still remember the first
recital of Lieder by Schubert and Wolf. It fascinated me.
Not long after, I had the opportunity to study the repertoires
with singers. Since, I have become more
conscious of the evocative power of music. Working on these
repertoires had helped
me to refine my sound, be able to develop a wider palette of shades and
be able to communicate with my inner musical expression. I continuously
bring this experience into our duo playing. Since then, we speak more about
images that music conjures up and we try to capture its uniqueness on light
and shades, and colors.
Do you teach? If so, where?
Luca: I teach mathematics in a high school ( I have also a
bachelor’s degree in mathematics) and give private music lessons. I love
both these subjects because I can convey thoughts and ideas, and by doing
it, be able to verbalize... In addition to piano duo, I
am also active in the field of information technology.
Cristina: I teach music in a junior high school near Cremona, where
I live.
If you teach, what do you mostly emphasize to your students and why?
Seriousness and dedication to what you do. One needs perseverance, hard work, accuracy, like when
practicing a specific sport. I try to make them understand that the process of
studying and learning is also gratifying because it is a creative
moment in which they can express something of and about themselves. Nowadays,
students are often too hasty. They lack patience to go deep into what
they do.
 Do you have a practicing method that you follow everyday?
Cristina: Before working on pieces, I usually begin with warm-up exercises.
When I was a young girl I was taught a kind of stretching for my hands.
I get great benefit out of it because it helps me to keep my finger
resilient.
As a
duo, we play together once or twice a week, only after we have studied
our parts by ourselves. We use to record our performance and listen to
it, to find out the strong and weak points. We speak about the
structure, how to weld all material together and make it coherent
to its whole. There is always a large amount of work to do. Our aim is to
gain not only perfect timing but also the flexibility and be able to take the liberty to sing freely without being
constrained by the partner and without making him or her feel uneasy.
We also spend much time to work on the sound.
How do you prepare yourself on the day of performance?
Always with great accuracy. We plan carefully our rehearsals so when it comes the day of performance
we try to avoid feeling too
self-confident. If it is not possible to practice on the day of the
concert (it happens often because of the travel), we go over the
score as if we were playing the instrument. It does not matter if we are on a train
or in our hotel room, we always do it. Then we test the acoustic of the
hall and the response of the piano we will be playing.
How do you select repertoire for your concert?
It
depends on the context of the performance, on where we are scheduled to
perform, on
special request by the promoters, and based on the type of
audience. We
pay close attention to the way pieces combine together. According to our
experience, we noted that the response of the public to same
compositions can vary if the compositions were played at the beginning or
at the end of the program. Its like the plot in a movie or
a menu for a lunch.
We
like programs with theme and transcription of great chamber music. Over the
last few years we looked for a new repertoire that could cast a new
light on piano duet, give it a more virtuosic dimension. We ran
across a version of Dumky Trio by Dvorâk himself, that no one ever
performed
in concert. Mendelssohn wrote beautiful versions of his own works, among
them, a transcription of his first symphony for piano duet, violin and
cello. And there are other pieces for this type of ensemble that may be
worthwhile performing.
 In your opinion, what is your strength in your playing?
We
still recall a remark that our teacher Pier Narciso Masi made on the
day he gave us the first lesson. We had very different personalities
but he could not tell us apart when we played, because of the same
quality of sound we had. Since then, we have been trying to capitalize
this characteristics. We like to exchange position on the
keyboard, according to the repertoire that we play. Luca is extrovert
and instinctive. I (Cristina) am more reserved and reflective. We have
been told that such exchanges are appreciated at many levels, it shows the two sides of a
coin. The sound is something we have been focusing on, especially when we study.
Do you like any other
forms of art? Such as painting? A favourite writer? Tell us about it
Cristina: Painting is one of my favourite art. I do not have a
period that I like most, though I find the Romantic era and
Impressionism especially appealing. I like collecting catalogues of
picture exhibitions and going though them every now and then. I recall
the beautiful landscapes of an American painter , Edwin Church, of
whom I had never heard of until a few years ago. Whenever I
see his
paintings, I am struck by the magical play of light in his skyscapes, with
their multitude of colors merging into one another with great softness.
Turner’s watercolours are among my favourites too.
What do you like to
read? And why?
Cristina: Reading helps me to relax, it takes my mind off daily routine. I do not have much free time, but I like a book I can
literally devour it in a couple of days. Fantasy especially appeals to me. One of my favourite books is The Lord of the Rings, by
Tolkien. I also like Terry Brooks and I have read almost everything by
him. Maybe there are still something about a child in me. Since I was
very young, adventure has always
charmed me. I am scared of spiders (and dogs) but, within, I feel as brave as Sandokan ( hero of many adventure
novels by Emilio Salgari, an Italian writer). I am also keen on travel
reports. The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Islans
by Bill Bryson are among the most amusing and high-spirited ones I have
ever come across.
Luca: I like reading books that
interweave philosophy, mathematics and
history. Among my favourite ones are Gun, germs and steel: the fate of
human societies, Fermat’s last theorem, Le Goff
medieval works..... I think Mathematics has an affinity with music. Both
holds rules but it is only through a creative process that one can
construct something significant and meaningful. Maybe this is why I have a
great interest in them. Philosophy has mental schemes similar to
mathematical ones, such as logic. I am also interested in new technologies.
In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a good performer?
To
be able to convince one’s own musical ideas to the listeners without
undermining or diminishing
the composer’s intention. As listeners, we like to feel being involved in what is going on and feel
the emotions that supports the idea that performer presents, like when
we watch a
good movie. I also believe that the public can also give the good performance something in
return, a special kind of attention, a silence charged with energy.
Did you always lived in Italy?
Yes,
we were born in Italy and have always lived here. At present we live
respectively in Cremona (Cristina) and in Codogno (Luca), two small
towns in the northern Italy, about 30 km apart.
 Was your piano training took all in Italy?
We studied in Italy, but we also attended
master-classes abroad. (Cristina) I have been pursuing my training in
Lied interpretation mainly abroad since I started it (Vienna,
Switzerland...)
What brand of piano do you prefer to perform and why?
Every piano has its own sound and
personality. Steinway is always a very reliable brand, of course. We
like especially the grand-piano Borgato, since we had the opportunity to
play it in concert few years ago. It has a special rich colourful
sound. Wonderful!
Do you have any
upcoming concerts?
 We
are supposed to play at a congress at the beginning of May in the Theater Fraschini in Pavia. Another concert in May is still
in progress. At present, Italian cultural activities are having a rough time because of heavy
budget cuts by the government. We do not have any agent and this
makes everything even more difficult.
Do you have a hobby?
Luca: I like to play chess and to travel.
How did you learn about the International Web Concert Hall Competition?
We
saw it mentioned in the curriculum of an artist and we were curious
about it. So we looked for it on the web and ... here we are. Since the
beginning we thought that it was a very interesting competition, unique
in its genre. So we decided to take a part in it. Receiving Honorary
Mention has been extremely gratifying and encouraging .We do thank the WCH for this award and this new important opportunity to make our duo
better known and let’s hope in the States too!
What do you hope to
achieve as a musician and as a group?
Any
musician dreams of a brilliant career but this does not depend only on
one's will and desire, unfortunately. We do hope never to give up being
keen to learn and improve ourselves and to be able to broaden our
activity as a duo, to share our music with others. The piano duet is
sometimes looked down on, considered more as a pleasant entertainment
group than a concert ensemble. We would like to prove it is note worth of
a full attention by the public, for all its still unknown repertoire, perfectly up to
fulfil the listeners demands.
On be half of the Web Concert Hall, we would
like to thank you for your time and we wish all the success.
Interviewed by Webconcerthall in March, 2011
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