BY NADIA D’SILVA
The ‘Rhythm, Dance, Celebration… aria Italiana’ a piano recital by Italian pianist, Paolo Vergari while revealing brilliant skill raised the listener to the rapture of exquisite musical appeal.
The softly lit church at St Inez provided the perfect setting for the musical extravaganza, accommodating the large numbers who turned up to witness the maestro’s skillful manipulations of the instrument.
Exhilarated after the performance Vergari takes the time out to share his thoughts on Goa and the Goan audience. “In Goa, I feel like I am in Europe but only not really. It is a very special audience here. From the first second that I start to play I can sense the shift and the heightened attentiveness. The atmosphere created is so great.”
The program included an impressive repertoire of compositions which included the works of Bach, Respighi, Verdi, Liszt and Tosi and also included the contemporary work of Premiata Formeria Marconi. “The program was designed while being inspired by the intention of creating Italian mood. The chosen works were selected keeping this objective in mind. The program was also meant to provide an experience of established as well as contemporary classical music,” reveals Vergari.
Vergari is fascinated by the different cultures that apparently coexist here attributing the first grade taste of the audience to their exposure to multicultural stimulations. “As a musician while playing for such a diverse audience I find the pieces of music that I have played a countless times before adopt a different appeal. Somehow, the reception and hearing is relatively different and that I believe is because that audience approaches the music through a prism of cultural richness and appreciation,” shares the musician.
On tour in India, Vergari has till date performed in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore with Goa being the last destination and is all excited to relive the experience at some other time in the near future.
Vergari professes to harbor steady and consistent admiration for the works of Bach and also enjoys indulging in traditional music of different cultures. Besides music he also enjoys traveling, meeting new people and having the opportunity of being a part of their everyday life.
Born in Falerone, Paolo Vergari studied piano and composition at the L D’Annunzio conservatory in Pescara. He has flown all over the world giving concerts as a soloist and in chamber ensembles at renowned concert halls and international organizations which include Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Sala Nervi in the Vatican City the United Nations auditorium in New York, the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and the Dante Aligheri cultural center in Moscow.
The Western Classical Piano Recital by Paolo Vergari was organised by the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
