Six Hands on One Piano

Saturday, September 5

Reviewed by Gloria Taylor, AIRMT, DBM

Congratulations to Music Whakatāne for bringing an appreciative Whakatāne audience yet another unusual arrangement of virtuoso musicians – Six Hands on One Piano.

Pianists Matteo Napoli and Flavio Villani, from Italy, and Camila De Oliveira, from Brazil, performed an intriguing concert of delightful piano trios.

The programme opened with two movements from Fodor’s Sonata for Six Hands, in which the themes were shared between all six hands.

Two pieces by Rachmaninoff brought a change of mood and saw the treble pianist become something of a piano gymnast.

Three short French-styled pieces by Gurlitt – Gavotta, Impromptu and Capriccietta – provided a study in textures and hymn-like themes, interspersed with lyrical but exciting episodes.

Among the audience favourites were Czerny’s Fantasia of Six Irish Arias, which displayed delicate pedalling; Falla’s exciting Spanish Dance No. 1, filled with vigour and fire; and the overture to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, with its invigorating accelerandos.

Mozart’s overture to The Marriage of Figaro brought the programme to a brilliant and exciting finish.

But it was the much-loved Habanera from Bizet’s opera Carmen that was the highlight of the afternoon. It was performed with precise ornamentation and such fantastic technique that it was not only used to complete the first half of the concert, but returned as the encore.

Matteo Napoli, who played the lower parts, began his international career in 1986 when he won the prestigious International Liszt Competition in Italy. He has since performed in more than 17 countries, collaborating with orchestras and chamber groups as well as performing as a soloist.

His recordings have been celebrated for their technical precision and expressive depth.

Camila De Oliveira completed her undergraduate studies in piano performance in Brazil before moving to Auckland to continue her studies, completing postgraduate and master’s degrees.

She is now studying for her doctorate. Her musical virtuosity has been recognised through scholarships and university piano performance prizes.

Flavio Villani, who commanded the upper part of the trio, moved to New Zealand in 2008 after completing bachelor’s degrees in piano performance and IT in Italy.

In New Zealand, he gained his master’s degree in piano performance and is currently working towards his doctorate at the University of Waikato.

He has performed with numerous orchestras in New Zealand and Italy.

The audience was extremely grateful to the Warner Haldane Trust for sponsoring a very large screen that allowed us to see the pianists from above.

We could watch their fingers fly over the keys and their arms overlap as they reached to play notes in each other’s domain – a wonderful view of the extraordinary co-ordination required to put six hands on a single piano.

Thank you to all those who made this concert possible.