|
The third Miami Festival of Discovery, an annual event designed
to showcase world class talents, among the younger generation
of pianists, ran between 22-27 February at the Lincoln Theatre
in Miami Beach. Offering an unusual combination of outstanding
players (this years roster comprised Freddy Kempf, Denis Burstein,
Ilya Itin, Piotr Anderszewski, Kemal Gekic, and Francesco
Libetta) film showings (introduced by Bruno Monsaingeon),
masterclasses, lectures, idyllic 25°C weather and several
miles of beach just five minutes walk from the concert hall,
the festival enthralled an audience of locals and enthusiasts
who had flown in from as far afield from Europe and the Far
East.
Under the guiding influence of Founder and Artistic Director
Giselle Brodsky, the festival has quickly established itself
on the world map, not least for its consistent success in
selecting young artists from around the world who play with
their own distinct voice, challenging convention and demonstrating
that their are still important things to be said in both mainstream
and rare repertoire. After six days of often outstanding performances
of works ranging from Gesualdo to Stravinsky, the festival
came to a stunning close with Francesco Libetta's second encore
of Saint-Saëns's Etude en forme de valse - a reading
that had even the most jaded pianophiles exclaiming in astonishment
that this might well have been the greatest performance of
the work in history.
end
|
