Four hands on a piano reveal the musicality that springs from the soul

“Food for the soul,” pianist Vovka Ashkenazy called the music, and a feeling like this permeated the entire concert in which the performance was like a kind of pianistic dialogue between him and Luca Rasca. The very sight of four hands on a piano was a kind of choreography in itself, and the repertoire revealed the colors of world music by geniuses such as Brahms, Debussy, Schubert and Rachmaninoff. The duo has performed on famous world stages, and the concert at the “Chopin Piano Fest” was their debut before the public in Kosovo.

Every time a pianist rolls up his sleeves in front of the instrument, every sound gives the impression that it has a story and a purpose. But when four hands meet in complex harmony on a piano, it is an inevitable acoustic climax for the ear. This effect has been brought to two pianists during the classical music nights within the framework of the “Chopin Piano Fest” festival.

Vovka Ashkenazy from Iceland and Luca Rasca from Italy have combined their talents and as a piano duo have given Pristina a magnificent evening on Thursday, as the University Library Amphitheater once again rang with applause after each piece played.

This 15th edition of the “Chopin Piano Fest” has already created a routine, with long nights of art lovers rushing to follow all the programs, contemplating the artists with great pleasure until the end, to somehow prove that sound art requires ears and not necessarily professional preparation. This time, illuminated with milk paint, with the grand piano at the center of the stage, the hall has attracted quite a few spectators, who have been enthusiastically awaiting the start.

Icelandic-Russian pianist Vladimir “Vovka” Ashkenazy, the son of Soviet pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, has had an international career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. He made his debut in 1983 at the Barbican Centre with the London Symphony Orchestra and has performed on the world’s most important stages, including the Hollywood Bowl, the Royal Festival Hall and the Sydney Opera House. With a dedication to musical education, Vovka teaches at prestigious academies in Switzerland and Italy, collaborating with young pianists from around the world.

A student at the Piano Academy in Imola, Italy, Luca Rasca is the winner of many national and international competitions, including the "London Piano Competition", "Busoni" in Bolzano, "Palma d'Oro" in Finale Ligure, "Schubert" in Dortmund, "Scriabin" in Grosseto, "Chopin" in Rome, "Città" in Treviso, "Casagrande" in Terni and "Viotti" in Vercelli.

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As the first half of the program began, the pianists sat next to each other – Ashkenazy at the high notes and Rasca at the low notes – and in perfect harmony they launched into Johannes Brahms’ “Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39.” Head and chest movements in time with the sounds led them to the piece inspired by Paul Verlaine’s poem, “Petite Suite, L. 65,” composed in four movements – “En bateau,” “Cortege,” “Menuet,” and “Ballet,” composed by Claude Debussy.

The second half began with much applause as the pianists changed places with each other, creating harmony with their fingers once again. Franz Schubert’s “Fantasia for piano in f minor, D. 940” led to Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Six Morceaux, Op. 11” set with six movements: “Barcarolle”, “Scherzo”, “Theme Russe”, “Valse”, “Romance”, “Slava”. Five of them were performed on the piano positioned in the changed places, while for the “Romance” movement, they took their previous seats again at the very end.

For pianist Ashkenazy, it is his first time performing at the festival, and his first time in Pristina, and he has called music "food for the soul."

"It was a great pleasure to perform tonight, the audience was warm, appreciative and enjoyed the evening very much. It is my first time in Pristina, and with it my first time at this festival. Music is my life itself, food for my soul, so these pieces by Schubert and Rachmaninoff are very important to me," Vovka Ashkenazy told KOHĪNA after the concert concluded.

As if to reinforce his friend's words, his Italian pianist co-star Rasca spoke next to him, emphasizing his concern about how the night would go.

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"It's also my first time in Kosovo, the audience was wonderful, as well as the acoustics and the piano, because we were worried that everything might not go well, but the opposite happened: everything was wonderful. The musical pieces we played were perfect and we are happy with everything," said Luca Rasca.

When asked if they would like to participate again in future editions of the festival, they answered unanimously: "We hope, we hope...".

Thursday evening's concert is a collaboration with the support of the Italian Embassy in Pristina and the Italian Cultural Institute in Tirana. From the comfortable seat of the spectator, the new Italian ambassador, Maurizio Antonini, followed the event and shared his impressions.

"It was a wonderful performance, it is the first time I have appeared in this type of performance and I must say that it was very interesting. I really liked the program, especially the pieces by Debussy and Rachmaninoff, and I was also impressed by the hall, which I am coming to for the first time and I think it is very beautiful. The organizers have a great love for music, so as a program it is wonderful, a magnificent event and we are proud to participate and contribute to this festival", Ambassador Antonini told KOHĪN.

Highlighting the hope that Kosovo will soon join the European Union, he also highlighted the importance of these concerts by European artists playing European compositions.

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"The Italian pianist played pieces from compositions by European artists and this is a good thing, because Kosovo will one day be a member of the European Union - I hope soon - and in these concerts it is artists from Europe who play European compositions by European composers, so the whole idea revolves around Europe and for this reason we are very happy to be present at this event", added the ambassador.

Almost half of the 15 concerts in total in this edition of the "Chopin Piano Fest" have seen the light of day, while eight more are expected to be held in the coming nights until June 9. By solemnly returning classical music performances, along with the inevitable pleasure of the listener, the festival, which this year marks its jubilee year, aims for promising new talents, and nights like this are a sign that the love of art knows no nationality or profession.