Diamonds are forever at Steinways – Nicolò Giuliano Tuccia for the Keyboard Trust
A rough diamond appeared at the Steinway Hall last night for the Keyboard Trust and astonished and seduced us with playing of innocent passion and musicianship of such uncontaminated mastery.
Forli is a little town in Reggio Emilia known more for its gastronomy than its artistry.
Giuliano Tuccia did not know that in his home town was buried one of the legendary pupils of Busoni, one of the greatest musicians of our day. The musical world flocked to his studio in Siena for over 30 years to be inspired by a musician of refined musicianship. For Agosti the written score was the Bible and the pianist merely a servant of the composer’s wishes. This was in a period where the so called piano virtuosi reigned and would take the notes of the composer and use them as a juggling act to show off their scintillating and titivating wares.
Busoni had shown Agosti differently as he himself had learned from Liszt, who was the greatest advocate of following the details in the original scores of the great masters. His own works too are very precisely notated ,if very rarely adhered to, as Liszt became the symbol of the greatest virtuoso of all time overlooking his real value as a visionary composer of great modernity.
