CrossPost with Facebook, PortoPianoFestschrift

[in an attempt to create something nice for my Facebook page -- where I rarely post anything -- I submitted the following]

Porto is a city of culture, something that I appreciate particularly during the recent PortoPianoFest, twelve days of piano concerts in various locations around the city and suburbs. I managed to attend six of the twenty or so recitals; all were refreshing to hear such displays of musicianship unaided by electronics. Mea Culpa: a Scriabin sonata was so powerful, I wrote a comment accusing the Festival of amplifying the sound; they very politely responded that they would never amplify a solo piano!

It is also encouraging to see young musicians performing so well. The programs were predominantly well-known classical pieces – several of which I know and/or have played – plus a number of newer and varied selections to expand our horizons. The outdoor concert in the Crystal Palace Gardens was such a delightful setting on a summer evening, and the closing recital was in the stunning Moorish Hall of the Palacio da Bolsa.

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Thomas journals

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