May 10, at the Firehouse Stage in Johnson City, NY. In concert with pianist, John Covelli. Performing the Rodrigo Concerto: Fantasia para un gentilhombre.
It was a great concert. Maestro Covelli performed Beethoven, Chopin, Ginestera, and List. I performed Piazzolla, Brouwer and the Rodrigo concerto with John Covelli accompanying. I played Roger Hudson's "Delta" for an encore.
Despite the less than great piano, John Covelli made the music sound great, as usual. He received a standing ovation. I particularly liked the Ginestera. The rather pointed sounding Baldwin piano lacked the lushness and warmth that I'm used to hearing in the second movement of the Ginestera Argentinian Dances, but in the final virtuosic dance of the set, the rather percussive sounding piano seemed to actually enhance the performance. Covelli was great. I was surprised to hear that he had just learned these pieces.
John Covelli is quite a musical illuminary in the Binghamton, NY area where he conduted the Binghamton Symphony for 2 decades. He is a true virtuoso pianist, having won both the Queen Elizabeth of Brussels, and Busoni International Piano Competitions.
It was a pleasure to perform with John and a nice visit with my mom and dad on Mother's Day weekend. I may be returning to do a concert at the same venue in Oct. Stay tuned.
