De Maria, superior pianist
Pietro De Maria, on the other hand, belongs to the superior sphere level of performers who are conscious of the fact that the text takes precedence over everything else, as it belongs not only to the history of music, but to the tradition of performance. He is conscientious, analyses in depth, recreates the music with a naturalness of expression that is moving.
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Mon October 01 2012 - Musica
A dancing Chopin
an artist’s notebook read by a musician in a state of grace...the union (which is truly that of the great musicians) of emotional depth and simplicity of expression
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Tue September 25 2012 - Giornale del Popolo
De Maria, superlative pianist
Many elements contribute to determining the artistic and human stature of a musician, and there is only a fine line between that which increases it and that which diminishes it. An excess of elegance becomes affectation, generosity turns into ostentation, virtuosity into exhibitionism, intelligence into obscurity, impetus into clamor and delicacy into mawkishness. Take all the positive qualities on this list and you have Pietro De Maria, a pianist of exceptional caliber.
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Mon September 24 2012 - Corriere del Ticino
The Emotions of Chopin and Clementi: Pianist Pietro De Maria last Friday at the Settimane di Ascona
Pietro De Maria offered an exemplary interpretation for the clarity of sound, the technical precision, the moved sensitiveness, the pearly and brilliant touch that sometimes reminded us of that of Maria Tipo.
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Wed September 19 2012 - La Repubblica
Pietro De Maria: revolutionary Chopin, far from the drawing rooms and antique taste
De Maria has taken out the sugar without losing the sweetness. He emphasizes the crystalline melodiousness of operatic matrix without forgetting that sometimes it is sustained by an aggregation of unconventional chords.
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Sun July 01 2012 - Musical Opinion
Pietro De Maria at Wigmore Hall
The artist's range of tone colour and of structural understanding were outstanding, bringing this uncommonly interesting programme to a very fine conclusion.
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Mon May 28 2012 - Seen and Heard International
Impressive Pianism from Pietro De Maria
"...De Maria...displayed an impressive range of touch and articulation...an evening of mature music making from a highly accomplished artist."
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Sun April 15 2012 - Gazzetta di Parma
A winning couple
"...De Maria, just back from the ordeal of playing the complete piano works of Chopin, both in concert halls and in recording sessions, and now embarked on an equally absorbing adventure with Bach, played with great consistency, extremely daring in the awesome octaves and eloquent in the lighter lines (magnificent the spectral episode in the middle of the Andantino)..."
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Fri April 06 2012 - La Stampa
De Maria's great Bach
"...De Maria is never mechanical or rigid: Bach’s music palpitates like that of the romantics, but without slipping into an anachronistic style: a balance between discipline and expression that recalls the great interpreters of the past, like Gieseking or Arrau. And every time I hear him, De Maria’s refined and vigorous style reminds me of them. He is, perhaps, unique in his classicism, among the pianists who are popular today."
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Thu April 05 2012 - Il Corriere Musicale
Pietro De Maria interpreta il Clavicembalo ben temperato
"...The interpretation of the pianist Pietro De Maria was, to say the least, exceptional. . .In the Fugues De Maria usually highlights the parts with unspeakable clarity, in short, a lesson in style and “analysis” in the true sense of the word. . .and a myriad of details are brought to light, an incredible number of elements that are not at all secondary and usually do not emerge . . .and. . .the quality of the sound . . .which is only and exclusively De Maria’s touch, no tricks with “predisposed” mechanisms, specifically adjusted to drive down the keys . . .De Maria’s merit is to have made clear that in the Well-Tempered Klavier lies the root of all piano music from Beethoven to Brahms and beyond…"
Wed March 14 2012 - Il Gazzettino
Pietro De Maria and Bach revisited on the piano
De Maria does not present, as other musicians do an imitation of the harpsichord. His acute idea is to revisit Bach in the light of the composers who have been his heirs...Inspiration and mental concentration coexist masterfully in this pianist.
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Sat May 01 2010 - Musica
Chopin, Scherzi - Pietro De Maria
This is a performance which reveals not only attention to the text and its precise indications, but also a perfect understanding of the various aspects of Chopin’s poetics, which find a rare consistency of form and character in four creations which share one rhythm but remain unique in their significance and their esthetic value.
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Thu April 01 2010 - Suonare News
Comparing Chopin
Pietro De Maria’s complete works of Chopin continues (he is the only Italian who has performed the complete works in live concerts: hurrah!) one cycle after another, each one honoured with the same natural approach, sincerity and poetic simplicity
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Sun October 18 2009 - Concertclassic.com
Quintessence poétique - Pietro De Maria joue Chopin au 16e Festival Piano en Valois d’Angoulême
Que dire ? Devant un tel miracle de musique et de piano on pourrait être un instant tenté de faire virevolter les laudatifs...On avait été emballé par les disques ; on s’avoue littéralement stupéfait par l’interprétation que l’artiste vénitien donne d’un programme allant de l’Opus 12 (les Variations brillantes sur « Je vends des scapulaires ») jusqu’aux Etudes opus 25 The elegant pianist, Pietro De Maria, lacks neither virtuosity nor delicacy, and his passion does wonders in the third movement [of Schumann’s Concerto op.54], superbly eloquent Once more, and to an even greater extent than before, you are made aware of a well-nigh flawless marriage of creator and re-creator, of composer and interpreter De Maria plays Chopin with an elegance that never degenerates into a pure exertion of style, into the ornamental charm of a generic approach, but on the contrary points straight at the structural and emotional heart of the music The Konzertstück and the Introduction and Allegro found a penetrating and rapt interpreter in Pietro De Maria the Marche funèbre seems sliding toward a void, a gesture of resignation, almost posthumous with respect to the drama Once again his playing stuns and impresses – a rare amalgam of mastery, poetic daring and integrity A consistency of thought which is the hallmark of great interpreters of Chopin They are...interpretations of great personality, which denote a maturity able to present, with full awareness, an original character. It is especially to the Ballades...that De Maria restores lyrical scope and also narrative sense with blazing intensity ...these are among the finest of all Chopin discs, easily excelling recordings by almost all the most celebrated names in the catalogue When Pietro De Maria puts his hands on the piano, it comes spontaneously to revive an old definition: he is a poet of the keyboard Behind this Chopin we can hear the aristocratic elegance of Rubinstein, the poetry of Magaloff, the tonal qualities of Maria Tipo ..certain personal choices...allow us to hear details which usually escape one's attention De Maria has shown an uncommonly rich romantic personality: precise in his reading and brilliant in his performance We have had an introduction to what promises to be one of the most important interpretations of Chopin of the immediate future we are amazed not only by the extraordinary technical control, but also by the unfailing concentration with which De Maria goes through such poetic density and such different environments The brilliant and sophisticated performance of the two piano virtuosos François-Frédéric Guy and Pietro De Maria The two concertos by Mendelssohn are still among De Maria’s most completely successful interpretations: he dominates the arduous pages with the sweep of an authentic virtuoso and restores style to the pieces with supreme elegance Pietro De Maria showed his sensitivity for delicate and subdued tones, with exemplary agility, beautifully filigreed high notes and marvelous round trills With technical perfection and a triumphant symphonic gesture, but also with a breath of elegiac meditation Pietro De Maria’s performance was among the best we have ever heard under every aspect of the pianistic interpretation... A pianist who can play the Ballades in such a way immediately takes his place among the best we have ever heard In Liszt’s Sonata he displayed not only brilliant technique, which allows him to risk facing great masses of sound, but also excellent analytic ability... It is not often that we hear the Sonata played in such a meaningful and modern way The Italian pianist began the first Ballade with a surety of purpose and a ravishing tonal palette. Coupled with his immaculate phrasing and the beauty of his sound was the effective understatement he achieved by not pushing things to excess A splendid performance both from a pianistic and from a musical standpoint, justly acclaimed with great enthusiasm Pietro De Maria showed himself to be a supreme acrobat of the keyboard, far from every overemphatic romanticism, with great scope Pietro De Maria resolves each passage with authoritative self-assurance, style, maturity of expression, fluid technique. And above all, with estreme elegance. A poised composure in which we recognize the inspiration of the great Michelangeli, not only in the external forms of gestures and posture, but in the pursuit of a sensitive touch. You need an almost athletic performance besides talent and technical and interpretative ability. You need a lot of gifts to face a program like the one Venetian pianist Pietro De Maria offered the audience of the Teatro Eden last Thursday At this point, the program was over, but the audience did not want to leave this splendid artist. They were rewarded with no less than four encores... from a famous Etude by Chopin to a Sonata by Scarlatti, from a Prelude by Bach to an amazing interpretation of Liszt’s famous La Campanella, inspired by the Concerto of the same name by Paganini Sensitivity, taste, and musicality that spellbind the listener from the first note to the last. Those hands that move with confidence along the most dangerous passages offer no ostentation of virtuosity: everything is at the service of an intense, intimate expressivity capable – and this is the sign of the great interpreter – of filling the silence of the pauses with an intensity equal to that of the notes The Bachtage were just over and already tribute was being paid to the Thomaskantor, but with such ability as to outshine all that had been heard before: Pietro De Maria, a 33-year-old from Venice, played the Harpsichord Concert in D minor BWV 1052 on the piano In his playing precision and clarity have always gone together with a great density of expression, offered with force and vigour, but never exorbitant, sustained by a generous and always controlled passion. These characteristics were quite evident in Beethoven’s colossal Hammerklavier, Sonata op.106
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Fri May 15 2009 - Sud Ouest - Bordeaux
Con brio
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Fri May 01 2009 - International Piano
Chopin: Piano Works, vol. 4
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Sun March 01 2009 - Amadeus
Chopin: Préludes e Allegro de concert
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Sat January 24 2009 - La Repubblica
De Maria poet of the keyboard
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Sat November 01 2008 - Suonare News
A splendid double adventure
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Wed October 01 2008 - International Piano
Chopin: Sonatas - Pietro De Maria
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Thu May 01 2008 - Diapason
Chopin: Etudes
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Tue April 01 2008 - Amadeus
Chopin: Ballades, Impromptus - Pietro De Maria
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Thu March 20 2008 - International Piano
Chopin CDs 1 and 2 - Pietro De Maria
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Fri December 21 2007 - Il Giornale
De Maria becomes a poet of the keyboard with Chopin
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Wed November 28 2007 - La Prealpina
De Maria casts a spell with Chopin
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Tue May 01 2007 - Classic Voice
No metronome
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Tue May 01 2007 - Suonare News
The first recording in a complete works of Chopin series that we can count on.
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Tue May 01 2007 - Musica
Works of Chopin - Pietro De Maria, piano
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Mon March 26 2007 - La Stampa
De Maria reveals the magic of Chopin
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Sun November 27 2005 - La Repubblica
The success of today's music
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Sun March 06 2005 - La Nazione
De Maria’s delightful Mendelssohn
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Mon January 03 2005 - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
New Year's Concert of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Kurhaus Wiesbaden
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Mon January 03 2005 - Wiesbadener Tageblatt
Radio Sinfonie Orchester Frankfurt at the Kurhaus
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Sat July 24 2004 - El Mercurio
Pietro De Maria: a splendid recital
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Tue June 22 2004 - Saale Zeitung
A style in step with the times
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Tue May 18 2004 - Sun Sentinel
Poetic beauty...
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Mon March 22 2004 - Aachener Zeitung
A first rate orchestra...
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Wed March 17 2004 - Abendzeitung
The Prague Symphony Orchestra in the Meisterkonzert series in Nuremberg
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Sat January 24 2004 - Il Giornale di Vicenza
Chopin marathon - De Maria mature and elegant pianist
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Sun December 07 2003 - Tribuna di Treviso
A 'Gigantic' Pietro De Maria
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Thu May 01 2003 - Brescia Oggi
Visions and Sonatas, inspiration and melancholy
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Fri March 14 2003 - La Stampa
De Maria, dedications of great class
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Wed December 05 2001 - Mainecho Würzburg
String ensemble of great class
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Sun September 30 2001 - Eco di Bergamo
Young De Maria: daring and convincin
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