A weekend in Italy with Margherita Torretta – upper intermediate – advanced
Recognising the Influence of Italian Music: A way to reimagine keyboard works from the Baroque to the Classical Period.
Spend a sunny weekend in Italy with Italian and London-based pianist Margherita Torretta, and explore the extraordinary influence of Italian keyboard music in the Baroque and Classical periods.
Revitalise your spirits and experience music inspired by Italy’s rustic pastoral landscapes, verdant groves and colorful gardens, turquoise lagoons and azure seas, picturesque towns and ancient villages, all the while appreciating beautiful melody, elegant simplicity, romantic lyricism – and the urge to dance – that all define the Italian style!
Margherita Torretta will guide your weekend trip with a musical virtual tour of the birthplaces – not only of Italian Baroque music – but also of its transition to the Galant Style and piano works of the Classical period.
Destinations in this virtual tour of the birthplaces of Italian music include:
• Naples for Domenico Scarlatti
• Venice (“La Serenissima”) for “Il Buranello” Baldassare Galuppi and Domenico Cimarosa
• Lucca for Elisabetta De Gambarini – trailblazing, first published female composer
• Rome for Muzio Clementi
• Verona, Milan, Bologna and Florence, cities that Mozart visited on his first extended tour of Italy, understanding the influence of the music that Mozart heard and how he skillfully incorporated many of its qualities into his own keyboard works.
Recommended repertoire to prepare is therefore by the composers, according to your playing level:
- D. Scarlatti
- B. Galuppi
- E. De Gambarini
- S. Cimarosa
- M. Clementi
- W. A. Mozart
- J. Hayden and
- L. V. Beethoven
Included in the weekend itinerary:
1) Stylistic performance technique for Italian character, Baroque to Classical
We will discuss and demonstrate how performance technique – phrasing, note articulation and touch, pedaling, tempo adjustment, dynamic range, and balance between clefs – can be used to enhance the Italian character of music from the Baroque to the Classical period.
2) Essential ornamentation and improvisation of the time
We will also discuss the use of ornamentation and improvisation as essential qualities in the performance of the music of this time. Examples of ornaments and improvisational effects will be given – and the decisions that help determine when and where these effects can be used will be studied.
And on the Saturday evening, Margherita will treat guests to a recital-talk in our main hall on Theatrical elements and dance in Italian music!
In between the workshop and performance class sessions there will be time for private practise on one of our beautiful grand pianos. During these sessions, Margherita will give one-to-one lessons on our new Steinway to provide individual pointers and tips.
As you know, art and music go hand-in-hand with food. So, Mark our talented chef is accompanying your musical experience with an Italian-themed menu for your stay! What a collection of goodies we have in store for you!
Guests will:
- Have the chance to play in and observe two performance masterclasses.
- Will receive a one-to-one lesson with Margherita.
- Enjoy access to play on our 9 grand pianos anytime between 7am and 8pm. (There are enough pianos to go round that everyone can play a piano at any given time.)
- Experience a private accompanied talk for course participants in the main hall of the family home, performed by Margherita.
- Join and socialise with a group 8 fellow piano enthusiasts during lunch and dinner.
- Dine in style with lunches and three course dinners prepared by our fabulous chef.
- Experience the Finchcocks bubble, hailed as a “paradise for pianists” by BBC Music Magazine and stay in a grade 1 listed country manor.
“Listening to Margherita Torretta’s performance it is not hard to agree that a major contribution has jumped straight into the Italian master’s discography” GRAMOPHONE (Linsday Kemp)“..these are poised performance, Torretta draws you into the finest detail of the composition” BBC music magazine (Rebecca Franck)“Her trasparency, precision and intelligence always draw the ear in music that is appealing and invites repeat listening” INTERNATIONAL PIANO (David Threasher)
For booking enquiries, please fill in the form below!