Do you remember the Mantovani Orchestra playing “Some Enchanted Evening”? Magical, don’t you agree? Well, pianist Marco Mantovani may as well be related to the conductor Annunzio Mantovani. He shares that captivating name, and he plays the piano with that magical Mantovani touch. Ask Marco when you come to Fripp on February 23 for his concert whether Annunzio and he are family members. In any case, it will be an enchanting evening.
Marco Mantovani was born just barely three decades ago in Mantova, Italy. He received his musical training in various European schools: in Lucio Campiani, the conservatory of music in Mantova, the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Florence. Needless to say, Marco graduated with honors from both. In 2017, he earned his Master in Piano Performance with the highest distinction at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels and received the Ingeborg Köberle Award for being that “year’s most promising student.” He is currently pursuing his PhD there, his project being the interpretation of Schumann’s piano works composed between 1836 and 1838.
Fundamental for Marco’s artistic development have been famous mentors. One is the great Portuguese pianist Maria Jõao Pires, who founded the Chorale Hesperos, a choir for underprivileged children for which Marco serves as the accompanying pianist. Another is his teacher Aleksandar Madzar who said that Marco “is one of the most wonderful and complete talents I encountered in recent years. His musicianship is really of the finest kind. All parameters of the most complex repertoire are perfectly mastered, and there seem to be very few limits to what he can do, whether artistically, or instrumentally…”
Marco’s repertoire ranges from Bach to contemporary music. He has played solo, but sometimes also with orchestras or with violinists like Carola Zosi, in famous concert halls all over Italy and in numerous other European countries such as Austria, Belgium, and Germany.
We are so fortunate that we don’t have to travel all the way to Europe to hear Marco play. On Sunday, February 23, 5:00 pm, he will come to the Fripp Island Community Centre, 205 Tarpon Blvd. You receive a free pass at the security gate. Admission at the door—cash or check only, no credit cards. You can call Vanessa Peñaherrera (704-807-0255) for reservations: adults $30, students and children are free through a grant from the Peg Gorham Memorial Fund. You are invited to the catered “Meet-the-Artist” reception that follows the performance. This concert is sponsored by the Fripp Island Friends of Music and the SC Arts Commission, and it helps sustain the FIFOM’s Music-in-the Schools Program. See our website frippfriendsofmusic.com
