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Cecino accompanies his concerts with stories. At the age of twenty he has a busy schedule and without boundaries
On 4 February at the Teatro Comunale di Monfalcone with the Martini Quartet and unpublished transcriptions by French authors; on 5 and 6 the Chopin Concerto with the La Fenice Theatre orchestra at the Teatro Malibran in Venice; on 9 recital at the Steinway Hall in London; 11 at the Italian Institute of Culture in Budapest. These are the next pages of the agenda of Elia Cecino, twenty-year-old pianist from Casale sul Sile: full of concerts in different countries playing completely different programs from each other.
«In fact, it’s a rather tense period, between pandemic reprogramming and new requests for concerts» admits the young performer, who started performing regularly at the age of 13 and who at 15 was on tour in the United States, graduated in piano with honors to 17 and winner of dozens of international competitions. «The moment is singular, and I welcome all the proposals to open different paths for me in the difficult musical landscape: in a world that changes quickly it is necessary to be elastic» he says.
Elia is also the agent of himself, always followed by his first and inseparable teacher, Maddalena De Facci, who over the years has given birth to an authentic forge of great value pianists. She is more than a teacher: she is a true guide. «She helps me to better manage my commitments and pushes me to deal with the teachers of the many masterclasses and academies I attend, and with other young musicians I meet. And I have learned to optimize my time and my study, to live as an opportunity for the future every relationship every concert: it is a constant commitment, but also very rewarding».
He is not a “phenomenon”: he is a boy who devotes himself with extraordinary commitment to the piano, with striking results. He is not the son of musicians, although the family supports him very much, and dedicating his life to music was his choice, embraced by his sister Vera, three years younger and newly graduated in piano, also with honors.
When he does not express talent, commitment and awareness at the keyboard, Elia Cecino does with the words, so much so that for some time he has also chosen a very personal way to organize and propose her recitals.
«I compose with great attention the programs of my concerts», he explains «I don’t want them to be repetitive and show only my skills: I want them to be really communicative and interesting for today’s audience, which is very different from the one of the past. The challenge is to make it more involved by proposing pieces, even by lesser-known authors, in relation to each other. And between one piece and another I tell the audience that relationship: I think it lightens the listening and makes the listener more aware». A narrative that seems to involve additional preparation and a different relationship with the audience. But not for him: «I have always deepened the contents and the contexts of what I study and I find it rather easy to return them also by voice. I think it is necessary for a musician to bring to the audience the art of music but also its link with all the other arts and themes of life, to invite it to reflect on the deeper meanings of art: even an occasional listener, if involved, might want to listen to other music or discover a painting or a book to which it is linked».
And if he is reminded that it is a further responsibility during an already difficult concert, he has no doubts: «Yes, sometimes it becomes heavy. But I feel it as a necessary service to give to music and to the public: knowing better what a musician is playing makes music become more “close”, understandable and engaging».
Inevitable to think how he can, so absorbed by the piano, find the time to have fun and enjoy his age. And, even here, no uncertainty: «The opportunities that this life gives me are many. I play, and I don’t want to do anything else; I travel a lot, and I really like it; I meet musicians from all over the world who are my favorite interlocutors».
When I’m at home for a while I feel the pressure for subsequent appointments, also because I lost sight of childhood friends, because we have different interests and I continue to make experiences different from theirs. But I am enthusiastic and grateful for this life, because it repays me for every effort».
Marina Grasso
February 1, 2022
la tribuna | la Nuova | il mattino