RENOWNED ITALIAN PIANIST FEDERICO COLLI PRESENTS CONCERT AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE JUST BEFORE DEBUT AT LINCOLN CENTER

November 8, 2018
[Digital image available upon request]

Williamstown, Massachusetts—Italian pianist Federico Colli, winner of the 2011 Salzburg Mozart Competition, presents a concert at the Clark Art Institute on Friday, November 30 at 7 pm. Tickets are $22 ($20 Clark members) and may be purchased online at clarkart.edu or by calling the Clark’s box office at 413 458 0524. The concert will be held in the Clark’s auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.

Forming the centerpiece of Colli’s program is Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 5 in G major, K.283, surrounded by Domenico Scarlatti’s distinctive Six Sonatas and Beethoven’s sublime “Appassionata.” This special concert provides an exciting opportunity to hear Colli perform live—just two days prior to his New York debut at Lincoln Center.

Praised for his “crystalline brilliance and translucence” (Gramophone) and “beautiful pianism with wonderful tone” (The Independent), Colli has established himself as an exciting international artist, recognized for his stage charisma, sophisticated palette of tonal colors, and his intelligent insights into the repertoire.

Since winning First Prize at the Salzburg Mozart Competition in 2011 and Gold Medal at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2012, Colli has performed at some of the world’s leading concert halls and has worked with a number of eminent conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Sakari Oramo, Sir Mark Elder, Vasily Petrenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yuri Temirkanov, Alan Buribayev, Juraj Valcuha, Joji Hattori, and Thomas Søndergård.

In 2017, Colli made his debuts at the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall, London. His 2018 season includes concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mariinsky Orchestra, as well as making his US debut at Ravinia Festival and performing recitals at Wigmore Hall in London and at Lincoln Center in New York.

Rediscovering Scarlatti
In a new partnership with Chandos, Colli released his debut solo recording, Rediscovering Scarlatti, in May 2018. The pianist chose sixteen Scarlatti sonatas for the album, which connects with the sensuous beauty and free spirit of Domenico Scarlatti’s music—inviting the listener to discover depths all too easily hidden by superficial virtuosity.

“The biggest challenge for young pianists today is to be able to master a wide range of composers and styles,” said Colli. “I was extremely happy when Chandos proposed that I should record an album of Scarlatti, a composer so close to my heart. But it’s very difficult to be free with works from this period while at the same time being faithful to their traditions. You need to be free to build something new but cannot oppose tradition simply for the sake of novelty. The only way we can climb this Everest is with knowledge.”

Colli spent a year studying Scarlatti while deepening his knowledge of eighteenth-century musical style. He listened to many Scarlatti albums before creating his recording. “I studied his character and discovered a kaleidoscopic personality, who moved from joy and happiness to melancholy and profound reflection. This complexity is reflected even in a form as simple and almost bare as his sonatas: the form of the music is strict and precise, but there’s so much energy and variety in its content. I think this music holds up a mirror for our times,” he said.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 270,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm; open daily in July and August. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; EBT Card to Culture; Bank of America Museums on Us; and Blue Star Museums. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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