PRESS REVIEWS 1989-1998
Andrea Bacchetti möchte der jüngste Solist der Festspiele gewesen sein,
ein "Wunderkind" von gerade zwölf (!) Jahren, quirlig und unverfroren, dabei
schlichtweg genialisch im Zugriff auf Scarlatti und Prokofieff-Petitessen (zwei Sonaten
resp. Marche, op. 65/10, und Prélude, op. 12/7) die er förmlich aus dem Handgelenk
schüttelte, sie zugleich aber so delikat phrasierte, daß man das nicht für Blendwerk
allein halten durfte: ein Kissin der unmittelbaren Zukunft? ...
Ein zwolfjahriger Knabe verbluffte am Klavier
Salzburger Nachrichten - August 24th, 1989 (Fred Popovici)
An extraordinary concert organised by "The Concerts Society "
... The Solisti Veneti, directed by Claudio Scimone, christened the 12-years old pianist
Andrea Bacchetti in a wonderful concert hall ... It should have been a great emotion ...
and since from the Orchestra exposition, his unquiet moves at the piano showed that he
was - even before beginning to play - already tuned on the players logic, synchronised
with their breathing. But after that his touch has the grace of the sound, his agility
is fluid, fast, clear. These skills, which surely will make a great musician of him -
before than pianist, even - have been felt during the Mozart's Concerto-Rondò K387 and
above all in the severe choice of the encores: a score by Monpou, a study of great
calibrations; a Scarlatti's Sonata, with the harpsichord playing conjuring notes; the
rapid lightness of a close encounter with Bach: the scent of rhythms, piano e forte in
Prokoviev.
The most astonishing quality of his most-than-applauded performance, however, has been the improvisation during which - as the most gifted musicians used to do - he instantly developed a theme provided by the audience ...
The most astonishing quality of his most-than-applauded performance, however, has been the improvisation during which - as the most gifted musicians used to do - he instantly developed a theme provided by the audience ...
Twelve years and many applauses
Corriere della Sera - December 19th, 1989 (Franca Cella)
We've been offered, as a complete surprise, the performance of a
twelve-years old Genoese pianist, Andrea Bacchetti. This enfant prodige, who already
had his debut at the Concerts Society in Milan and even won many international prizes,
offered us scores from Criabin, Moszkowski and Scarlatti. Not questionable the musical
talent of this youngster, who is able to join a technical severity with an artistic
sensibility which contribute to foresee a hopeful brilliant future.
Magaloff's heart
Il Gazzettino - July 1st, 1990 (Mario Messinis)
... Mozarts Konzert-Rondo in A-Dur KV 386 ist 1782, kurz nach der
Ubersiedlung nach Wien entstanden. Das kaum 13jährige Klaviertalent, Andrea Bacchetti
aus Genua, spielte das reizende Stück mit Souplesse, feinen anschlaglichen Nuancen und
natürlicher Freude am Gelingen. Die virtuose Kadenz und das Wechselspiel mit den
Streichern boten keine Probleme, ebensowenig die zusätzlich gespielte Scarlatti-Sonate.
Man begreift, dass sich Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg vom Spiel des jungen Italieners
begeistern liess, und dass der Komponist Luciano Berio seine künstlerische Entwicklung
überwachen möchte. ...
Hervorragende solistische Leistungen
Luzerner Tagblatt - August 28th, 1990
... apart from Magaloff, the sisters Guhrer and Suhrer Pekinel played as
well ... joining the youngster Andrea Bacchetti, they performed Mozart's Concert in F
maj K 242 for three pianos and orchestra ... with a clear performance - surely not
lower in quality than his colleagues' ones - Andrea Bacchetti was able to put his
personal touch of candour, very well-suited to the arabesques of this delicate
instrumental jigsaw ...
Gran finale with Nikita
Stampasera - September 22nd, 1990 (Orazio Mula)
... Theatre sold out and overjoyed, endless applauses, five
encores awarded to the audience. This is the amazing report of yesterday evening's
performance, at Margherita Theatre, of the thirteen-years old Andrea Bacchetti ...
Andrea obviously confirmed what people already wrote about him.
He's got an extraordinary music sensibility, a wide sound range which allows him
to play a noticeable number of colours and expressions. He?s also got a first-class
exposition clarity. All considered, he?s an authentic talented musician able to
communicate with the audience in an immediate, spontaneous and involving way.
Andrea, what an evening!
La Stampa - January 15th, 1991 (Roberto Iovino)
... A performance of special quality was delivered by the not yet
fourteen-years old pianist Andrea Bacchetti, who played Piano concert in G maj KV
41 and Concert Rondò in A maj KV 386, as well as an improvisation on a Mozart theme
chosen by Professor Ernst Lichtenhahn.
The young student (at Genoese Conservatory "Niccolò Paganini") is already
a swift-fingered Maestro with a both aromatic and delicate touch and a smart and
fancy improvisation, able to lead all the different music genres in a colourful
swirling ...
Andrea Bacchetti Mozart Concert with Festival String Luzern
Zürichsee-Zeitung / Allgemeiner Anzeiger - February 5th, 1991 (Torbjörn Bergflödt)
... Andrea Bacchetti is by now considered as one of the most strong
promises in the Italian music scenario, and the astonishing precocity of his talent
allowed him to become famous at a very young age.
The thirteen-years old Genoese pianist ... won many competitions, among which a 1988
prize in Stresa for "piano improvisation". He has been chosen as one of
the best young pianists for representing Italy at 1989 "Mozart Prize" ...
he claimed on himself the interest of famous artists like Herbert von Karajan,
Luciano Berio and many other important directors.
A "wonder" to listen to
Giornale di Brescia - May 17th, 1991 (Roberto Bellini)
The fact that a fourteen-years old boy, Andrea Bacchetti, could act
as a soloist in two Mozart's Piano Concert ... has doubtless increased the curiosity
... this yet-student concert pianist ... is already a character on his own, and he
reminds us a Serkin made young, more than an enfant prodige himself ...
He hasn't got the confidence nor the arrogance of the supernatural talented people,
but he really plays like an "old one", with a great confidence and balance,
always concentrating ... he plays majestic, with a wonderful sound and with an
intelligence-controlled musicality ... warmest applauses from the audience ...
Andrea, what a sound ...
La Nazione - September 21st, 1991 (Leonardo Pinzauti)
... The second half of the sold-out concert offered as main performer
the young emerging talent Andrea Bacchetti, who interpreted with strong and excellent
technique Mozart's Concert in A maj K 414 for piano and orchestra. This "little
big artist", grown up since the last time I listened to him as regards his
articulate range of sounds, did really let the music flow through his cadenzas and
through the feedbacks with the orchestra ... challenged to improvise on various themes,
he managed to succeed with extreme easy and confidence, reminding memories of Mozart
... warm and long applauses.
Andrea Bacchetti: Technique and improvisation
Instruments and Music - nr.12, December 1991 (Bruno Bertucci)
The importance of the appearance in the State Hall of Pforzheim of
the Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti, born in 1977 near Genoa, revealed itself very
early, we could say after some strokes on the keyboard of his piano, during his
soloist session of L.v. Beethoven?s Piano Concert nr. 2 in Bmaj Opus 19, as a real
music sensation. What we listened to is impossible to describe, since the young
pianist managed to infuse in his performance exactly what the Great Beethoven's
Scores meant: eloquence, vitality and passion ...
Huge acclamations in the State Hall - Young artist elates his audience
Pforzheimer Kurier - July 1st, 1992 (Rudolf Wesner)
A concert which delivered many nice surprises: this was the final
result of last Sunday's performance of Filarmonica Laudamo, both for the program -
presenting fully enjoyable scores - and for the presence of exceptionally precocious,
talented soloists. On stage one of the most qualified German chamber ensemble,
the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester from Pforzheim lead by Vladislav Czarnecki ...
perfectly carved performances, wonderful sounds and flawless ensembles ... the amazing
sixteen-years old pianist Andrea Bacchetti, gifted with extremely skillful hands and
geometrical mind, but in the same time already able to master the expressive contents.
The audience, warm and participating, has been fairly conquered.
A qualified orchestra with precocious soloists
Gazzetta del Sud - December 12th, 1993 (Santi Calabrò)
... final performance of the pianist Andrea Bacchetti, who offered the
first artistic check to the Festival's fancy choices playing with confidence, among
other scores, Vorisek?s Sonata in Bmin flat and Hummel's Sonata in Fmin Op. nr. 20 ...
Close-up Beethoven
La Repubblica - May 20th, 1995 (Angelo Foletto)
... We are among those who remained astonished in front of the supernatural
musical nature of Andrea Bacchetti when we met him for the first time, eleven-years old
pianist. After having observed some steps on his artistic path, with great interest and -
to be honest - with some tender concern we went to listen to him again, eighteen-years
old, as soloist in Franck's "Symphonic Variations" for piano and orchestra ...
No doubts about the complete evolution of the artistic personality of Andrea Bacchetti ...
Coping with the famous Franck's score, Andrea Bacchetti expressed clear intentions, which
shone (and made the rest shining) in the fabulous, stratospheric, towering quintessence
of the emotional side, cleaned from any weakness - and from any easy permissiveness as
well - in favour of sensual seductions or fancy surrender. This sharp essentiality
reveals deeply poetic feelings: they conjure transcendent glows, transparencies, something
really "absolute"...
Extraordinary performer, fairly acclaimed by the audience with the warmest ovations ...
Extraordinary performer, fairly acclaimed by the audience with the warmest ovations ...
Bacchetti, always better
Il Secolo XIX, Genoa - November 12th, 1995 (Claudio Tempo)
... in Mozarts Konzert KV 414 in A-Dur überzeugte der 19-jährige Italiener Andrea Bacchetti
... hier war wirklich ein wunderbares Ensemble mit dem Orchester, mit schöner Klarheit, Klarheit,
großem Geschmack; eine von zarten Farben beleuchtete Interpretation...
... in Mozart's KV414 A-maj concert, the nineteen-years old Andrea Bacchetti has been extremely convincing. We had the chance to witness an astonishing ensemble with the Orchestra, together with brightness, balance, great sense of taste; a performance enlightened by delicate colors ...
... in Mozart's KV414 A-maj concert, the nineteen-years old Andrea Bacchetti has been extremely convincing. We had the chance to witness an astonishing ensemble with the Orchestra, together with brightness, balance, great sense of taste; a performance enlightened by delicate colors ...
Zwölf Jahre und viel Applaus (Twelve years and lots of applause)
Neue Zürcher Zeitung - August 22nd, 1996 (Alfred Zimmerlin)
This young, extremely gifted player, emerges thanks to the powerful
musical thought which sustains an inflexible virtuosness: a thought - possibly
classical - which is now enhanced through a profound knowledge of the reasons of
modern culture; this generates a severe concentration upon the scores, an analytical
discipline which refuses easy extroversions and the tempting cheap effects ...
Venezia Award goes to the Genoese Bacchetti, rigorous player and inflexible style
Il Gazzettino - November 26th, 1996 (Mario Messinis)
... Tijdens de barokgolf in de jaren '60 hoorden we de Festival Strings Lucerne regelmatig op DG-platen
en werden ze in één adem met o.m. I Musici en de Stuttgarters genoemd. Het uit het fonografisch gezichtsveld
verdwenen maar nog steeds actieve Zwitserse ensemble bestond in '96 veertig jaar. Het is allang geen
barok-groep meer, het repertoire is aanmerkelijk verbreed. In een notedop weerspiegelt zich de veelzijdigheid
daarvan in dit live vastgelegde jubileumconcert. Penderecki schreef er een markant doch niet bepaald feestelijke
Passacaglia voor. De Stravinsky-bewerking van dirigent Baumgartner wordt levendig gespeeld, Schoeck streng en
sonoor. Vivaldi, met de 12-jarige Hadelich als super virtuoos, en Bach verschillen stilistisch weinig van de
vroegere vrij motorische opvatting. Nummer 2 van het dubbelorkest (senioren-musici) is door de opnamestaf
stiefmoederlijk bedeeld. Van Bacchetti zullen we vast nog wel eens horen, zijn parelend-expressieve
Mozart is een belofte voor de toekomst. ...
During the baroque wave in the 1960s, we regularly heard the Festival Strings Lucerne on DG records and they were mentioned in the same breath as I Musici and the Stuttgarters, among others. The Swiss ensemble, which has disappeared from the phonographic field of view, but is still active, existed for forty years in 1996. It is no longer a baroque group, the repertoire has broadened considerably. In a nutshell, its versatility is reflected in this live anniversary concert. Penderecki wrote a striking but not exactly festive Passacaglia for it. Conductor Baumgartner's Stravinsky arrangement is played lively, Schoeck strict and sonorous. Vivaldi, with the 12-year-old Hadelich as super virtuoso, and Bach differ little stylistically from the earlier free motor conception. Number 2 of the double orchestra (senior musicians) has been poorly endowed by the recording staff. We will probably hear from Bacchetti again, his pearly-expressive Mozart is a promise for the future....
During the baroque wave in the 1960s, we regularly heard the Festival Strings Lucerne on DG records and they were mentioned in the same breath as I Musici and the Stuttgarters, among others. The Swiss ensemble, which has disappeared from the phonographic field of view, but is still active, existed for forty years in 1996. It is no longer a baroque group, the repertoire has broadened considerably. In a nutshell, its versatility is reflected in this live anniversary concert. Penderecki wrote a striking but not exactly festive Passacaglia for it. Conductor Baumgartner's Stravinsky arrangement is played lively, Schoeck strict and sonorous. Vivaldi, with the 12-year-old Hadelich as super virtuoso, and Bach differ little stylistically from the earlier free motor conception. Number 2 of the double orchestra (senior musicians) has been poorly endowed by the recording staff. We will probably hear from Bacchetti again, his pearly-expressive Mozart is a promise for the future....
Musik in Luzern
Luister - 1997, (C.M.)
... Andrea Bacchetti chose for his recital a rich and articulate
program, which included scores from the contemporary Luciano Berio and Sergej Prokoviev
as well as from the most romantic Ludwig van Beethoven and Fryderyk Chopin ... Dramatic
episodes, thin and mysterious atmospheres, tragic and majestic tones enhance the
wonderful Sonata nr. 30 in Emaj op. 109 which outmost clear, clean and confident execution
really steals applauses and ovations form an audience which really didn't expect -
considering the performer's age - an oh-so-overwhelming interpretative strength ...
Recital of the young Andrea Bacchetti
Il Golfo - July 28th, 1997 (Maria Magno)
... Andrea Bacchetti unleashes the Ninth Symphony Composer's philosophical
soul: he's a virtuoso with a great knowledge of the profound contents of the Works but
he's a temperate as well, and that's a rare virtue among the young talents. The highest
peak of the young Genoese player's talent is the renowned Chopin's Scherzo, brought with
an excellent enhancement of the Choral Theme, which becomes a magical background, together
with the absolute control of the water effects; and everything comes naturally, alternating
and side by side in the same time.
"Classical Music - The CD"
Famiglia Cristiana - nr.29/1997 (Luigi Della Croce)
... In the evening came the turn of Andrea Bacchetti, the youngest in
the kermesse, of great interest and interpretative strength: his intelligence in choosing
the tempos and his dedication to the sound and the fraseggio marked as wonderful the
executions of Klavierstücke Op. 119, of the Rhapsodies op. 79 (real nightmare for the
students of the Conservatory's Intermediate Course) and of the Fantasies op. 116.
The emotional participation is always controlled and dedicated, never apt to easy effects
or useless flatteries: the feelings, sometimes painful and sometimes smilingly sad, of
these pages find in Bacchetti an accurate observer, a sharp reader of the most secluded
emotions; we are talking about a Brahms who has been analytically filtered, with an
almost scientific accuracy and a really "modern" approach.
The piano of Brahms and the Magnificent Seven
Piano Time - nr.163, 1998 (Alberto Barbadoro)
... Uncompromising, precise, observant of the rules, disciplined,
gifted with a strong personality: all virtues which belong to an affirmed pianist
rather than to an extremely young and promising concert-artist of only twentyone years.
The Genoese Andrea Bacchetti captured the attention of the public in the foyer of the
Donizetti last Tuesday evening in a crescendo of elegance and refinement, reconfirming
a disarming self-assurance in techniqueand performance, unusual for his age. Alternating
lyrical moments and rhythmically intense leaps with calm moments, Bacchetti often
demonstrated a striking technical agility; swept away by virtuoism, by pure technicality
(a particular talent of his), by precision, by rapidity by spectacular display but he
never however forgot the interpretative essentiality and expressive depth of Schumann's pianism.
Bacchetti: bravo, accurate and assured
Il Nuovo Giornale di Bergamo - May 21st, 1998 (Paola Palermo)
... Bacchetti shows a splendid evolution on the keyboard, natural and
delicate like only the great players achieve ... In the prestigious Hall of Palazzo
Cantacuzino, Bacchetti played L. Berio's Encores, the monumental L. van Beethoven's
Sonata nr. 30 op. 109, the six Intermezzo op. 4 and the Variations on the name ABEGG
op. 1 by Schumann, together with some encores for the audience which warmthly admired
and applauded him. The Concert has been recorded by the Rumenian Radiobroadcasting
Company. The impression he left is that of an exceptional exhibition, really flashing,
with unbelievable high virtuosness moments together with breathtaking expression profoundness.
Andrea Bacchetti was an extraordinary suprise for Bucharest melomans
Ziua Bucarest - September 25th, 1998 (Mircea Stefanescu)
... Solid, granitic, inexorable in the "Intermezzi" but
whimsical, relaxed brilliant in the "Variations" (Schumann), the pianist
Andrea Bacchetti, protagonist of the concert on August 31', penetrated the labryinth
of the language of the apostle of Romanticism, strong in a profound cultural conception;
everything was weighed, the proportions were in full romantic style: a virile style!
A robust sound throughout the dynamic range... , flexible in defining the instrumental
colour. a rhythmic continuity embellished with measured agogic variations, the Artist
was in symbiosis with his instrument from which he obtained maximum performance with
minimum effort; he plays with the whole body over which he imposes his will; he is
concentrated, perfectly lucid and fully aware of what he is doing. In Liszt - romantic
titan of the keyboard - our pianist created a dynamic and always brilliant sound. ...
In the "Péchés de vieillesse" Rossini creates harmonic pranks that are
surprisingly modem and in these Bacchetti fully confirmed his interpretative abilities.
The close of the International Festival of the "Estate Musicale Sorrentina"
Corriere del Sebeto - September-October 1998 (Antonella De Pasqual)
TOPANDREA BACCHETTI Official Web Site