Famous Italian pianist Mr Paolo Vairo was invited to have a Piano Masterclass with several students at UIC on 24 October. Performers and spectators went to the masterclass to enhance their performance and musicianship through the advice provided by him.
Once the student performances began, Mr Vairo sat down and listened carefully, concentrating on each of the three performances. After the performance, he gave each student patient and meaningful guidance in order for the students to make progress and gain knowledge.
Mr Paolo Vairo
Mr Vairo said that this was his first time visiting UIC and he thought the facilities were amazing, beautiful, modern and very spacious. He added that he enjoys the variety and use of colour around the campus, and he thinks it enhances creativity and imagination in people.
When asked his thoughts on the three performances he said he was extremely impressed. He added that the students at UIC are very talented. He was expecting the students to be more intermediate because they are not music majors but added they were quite thoughtful and noticed how much work they put into their music.
When talking about Mr Vairo’s favourite performance of his, he explained that he simply doesn’t know because every concert is so different. Sometimes there are more people, or better pianists, or more beautiful concert halls, but when he performs his main goal is to share the beauty of music.
“For me, it is very exciting to go to different countries and see how they react to my music,” he continued. “I noticed that although we speak completely different languages, and our cultures are completely different when we started talking music, we can understand each other,” Mr Vairo said.
Mr Vairo shares his thoughts during the interview
He continued explaining that it is hard to communicate when you do not speak the same language but when playing instruments, it is more about the feelings rather than words and you don’t need to speak the same language to understand people’s feelings.
Mr Vairo is intrigued by traditional Chinese instruments. He explained the differences in the instruments and how the sound of a Chinese orchestra versus a western orchestra is fascinating and brings various experiences when listening.
Mr Vairo explains that China is ‘fascinating’ because of all the differences from the things he is used to, such as the culture, instruments, food and architecture. He said he can’t help but walk around with big eyes like a child because it is so new and different from what he has experienced before. He ended by saying, “If there is some possibility of collaborating or playing together, it would be wonderful.”
Reporter: Chen Yifan (Y2, DS)
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He, Lauren Richardson (MPRO)
(from DCC)
