Angelo Villani: an evening of global music at Ditchley

The Ditchley community enjoyed an evening of global music last Friday, courtesy of the renowned virtuoso pianist Angelo Villani. 

Born in Australia and a child prodigy at the piano, his promising early career was cut short by a hand injury that prevented him from playing publicly for many years. But he never gave up hope and has overcome many obstacles to return to performance. His effervescent yet lyrical playing of Liszt, Brahms and Chopin is complemented by his extraordinary transcriptions for the piano of works from Purcell to Jazz legends like Erroll Garner.

We tend to think of an interconnected world as a contemporary thing, but the history of music shows that great works and great performers have always crossed borders and made new connections. 

The passionate playing of the 19th century's greatest pianist, the Hungarian Franz Liszt, ignited Lisztomania during his 1840s tours of the UK. A century later, Jazz and rhythm and blues crossed the Atlantic from the Deep South of the United States and were returned home in new form by the Beatles and the Stones. Artists rework classics for new generations and new contexts.

Angelo Villani continues this great tradition of great art bridging distances and differences.