Gallery
Polo Piatti's music is simply outstanding
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Wilfried Hammacher, Stuttgart, Germany
S H E E T M U S I C
The Tides Of Time
Orchestral Soundtracks
Piatti decided to compose ’The Tides Of Time’ in 2008 shortly after a serendipitous encounter with promoter Heidi Foster. They met at a totally unrelated dinner party, at a time when Ms Foster just happened to be searching for a composer for a project that would involve, among others, the world-famous ‘BBC Singers’. At the time they discussed the possibility of creating an all-encompassing work for full orchestra, mixed choirs and choral ensemble that would describe musically the unique history of East Sussex's maritime coast. At a very early stage it became clear that due to incompatibility reasons with other members of the project this fascinating subject would not proceed. However, Piatti soon discovered that the subject had already captured his whole interest and imagination. Hence, and despite the fact that in the end the planned project would never come to fruition, he had the now some sort of internal justification to research the subject in much more detail. Month after month his interest in the history of Sussex, and in particular in the historical towns of Hastin-gs, Rye, Winchelsea, Battle and Lewes continued to grow. The more he knew about the area and its history, the more he loved it. Soon thereafter Piatti decided that in the end, he didn’t need any specific commission in order to write something truly inspired by this fascinating area. That was incentive enough for him to complete the work. Piatti completed the work, which turned out to be an orchestral suite composed of fourteen soundtracks, as a humble homage to this unique and wonderful part of the world. The idea to give the work the title ‘The Tides Of Time’ came to the composer very early on. Mostly because reflects both aspects most relevant to this area: the magnificent and mysterious sea with its eternal tides, as well as the inevitable passing of time. It simply intrigued him to think that whatever has happened here in the past, during thousands of years, the area had always been witnessed by the relentless, uncompromising tides coming and going in an eternal flow. The very same tides that will never cease to witness all that will come after we are all gone.
Sentimental Journey
Orchestral Suite
This is Polo Piatti's second orchestral suite and it is is all about emotions. Piatti says "In 2012 I was commissioned by my friend and colleague Nobuya Monta to write a new work for piano and orchestra to be premiered in his home town of Osaka in Japan. At the time I could not have imagined that this project would span so many countries such as Japan, Argentina, England and the Czech Republic. As I was considering what to compose this commission, my manager at the time suggested that I should maybe write something a bit more "intellectual", "cerebral" rather than melodic and emotional as it is usually my style. The reason being that there might be a danger that my type of music would not translate so well into a very different, more reserved culture such as the Japanese. Since I didn’t agree with this assumption I decided to conduct my own personal experiment and do exactly the opposite. I would compose something extremely emotional. Pieces that are charged with emotional content and see what the reaction would be when premiereing the work in Japan. I wanted to find out if emotions can cross country and culture boundaries and if, carried by music, they would be experienced emotions in the same way as we do in the West. And so my orchestral suite Sentimental Journey was born. I took it then to Japan and it was premiered in Osaka November 2012. by the Osaka Concert Orchestra and myself conducting it from the piano. And to my absolutle delight, the extremely positive and very warm and emotional response of the audience proved to me that I had been right all along: emotions created by music do indeed transcend cultural differences and barriers. Later, in summer 2013, the same musicians who had premiered the work in Japan, decided to travel to England to perform with me once again with and adding musicians from the Hastings Sinfonia Orchestra during the 2nd International Composers Festival to take place at St Mary in the Castle, in Hastings. At the beginning of 2015, I started to look for the right orchestra to record the work. In the end I chose the City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and we recorded it together in Prague in the autumn of the same year. What a wonderful orchestra, it was a real pleasure to work with them! Numerous people have asked me why I called my suite Sentimental Journey. For me, the word ‘sentimental’ has always been a positive and beautiful one. I am using it here as in ‘with sentiment’ or ‘with feeling’ and not in its usually derogative form in Anglo-Saxon countries. For me, sentimentality describes that wistful, nostalgic, bittersweet feeling certain memories can evoke. Melodic music is like that. It has the ability to generate powerful emotions, something absolutely essential in my music writing. I very much believe, that music that doesn’t evoke emotions isn’t really relevant. In order to learn, to grow and to understand we do need to "feel". And music can help us do this. Sentimental Journey is an emotional voyage across different countries, diverse cultures and states of the heart. It touches upon my personal experiences, my youth in Argentina, my travels around the world, the incredible people I have met along the way, the situations I was fortunate to experience; all expressed in my own emotional musical language. I truly hope that you will enjoy this journey with me." Polo Piatti, 2016". Tracks: 1. Once Upon A Train 2. Through The Gate 3. The Rider 4. Soledad Para Dos 5. The Distant Shore 6. The Girl, The Flower And The Bee 7. Still Life Goes On 8. And At The End Of It All, This 9. Lullaby For A Clown [dedicated to Jonathan Bruce] 10. Goodbye [dedicated to Tim Wilsone] 11. Farewell [dedicated to the late Eleonore Merz] Total time: 45:37 City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Conducting from the piano: Polo Piatti Orchestra Leader: Lucie Švehlová - Recorded & mixed on 28th October 2015 at Smecky Music Studios, Prague, Czech Republic.
Entanged Miniatures
for Piano Quartet
Piatti's 'Entangled Miniatures' are probably his best chamber work to date. These 12 Miniatures for Piano Quartet were composed for violin, viola, violoncello, and piano and inspired by photographer Paul Knight’s recently published book ‘Entanglement’. After some initial introspection, reflection and discussions, the 12 miniatures became a collaboration between the composer and the author concluding in a collaborative 30 minutes video, using their respective works. Entangled is an organic journey that reflects the yearly passage of the seasons (starting with the moods of the beginning of Spring and ending with the deepest Winter). At the same time. the work illustrates the whole process of human life, describing the transit from birth to childhood via all subtle stages of transformation, including youth, maturity, old age, gradual decay, and finally, death. Piatti has dedicated the work to Paul Knight. Entangled was recorded by London's Phacelia Ensemble composed by Antonia Kesel (violin), Mark Gibbs (viola), Cecilia Bignall (violoncello) and Elisabeth Streichert (piano). The album was recorded on 15th May 2021 at the St John The Evangelist church in Upper Norwood, London Sound Engineer/Producer: Daniel Goodger Seafront Records ©℗ 2021
Bohemian Concerto
for Piano & Orchestra
This work very much depicts the Bohemian life of someone dedicated to the arts in all its glory and drama. It is the musical illustration of a passionate life full of ups and downs, highs and lows, hopes and dreams, near misses and silver linings On and on it goes, from one extreme to the next and back again; from happiness to pain, from desperation to hope, from fast to slow, only to pick up again when you think it’s all over. It is an interpretation of and homage to an artistic life lived to the full and without a safety net. This is also demonstrated in the concerto’s musical form which is, to a large extent, more rhapsodic and improvisatory than formal. Pianistically, the Bohemian Concerto is a very romantic work that requires from a soloist not only great virtuosity, but also an exquisite musicality in order to be able to express the emotions and passion encapsulated in it.
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Libera Nos Multi-Faith Oratorio
for 5 Soloists, 2 Choirs & Orch.
Polo Piatti's 'Libera Nos' was commissioned by Mr Peter Armstrong on behalf of the 'Musica Sacra' organisation to compose the very first multi-faith oratorio in the world. Inspired by Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, this spiritual work was conceived to find the unifying features among the spiritual messages of most traditional spiritual messages within the world's largest religions. This important new work comprises 60 original vocal and instrumental compositions, all structured into four main sections: 'Creation', 'Law & Obedience', 'End of Time' and 'Reconciliation & Salvation'. This monumental over two hours long work had its world premiere at the renowned 'De La Warr Pavilion' in Bexhill-on-Sea in November 2022 and enjoyed a long standing ovation.
Christmas Concerto
for Guitar & Orchestra
Polo Piatti’s Christmas Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra. was especially commissioned in 2019 by concert guitarist Sergio Puccini, the work was recorded in 2021 under difficult circumstances imposed by the Covid 19 global pandemic. As a consequence, the symphony orchestra had to be recorded in Budapest, Hungary while the solo guitar had to be recorded in Rosario, Argentina. In this work, the composer approached the Christmas subject in an innovative way, illustrating both, the serious significance of the Christmas message but also the festive mood and exciting atmosphere experienced during that holiday period in the West. The work was dedicated to Sergio Puccini.
The Walk
for Small Ensemble
'The Walk' was written for, and dedicated to, the 'Ensemble de la Belle Musique’ in Singapore. It describes a person's walk along a beautiful landscape and with the purpose to arrive at a very special place. The work is polyphonically constructed and its success depends mostly on the dynamic interaction between the instrumental forces within the ensemble performing it. A clear melody keeps repeating itself while the balance of the instrumental forces changes, making that melody fluctuate along different moods, similar to the effect visual images have on a person during a walk outdoors. The ending endeavours to show the emotional moment produced by reaching the final destination successfully.
Argentine Dances
for Orchestra
A set of 14 original symphonic dances inspired by the many dancing rhythms popular in Argentina. Polo Piatti said about the dances: "There comes a time in the life of any composer when you start looking back at your roots, upbringing, and the many factors that facilitated and motivated your chosen career. And so I look back to the time when I was 12 years old and incredibly fortunate to be chosen to study at the National Conservatory in Argentina, which made it possible for me to enjoy the best musical education possible. Many years later, I realised that everything would have been very different indeed if my family had been forced to pay for my tuition. Given their financial circumstances, I very much doubt that my life would have been in music. Luckily for me, admission to the at the time the most prestigious music conservatory in South-America, was gained on merit alone. During my time at the National Conservatory, one of my most important music tutors was undoubtedly maestro Carlos Guastavino, who taught us consonant harmony. During one of his lessons, I still remember him saying how strange it was that no Argentine composer had ever written the country's national symphonic dances, in the same way that Dvorak had written his 'Slavonic Dances', Bartok his 'Hungarian Dances' for their respective countries; especially considering how many beautiful rhtythms, airs and dances exist in Argentina. Although he didn't feel compelled to write them himself (he wanted to concentrate solely on composing for the piano) he still wondered if any of us, his students, would ever feel the urge to write such dances sometime in the future. Now, more than fifty years later, I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to do just that. This work represents my unreserved gratitude to Argentina, my country of birth, for giving me a positive and exciting start in life, one which enabled me ultimately to have a fulfilling career in music. For that reason, I dedicate my Argentine Dances to the people of Argentina."
The Birds
For Flute & Piano
This piece for flute and piano was inspired by the multitude of birds that could suddenly be heard once more when human activity came to a standstill during the global pandemic in spring of 2020. The work was commissioned by Ms Kaye Colyer - one of my most loyal benefactors - and dedicated to flutist Daisy Noton, a 'BBC Young Musician of the Year' finalist, who premiered it in August 2020 together with pianist Oliver Poole at during a private performance at the Opus Theatre in Hastings A video of the premiere is available on YouTube.
I'm Mata Hari
(Aria from the opera)
Piatti has been spending most of his "free time" working on his opera 'Mata Hari', a purely "labour of love" work, based on the tragic story of the famous spy who was unjustly executed in Paris in 1917. Several of the works arias have been performed publicly already but the plan is to complete the whole work in 2024/2025 and present it as as a large-scale opera.
Duty Sublime
for Orchestra
Duty Sublime was privately commissioned to celebrate HM Queen Elizabeth's 90th Birthday in 2016. The piece endeavoured to capture Queen Elizabeth's personality, dignity and above anything else, her admirable sense of duty. In 2023 Polo Piatti made this arrangement for organ
Agitato in A Minor
for Piano & Orchestra
Piatti's 'Agitato was originally composed for piano and strings orchestr and was world-premiered with the Imperial College String Ensemble in London on 17th June 2016.