Bandoneonista Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi makes his Mumbai debut with a concert about Italian classics
Mario Pietrodarchi (extreme right) performs at the 27th Viotti Dance Festival in Italy. Pics Courtesy/@mariostefanopietrodarchi
Think of Italy, and you think of food, wine, cheese, and football. For Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi, music is added to the list. Growing up in Atessa, in Southeastern Italy, it was part of the family. “The first instrument I learned was the accordion. It was passed through the family, and it is such an Italian instrument,” he shares over a phone call from Nariman Point. Today, he will perform the first of his two concerts, A New Dolce Vita, to mark his debut tour of Mumbai.
“It has been a busy year. I have hardly had time to take a break. I just landed yesterday, and today we had rehearsals,” Pietrodarchi says, as we catch him between the preparations. He will be joined alongside the Symphony Orchestra of India — a fantastic orchestra, he adds — as he takes on compositions that are definitive of Italian music. “We wanted to create a new repertoire for the accordion and bandeon. We chose these compositions because of their focus on Italian music,” he points out.
Mario Pietrodarchi performs with the bandoneon at the Night Serenades Festival
What makes the concert stand out is the two instruments at the centre of the limelight — the bandoneon and the accordion. While the accordion is a familiar presence, the bandoneon brings something new to the mix of the Symphony Orchestra. A concertina popular in Uruguay and Argentina, it is more popular in tango music. The composer explains, “Both of them are aerophone instruments quite similar to the human voice. The bandoneon allows you to create a sound that cuts through the orchestra, tonally. Whereas the accordion, I always say, is played from the left side of your body. It creates a sound that comes straight from the heart.”
The composer with a bandoneon
Hosted by the Italian Istituto di Cultura and presented by the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA), the performance will see compositions by Academy Award-winner Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota and Astor Piazzolla come together. Like his own travels, the concert is a journey, explains Pietrodarchi. “It is shaped like a trip across the world, beginning from Genoa till we finally arrive in Piazzolla’s Buenos Aires,” he shares.
Astor Piazzolla. Pics Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
“This programme places the voice of the bandoneon and the accordion at the heart of the concert, in dialogue with the SOI Chamber Orchestra. The selected works showcase the instruments’ extraordinary expressive power, brought to life through a special collaboration that will be presented to audiences in Mumbai,” shares Bianca Mendonca, general manager, SOI. “It’s not often that the Symphony Orchestra of India performs this kind of repertoire. Both our musicians and our regular audiences are looking forward to experiencing something refreshingly different. I had the opportunity to listen in on part of the first rehearsal, and the beautiful sound Mario creates with the bandoneon is absolutely breathtaking. These concerts will also be quite special in that they won’t have a conductor — Mario will be both performing and leading the orchestra from the stage.”
Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota
This journey also has a distinct cinematic touch. Where Morricone is best known for his iconic composition for Sergio Leone’s famous Westerns starring Clint Eastwood, Nino Rota was the hand behind Francis Ford Coppola’s first two installments of The Godfather. “We have a special piece by Rota, composed as a tribute to another Italian giant, Federico Fellini,” adds Pietrodarchi. Then, there are the works of Astor Piazzolla. Growing up as an Italian immigrant in Argentina’s Buenos Aires, Piazzolla would go on to become one of the foremost composers of nuevo tango.
So the connection goes farther than Diego Maradona’s arrival in Naples, we ask. “You know Maradona?” chuckles the bandoneonista before a conversation on football begins. Not surprising, as we learn. “Maradona loved Napoli because it shares cultural similarities with Buenos Aires — the passion, the life and music. And like the music, the two have roots that stretch across both continents,” Pietrodarchi concludes.
In that case, would the travelling composer like to spend more time in India? “I hardly have time. We are hard at work for the concert. If I can sneak out some time, I would love to engage more with the music, culture and food. I love that about every country I visit. But I might have to visit again,” he signs off.
ON Today, 8 pm; September 9; 7 pm
AT Prithvi Theatre, Juhu Church Road, Juhu; NCPA, Nariman Point.
LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.com
Entry Rs 500 (Prithvi Theatre); Rs 500 onwards (NCPA)
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