Chapter 8

Impressions and Recollections

Flavia de Souza

Chapter Eight

Flavia de Souza ● Mar 11, 2023

One of my friends at the Foyer was a very talented Australian student, Tanya Hunt, who was studying the cello with Professor André Navarra at the Paris Conservatoire. In the summer of 1972, Professor Navarra was conducting a cello seminar of masterclasses at the Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Naturally Tanya was very keen to attend this seminar. Professor Navarra wanted her to participate since she was one of his star students at the Conservatoire. When Tanya showed me the brochure for the summer seminars at the Chigiana in Siena I thought I’d attempt the piano seminar by Maurizio Pollini from 18th – 30th August. I had been very taken with Pollini’s interpretation of his LP recording of the Four Chopin Ballades. I had also attended his concert at the Théatre de Champs Elysées in Paris when he played the Schumann Piano Concerto. For his piano seminar at the Chigiana, Pollini was focusing on the piano works of Schubert, Schumann and Webern. As I was studying a fair amount of Schubert and Schumann at that time, I thought it would be a good idea to attend Pollini’s seminar. It would be something different from my French tutelage at the Conservatoire.


I wasn’t going home that summer. Apart from staying with Uncle Bartho and Aunt Colette at Coligny, I had no other plans for the summer break. Tanya didn’t accompany me to Siena but I recall that I went with Martine, a French girl, who wasn’t a music student but who liked to come to the Foyer to mix with all of us musicians and she would also meet us at the café near the Conservatoire where we would go for some refreshment after our classes.  I was glad to have her as a companion on the train to Italy because she spoke Italian quite well. I remember that we changed trains in Florence, Firenze in Italian, for the train to Siena and fortunately Martine was with me to assist me with the transit. 


Student accomodation was not provided in Siena, we had to source that on our own. It was all rather confusing when we arrived because there were unexpected changes in the itinerary which weren’t listed in the brochure. After registering at the Academia Chigiana, I was told that the auditions for Pollini’s class were on the same afternoon of my arrival! Incidentally, attendance at any summer school seminars was either as a performing student, that is if one was accepted by that professor after auditioning, or if not, as a listener. 


Since I chose to audition I had to find a practice room at the Chigiana and this wasn’t easy since there were limited practice rooms, and the ones that had pianos were often fully booked. It was really a jumbled mad chaos for me! I recall feeling really lost and out of sorts when I was ushered into the room to audition for Pollini. He was there with a few people, probably from the Adminstration, who were attending to the registrations for the summer seminars. Back then there were no computers so everything was handwritten or typed out on what seemed like reams of paper! 


I remember that Pollini was annoyed with the noisy airconditioner in that room because he interrupted my audition to have an altercation with those present about that airconditioner. I had prepared three pieces, two Schumann piano pieces and a Schubert piano Sonata for my audition. Pollini listened to excerpts from each of those pieces, said nothing save when to stop and which excerpts to play, and continued to smoke his cigarettes one after another. He wasn’t in an amenable mood at all, hardly surprisng with the noisy airconditioner grinding away in that stuffy room! Then I left and the next student was called to audition.


The rest of the evening was spent in getting my accomodation. I don’t remember how I did it but it was a room in a small shabby house quite a distance away from the Chigiana. The owners were an elderly couple, a very disgruntled woman and her equally unpleasant husband. Fortunately the room was quite large and looked reasonably clean, with a large shuttered window overlooking a grassy slope outside. There was an enormous wooden bed with, at least, clean sheets but I had to share the small not-so-clean toilet and bathroom with that old couple, much to my dismay. I didn’t have much of a choice as it was already late and I had to get myself some dinner which meant that I had to walk to the Central Square near the Chigiana to find a restaurant. I don’t remember much else except that I was bone tired and hungry!


Looking back now, these details seemed unimportant to me at that time, so great was my desire to study with Pollini that nothing else mattered. For the next two weeks I would leave very early in the morning and spend the entire day at the Chigiana, only returning at night after dinner. I was young and very focused on my studies and much as I would’ve preferred to have had a better accomodation, I didn’t let that bother me. 




The next day when I went to the Chigiana, I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that I had been accepted as a performing student in Pollini’s class! I really didn’t expect this, not after the scenario during my audition and the way I was feeling then. In fact while I was having tough time sorting out my accomodation my friends were looking for me when the results of the auditions were announced at the Chigiana! But no-one knew how or where to find me – there were no mobile phones in those days - and when they did the next day, they were quite dismayed and apologetic about the place I had to stay for the next two weeks. I couldn’t get another room anyway because there were none to be had save at a hotel which was even further away from the Chigiana and far too costly. Like I said, all these unpleasant details evaporated when I heard that I had been accepted as a performing student in Pollini’s piano seminar, I was simply elated! Together with me there were three other young men, a Swiss-German, a French and an English.


That same morning, the masterclasses with Pollini began. It was to be quite an experience and one that is etched in my memory forever. All the masterclasses at the Chigiana commenced at 9am and continued until about 1or 2pm. They were open to people who wished to attend as listeners. I was told that there were about a hundred persons who came each day for Pollini’s masterclasses.

Walking to the Chigiana


Everyone sat around the two grand pianos placed on one end of a very long room which was bright and airy. The four of us who were performing in the masterclasses sat near the grand pianos together with PollinThere was no formal introduction nor was there any kind of schedule as to who played each day but gradually as the seminar progressed, Pollini decided on who played at each masterclass. 


For me, I was completely absorbed into trying to soak up as much as I could from Pollini’s tutelage. He was very softspoken and seemed like he was a mild manered person but, as we soon found out, he had quite a temper and would brook no nonsense if his corrections weren’t obeyed! He had a phenomenal memory and could therefore recall every single mistake he had corrected, which he expected to be sorted out when we played for him at the next masterclass! He certainly took his teaching very seriously and we all had individual private lessons with him in the afternoon. These lessons were extremely long and could last for more than 3 hours at a stretch each time! I enjoyed every single moment of my lessons and couldn’t get enough of Pollini’s instruction. I practised as much as I could, before the morning masterclass and after the lunch break whenever I could grab one of the practice rooms. I absorbed all Pollini’s instructons and immersed myself into the music, not just the pieces I was playing but also the repertory which the other three students played. I was able to follow everything as closely as possible because I offered to turn their pages during the masterclasses each day. This allowed me to sit next to the player since I had to follow the music score propped up on the piano in order to turn those pages.


I like to think that Pollini noticed my keen interest as I was often asked to play during the masterclasses and I have a feeling that I also had the most private lessons with him as well. Since I spent my afternoons practising at the Chigiana, sometimes when one of the other students had a shorter lesson, Pollini sent for me. I made sure that I corrected all my mistakes after each masterclass or private lesson and revised every single detail from each lesson when I practised. I think that perhaps he could’ve been quite pleased with my diligence because at times when the others weren’t ready to play at the morning masterclass I was always ready to play. 


Pollini never demonstrated what he wanted us to do by playing on the second grand piano. All his instructions were thought provoking. He wanted us to listen carefully to our sound when we played the piano, and more importantly, to pay close attention to the markings by the composer on the music scores. With him I learnt to listen to how to produce sounds from the piano, that we had to first imagine the sound we wanted to create, that nuance, that tonal quality, our interpretation of the musical line of the phrase, before we touched the piano keys. Pollini taught us the importance of interpreting the difference between playing piano (p) softly, then pianissimo (pp) softer, and even more quietly (ppp) and playing forte (f) loud, fortissimo (ff) louder, and very loud (fff). To his sensitive ears none of us could discern these subtle nuances. It wasn't easy to produce the quality of sound Pollini expected nor to correct everything at once by the next lesson! Pollini himself interprets these differences in tonal quality in his remarkable recording of the 24 Preludes op 28 by Chopin, most especially in the slow Largo of Prelude no. 20.

 

With Pollini I began to understand the complete meaning of certain Italian words, for example, cantabile – in a singing style. He wanted us to sing that musical line and imagine how the music should sound before we even touched the piano keys. All Schubert’s music is very lyrical so it was important to make the piano sing when I studied that Schubert Sonata with Pollini. Music scores use a number of Italian words but strangely enough, I didn’t equate them with the actual Italian language. It only dawned on me when I was in Siena, that these words were the same spoken Italian that I was hearing around me!

Piazza del Campo, Siena

Like most towns or cities in Italy, Siena has a central square known as the Piazza. Not too far from the Chigiana was the Piazza del Campo, where there were several restaurants. After the morning masterclass, Pollini usually invited the four of us to lunch at one of the restaurants at the Piazza. He was quite a different person outside class and we met his charming wife, Marie-Liza. Lunches were leisurely affairs and we all sat with the Pollinis and enjoyed enormous pizzas and pasta. Pollini was more affable and relaxed. He wanted to know about our studies, our professors, from where we came from, me in particular since Malaysia seemed really exotic and distant compared to Europe. Pollini conversed with us in French and perhaps because I was the only female student in his class, he never lost his patience with me. His wife, Marie-Lisa liked me a lot because she always sat beside me at the restaurant. Since she only spoke in Italian, how did we ever communicate, remains a mystery but I enjoyed listening to whatever she told me without understanding what she said apart from the occasional word or two! I loved listening to spoken Italian and the way the Italians expressed themselves was molto expressivo with a lot of hand gestures while speaking.


The Pollinis

Me and Marie-Lisa Pollini

After lunch most places closed for a long siesta until 4pm. While almost everyone took a rest I went to find a practice room at the Chigiana where I practised until dinner time if I didn’t have a private lesson with Pollini. He usually came to the Chigiana by 4pm and then his private lessons went on until nearly 8pm! Then I would get my own dinner from one of the restaurants at the Piazza before walking back to my accomodation.

Breaktime between classes in Siena

The next day when I went to the Chigiana, I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that I had been accepted as a performing student in Pollini’s class! I really didn’t expect this, not after the scenario during my audition and the way I was feeling then. In fact while I was having tough time sorting out my accomodation my friends were looking for me when the results of the auditions were announced at the Chigiana! But no-one knew how or where to find me – there were no mobile phones in those days - and when they did the next day, they were quite dismayed and apologetic about the place I had to stay for the next two weeks. I couldn’t get another room anyway because there were none to be had save at a hotel which was even further away from the Chigiana and far too costly. Like I said, all these unpleasant details evaporated when I heard that I had been accepted as a performing student in Pollini’s piano seminar, I was simply elated! Together with me there were three other young men, a Swiss-German, a French and an English.

Walking to the Chigiana

That same morning, the masterclasses with Pollini began. It was to be quite an experience and one that is etched in my memory forever. All the masterclasses at the Chigiana commenced at 9am and continued until about 1or 2pm. They were open to people who wished to attend as listeners. I was told that there were about a hundred persons who came each day for Pollini’s masterclasses.

Everyone sat around the two grand pianos placed on one end of a very long room which was bright and airy. The four of us who were performing in the masterclasses sat near the grand pianos together with PollinThere was no formal introduction nor was there any kind of schedule as to who played each day but gradually as the seminar progressed, Pollini decided on who played at each masterclass. 


For me, I was completely absorbed into trying to soak up as much as I could from Pollini’s tutelage. He was very softspoken and seemed like he was a mild manered person but, as we soon found out, he had quite a temper and would brook no nonsense if his corrections weren’t obeyed! He had a phenomenal memory and could therefore recall every single mistake he had corrected, which he expected to be sorted out when we played for him at the next masterclass! He certainly took his teaching very seriously and we all had individual private lessons with him in the afternoon. These lessons were extremely long and could last for more than 3 hours at a stretch each time! I enjoyed every single moment of my lessons and couldn’t get enough of Pollini’s instruction. I practised as much as I could, before the morning masterclass and after the lunch break whenever I could grab one of the practice rooms. I absorbed all Pollini’s instructons and immersed myself into the music, not just the pieces I was playing but also the repertory which the other three students played. I was able to follow everything as closely as possible because I offered to turn their pages during the masterclasses each day. This allowed me to sit next to the player since I had to follow the music score propped up on the piano in order to turn those pages.


I like to think that Pollini noticed my keen interest as I was often asked to play during the masterclasses and I have a feeling that I also had the most private lessons with him as well. Since I spent my afternoons practising at the Chigiana, sometimes when one of the other students had a shorter lesson, Pollini sent for me. I made sure that I corrected all my mistakes after each masterclass or private lesson and revised every single detail from each lesson when I practised. I think that perhaps he could’ve been quite pleased with my diligence because at times when the others weren’t ready to play at the morning masterclass I was always ready to play. 


Pollini never demonstrated what he wanted us to do by playing on the second grand piano. All his instructions were thought provoking. He wanted us to listen carefully to our sound when we played the piano, and more importantly, to pay close attention to the markings by the composer on the music scores. With him I learnt to listen to how to produce sounds from the piano, that we had to first imagine the sound we wanted to create, that nuance, that tonal quality, our interpretation of the musical line of the phrase, before we touched the piano keys. Pollini taught us the importance of interpreting the difference between playing piano (p) softly, then pianissimo (pp) softer, and even more quietly (ppp) and playing forte (f) loud, fortissimo (ff) louder, and very loud (fff). To his sensitive ears none of us could discern these subtle nuances. It wasn't easy to produce the quality of sound Pollini expected nor to correct everything at once by the next lesson! Pollini himself interprets these differences in tonal quality in his remarkable recording of the 24 Preludes op 28 by Chopin, most especially in the slow Largo of Prelude no. 20.

 

With Pollini I began to understand the complete meaning of certain Italian words, for example, cantabile – in a singing style. He wanted us to sing that musical line and imagine how the music should sound before we even touched the piano keys. All Schubert’s music is very lyrical so it was important to make the piano sing when I studied that Schubert Sonata with Pollini. Music scores use a number of Italian words but strangely enough, I didn’t equate them with the actual Italian language. It only dawned on me when I was in Siena, that these words were the same spoken Italian that I was hearing around me!

Piazza del Campo, Siena

Like most towns or cities in Italy, Siena has a central square known as the Piazza. Not too far from the Chigiana was the Piazza del Campo, where there were several restaurants. After the morning masterclass, Pollini usually invited the four of us to lunch at one of the restaurants at the Piazza. He was quite a different person outside class and we met his charming wife, Marie-Liza. Lunches were leisurely affairs and we all sat with the Pollinis and enjoyed enormous pizzas and pasta. Pollini was more affable and relaxed. He wanted to know about our studies, our professors, from where we came from, me in particular since Malaysia seemed really exotic and distant compared to Europe. Pollini conversed with us in French and perhaps because I was the only female student in his class, he never lost his patience with me. His wife, Marie-Lisa liked me a lot because she always sat beside me at the restaurant. Since she only spoke in Italian, how did we ever communicate, remains a mystery but I enjoyed listening to whatever she told me without understanding what she said apart from the occasional word or two! I loved listening to spoken Italian and the way the Italians expressed themselves was molto expressivo with a lot of hand gestures while speaking.

The Pollinis

Me and Marie-Lisa Pollini

After lunch most places closed for a long siesta until 4pm. While almost everyone took a rest I went to find a practice room at the Chigiana where I practised until dinner time if I didn’t have a private lesson with Pollini. He usually came to the Chigiana by 4pm and then his private lessons went on until nearly 8pm! Then I would get my own dinner from one of the restaurants at the Piazza before walking back to my accomodation.

Breaktime between classes in Siena

One of my friends at the Foyer was a very talented Australian student, Tanya Hunt, who was studying the cello with Professor André Navarra at the Paris Conservatoire. In the summer of 1972, Professor Navarra was conducting a cello seminar of masterclasses at the Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Naturally Tanya was very keen to attend this seminar. Professor Navarra wanted her to participate since she was one of his star students at the Conservatoire. When Tanya showed me the brochure for the summer seminars at the Chigiana in Siena I thought I’d attempt the piano seminar by Maurizio Pollini from 18th – 30th August. I had been very taken with Pollini’s interpretation of his LP recording of the Four Chopin Ballades. I had also attended his concert at the Théatre de Champs Elysées in Paris when he played the Schumann Piano Concerto. For his piano seminar at the Chigiana, Pollini was focusing on the piano works of Schubert, Schumann and Webern. As I was studying a fair amount of Schubert and Schumann at that time, I thought it would be a good idea to attend Pollini’s seminar. It would be something different from my French tutelage at the Conservatoire.


I wasn’t going home that summer. Apart from staying with Uncle Bartho and Aunt Colette at Coligny, I had no other plans for the summer break. Tanya didn’t accompany me to Siena but I recall that I went with Martine, a French girl, who wasn’t a music student but who liked to come to the Foyer to mix with all of us musicians and she would also meet us at the café near the Conservatoire where we would go for some refreshment after our classes.  I was glad to have her as a companion on the train to Italy because she spoke Italian quite well. I remember that we changed trains in Florence, Firenze in Italian, for the train to Siena and fortunately Martine was with me to assist me with the transit. 


Student accomodation was not provided in Siena, we had to source that on our own. It was all rather confusing when we arrived because there were unexpected changes in the itinerary which weren’t listed in the brochure. After registering at the Academia Chigiana, I was told that the auditions for Pollini’s class were on the same afternoon of my arrival! Incidentally, attendance at any summer school seminars was either as a performing student, that is if one was accepted by that professor after auditioning, or if not, as a listener. 


Since I chose to audition I had to find a practice room at the Chigiana and this wasn’t easy since there were limited practice rooms, and the ones that had pianos were often fully booked. It was really a jumbled mad chaos for me! I recall feeling really lost and out of sorts when I was ushered into the room to audition for Pollini. He was there with a few people, probably from the Adminstration, who were attending to the registrations for the summer seminars. Back then there were no computers so everything was handwritten or typed out on what seemed like reams of paper! 


I remember that Pollini was annoyed with the noisy airconditioner in that room because he interrupted my audition to have an altercation with those present about that airconditioner. I had prepared three pieces, two Schumann piano pieces and a Schubert piano Sonata for my audition. Pollini listened to excerpts from each of those pieces, said nothing save when to stop and which excerpts to play, and continued to smoke his cigarettes one after another. He wasn’t in an amenable mood at all, hardly surprisng with the noisy airconditioner grinding away in that stuffy room! Then I left and the next student was called to audition.


The rest of the evening was spent in getting my accomodation. I don’t remember how I did it but it was a room in a small shabby house quite a distance away from the Chigiana. The owners were an elderly couple, a very disgruntled woman and her equally unpleasant husband. Fortunately the room was quite large and looked reasonably clean, with a large shuttered window overlooking a grassy slope outside. There was an enormous wooden bed with, at least, clean sheets but I had to share the small not-so-clean toilet and bathroom with that old couple, much to my dismay. I didn’t have much of a choice as it was already late and I had to get myself some dinner which meant that I had to walk to the Central Square near the Chigiana to find a restaurant. I don’t remember much else except that I was bone tired and hungry!


Looking back now, these details seemed unimportant to me at that time, so great was my desire to study with Pollini that nothing else mattered. For the next two weeks I would leave very early in the morning and spend the entire day at the Chigiana, only returning at night after dinner. I was young and very focused on my studies and much as I would’ve preferred to have had a better accomodation, I didn’t let that bother me. 




Walking to the Chigiana

The next day when I went to the Chigiana, I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that I had been accepted as a performing student in Pollini’s class! I really didn’t expect this, not after the scenario during my audition and the way I was feeling then. In fact while I was having tough time sorting out my accomodation my friends were looking for me when the results of the auditions were announced at the Chigiana! But no-one knew how or where to find me – there were no mobile phones in those days - and when they did the next day, they were quite dismayed and apologetic about the place I had to stay for the next two weeks. I couldn’t get another room anyway because there were none to be had save at a hotel which was even further away from the Chigiana and far too costly. Like I said, all these unpleasant details evaporated when I heard that I had been accepted as a performing student in Pollini’s piano seminar, I was simply elated! Together with me there were three other young men, a Swiss-German, a French and an English.


That same morning, the masterclasses with Pollini began. It was to be quite an experience and one that is etched in my memory forever. All the masterclasses at the Chigiana commenced at 9am and continued until about 1or 2pm. They were open to people who wished to attend as listeners. I was told that there were about a hundred persons who came each day for Pollini’s masterclasses.


Everyone sat around the two grand pianos placed on one end of a very long room which was bright and airy. The four of us who were performing in the masterclasses sat near the grand pianos together with PollinThere was no formal introduction nor was there any kind of schedule as to who played each day but gradually as the seminar progressed, Pollini decided on who played at each masterclass. 


For me, I was completely absorbed into trying to soak up as much as I could from Pollini’s tutelage. He was very softspoken and seemed like he was a mild manered person but, as we soon found out, he had quite a temper and would brook no nonsense if his corrections weren’t obeyed! He had a phenomenal memory and could therefore recall every single mistake he had corrected, which he expected to be sorted out when we played for him at the next masterclass! He certainly took his teaching very seriously and we all had individual private lessons with him in the afternoon. These lessons were extremely long and could last for more than 3 hours at a stretch each time! I enjoyed every single moment of my lessons and couldn’t get enough of Pollini’s instruction. I practised as much as I could, before the morning masterclass and after the lunch break whenever I could grab one of the practice rooms. I absorbed all Pollini’s instructons and immersed myself into the music, not just the pieces I was playing but also the repertory which the other three students played. I was able to follow everything as closely as possible because I offered to turn their pages during the masterclasses each day. This allowed me to sit next to the player since I had to follow the music score propped up on the piano in order to turn those pages.


I like to think that Pollini noticed my keen interest as I was often asked to play during the masterclasses and I have a feeling that I also had the most private lessons with him as well. Since I spent my afternoons practising at the Chigiana, sometimes when one of the other students had a shorter lesson, Pollini sent for me. I made sure that I corrected all my mistakes after each masterclass or private lesson and revised every single detail from each lesson when I practised. I think that perhaps he could’ve been quite pleased with my diligence because at times when the others weren’t ready to play at the morning masterclass I was always ready to play. 


Pollini never demonstrated what he wanted us to do by playing on the second grand piano. All his instructions were thought provoking. He wanted us to listen carefully to our sound when we played the piano, and more importantly, to pay close attention to the markings by the composer on the music scores. With him I learnt to listen to how to produce sounds from the piano, that we had to first imagine the sound we wanted to create, that nuance, that tonal quality, our interpretation of the musical line of the phrase, before we touched the piano keys. Pollini taught us the importance of interpreting the difference between playing piano (p) softly, then pianissimo (pp) softer, and even more quietly (ppp) and playing forte (f) loud, fortissimo (ff) louder, and very loud (fff). To his sensitive ears none of us could discern these subtle nuances. It wasn't easy to produce the quality of sound Pollini expected nor to correct everything at once by the next lesson! Pollini himself interprets these differences in tonal quality in his remarkable recording of the 24 Preludes op 28 by Chopin, most especially in the slow Largo of Prelude no. 20.

 

With Pollini I began to understand the complete meaning of certain Italian words, for example, cantabile – in a singing style. He wanted us to sing that musical line and imagine how the music should sound before we even touched the piano keys. All Schubert’s music is very lyrical so it was important to make the piano sing when I studied that Schubert Sonata with Pollini. Music scores use a number of Italian words but strangely enough, I didn’t equate them with the actual Italian language. It only dawned on me when I was in Siena, that these words were the same spoken Italian that I was hearing around me!

Piazza del Campo, Siena

The Pollinis

Like most towns or cities in Italy, Siena has a central square known as the Piazza. Not too far from the Chigiana was the Piazza del Campo, where there were several restaurants. After the morning masterclass, Pollini usually invited the four of us to lunch at one of the restaurants at the Piazza. He was quite a different person outside class and we met his charming wife, Marie-Liza. Lunches were leisurely affairs and we all sat with the Pollinis and enjoyed enormous pizzas and pasta. Pollini was more affable and relaxed. He wanted to know about our studies, our professors, from where we came from, me in particular since Malaysia seemed really exotic and distant compared to Europe. Pollini conversed with us in French and perhaps because I was the only female student in his class, he never lost his patience with me. His wife, Marie-Lisa liked me a lot because she always sat beside me at the restaurant. Since she only spoke in Italian, how did we ever communicate, remains a mystery but I enjoyed listening to whatever she told me without understanding what she said apart from the occasional word or two! I loved listening to spoken Italian and the way the Italians expressed themselves was molto expressivo with a lot of hand gestures while speaking.

Me and Marie-Lisa Pollini

After lunch most places closed for a long siesta until 4pm. While almost everyone took a rest I went to find a practice room at the Chigiana where I practised until dinner time if I didn’t have a private lesson with Pollini. He usually came to the Chigiana by 4pm and then his private lessons went on until nearly 8pm! Then I would get my own dinner from one of the restaurants at the Piazza before walking back to my accomodation.

Breaktime between classes in Siena

My Certificate from Pollini's seminar

On Sundays since I couldn’t practise at the Chigiana, I went to the Cathederal for Sunday Mass and then explored places on foot with my companions. Italians are very artistic people and they are renowned for their craftsmanship. The interior of the Cathederal had an intricate mosaic flooring which framed paintings on the floor depicting Biblical scenes. There were patterned walls and pillars of mosaic and its vaulted ceiling with its many arches were all intricately decorated, so too the sculpted pulpit and all the smaller chapels in alcoves around the central nave, every possible inch was highly decorated. Since no one was allowed to take any photos inside the Cathederal I bought picture postcards. Back then I only had one of those point-to-shoot pocket cameras which still managed to capture moments of my time in Siena.

My Certificate from Pollini's seminar

Piazza del Campo, Siena

At the end of the seminar, Marie-Liza Pollini gave me a lovely gift of an Italian  purse made of leather and velvet with a gilded clasp. I still have it until today. Besides the wonderful lessons with Pollini himself, I had cultivated a friendship with them and each year when he came to perform in Paris during the concert series, Quatre Etoiles, at the Théatre des Champs Elysées, I never missed any of his concerts, attending both nights when he did repeat performances. I always personally delivered a bouquet of flowers to his room backstage, as a welcome gift before the concert, and met him and Marie-Liza afterwards. They introduced me to his Press secretary, Elisabeth, who used to reserve me tickets to all Pollini’s concerts and even gave me his latest LP recordings from Deutsche Gramophone. I admired him immensely and still do. I feel extremely priviledged to have had the chance to have studied with him during that seminar at the Academia Chigiana.


After Siena, before returning to Paris I went to Florence, called Firenze in Italian, for just two days with Martine. I wanted to see some of Michelangelo’s sculptures notably his iconic masterpiece, the David. I was amazed see several copies of this statue almost everywhere in Florence! The actual life-size David is housed in one section at the Galleria dell Accademia museum together with five other unfinished works known as Michelangelo’s Prisoners which Michelangelo started to sculpt but left unfinished. Indeed these do look as though those figures struggled to emerge from their blocks of marble. The David left me in awe. Only the hair looked sculpted, the rest of the statue was so real, so lifelike especially the incredible detailing of the flesh and skin that it was hard to believe that this was marble! It was as though I stood infront of a naked youthful David, ready to step off the pedestal and swing his sling to slay Goliath.


The two days in Florence flew by only too quickly and soon it was time for me to return to Paris by train with Martine. My heart was full of all the sights I’d seen in both Siena and in Florence, and all the music from those lessons with one of the world’s greatest pianists, Maurizio Pollini. So ended my Italian summer.

    • The picture gallery above was composed by Puteri Nur Alyia from a compilation of some of the picture postcards scanned from the ones I had bought in Siena and in Florence. To view each picture, please click on the arrows to manually change each picture.


    Of all the interviews and videos about Maurizio Pollini, which can be viewed on YouTube, the one I prefer the most is the one entitled: Maurizio Pollini A Musical Profile 2014. Even though it was filmed in 2014 it’s an excellent portrayal of Pollini with excerpts of his live performances as well his comments and thoughts on music.


    Maurizio Pollini A Musical Profile 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMpcUEVijyE&ab_channel=peterpels2





    To be continued...

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