The Old Pianoforte
Last week I was invited to play at an event in a school for the Elimination of Violence against Women Day. Students aged 11 to 14 performed pieces of music and short dramatic pieces highlighting the issue which moved from examples of violence towards a focus on what women can achieve when given the space and freedom to follow their dreams. At the centre of this debate was a beautiful old pianoforte, donated to the school by the family of the owner, Ernestina Giordana. She was born in 1895 in Castroreale, but was orphaned in her teenage years and was raised by two aunts. They saw her musical potential and sent her to the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome to complete her studies. After graduation she came down with the virulent Spanish Influenza and returned to Sicily to recover, where she met her husband. They had ten children but Ernesta continued to give piano lessons in the town and all those who studied piano at the time passed through Ernestina’s hands... Everyone comment