Reviews, May of Music: Genny Basso's concert for Aldo Ciccolini's 100th birthday

On the centenary of Aldo Ciccolini's birth, the Maggio della Musica is dedicating a concert to one of the most brilliant figures of twentieth-century piano. Genny Basso, the Maestro's last student and assistant, will take the stage at Villa Pignatelli with a recital titled "100 Years of Ciccolini – The Weight of Lightness," scheduled for Sunday, November 9, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. This concert concludes the "Ciccolini Marathon," organized by the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with a double event as part of the MUSICAinVILLA / Maggio della Musica Autumn Concerts series. A pianist of intense sensitivity and profound musical culture, Genny Basso today represents one of the most authentic witnesses to Ciccolini's artistic legacy. In recent years, he has shared with him the experience of masterclasses and the constant search for that lightness that is not superficiality, but grace and restraint. The concert program includes works by Scarlatti, Mascagni, Basso, Liszt, and Debussy: a sonic journey spanning different eras and languages, blending classical rigor and poetic freedom, in perfect harmony with Ciccolini's musical vision. "Every note of Ciccolini's," says Genny Basso, "had a human meaning, a gesture of love toward music. It's impossible to separate his art from his way of being: curious, generous, profoundly free. In this concert, I try to convey not only his teachings, but his soul, his way of looking at the piano as an inner voice."

With this event, the Maggio della Musica confirms its vocation as custodian and promoter of the great musical tradition, remembering an artist who inextricably linked his life to Naples and Paris, two cities that inspired his sensibility and accompanied his international career.