Classical music and comedy – not something you hear put together often, but this international piano virtuoso is set to bring the old favorites to life in this unconventional combination.
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Internationally acclaimed Steinway artist and concert pianist Julian Gargiulo is coming to Griffith on Friday September 14, and in an interview with The Area News shares his excitement to perform for the town fresh from a tour in Singapore.
Travelling United States, Canada, England, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, China, he is looking forward to connecting to audiences here.
“When you are playing in a big city, I think it may be harder to break down the barriers and become friends with your audience because people are a little more jaded and suspicious, but in smaller places people are willing to build those connections with you quicker,” Dr Gargiulo said.
Described as Saturday Night Live with a piano, with a non-stop flow of pure Woody Allen-style wit, the Italian-American performer will hold the audience spellbound.
His program includes Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’, Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, with Beethoven and Chopin thrown in for good measure.
“What I do is like a classical concert but it differs from traditional concerts because it’s a very informal - it takes the classic out of classical concerts.
“It’s like a conversation I have with the audience, it is rather on the humorous side.”
Anything but “stuffy,” Dr Gargiulo said his metamorphosis into a informal act came naturally.
“I think it came from my personality, I love meeting people, I love talking, and I love making people laugh.
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“It came from that, but at a few shows I did a number of years ago the presenter told me the audience doesn’t know anything about classical music, and if I could say a couple of words about the composers and went from there.”
Dr Gargiulo studied at the Verona State Conservatory, the Mugi Academy in Rome and the Moscow State Conservatorium.
In the United States he received his Bachelor's Degree at Rowan University, Master's Degree at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, and his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Maryland.