Manlio Giordano [concert pianist]

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Manlio
GIORDANO
Some biographical information about the Swedish-Italian concert pianist Manlio Giordano is provided further down the page.

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Several music videos with Manlio Giordano are available in the video section for this account. (One video is available also at the far bottom of this page.)

[In Swedish: Flera videoklipp med musik med Manlio Giordano finns bland videofilmerna som laddats upp på detta konto. En film finns även längst ned på denna sida.]

Quotes from reviews and responses for the concerts from which the uploaded recordings in the video section have been chosen:

"...a master of the art of piano playing."
(Gunnar Lindgren, Norrbottens-Kuriren, Sweden, February 23, 2001.)

"...his playing seems devoid of technical difficulty."
(Gunnar Lindgren, Norrbottens-Kuriren, Sweden, October 29, 2001.)

"A show-off in sparkling virtuosity."
(Gunnar Lindgren, Norrbottens-Kuriren, Sweden, February 23, 2001.)

"...a tour-de-force of good taste and analytical skill."
(Article heading: "A tour-de-force of good taste." )
(Måns Nilsson, Norrländska Socialdemokraten, Sweden, October 29, 2001.)

"...not a single tone is left unattended."
( Måns Nilsson, Norrländska Socialdemokraten, Sweden, October 29, 2001.)

"...the ovations reflected a performance of international proportions."
( Måns Nilsson, Norrländska Socialdemokraten, Sweden, October 29, 2001.)

"[This] was Giordano's orchestral debut - and what a debut... ...Giordano carries us through the story with exquisite sensitivity... ...carefully interpreted... ...the phrases flow effortlessly from the piano... deeply engaged in the music... ...very promising for the future."
( Måns Nilsson, Norrländska Socialdemokraten, Sweden, October 29, 2001.)

"I still [weeks after the concert] find myself in a state of shock, due to the high level of your performance... ...I will of course recommend you anywhere, in writing or otherwise..."
(E-mail from Mr. Gunnar Östlund, former president of the symphony orchestra heard in the recording of Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto, conducted by Maestro Hans Ek.)

"I had the great pleasure to hear Manlio Giordano in concert. It was breathtaking! He is a delightful musician with an ease and natural flow. He has a deep commitment in the music and an expressive honesty which is rare for such a young pianist. He really makes the audience listen! I give him my very best recommendation."
(Tori Stødle, professor of piano, Tromsø Music Conservatory, Norway; response, in a letter of recommendation, to a performance part of the same tour, given two days after the performances uploaded here.)

"One should ask if it is appropriate to keep referring to [Manlio Giordano] as a "talent" or "gifted young musician". Rather, we are dealing here with a maturing artist, whose performances reflect his deep research into the works... In the third movement [of the Schumann sonata], Andante di Clara Wieck, he lets all the melancholy and bitterness of unhappy love pour out of the instrument, and then accomplishes a sudden shift in mood and playfully brings forth the emotional explosion that Schumann has written in the [fourth and final movement] "Prestissimo possibile; passionato"... ...[Giordano] is an excellent interpreter of the works that he chooses to play and he gives them a touch all his own, which makes interesting listening - an artist, who embarked upon his musical journey, once, in [the Arctic North of Sweden]."
(Patrik Boström, Norrländska Socialdemokraten, January 4th, 2003.)

"Reliable technique and strong nerves... ...20-year-old Manlio Giordano from Stockholm whose distinctive interpretation of Haydn, full of life, impressed colossally."
[Sic! Giordano was 16 years old - not 20 - at the time.]
(Dr. Carl-Gunnar Åhlén (legendary Swedish music critic and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music), Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden, July 1, 1993, after hearing Giordano perform a Haydn sonata in the price-winners' recital after a competition; Giordano's performance was the only one mentioned in the review)

The video section will be updated regularly with new material.

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Please read the appropriate entry in the blog if you are interested in obtaining - free of any cost - a torrent for an upload of a 62-minute, copyright-free, region-free DVD (PAL) with Manlio Giordano in concert, performing Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto and several encores. A "bittorrent client" program will be required for the download; several such programs are available free of cost on the web. (Torrents for both uncompressed [3.3 GB] and compressed versions [

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Giordano may be contacted via MySpace , for booking performances etc. (Swedish clients may prefer to get in contact with Giordano via the addresses supplied by SYMF, Sveriges Yrkesmusikerförbund, where Giordano is a member of the freelance division.)

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Giordano is currently ready to accept full scholarships to cover PhD studies (possibly dual) in both music and either biochemistry, pharmaceutical science or pathology at one of the leading universities of the world. (Offers already received and under consideration.)

Giordano is further open to suggestions from sponsors, record companies and artist management agencies.
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The biographical information now follows.

Giordano finished his studies at Lund University, Sweden, for an M.A. in musical arts at age 20, under the supervision of prof. Michal Wesolowski (heir of Igumnov of the "Russian school" of piano playing), after having gained admission with the highest marks of all applicants to both Lund University and the Royal Conservatory in Stockholm, Sweden. After the several competition rounds that are part of the admission procedure, the 15-year-old Giordano - already a full-time student of Björn Ejdemo (formerly a student of the great Stanislaw Knor) since almost a year, on a private basis, having finished school at an accelerated rate - was deemed apt even for post-graduate level of study by the head juror in Stockholm and during his first semester of study in Stockholm, he was publicly named "The most advanced and independent student I have ever taught" by the head professor at that time, prof. Laszlo Simon of Hungary (presently professor of piano at Universität der Künste in Berlin).

Subsequently, Giordano studied for his former (childhood) master Björn Ejdemo (mentioned previously) at Piteå School of Music, Sweden, and for legendary prof. Peter Feuchtwanger in London. In 2001, Prof. Feuchtwanger wrote that "Manlio Giordano is one of the most prodigiously gifted pianists I have heard in a long time and I can highly recommend him..."

Manlio Giordano was born in Rome, Italy, to a mother working for the ESA (European Space Agency) and a father who was a financier (originally an engineer also employed within the ESA). He came with his mother to Kiruna, Sweden at an early age, and subsequently grew up in various Swedish cities. Although no one played a musical instrument among his living relatives in Sweden, Giordano began his formal piano studies already at age three.

Giordano started giving live performances at age five and performed his own music on the Swedish national radio at age 10. Giordano's performances have received excellent reviews without exception and he has been awarded several prestigious prizes (including the Rubus Arcticus prize) and scholarships. Giordano has appeared on the Swedish national television and has first-performed contemporary music on the Swedish national radio. He has given performances throughout Scandinavia, as well as in other countries.

Giordano is based in Malmö, Sweden, and presently combines freelance work as a solo pianist with extensive studies for multiple academic degrees within medicine (M.D. program; presently on study leave) and the natural sciences (theoretical chemistry, engineering mathematics and molecular biology) at Lund University and Lund Institute of Technology.

Prior to enrolling in formal study of science, in 2003 - which thus far has resulted in the highest mark for almost every course taken - self-study had been undertaken over several years; thus, already in 1999, Giordano was officially commended by a British senior university lecturer of inorganic chemistry for his research skills, after having participated on special permission, without formal qualifications, in an industrial research project within the field of analytical chemistry.

Linguistics has been one of Giordano's hobby interests since his earliest teens; thus, after a few months' focused part-time self-study of university-level English, the 14-year-old Giordano scored a test result so high after taking each of the American T.O.E.F.L. tests that a British senior university lecturer of English testified to Giordano's academic maturity in an official letter of recommendation.

Giordano is also likely to hold at least a national record for senior high-school ("gymnasieskolan" in Swedish) marks, having received no less than 53 A:s, distributed over study areas ranging from several foreign languages, cultural history, business economics and civics to rarely given elective courses in mathematics and natural science; this was also achieved at the same time as pursuing piano studies, and in a condensed time-frame, in four different schools in three cities due to moving around. (No marks lower than A were received at any point.)

Giordano will combine his passion for music with participating in the global quest for a better understanding of the molecular biology of human physiology and pathophysiology. In particular, Giordano is interested in the ongoing cross-pollination between traditional medicine and the various technical disciplines, that is slowly but steadily giving birth to an all-new paradigm within the life sciences.

In music theory, Giordano's main interest is the exploration of the limitations of musical notation and the ensuing practical and philosophical consequences.

Giordano is an active member of numerous academic associations, including one of Sweden's oldest lecture associations where he has held a board position for two years and remains the youngest member.

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Disclaimer regarding "Friends" on MySpace . Manlio Giordano does not necessarily share the opions etc. expressed or otherwise demonstrated by other MySpace members that are on his list of MySpace friends.

Friendship requests will in general be accepted on a trial basis, but a valid motivation should be provided either before or together with the request, in a separate e-mail. In particular, unmotivated friendship requests from companies (including bands) will not be accepted.

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