Not unlike my corner shop, things today were of a particularly polish flavour, as amongst the pieces played Frédéric Chopin was preferred: three of today's performers had his pieces memorised for today, perhaps because Chopin himself was said to have had relatively small hands –like today's young visitors– and composed very technical works, which are probably quite demanding for pianists of all ages.
Also featured was Chopin's compatriot Moritz Moszkowski, and Frenchmen Francis Poulenc and François Couperin.
It's difficult to pinpoint a favourite amongst so much talent, but I was particularly impressed by Angela, today's youngest, and Edward, the eldest and final pianist.
While listening to our young performers I couldn't help but thinking about a concept I learned way too recently: it's what in Spanish we call «transmisión», which is not just about connecting tyres to engines, but also about connecting emotions to audience members; it's more about emotional connections, about forming an engagement with the audience, about moving the crowd, and stirring their soul. It's a skill that can't be taught, and it's certainly not available through Amazon Prime. Paraphrasing the famous musician, maestro Dwight Schrute, one's technique can be sound, but can still lack a little bit of soul.
It's a wonder, then, that today we were able to experience musicians that weren't lacking in either technique or soul, and for that, we must again be thankful.