Psuper busy period for Frida Bollani Magoni. «The preparation for the tour, the exams…» he explains. What faculty did you choose? “Nooo, I’m not at university: I mean high school diploma!” laughs the pianist and singer, who for artistic authority and wisdom we would imagine older than her by her (not yet completed) 19 years. But immediately an appointment awaits her which she holds dear: on May 18 at the Liberty Amphitheater he will perform together with Paolo Jannacci, a special preview of Plan City Milan submitted by Apple Music Classical, the app from the vast catalog of classical music (including the official playlist of the event).
Kahlo has nothing to do with it
Frida Bollani Magoni on piano (photo Francesco Prandoni).
«It is the third time that I participate, the piano is the instrument with which I started, the most complete instrument». Daughter of art she (Stefano Bollani the father, Petra Magoni the mother), son of art – of the unforgettable Enzo – he… «The love for music unites Paolo and me regardless of families: for me, sharing the stage, playing with others represents true pleasure» says Frida, who made her debut in 2020 in a piano-voice concert and in 2022 has already recorded an album, First tour. «Facing the public no longer intimidates me, it gives me adrenaline, energy. And want to have fun.”
“Meditation”
But when did he realize that this would be his way? “I’ve known a little bit all along, actually. I never thought of an alternative. Music is my passion, my favorite activity, my way to let off steam, my form of meditation. Maybe I’ve changed the way I imagine the future: there and then I thought I’d become a classical concert player, then a jazz pianist, then I approached singing and experimented with all types. In the end I concluded that the piano and the voice go well together, I don’t have to choose: I consider them on the same level. I started playing by ear, at the age of seven instead I started with braille scores with a blind teacher from Lucca. And I attended both middle school and high school in music, in Pisa. But I’m not someone who studies seven hours a day, eh: studying is very important, but the quantity is subjective».
“I have perfect pitch”
It seems that she is “facilitated” by having “perfect pitch”… «Yes, one is more sensitive thanks to this auditory phenomenon whereby one perceives the notes of any sound. Which makes it a rather absurd feature, I could hear a supermarket checkout, the elevator beep and recognize the note…».
She was called at the Quirinale by President Mattarella for the 75th anniversary of the Italian Republicparticipated to his father’s transmission, Via dei matti n.0… Next steps? «No certainty. meanwhile this summer I do a nice tour with many dates and maybe I’ll record – calmly! – a second record».
Frida and Friends
Frida Bollani Magoni (photo Francesco Prandoni).
On 22 July, at the Scotto Garden in Pisa, a Frida and Friends…«Musician friends from Italy and abroad will arrive and it is an appointment that is close to my heart: part of the proceeds will be donated to vEyes, onlus (vEyes stands for virtual eyes), a Catania association for the blind that designs technologies to support people with visual impairments. They have also created the vEyes orchestra, an orchestra with blind, blind and visually impaired people and they will organize a musical campus».
“Mom, my role model”
Frida Bollani Magoni with her mother Petra Magoni (photo Roberto Finizio/Getty Images).
In your opinion, does the artist also have a social duty? Don’t you have to respond only to inspiration? “Personally, I really feel I have to. I’ve had this luck in the bad luck: I’m glad I’m visually impaired because it has offered me ways of perceiving the world that, perhaps, having sight, I would not have exploited. I want to help many people like me to understand that there is something positive even in not seeing, we have a lot of other beautiful things».
Her name will be a tribute to Frida Kahlo… «Actually no, my parents liked it. But of course I’m glad he’s associated with a woman like her.’ Who are your role models? «My mother, Petra Magoni».
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