Concert reviews
"Celebrated organist performs at CMA to standing ovation" - The Observer
"The organ is not the first instrument that comes to mind for a crowd-pleasing act, but distinguished Italian organist Davide Mariano received a standing ovation after his solo performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday, Jan. 14.
Only 30 years old, Mariano has already garnered a series of prestigious musical accolades and performed around the world in venues such as the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, the chapel of the Versailles castle and Vienna’s Musikverein. Indeed, he is recognized as his generation’s most active Italian organist on the international scene, and the fact that Cleveland attracts artists of this caliber demonstrates its high standing in the artistic world.
Performing works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann, Charles-Marie Widor and Alexandre Guilmant, Mariano’s concert included music written in both the 18th and 19th centuries, exhibiting the broad range in his repertoire: Mariano performs disparate works from the Middle Ages as well as the contemporary era.
Not allowing his musicality to interfere with his precision, Mariano’s playing was both captivating and graceful, softly drawing in the listener and demonstrating the thought put into each note.
The most gripping part of the concert was a selection from Alexandre Guilmant’s Sonata no. 1 in D Minor, op. 42. After a series of more traditional and delicate works for the organ, the first notes of Guilmant’s Sonata made several audience members jump in their seats due to the powerful and emotionally charged execution, a reaction every musician wants to prompt. Guilmant’s piece provided variety and a jolt of energy to the program.
Given that the organ is not an instrument most people are particularly familiar with outside of its relationship to religious music and “Phantom of the Opera,” the Cleveland Museum of Art’s choice of selection was particularly edifying. As a matter of fact, one enthusiastic audience member, after applauding sincerely and with great animation, approached an usher and exclaimed that she found the performance remarkably educational as she had not previously understood the intricacies of the organ. Indeed, many other audience members noted the vast number of pipes and the extent to which an organist must coordinate the keyboard and pedals.
Davide Mariano’s performance embodied the Cleveland Museum of Art’s mission to present “thoughtful, fascinating and beautiful experiences.” With his delightful and enlightening concert, Mariano brought warmth to the Cleveland community on an otherwise frigid and frosty Sunday afternoon."
observer.case.edu/celebrated-organist-performs-at-cma-to-standing-ovation/
"Suntory Hall’s grand reopening" - Bachtrack
"...The organist wowed the audience by performing two virtuosic French solo works, immersing everyone in the hall in the pipe organ’s indescribably charming sound..."
bachtrack.com/de_DE/
Stiftsmusik Stuttgart - Internationaler Orgelsommer Stuttgart
"Dreimal Wow für den furiosen Orgelabend zum #internationalerorgelsommer. Heute hatten wir Davide Mariano aus Wien zu Gast! Mille grazie per il bel concerto!"
www.instagram.com/p/BmCB4McHtmq/
"Nostalgisches Festkonzert - Großer Ossiacher Abend zum 50-Jahr-Jubiläum" - Kleine Zeitung Kaernte
"...Dabei gefielen der Trompeter Siegfried J. Koch und der Organist Davide Mariano mit hoher Virtuosität. Letzterer musizierte auch ein dem 10jährigen Jubiläum des Festivals gewidmetes Konzert für Orgel und Streichorchester von Karl Krenek..."
www.pressreader.com/austria/kleine-zeitung-kaernten/20190707/281973199213889
"Davide Mariano Molte grazie" - Orgelfestival Roermond
"18 augustus 2015, Davide Mariano, Italiaan en aanstormend talent speelde vanavond een prachtig concert met werk van Bach, de Grigny e.a. Perfect passend op het orgel en zeer sfeervol in de Caroluskapel."
http://orgelkringroermond.nl/nieuwsarchief/davide-mariano-molte-grazie/