"I couldn't stand to see so much pain and so many people suffering any longer," he said. Nine-year-old Stelios Kersadis wrote an original composition, titled "Anti-War Etude" as a dedication to those in Ukraine. Now, one young piano prodigy from Greece is sending a "musical message" and a plea to those responsible: "Us children, we have the right to peace. "That," the teacher says, "is going to happen.The ongoing war in Ukraine has taken a deadly toll and forced millions of people, mostly women and children, to leave their homes. "I played many of Clementi's Sonatinas they are so fun, and I can make up a lot of fun stories to go with his music." When a person is sad, she said, "Clementi's music can make him happy!"įiorito says, "Stephanie's next dream is to play at Carnegie Hall."Īnd the instructor doesn't doubt it one bit.
Stephanie says her third favorite composer is Muzio Clementi. "It calms me, it makes me feel very cozy." That's what I am trying to do, too!" the young pianist says.įrederic Chopin is her second favorite and she listens to his Nocturnes every night before she goes to sleep. "He used to say it's easy to play any musical instrument - all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time, and the instrument will play itself. There are multiple voices, with left hand and right hand playing separate melodies as if they were talking to each other!"īach's sense of humor appeals to her. Stephanie puts Johann Sebastian Bach at the top of her list of favorite composers, she says, "Because his music is deep and tricky, requiring a lot of thinking. When she performed the Bach Prelude earlier this year at the Connecticut State Music Teachers Association Competition, she was the winner in the 6- to 9-year-old age group. "Her hand isn't large enough to connect the keys." A less important note will be taken out, for example, or, "Stephanie will pick up her hand and then play the given key." "There are a lot of injuries with piano players," says her mother, "if they don't use the proper position." A bit of improvising goes into playing certain chords, she adds. And finger exercises are part of Stephanie's regimen. She does special exercises to stretch her hands so she can play Chopin and other master composers. There's the footstool to support her feet to reach the raised pedals.
We are very lucky to find a teacher like her for Stephanie."īut there are physical challenges for such a little girl playing such big music. I have to communicate with her in a way that she understands," the instructor adds.Ĭhang says of Fiorito, "Her teaching has led my daughter into the world of classical music, weaving Bach and Mozart into her dreams. "This is the problem with small children who are getting advanced in technique - we are forced to give them pieces that are above their emotional level. "It's very loving, caring, feeling music because the music is all about love," she says. So, each part of the music she was telling herself the story, and at the concert she played the music through in 7 to 8 minutes."įiorito is now teaching Stephanie Chopin's Polonaise. The mother goes to look for him and finds him. It's about a bunny rabbit that wanted to be in the woods and gets lost. "She made a wonderful story for the concerto. To learn the three-movement piano concerto by composer Nicolai Silvansky, Fiorito said that she told Stephanie "to go home and tell a story while the music is moving, then write the story down on paper." "I needed to reach her soul," says the instructor. "She doesn't speak much in lessons." With her years of experience in teaching young children, Fiorito found the way to reach Stephanie - by engaging her in story-telling.
"Stephanie is a quiet girl, but very strong inside," says her instructor.
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