There is still hope in Italy

A good friend from Princeland posted this beautiful story elsewhere, and I find it so moving that I asked for permission to reproduce it here. I thank her a lot for allowing me to post this. So here you have it, demonstrating that against all bad expectations, there is still hope in Italy:

This is something I'm very proud of and something that sort of gives me a good mood every time I think about it.

On Feb 13th there was a big demonstration in Rome together with sibling-demonstrations all over Italy and around the world (London, Paris, Berlin, Maputo, Tokyo, New York.... just to mention a few places....) called "If not now when?" (it's the title of a Primo Levi book). The main concept that people demonstrating wanted to make clear is that there is a part of Italy who doesn't accept a kind of macho-system that leads another part of the country dragging the figure of woman back to decades and decades in the past.... It obviously turned partly in a more openly against-B demonstration, yet the main idea was : to say "I don't like what it's becoming and I want to show it".

So, a side-initiave taken during the demonstration by some 300 people was a 'musical' one and I'll turn into a personal narration now. 

A couple of days before the demonstration my father (who is a musician) received a digital leaflet promoting a sort of musical flash-mob, the protmoter was one of his former students: the idea was to summon as many volunteer-musicians as possible (any kind of instrumentalist or singer or whatever...) to perform all together an almost off-the-cut "Dies Irae" by Mozart urging for B to quit. Everyone knew the message would not reach the main addressee, still - as I said - some 300 people gathered - each with his own score and/or istrument etc... - and, after a few rehearsals there on the spot, two performances took place under the eyes and ears of demonstrators who were in that part of Piazza del Popolo.

As I said, my father got the leaflet via email and he immediately was ready for it: he was very excited and willing to do it. So, we got there on time "to rehearse" and to say hi to a few people (btw, the conductor is also a former student of my father) and then everything started. 

I link here the video we edited from the shots I did during rehersal and performance:it is now posted on a blog on father's site.

I so much loved what happened that I wanted to share it with you (or those of you who might be interested). It has a few details on my father because the idea behind the video is "I was there, too!" 

http://www.giovannipiazza.it/cosanepenso/file_vari/Dies.Irae_HQ.mov

It's a little heavy because I'm linking you what we consider to be the HQ version of it.