Donald Sosin — The Enjoyment of an Unmistakeable Style
From Il Gazzettino, Pordenone, Italy
Sacile, October 19, 2000 — The public of the Giornate [Pordenone Silent Film Festival] has certainly become attached to Donald Sosin. Out of all the pianists who come to accompany various films at the Zancanaro Theater, Sosin, in fact, is always distinguished for his particular sympathy and his humor. In past festivals, we have seen him improvise themes for the organizers of the festival; other times he has announced competitions for the public for the most beautiful songs and, obviously, we have always felt that he plays with an unmistakable style. In this last edition there was a particular moment when, just before the show that he was to accompany started, he secluded himself for a few minutes and wrote in a notebook some short themes that then he executed during the film.
Always applauded at his performances, thanks to the particular capacity that he has demonstrated when confronted with screen images, Sosin stands out in the group of pianists this year. We enjoy his columns of sound, thanks to their freshness, their rhapsodic quality and unexpected moments. We enjoy, above all, the original style that Sosin knows to use, with dashes of ethnic music, chosen from anything from the Celtic repertory to Oriental music. He doesn't go for the traditional typical variations on pianistic themes, finding them dated and insufficiently effective for the cinema.
The silent cinema has to constantly reinvent itself, and in order to do this the presence of music is a determining factor. It must try new ways, to experience new languages, to open itself more to the various shapes of contamination. All of this has to be filtered through one's own personality and one's own gestures, and, in this Sosin is indeed a master. He is a very eclectic interpreter after all, this American pianist. To be sure, silent film has by now become his customary occupation. As further confirmation of his nature and disposition, this morning Donald Sosin met in the Sacile Middle School for Music with the students of the second and third year. An incredible occasion for the boys in order to discover the secrets of music for silent films.
— Roberto Calabretto
Recordings and Live Performances
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