Memoria: Echoes and Transformations

 Pianist Flavio Villani returns to present a programme exploring how sound carries memory and reshapes emotion and will be joined by acclaimed Aotearoa artist Star Gossage, whose projected artworks accompany the performance and extend its emotional landscape.  

The first half pairs the vast emotional arc of Bach–Busoni’s Chaconne with the intimate reflections of Villani’s In Memoriam Suite, shaped during a period of personal introspection.  

The second half moves toward Brahms’s Rhapsody Op.79 n.1 – fiery, searching, and full of momentum – and his Intermezzi Op.117, described by the composer as “the lullabies of my sorrows”, before arriving at the spiritual architecture and luminous resolution of Franck’s Prélude, Choral et Fugue.  

Each work listens to what came before, creating an unfolding journey through longing, renewal, and the quiet transformations that emerge through sound. 

Star Gossage’s paintings – rooted in tenderness, layered memory, and emotional transparency – echo the programme’s themes while offering their own independent voice. Following the concert, a selection of these works will be exhibited in the foyer, allowing audiences to step further into the conversation between sound and image.  

Don’t miss this special evening where piano and painting speak to one another; where echoes become colours, and where transformation unfolds quietly, note by note, image by image. 

About the Artist 

Flavio Villani is an Italian–New Zealand pianist recognised for his expressive performances and international artistic activity. He completed his piano studies in Italy before earning a Master of Piano Performance with first-class honours at the University of Auckland under Stephen De Pledge. He is currently awaiting the final outcome of his Doctoral studies at the University of Waikato, supervised by Katherine Austin, with additional research undertaken at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. 

Flavio has performed at festivals including the Venice Biennale, Lamezia Classica, and Pianino in Europe, The Gurwitz in the United States, and both the Auckland Arts Festival and Christopher Classics in New Zealand. He has appeared with orchestras such as the Auckland Symphony and the Orchestra of CalArts, and his performance with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria was featured in the internationally screened documentary Crossing Rachmaninoff (2015). 

He is the founder and director of L’Accademia, a music school in Auckland dedicated to high-quality musicianship and to cultivating a vibrant, inclusive community through live performance and education.