Fiesole, Sala del Basolato

I have never personally known Piero Farulli. I arrived at the Fiesole School when I was six years old, too young to realize who he really was: the one who, with his enlightened mind, had created such a magical and vital place, which enriched me, without holding me back and with no compromise, throughout the course of my growth — musical and otherwise. It was a priceless fortune, whose human value I only truly understood, once I had grown up. Unfortunately, I have not had many opportunities to see him nor the luck to have had lessons with him. However, I do clearly remember his white hair: thick, shiny, full of personality and his peremptory, charismatic tone of voice, which I had the opportunity to hear once. One day, upon his arrival at the villa, the Maestro saw some boys of the Italian Youth Orchestra playing ball on the lawn, who, despite having tried to hide the ball at the last minute, had been sensationally caught in the act —no use in going into detail about his reaction… The spirit that animated the Fiesole Music School has always been very clear to me: to experience music as a “gift that keeps on giving,” and most important of all, as something to share, hence the importance of the orchestra, chamber music, and the quartet: I was privileged to experience these right away, and only recently, remembering those years, have I realized how precious they were. In light of all this, simply saying “Thank you, Maestro” will never be enough, since, witnessing such human generosity, harbinger of a social rather than a musical purpose, one senses that the legacy of ideas that Farulli generated is something truly great, something that has made an impression on all of us and which I hope will continue to inspire generations and generations of young people who want to make music their life’s work, and who will have the good fortune to do it following Farulli’s ideal. To date, I have not known a greater one. With infinite admiration,
Lorenzo Cosi