by Gordon Nary
Gordon: Where did you study music and what was favorite course, and why was it your favorite?
Alessandro: I studied Organ and Composition in Piacenza Conservatoire and my favorite lessons were the organ ones, my teacher was Luigi Toja, a very needy professor!
Gordon: What musical instruments do you play?
Alessandro: Actually I play just the organ but formerly I studied piano too, organ was my favorite from the beginning so playing the piano for me wasn’t so good but it was necessary.
Gordon: Where is your current assignment and what are your primary responsibilities?
Alessandro: I'm organist at The Anglican Church of Saint Edward the Confessor in Lugano (Switzerland) every Sunday (when I’m not travelling for concerts) I plan Hymns and organ music for the Service, unfortunately we haven’t a choir there.
Gordon: What impact has the Covid-19 pandemic had upon your work?
Alessandro: It was a disaster since I've lost about 200 recitals over all the world. Also the church was closed for 3 months so for me it was possible to play only at home but anyway, I practice every day and I learnt a lot of new pieces.
Gordon: Who is your favorite composer and what composition that he wrote is your favorite?
Alessandro: This is a very difficult question, I love JS Bach and Cesar Franck and many others like Marcel Duprè, Olivier Messiaen etc.. One of my favorite pieces by Bach is the monumental Passacaglia.
Gordon: What is your favorite religious hymn and why it your favorite?
Alessandro: I like very much the Hymn "Praise my Soul the King of Heaven" (I also commissioned an organ piece on this Hymn, a Suite composed by Grimoaldo Macchia) I love the melody and the power of the words.
Gordon: What impact has your faith had upon your work?
Alessandro: It's a strong impact and the music helps me to pray better, one of my aims when I play in a Church is to guide people towards God with my music, I remember about 15 years ago, I was in Stockholm for a recital and I was practicing on the organ. When I came down from the staircase, I found a paper on the organ door with those words: "Today I came in a church after many years and I listened to the organ and I found God again. Thank you". After long time, I have still this paper and to read it give me a great joy.
Gordon: Thank you for a great interview.