A Symphony of Six Hands in Triple Harmony

Triple Harmony brings together pianists Matteo Napoli, Camila De Oliveira and Flavio Villani for an evening of dazzling six-handed piano music. Sharing a single piano, the trio explores a colourful programme filled with virtuosity, humour, lyricism and theatrical flair.

From the sparkling brilliance of Mozart and Rossini to the Spanish-inspired rhythms of De Falla, this concert celebrates the joy of making music together. The rarely-heard works of Czerny and Fodor showcase the extraordinary possibilities of three pianists performing at one keyboard, creating textures and sonorities far beyond what a single performer could achieve alone.

At times elegant, at times exuberant, and always entertaining, Triple Harmony offers audiences a chance to experience the piano in a completely different way.

To assist the audience to fully appreciate the dexterity of three performers playing a single piano, a high-angle view of the keyboard will be projected onto a giant 4.5 x 2.5 metre rear-projection screen, which will be easily visible even at the back of the audience.

Programme
• Sonata for Six Hands Op.10 – Carolus Antonio Fodor (1768 – 1846)
• I. Allegro con spirito
• II. Rondo. Allegro
• Two Pieces for Six Hands – Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)
• Valse. Allegro
• Romance. Andante sostenuto
• Carmen Fantasy: Habanera – Georges Bizet
• – INTERVAL
• Fantasia Brillante on Irish Arias Op.741 No.3 – Carl Czerny (1791 – 1857)
• La Vida Breve: Spanish Dance No. 1 – Manuel de Falla
• Overture from Il Barbiere di Siviglia – Rossini–Hausser (1792 – 1868)
• Andante maestoso. Allegro con brio
• Overture from Le Nozze di Figaro – Mozart–Czerny (1756 – 1791)
• Presto

Biographies
Matteo Napoli
Matteo Napoli is an accomplished pianist and a Piano Performance honours graduate from Italy. He gained international recognition early in his career by winning first prize at the prestigious International Liszt Piano Competition in Lucca, Italy, in 1986. This victory set the stage for a distinguished career, with a particular focus on the virtuoso repertoire and the works of Franz Liszt.

Napoli has since been invited to perform across the globe, captivating audiences in major cultural centers such as Vienna, Paris, London, Lausanne, Brașov, Munich, Cyprus, Girona, Barcelona, New York, Mexico City, São Paulo, Kuala Lumpur, Japan, Tonga, Australia, and New Zealand.

He has collaborated with esteemed orchestras, including the Orchestra da Camera di Firenze, Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, the Brașov Philharmonic, the OFUNAM Philharmonic Orchestra in Mexico City, the Tirana Opera House Orchestra, the Cyprus Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestra of Malaysia. In New Zealand, he has performed with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia.

As a Naxos recording artist, Matteo Napoli has an extensive discography, with seven CDs to his name. His recordings have received critical acclaim and are celebrated for their technical precision and expressive depth.

Camila De Oliveira
Camila De Oliveira, a Brazilian pianist, started on her musical journey at the age of 6. Her passion for the piano blossomed into a lifelong dedication; Camila pursued her undergraduate studies in piano performance at the Faculdade de Artes Alcântara Machado in Brazil. She later expanded her musical horizons by obtaining her postgraduate diploma in music and her master's degree in Piano Performance from the University of Auckland in 2021.

Currently, Camila is immersed in her doctoral studies at the University of Auckland. Her doctoral project focuses on evaluating the playability required for executing virtuoso piano repertoire using an ergonomically scaled piano keyboard (ESPK), which is a keyboard with narrower keys.

In New Zealand, Camila's musical virtuosity was duly recognised with the Llewelyn Jones Prize in Music for Piano at the University of Auckland in 2019 and 2020, along with the APO Aspiring Musician Scholarship in 2020.

Beyond her academic pursuits, Camila maintains an enriching career as a collaborative pianist and dedicated educator. She shares her knowledge and passion for music as a piano teacher and chamber music instructor at the University of Auckland. Furthermore, Camila is a founding member of the Auckland Chamber Music Collective.

Flavio Villani
Flavio Villani is an Italian–New Zealand pianist who moved to New Zealand from Spain and Italy in 2008. He completed a Bachelor of Piano Performance with Matteo Napoli at the Conservatory 'G. Martucci' in conjunction with a Bachelor of IT in Salerno, Italy, in 2007.

After working in IT in Barcelona, he moved to New Zealand to pursue a career in music, completing a Master in Piano Performance at the University of Auckland in 2012 with first-class honours under Stephen De Pledge. He is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Waikato, supervised by Katherine Austin and working with Professor David Dolan at the Guildhall School in London.

Flavio's journey to his first solo performance with an orchestra was documented in the biopic Crossing Rachmaninoff, which showcased his performance of Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 in Italy in 2015 with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria. He has then performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Orchestra of CalArts (US), the New Plymouth Orchestra, Taranaki Symphony, the Hawke’s Bay Orchestra and the Auckland Symphony Orchestra (NZ).

He has performed in various recitals and festivals worldwide, including the Venice Biennale, The Gurwitz San Antonio, Lamezia Festival, Pianino Chopin Festival, Auckland Arts Festival, and the Blüthner Series in London later this year.

He is the founder and director of L’Accademia Music School, based in St Heliers, Auckland, which aims to nurture students' musical talents and connect the community through music.