Apart from pianists, Brodsky also includes other instrumentalists that inspire her in her festival line-ups. There is, for example, the now 81-years old violin virtuoso, Ida Haendel, who Zubin Mehta called a “violinist for violinists”. A British citizen and Florida resident, Haendel is a living legend who has shared her extraordinary talent with the greatest orchestras and most legendary conductors. Her autobiography, “Woman with Violin” (1970), describes the extraordinary life of a musician that Brodsky truly admires, so much so, that she shares her admiration for Haendel on YouTube. 
(Photo - Ida Haendel and Giselle Brodsky)
Brodsky also stands by this remarkable artist by acting as a producer for Haendel’s soon-to-be-released DVD. The DVD will feature Haendel, as accompanied by the young pianist, Misha Dacic, herself another of Brodsky’s regular festival performers.
(Photo Misha Dacic)
It seems that Brodsky and Haendel share devotion for a ‘full-blooded performance’, or that ‘affliction’ Haendel described in a recent Associated Press interview, stating, … “Passion is something you are born with”.
Festival highlights
The Single Composer Series: Started in 2008, the series features marathon performances and recordings by pianists, who are highly regarded for their interpretation of a particular composer.
Examples include ‘benchmark recordings’, such as Konstantin Lifshitz’s Well-Tempered Clavier (on DVD), as well as recorded performances by Kemal Gecic, Misha Dacic, and Ilya Itin.
Lectures focus on a variety of disciplines, incl. film and music documentaries.
Master classes support the festival’s objective to be innovative and support the educational effect of performances on the audience.
Recording projects: CDs and DVDs are available on the festivals VAI label, and on the new ‘Miami International Piano Festival’ label. See also the festival’s YouTube channel.
Film projects related to the festival:
- Brodsky and Haendel are featured prominently in a three-part documentary titled The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies, produced by Britain’s Channel 4, and partially filmed in South Florida. The series will be aired in the U.S. in February 2011.
Italian pianist, Francesco Libetta, ‘discovered’ at the festival by renowned music documentarian, Bruno Monsaingeon, is featured in the award-winning film, The Pianist of the Impossible.
Libetta will kick off the 2010/2011 season by performing in a concert at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center location on November 28 (this Sunday).
He will also perform with Ida Haendel at the Festival Sagra Musicale Malaestiana, one of Italy’s premier cultural events, on December 5.
(PhotoFranscesco Libetta)
For more information about the Miami International Piano Festival and Giselle Brodsky, go to the Festival website.
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