Davide Martello, Pianist Famous From Taksim Sq. In DC

By Staff, www.dcmediagroup.us

November 17, 2013
Resist!

Above: By Jenna Pope

Martello Plays On His “Stop Killing” Piano as Part of his Stop Killing Tour

Sixteen days into the Turkish uprising last June, just when things were getting really ugly in Taksim Square, Davide Martello managed to stop the tear gas and water cannons with a baby grand. An enormous crowd paused to listen to a marathon thirteen-hour concert, a short pause in the conflict. The music calmed the crowd, relaxed the police and, for a moment, forestalled the President Erdogan’s crackdown on Turkish protestors. Thousands around the world watched via livestream.

In the end, he was teargassed and police confiscated his piano. Eventually, however, he got it back and now he’s taking it across oceans.

Davide Martello plays in DC by John Zengas

On Saturday afternoon, he rolled his piano onto the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol and performed for three hours. As night fell, blue lights shimmered from the keys and underside of the piano. Tourists and runners out on the Mall stopped to listen to the music until the crowd grew to nearly one hundred people.

Martello’s visit to Washington is part of his Stop Killing Tour, which he embarked on after the Taksim Square performance in the hopes of spreading a message of nonviolence. He plans to stop at several more cities in the southern U.S. where there has been gun violence. On Sunday, he plans to perform at the gate of the Naval Shipyard, the scene of a mass shooting in September.

“My goal is to bring beautiful music to the world so people can be inspired,” he said. His impromptu performances in public places are free, but he takes donations to cover his expenses.

He has ideas for future concerts. “I want to play at prisons. Do you know how I could get to play in them?”