Piotr Tomaszewski

Arriving in Florence in our search for street musicians we headed directly to the area around the cathedral. Quite sure that this would be the place for musical entertainment. But our efforts in finding authentic passionate and musical artists there or in the nearby streets were not awarded. Lots of buskers and street performers yes but none that impressed us at all. A local Florentine gave us what turned out to be a most valuable tip. "Go to the Uffizi - there you'll find a guitarist".

The Florentine was right.

As we got closer we could hear divine tunes and there he was Piotr sitting at the stairs of the Uffizi Gallery, playing his classic guitar.

We joined the crowd and enjoyed what we heard. His repertoire is focused on classical tunes by composers such as Joaquin Rodrigo, Astor Piazzolla, Leo Brouwer, Alexander Tansman, Roland Dyens. Being a classical guitarist doesn’t mean you can’t take up some modern tracks. His interpretation of Stings melodious and quiet Fragile and Eros Ramazzottis gentle Piu - che puoi is absolutely worth listening to.

Piotr Tomaszewski was born in 1974 in Poland. At the age of 10 he received his first guitar tuition at a cultural centre in Plock. Attended the Fryderyk Chopin School of Music in Warsaw and completed his studies in the Bialystok branch of the Academy of Music in Warsaw under professor Ryszard Balauszko. Throughout the years he has continued to develop his guitar skills, taking degrees in both Las Palmas, Spain and Paris, France.

When he's not travelling doing concerts or recording for Polish radio and television or Spanish Channel 10 you'll find him playing his guitar around the piazza's of Florence. Best chance to spot him is at the Piazzale Degli Uffizi during the afternoon where he captures both the locals as well as the tourists with his sublime guitar play.

Piotr has won several awards for his play - first one achieved at the age of 14. He's often seen as guest performer at musical events all over Europe and in the USA.

We brought home two of his cd's - Los colores de la guitarra 1 + 2, which contain classical tracks for guitar only. Not bad.

For more information about Piotr Tomaszewski on his myspace website

Enjoy!