“Letters Under the Tree” | 22
And here is the last “letter under the tree.” Maestro Vincenzo Marrone D’Alberti, from Trapani, wishes everyone a “real change”
Dear World,
I learned that the word “Culture” comes from the Latin còlere (to cultivate) from my loving and cultured parents; and I was fortunate to “cultivate” my deepest essence by studying literature, philosophy, history, classical music, mathematics, and religions.
I realized as a child that part of my emotional well-being would be realized if I committed my faculties toward study, to become the man I am today, who feels the need to give this happiness to others.
I feel a feeling of deep gratitude for all that I have received.
We live in a difficult historical moment. Despite progress, I sense a failure of culture in our society: culture, understood not only as an artistic and intellectual heritage, but above all as a means for education, critical reflection and spiritual growth. All this in favor of economic models that prioritize immediate profit and not emotional well-being, love and world peace.
We are losing the ability to stimulate deep reflection, a connection with universal values such as solidarity, justice and humanity.
Too great are the imbalances in the distribution of wealth in the world. Too much poverty still.
Travelling around the world, I have learned in my long experience as a Pianist, that culture should really be an engine for the spiritual, moral and intellectual growth of individuals, because Material well-being is not enough. It has become unbridled consumerism, it has forgotten Man in his essence.
Erich Fromm, a philosopher I have loved for a long time, in his essay Being or Having, speaks of contemporary man reduced to a cog in the bureaucratic machine manipulated in tastes, opinions, by industry, forced to live under the illusion that happiness comes from the accumulation of goods, becoming instead , a slave to having, consumption and the social degradation that comes with it.
The galloping selfishness of our Western culture prefers to accumulate rather than give.
The absence of strong cultural policies limits the possibility of access to culture for all:
the risk of having an increasingly spiritually poor society is the main cause of the World’s woes
Culture must become a powerful force for change
By promoting values of peace, justice and respect, it can break down social and economic barriers, reduce inequalities to create a more inclusive and inclusive society.
I appeal to institutions , governments, and all civil society to invest in the promotion of culture as a fundamental element for human development, to build a more equitable and conscious society.
It is necessary to reinvest in culture, recognizing its highest intrinsic value and NOT only as a form of entertainment, but as an essential tool for spiritual growth and social inclusion.
This I learned from classical music, which is why I preferred to use the language of music: a nonverbal language, which is not entertainment to entertain, but a universal wonderful language that serves to think and to build, thanks to noble sentiments, a more beautiful and good world.
Happy New Year!
M° Vincenzo Marrone D’alberti, professor Pianoforte at the State Conservatory “A. Scarlatti ” of Palermo
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