For Italian percussionist Simone Rubino, the excitement at receiving a Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship in February this year was immediately followed by frustration and disappointment as all his concerts were cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. Facing lockdown at his home in Turin, Rubino decided to collaborate with his friend, cellist and composer Lamberto Curtoni who, in turn, was inspired by Ninth of March Twenty Twenty, a recent poem by Mariangela Gualteri.

Curtoni was drawn to the poem’s core messages of fraternity and solidarity, and of the need to stop and search for balance in our lives. The focus of his work, that metre that brings us closer – scored for vibraphone and voice – is on recovery and rebirth. ‘I wanted to write a piece that could best represent Simone's refined musicality and incredible virtuosity’, he says, ‘with the idea that the instrument and the player are one.’

Rubino’s performance is startling not only for his technique and musicality as a vibraphone player but also for his powerful tenor voice. ‘Singing has always been a passion of mine,’ says Rubino, who hoped the work would give him, as a percussion player, ‘the possibility of expressing a deep message through Mariangela's poetry and Lamberto's music’. He continues: ‘Lamberto was enthusiastic about the idea of ​​introducing my voice while playing the vibraphone in the new piece and he immediately asked Mariangela if we could use her poem. With great surprise she agreed. We've worked 12 hours a day for two weeks together, writing, editing and improving the piece. It took me another two weeks to learn it by heart, the text, and everything that is part of the performance.’