CAPE MAY COUNYY MAGAZINE 17 AUGUST B3

23

PIANIST, — Mark Petrelli tests his own acuity on the keyboard.

Lantern ad. They have two daughters, Gabriella, 4, and Laura, 6. Meeting Fulvia added its own flavor to Petrelli’s life. She was from Florence, Italy, and her father was the president of Alfa Romeo racing cars, and that led Petrelli into racing. He spent three years at it, until, he said, it became too expensive. "A PRIVATE individual couldn’t afford it,” he said. “I was up against factory teams.” He also received a concussion from an accident, and his wife said, “That’s it.” Soon afterwards, Petrelli returned to his first love. He hadn’t played piano for 15 years, he said, becai/se of bitterness. He is now receiving that long awaited music education at New Music School In Philadelphia, where he expects to complete a bachelor's degree in another two years. “Isn’t it ridiculous?” he laughed, “I have two bachelor’s, a master's, and a doctorate. Now I'm going to go for another.” IN MARCH of 1982 Petrelli was given an audition to play at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. “I just wanted to try for my own satisfaction,” said Petrelli. "Every time you subject yourself to something tough, you grow." Petrelli won the audition, and played at the Academy this March. “It went-very well,” he said, obviously pleased. “Now I’m having my cake and eating it too,” he said, gesturing at the tools of his trade. 'Tm working here and playing."

He plays strictly classical music. “Chopin is my favorite, Chopin and Liszt from the romantic school.” He has also “grown to love" Beethoven and the classical school, as well as Russian artists like Rachmaninnoff, which he calls “romantic music at its ultimate." “Music is my love,” he said. "This is just to pay the bills. I enjoy this work,’ 1 he stressed. “I thank God for it. “As important as piano sounds,” he continued, "It’s subordinate to my practice. “You have to be there for the patients,” he said. “You can’t turn them down.” His weekends are devoted to playing the Steinway at his home in Wildwood. Being a good pianist -goes beyond hitting the right notes, said Petrelli. It involves styles of touch and tones, the special nuances. “You could teach a monkey how to be acrobatic and play fast," he said. “You have to know how to make music.” Making music is what Petrelli thinks most about. “I always wapted to play the piano," he said. Every time he heard a piano on television or on the radio, he said, he would beg his parents to give him lessons. This was happening as early as four years of age, he added. "It’s strange," he continued, “but music can get you like that. Piano is my passion."

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AT HOME — Dr. Mark Petrelli with his wife Fulvia and their daughters, Laurie, 6, and Gabriella, 4.