A sweet melody resounded early Wednesday afternoon at Luxembourg’s central train station. Accompanied by a unique piano designed by local artists, renown pianist and composer David Ianni gave himself the mission to give hope to all those suffering from leukemia and raise awareness.
The “Train of Hope” initiative was launched by Ianni in collaboration with the NGOs Don de Moelle Association of Luxembourg and Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei.
When Ianni lost one of his closest friends to leukemia just before Christmas, he became involved in the fight against leukemia. This tragic moment triggered the idea to bring peace and hope through his music, to people suffering from this form of cancer, which attacks the body’s blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. “Music is a language that speaks really to the heart. So, if you are in a difficult personal situation where you need help, most people will turn to music,” he told Delano before the train departure.
Ianni added:
“I think it’s really a mission and a duty of musicians to compose or to perform music that gives people hope and strength.”
After brief speeches by Jeannot Waringo, chairman of the board of the CFL, Luxembourg’s national railway, Claude Hemmer, chair of Don de Moelle Association of Luxembourg, painter Raphael Gindt and Marcus Hübner of Pianohaus Hübner, and Ianni himself; the pianist performed two of his compositions from his latest project.
He first played “Train of Dreams”, a dynamic rhythm. Ianni explained that:
“I call it the train of dreams because it is not a train that brings me to a next destination for a journey, but also if you start a journey, you have dreams that you want to fulfill.”
He then continued his performance with his melancholic and emotional “Friends”. “I wrote ‘Friends’ for peace and cancer patients,” Ianni said. “Friends because friendship is super important. When you get diagnosed, you need friends and family.”
These two songs are part of his “My Urban Piano” project, where he takes his compositions to twelve European Capitals of Culture and dedicates one piece, respectively, to every leg of his journey and every city. He interprets every single composition using a different piano, individually designed by local artists. Each “Piano of Hope” will then be put up for auction during the “World Blood Cancer Day” on 28 May 2018 at Berlin’s main train station. The proceeds will be entirely donated to charity.
Bone marrow donors
While the pianist aims to raise awareness about leukemia, his main goal is to encourage people to register as bone marrow donors. Ianni said: “it was obvious to do it in a way that is really explained, and people can see what is all about, and to also work with the association Don de Moelle Association of Luxembourg because they are there to help people, find donors and people who can match.”
The unique project will now roll into Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne, Leipzig and Hamburg train stations, before his last performance in Berlin. Ianni is already working on his next project, related to people with mental disabilities.