Edmonton pianist finds way to play despite spinal cord injury
Global News
After his spinal cord injury in 2019, Edmonton pianist Riccardo Baldini wasn't sure if he would ever be able to play again, but now he is ready for a live show.
For Riccardo Baldini, 29, the piano has always been there for him. He started playing when he was five years old and remembers he learned how to read notes before letters.
“I like to say that music is my first language.”
Over the years he fostered a love for classical music. He’s poured countless hours into studying and learning pieces. In just a few days, Baldini will be on an Edmonton stage for the first time in years, but it’s taken a lot to get to this point.
“Music has been with me all my life. I grew up with it. I was always practicing… It’s just a way for me to connect to these great human beings of the past.”
He never imagined that something so crucial to his soul could be lost, but one morning in 2019, he woke up and his world changed.
“It was an out-of-the-blue thing,” Baldini said.
Baldini is paralyzed from the chest down. He has been using a wheelchair since 2019. He struggled with everything, including his passion. He couldn’t press the pedals on the piano, and had difficulty playing the keys.
“When I first got injured I was absolutely not in my mind… I had to focus on not going crazy. After a while I just started to wonder what I could do to just make the best of what I got.”
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