A New Florence Season of Classical Performances

As memories of Tuscan beach vacations begin to fade, attention turns indoors with autumn signaling the return of city’s classical music scene.

Florence has a rich musical history — important Renaissance figures such as Leonardo da Vinci and Il Magnifico himself, Lorenzo de’ Medici, enjoyed putting the pen to paper to compose melodies.  Called to the Medici court in the late 17th century, Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the fortepiano, which he later developed into the pianoforte, the modern piano.

Even in economically difficult times such as these, the major musical institutions in the city are doing their best to maintain full schedules of quality programs. There is much to look forward to in the fall season, including a live orchestral accompaniment to a contemporary film in both English and Italian at the Mandela Forum.

AMICI DELLA MUSICA

Since 1920, Florence’s historical chamber music association, Amici della Musica, has organized concerts of the highest international caliber.

On October 8, pianist Angela Hewitt, acclaimed for her interpretation of J.S. Bach, opens the cycle Odissea Bach at Teatro della Pergola, dedicated to the German composer.  The Odissea Bach continues with the Accademia Bizantina playing The Art of the Fugue, BMV 1080 (Oct. 22), and Ottavio Dantone and The English Suites on the harpsichord (Oct. 23, 24).

The formal 2016/17 inauguration at the Pergola on October 15 will be a tribute to Franco Rossi, cellist of the legendary Quartetto Italiano. Twelve of his former students, led by Mario Brunello, winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition Moscow in 1986, will perform a program ranging from Bach to Villa Lobos for cello ensemble.

The series Solopiano will begin on October 29 with Giuseppe Albanese in his debut at the Amici della  Musica October 29 with an all-Liszt recital.  Korean pianist Chloe Mun, the 2015 winner of both the Geneva competition and the Busoni will also be debuting on the 30th, with a program of Mozart, Albéniz and Schumann.

On November 5, one of the greatest pianists of our time, Sir András Schiff, will perform masterpieces by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert.  The full concert program rich with events can be found at www.amicimusica.fi.it.

OPERA DI FIRENZE

Performances of Rossini’s Semiramide continue through October 4 at Florence’s Opera House. Considered one of Rossini’s finest compositions, it is thought to be the final opera in the Baroque tradition, as well as the composer’s last Italian opera. The premier was held on February 3, 1823, at Venice’s Teatro della Fenice. The plot, based on the Voltaire tragedy, in turn inspired by the ancient Greek legend, tells the story of Semiramis, the Queen of Babylon. The Australian soprano Jessica Pratt, and winner of the 2016 Oscar della Lirica international award will perform the role of the powerful and passionate queen.

The staging is by the late Luca Ronconi, a reprise of the 2011 production for Teatro San Carlo of Naples. The setting was created to be deliberately spare, in a conscious decision to not distract from the music — “to create a setting in which the music is freed from the decorative aspect,” says the director.

During the week of October 9-15, the Opera di Firenze will offer a Bel Canto Festival, featuring opera and recitals. Bel canto, or literally, “beautiful singing,” refers to a vocal style originating in Italy privileging brilliancy of performance rather than the dramatic expression that prevailed throughout most of Europe during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The festival comprises a rarely performed opera by Donizetti, Rosmonda d’Inghilterra, (Oct. 9 – 15) which had its premier in Florence at the Teatro della Pergola in 1834, and was subsequently forgotten until 1975. The work is based on the biography of Rosamund Clifford, also known as “Rose of the World,” a great beauty of 12th century England.  She was the mistress of King Henry II, and was considered the great love of his life. There are many versions of her story, but it is believed that after the affair ended she was sent to live in a nunnery, and died before she was 30. Featuring Pratt again in the title role, the opera’s plot is typically melodramatic and ends in tragedy.

Also on the schedule are vocal recitals of important bel canto works. On October 10, the renowned American tenor Chris Merritt, an important protagonist of the Rossini revival, performs arias ranging from Scarlatti to Donizetti and Rossini with pianist Beatrice Bensi.  On October 14 Jessica Pratt and the Georgian tenor Shalva Mukeria sing arias and duets. The month continues with orchestral concerts led by acclaimed international conductors including Xǔ Zhōng and Juraj Valčuha.

November begins with an exciting event at the Nelson Mandela Forum near the soccer stadium. The orchestra and chorus of the MMF will perform the original soundtrack composed by Howard Shore to the Peter Jackson film The Fellowship of the Ring, along with a screening of the movie in English with Italian subtitles (Nov. 4-5). The Lord of the Rings trilogy will continue in January (27-28) with The Two Towers, and in March (10-11) with The Return of the King.

For details, see www.operadifirenze.it.

ORCHESTRA DELLA TOSCANA

The ORT inaugurates the 2016/17 season on October 21 with a festive concert conducted by Daniele Rustioni in collaboration with the Cherubini Conservatory of Florence and the Istituto Franci of Siena. It will open with Nostro mare by Antonini, the winner of the 2015 edition of Play It!  Prize-winning pianist Benedetto Lupo is the soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini, op. 43, a piece based on Paganini’s final Caprice n. 24 for solo violin. The performance ends on a grand finale with Tchaikovsky’s passionate final Symphony n. 6, known as the Pathétique.

Florentine native Daniele Giorgi, first violin of the ORT and conductor, will take the podium a November 16 concert of Brahms’ works. Chloe Hanslip, the young English violinist will perform the Violin Concerto composed in 1878 for the great violinist Joachim. After the intermission will follow the Serenata n.1, one of Brahms’ earlier compositions from 1858, written in six movements.

For more information, see www.orchestradellatoscana.it.  (anne lokken)