An Evening with Master Cellist Dindo & ORT

Sharing the stage for the first time with Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) to conduct the evening as well as to provide a solo performance, well-known cellist Enrico Dindo will be in the spotlight at Teatro Verdi on Wednesday, November 8 beginning at 9 pm.

Dindo is a well-known cellist, emerging in 1997 from the Rostropovich Contest in France where he won first prize. The contest, which is named after Mstislav Rostroprovich, one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century, was directed by the master himself before his passing in 2007.

With I Solitisti di Pavia Chamber Orchestra, conductor and curator, Enrico Dindo has reached great success in not only Pavia but also the rest of Italy and abroad in only its 10 years of activity. June 2002 marked the date of their first international tour, performing in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Vilnius. The Orchestra is also engaged in some charity, artistic and research campaigns such as FAI (Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano) Italy’s National Trust, the non-profit association Amici di Edoardo that creates projects and initiatives to bring together the communities in the outskirts of Milan and CELIM, another non-profit to improve the lives of those living in Zambia. He has also conducted the HRT Zagreb Symphony Orchestra.

Enrico Dindo’s passion for music and in particular the cello is evident through his teaching experiences, having worked at the Conservatory of Music, a school in Lugano, Switzerland, the Academy of Music Tibor Varga in Sion, Switzerland and the Cello Academy in Pavia.

WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE EVENING:

The first half will include Dindo’s long-awaited performance, comprising 19th century music and will see the artist direct as well as play the music of Richard Strauss’ Romanza in fa maggiore (Cello Sonata in F major or solo cello). Strauss was a German composer best known for his symphonic poems and operas. Composing his first piece, Festmarsch (Festival March) at the age of 12, Strauss was published at only 14. His Cello Sonata in F major was completed in 1883 when the composer was as young as 19 years old and rapidly became a standard part of cello repertoire. The piece is characterised by the Andante or Cantabile, a tempo mark referring to a composition with a moderate speed, having a song-like movement.

Following this, Dindo and the orchestra will interpret, Le Chant du Menestrel by Glazunov. The Russian composer and conductor Alexander Glazunov was an international acclaimed musician, from the beginning of his career (1890) to his death in 1936. He has composed symphonies, string quartets and ballets and was even elected director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1905. Some of his best works include Eighth Symphony and his Violin Concerto in A Minor. The solo was particularly known for its lack of pauses and numbered sections, often described as consisting of three or four movements, an unusual feature for this type of composition.

The last piece of the first half will include il Rondò op. 94 (Symphony no. 94) by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. The arrangement was put together, by Dvořák in 1893 while he held the position of director of the National Conservatory of Music of America and is known as one of the best symphonies ever created.

The ORT orchestra will continue the second half under the careful direction of Dindo, recreating the sound of Schumann’s First Symphony (1841). The composer’s work is inspired by poet Adolf Böttger’s translation of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by Shakespeare and is also known as Spring Symphony. Schumman is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, (18th-19th century music, known for becoming more expressive and emotional than previous music genres).

The evening’s event will close with Yo-Yo Youth Orchestra, a group made up of ten ORT student artists and their orchestra teachers. The students are enrolled in the Yo-Yo ORT Project, a course offered by the ORT orchestra specialising in professional archery musical training. The young artists will get the chance to learn as well as perform in many concerts organised by the Tuscan orchestra.

Ticket prices range from €16 to €13 depending on seating. Purchase can be made at the Teatro Verdi Box Office (open 10 am – 1 pm and 4 pm – 7 pm), by calling 055 212320 or by booking online at www.teatroverdifirenze.it. (karen gee)