Florence’s April Classical Lineup

As summer approaches, Florence’s classical season draws to a close with a series of concerts across the city. Musical institutions such as Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) and Amici della Musica Firenze present a rich programme, including chamber music and full orchestral performances, exploring music from the 18th to the 20th century.

Orchestra della Toscana

At Teatro Verdi on April 15 at 9 pm, the ORT, conducted by Erina Yashima, presents a symphonic programme featuring works by Antonín Dvořák, György Ligeti and Georges Bizet. The concert explores different expressions of orchestral lightness, balancing Romantic lyricism, early symphonic style and folk-inspired rhythms.  Opening with György Ligeti’s Concert Românesc, this piece introduces a light and playful energy, drawing on traditional Eastern European musical influences. Written in 1951, the work belongs to Ligeti’s early period, before his turn to avant-garde experimentalism. Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto is performed by Elly Suh, a Korean-born American violinist, whose playing brings out the Romantic intensity of the piece, rooted in Bohemian musical tradition.

The programme concludes with Georges Bizet’s Symphony in C major, a remarkable early work written by Bizet at just seventeen at the Paris Conservatoire. The score was never performed in Bizet’s lifetime, rediscovered only in the 20th century. The symphony is notable for its youthful energy, elegance and clarity, drawing inspiration from composers such as Gounod. Together, these three pieces move between different musical periods, revealing a continuum of rhythmic energy, lyricism and youthful brilliance.

Gidon Kremer Trio

Uniting three distinctive musical voices, Gidon Kremer (violin), Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė (cello), and Georgijs Osokins (piano) present a programme at the Teatro della Pergola on April 18 at 4 pm that explores a diverse chamber music repertoire. The concert, under the auspices of the Amici delle Musica, opens with Arvo Pärt’s piano scores, including Für Alina, known for its textually minimalistic composition. This is followed by Mozart’s Sonata in E minor, K. 304, one of his few works in a minor key; its emotional intensity and dark, wistful tone are often associated with the death of his mother. Giya Kancheli, regarded as one of Georgia’s greatest composers, continues the programme with Middelheim, a contemporary work shaped by slow pacing and sudden dynamic shifts. The concert concludes with Beethoven’s ‘Archduke Trio’, a piece dedicated to his patron Archduke Rudolph of Austria. Considered a pinnacle of chamber music, the forty-minute masterpiece spans four movements that feature both an energetic scherzo and a slow melodic section.

Beethoven 199

Again the auspices of the Amica della Musica, the last week of April, continuing into May, a series of chamber concerts in anticipation for the 2027 bicentennial of Beethoven’s death, will be held at the Maggio Musicale Theatre.  Featuring Beethoven’s expressive and exciting music for string quartets, the concerts will be performed by the Fibonacci String Quartet, one of Europe’s leading youth musician groups, the Adorno Quartet and the Van Kuijk Quartet, on the April 24, 28 and 30. The chamber groups will lead guests through a selection of Beethoven’s string quartets, highlighting the evolution of his compositional style across his career.

Tickets for the concerts can be found online at https://amicimusicafirenze.vivaticket.it or https://www.ticketone.it/event/orchestra-della-toscana-ort-stagione-2025-26-teatro-verdi-20264732/. Students can access discounted entry for the Amici della Musica Firenze concerts.  (Aniela Cabut)