Free Youth Orchestra Concert in Piazza della Signoria

Listening to youth orchestras perform soulful symphonies on a warm summer night is one of the many joys that Florence has to offer during the month of August. As part of the Orchestre Giovanili Festival, (Youth Orchestra Festival) there will be a free concert on Sunday, August 2 by the Joven Orquesta Filarmónica “Campos Andaluces” in Piazza della Signoria at 9 pm.

Joven Orquesta Filarmónica “Campos Andaluces” was founded seven years ago in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, by conductor Maestro Pedro Gálvez. The group is primarily composed of talented young musicians from Andalusia, united in celebration of the region’s rich musical heritage and history. 

The program will span a wide repertoire of classical music by composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Vasily Kalinnikov, and Germán Álvarez Beigbeder. 

The performance will begin with Overture from Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute followed by Intermezzo of Cavalleria rusticana by Tuscan composer, Pietro Mascagni. This musical journey across Europe will continue in France with the Bacchanal Dance, derived from the third act of Camille Saint-Saëns’ biblical opera, Samson and Delilah. 

Next the focus shifts to Spain with the orchestra’s signature performance of Germán Álvarez Beigbeder’s Campos Andaluces, the symphonic poem from which the group takes its name to honor the famed musician of Jerez de la Frontera. 

Returning to the theme of operatic tragedy, the audience will hear Overture from Kalinnikov’s Tsar Boris, a musical rendition of Tolstoy’s historical drama by the same title. Afterwards, the evening will change note with a second symphonic poem called Finlandia by renowned Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Following are three movements from Bernhard Henrik Crusell’s Clarinet Concerto No. 3 in B-flat Major, featuring soloist Héctor Usero.  

The concert will conclude with Danzón No. 2 by Mexican composer, Arturo Márquez Navarro. Originally commissioned by the National Autonomous University of Mexico in the 90’s, the piece is revered today as a symbol of Mexican music and culture. 

If you’re a lover of live international music, make sure to stay tuned for the festival’s future performances as well by China’s Macao Youth Orchestra on Sunday, August 9 and the Germany’s Jugendsinfonieorchester der Musikschule Bochum on Wednesday, August 26. 

(Francesca Negri)