Free Youth Orchestra Concert in Piazza Signoria

A youth ensemble from Germany, the Junge Blaserphiharmonie Ulm, conducted by Josef Christ, will perform a lively selection of 20th century music on Friday, August 2 under the Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza Signoria, starting at 8:30 pm with free admission.

The musicians, who all play wind instruments, are the recipients of numerous international awards, including first prized at the sixth annual World Youth Music Festival.  Florence is one of the stops on an international tour.

Friday’s program is eclectic, opening with Gold Rush by Shinya Takahashi, a piece inspired by events and the spirit of adventure in 1848 California, followed by Fantasy Variations on a Theme by Niccolò Paganini, a homage to the violin virtuoso. The latter was a 1988 commission for the United States Marines.  The Junge Blaserphiharmonie Ulm will also interpret a passage from Act III of the Verdi opera Macbeth, before moving back to the modern era with renditions of Anthony Newley’s Feeling Good, from the Roar of the Greasepaint, Stevie Wonder’s The Duke (a tribute to Duke Ellington), closing with Songs of Wizz by singer and trumpet player Quincy Jones.