No-Cost Chamber Music Evening at Casa Buonarroti

Viola or Clarinet? Quintets cosí e cosá will take place on Thursday, May 30 at 6 pm in a continuation of free annual summer concerts held in Casa Buonarroti’s courtyard as part of Festival Passaggi 2024.

The concert will feature performances by six musicians, all of whom are former members of the Orchestra della Toscana. Marco Ortelani will play the clarinet, Damiano Babbini and Susanna Pasquariello will be featured on the violin, Stefano Zanobini and Hildegard Kuen will perform on the viola, and Klara Wincot is the cello soloist in a production dedicated to the Quintets of Mozart and Brahms.

Although admission is free — a rarity in Florence nowadays — limited space at the venue requires reservations to be made prior to the event. To make a reservation, prospective attendees are encouraged to call tel. 055/241752 between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm any day except for Tuesday. 

The concert is organized in partnership with the Giotto in Musica Association, which is a group focusing on the cultural enrichment of small urban center through music with an occasional show in Florence. According to the group’s website: “ Festival Passaggi is a musical laboratory based in the heart of Mugello in Borgo San Lorenzo, at the Parish Church of San Lorenzo and the adjacent Oratory of Sant’Omobono, with artists from all over Italy.”

Translated to “Festival Passages,” Festival Passaggi is a community-driven, multimedia event aiming to bring quality music to the City of Florence. The festival combines classical music with that of today, stimulating interest in local art and architecture, literature, spirituality, and Tuscan history in the process. Last year’s events saw an emphasis on nature walks alongside musical performances, and in 2022, the festival’s theme examined the intersection of music and freedom.

The venue of the performance, Casa Buonarroti, is located on the corner of Via Ghibellina and Via Buonarroti. Gifted from renowned Renaissance sculptor, painter, and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti to his nephew, the building was long in the possession of the Buonarroti family before being given to the city. Several of Michelangelo’s works can be found on display at the house-turned-museum, including a rotating collection of 205 drawings, sculptures, and 342 autographed letters by the artist himself.

To learn more about Casa Buonarroti and the history surrounding the locale, visit the website. Questions about the concert can be directed to the same phone number used to make reservations. (Kyla Pehr)