Pergola Concerts: Giovanni Sollima, Beatrice Rana & Co.

The Amici della Musica will host three great performers: the Beatrice Rana, the Takács Quartet, Giovanni Sollima and Avi Avital from Saturday, Nov. 9 in a series of concerts from Saturday, Nov. 9 until Monday, Nov. 11 at the Teatro della Pergola.

The weekend full of classical music will start on Saturday at 4 pm with the performance by the well-known musician Beatrice Rana. She is considered among the best pianists under 30 years old. Rana won the silver medal and the Audience Award at the 2015 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and has been selected as ‘Female Artist of the Year’ at the Classic BRIT Awards in London in 2018. She will play such timeless compositions as Etudes, Opus 25 by Chopin, an evocative piece by Albéniz Iberia and “Trois mouvements de Petrouchka, ” transcribed for piano by Stravinsky himself, which Rana has just recorded in her new album.

The Takacs Quartet will take the stage in the Pergola’s Saloncino on Sunday at 9 pm.  Established at Budapest’s Franz Liszt Academy in 1975, this ensemble of string musicians became popular with the public thanks to their artistry, vibrancy of interpretation and attention to detail.  They will be playing quartets composed by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Bartòk.

On Monday, Giovanni Sollima, a cellist and composer, will make a special guest appearance with Avi Avital from Israel, one of the world’s best mandolin artists.  Their styles are similar in that both classical musicians combine tradition and innovation in their individual interpretations.  The title of the evening’s program is “Roots,” and spotlights Baroque music by Domenico Scarlatti, Girolamo Frescobaldi e Dario Castello.