The Amici della Musica’s Fabulous February Lineup

AMICI DELLA MUSICA February 2023 program. All concerts take place at the Theater or Saloncino della Pergola on via della Pergola. For the full schedule and tickets visit www.amicimusicafirenze.it/.

Enlivening the winter program of the Amici della Musica are eight new concerts scheduled as usual on Saturdays at 4 pm in the Teatro della Pergola and on Sundays at 9 pm in the Saloncino.

Pianist Anna Vinnitskaya will perform a program dedicated to Franck, Scriabin, Chopin, Ravel on February 4. Vinnitskaya won first prize at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 2007 which marked the beginning of her international career. Critics celebrate her ability to interpret stories and challenging pieces of piano music.

Following on February 5 there will be another concert of the series entitled “Portraits” which focuses on contemporary music. “Portraits” allows composers to produce a musical dialogue between their work and the work of great musicians who inspired them. Francesco Filidei will take the stage alongside the Quartetto Prometeo, winners of the 50th edition of the Prague Spring International Music Competition in 1998. The quartet were also awarded the Bärenreiter Special Prize and the City of Prague Prize.

“Solopiano” performances dedicated to keyboard masters will be back on February 11 with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes in the Teatro della Pergola who will play works by Janáček, Vustin, Beethoven, Dvořák. Andsnes has been nominated for 11 Grammys and has received many international awards including six Gramophone Awards.

Cellist Miriam Prandi will make her season debut with pianist Alexander Romanovsky on February 12, while on February 18 one of today’s greatest violinists, Sergej Krylov, will return to the Pergola with pianist Michail Lifit. The artists will play works from the 19th and 20th centuries including compositions by Schumann, Janáček, and Britten. Krylov is renowned worldwide as one of the most breathtaking violinists. He has received many awards as well as first prizes at the Antonio Stradivari and Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competitions.

The Jerusalem Quartet will interpret works by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky on February 19. The group has been recognized with numerous awards including the Diapason d’Or and the BBC Music Magazine Award for chamber music recordings.  Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 4 in E minor signalled his a creative turn in his career, in contrast to his earlier works for the quartet, which were influenced by the style of Beethoven. Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet is highly original: a segment was based on a folk song, and the entire composition not only inspired a popular World War II “The Isle of Man,” but was also performed as a tribute to Leo Tolstoy (author of “War and Peace”) who, as member of the audience, was moved to tears.

The program follows with an interesting “super group” who will take the stage on February 25. The ensemble is composed of Kolja Blacher (violin), Kyoungmin Park (viola), Christoph Streuli (violin), Claudio Bohórquez (cello), Christoph Von Der Nahmer (violin), and Sunwook Kim (piano). They will play Concerto in D major op. 21 by Chausson and the Quintet in F minor with piano op. 34 by Brahms. This somber piano quintet, often considered the crown of Brahm’s chamber music repertoire, was completed in 1864 and dedicated to HRH Princess Anna of Hesse.

Dedicated to the dialogue between music and other artistic forms, a concert from the series “Musica &…” will be held on February 26. A sextet led by violinist Viviane Hagner will reinterpret the Schönberg’s dramatic piece Verklärte Nacht with the participation of mimes Bodecker and Neander to create a non-verbal alternative of the piece. The group will also go on to play String Sextet in D major, “Souvenir de Florence,” op. 70 by Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky dedicated this piece to the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society after he became an Honorary Member. The work is entitled “Souvenir de Florence” because he developed one of the work’s main themes while living in the city of Florence.  (Michela Tambasco)

Tickets can be reserved at https://www.ticketone.it/artist/amici-della-musica-firenze/