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07 February 2024 Szczecin (Poland)
Nyman | Rota | The Italian Virtuosos
The Italian Virtuosos - Filharmonia Szczecin, Symphony Hall
Program Info: The Italian Virtuosos Massimo Mercelli - flet Alberto Martini - concert master
This evening, we will host the extraordinary Italian orchestra I Virtuosi Italiani (Italian virtuosos). The ensemble was founded in 1989 and today is widely considered one of the best string orchestras in Europe. It is also an extremely active orchestra. This is evidenced not only by a packed concert calendar but also by 100 albums, which have sold nearly half a million copies around the world. These wonderful Italian virtuosos will play for you a program in which the classics are seasoned with a pinch of film music at its best.
First, we will immerse ourselves in the sounds of the works of two great Italian composers of the 20th century: Ottorino Respighi (1879 - 1936) and Nino Rota (1911 - 1979). The first of them is considered the most important Italian composer of the last century, the second is well known to all lovers of the big screen, because he is the one behind the music from such films as The Godfather , La Strada or La Dolce Vita .
At the beginning we will hear Suite No. 3 - Antique aria e danze per liuto (old arias and dances for lute) by Respighi - a piece referring to Italian baroque and Renaissance music. Then, Rota's beautiful Concerto per archi (concerto for strings) will sound. Yes, this great creator of film music also composed classical music. It is not a concert in the romantic sense of the word, where the soloist competes with the orchestra. It is a concert in the baroque style, where groups of instruments are contrasted in sound. Attentive listeners will probably notice the tribute that Rota pays to the great Johann Sebastian Bach in this piece, including a quote from his Orchestral Suite No. 3 . But there will also be film music by the Italian master. We will hear Dances from the film The Leopard ( Il Gattopardo ), for which its director - Luchino Visconti - received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Festival in 1963.
We will spend the second part of the evening in the company of the music of Michael Nyman (born 1944) and Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) - great British artists of the last century. The first of them is also known as a composer of film music, for example for the famous The Piano or The Books of Prospero . At this concert, however, you will hear Nyman in a typically classical version. His Concerto for Flute and String Orchestra No. 2 will be performed in the Golden Hall , with Massimo Merecelli as the soloist . He is an absolutely outstanding Italian flutist who regularly performs on stages such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam or Wigmore Hall in London and records for one of the most prestigious record labels - Decca Classics.
The concert will end with Britten's Simple Symphony for string orchestra No. 4 . In some respects, Britten's childhood was typical of rural middle-class British boys of the time. Britten was as interested in cricket as they were and in getting good grades at a provincial school like his friends. However, there was one thing that clearly distinguished him from his peers. He started composing as a child. At the age of only 14, he had already collected a catalog of 100 opuses, which consisted mainly of songs and solo piano pieces. In 1934, during his last year of studies at the Royal College of Music, Britten returned to the works he had written during his childhood and early youth - and this is how Simple Symphony was created . The composer dedicated the piece to his viola teacher, Audrey Alston. You will hear a lot of fun, jokes and joy expressed in sounds. Britten rejected the post-war musical avant-garde, trying to step into the shoes of Vaughan Williams - a versatile composer, but also admired by the entire nation.
On this cold February evening, we invite you to an extraordinary meeting with Italian string masters and music that has the warmth of the Sicilian sun.
Ottorino Respighi - Ancient arias and dances for lute – Suita nr 3 Nino Rota - Concerto for strings Nino Rota - Tańce z filmu Lampart ( The Leopard ) Luchino Viscontiego Michael Nyman - Concerto for flute and string orchestra No. 2 Benjamin Britten - Simple Symphony for string orchestra, Op. 4
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