Photo credit: courtesy of The Italian Embassy
“We wanted to include an evening of great music in the program of celebrations of the Italian Presidency of the EU,” said Italian Ambassador to the United States Claudio Bisogniero at The Embassy in Washington, DC.
“We are excited after last year’s success to host the Cameristi della Scala once again for a concert that will transport the audience on a musical journey through time and space, to explore the way in which two great musicians have interpreted the passage of time and of life.”
Ambassador Bisogniero
The Cameristi della Scala, a chamber orchestra composed of musicians from Milan’s celebrated Teatro Alla Scala, returned to Washington after a successful 2013 tour of USA that included Carnegie Hall in New York and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. The group of musicians, along with violin soloist Francesco Manara celebrated the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The concert has been made possible with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Municipality of Milan and the contribution of Eni. It is produced by Vento & Associati.
It was an unforgettable evening. The magnificent atrium designed by architect Piero Sartogo hosted The Eight Seasons – “a program of classical music and tango in a comparative alternation of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi and Las Cuatro Estaciónes Porteñas by Astor Piazzolla. Separated by two centuries and an ocean, the two great composers drew inspiration from the same theme yet from different perspectives. The Venetian Vivaldi’s interpretation of the cycle of seasons faithfully reflects his natural world and its seasonal mutations; in a climate oblivious to Europe’s frigid winds and whose air is always lush and laden with sensuality, Argentine (of Italian descent) Piazzolla’s interpretations are instead ridden with human emotions from lulling calm to throbbing passion.”
“The Cameristi della Scala Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1982 and is formed by musicians from the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala. The Cameristi have performed in the world’s most celebrated theaters and concert halls. In 2013, they performed in the magnificent setting of Hagia Irene for the Istanbul Festival, at the National Auditorium of Madrid, at the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires and opened the Festival of Nations in Città di Castello. The following October, the Year of Italian Culture celebrations and the Verdi Bicentennial brought the orchestra on tour in the United States,” according to the Embassy spokesperson.
Winner of numerous international competitions, Francesco Manara boasts a repertoire that ranges from Bach to the contemporary, including Paganini’s 24 Caprices for solo violin, which he has performed in entirety several times in concert venues. Founder of the trio Johannes, he has been first violin of the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and Philharmonic since 1992 and concertmaster of the La Scala String Quartet since 2001.
