by intern Haley Schiffer
Photo credit: intern Andrew Dubbs
“We thought that we should try to showcase to the American public what Italian culture is about so we began this program which actually comprises more then 300 events in 50 American cities all over the nation,” said Claudio Bisogniero, The Ambassador of Italy, reflecting on the Stradivari Concert he and his wife Laura Denise hosted at their residence aptly named Villa Firenze.
Villa Firenze
“Being The Year of Italian Culture, it was especially important to host the Stradivari concert,” Laura Denise agreed. “Stradivari is Italian and we thought it was important to enjoy this beautiful space, plus there are already instruments here and we have an organ that has been renovated after 60 years. We had a special concert here last year with the organ.”
Ambassador Bisogniero also stated that hosting the concert showcases “not only the great Italian heritage and cultural tradition, but also today’s Italy and tomorrow’s Italy.” And described it as “an exceptional event, which not only highlights Italy’s musical tradition, but also the genius of masters such as Antonio Stradivari, who remain contemporary even today in Italy’s instrument-making industry.”
Claudio Bisogniero
Four splendid Stradivarius instruments – the Ole Bull (1687), the Greffuhle (1709) violins, the 1965 Herbert Axelrod viola and the 1688 Marylebone violoncello were the protagonists of an extraordinary concert.
Didi Cutler and Aniko Gaal Schott
As guests arrived, everyone was brought into a separate drawing room where they were seated awaiting the concert where a member from the Smithsonian committee gave a speech honoring the beauty of violins and the Italian culture.
“Our program tonight is a little bit of a potpourri – mostly Italian music, some music written in America. … and the violins are decorated. There are only 11 instruments by Stradivari that are decorated. Each violin comes with the hand of Stradivari sound and is also it’s own individual voice.”
The concert was conducted by Kenneth Slowik, artistic director of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society of the National Museum of American History. The musical selections chosen for the evening included pieces by Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Meali, Luigi Cherubini, Luigi Boccherini and Antonin Dvorak.
Manuel J. Melendez, from the International Relations Liaison of the Smithsonian Institution, was among the attendees. “The office of International Relations at the Smithsonian works many projects with embassies all over the city and helps with projects that they would like to bring to Washington to the different galleries or museums and ours was of course one. Often we would very much like to have the exhibits and they bring them to us, so I help facilitate the connection.” said Melendez.
Ultimately, the beautiful Villa Firenze was the perfect setting to host the sweet sounds of Stradivari and guests agreed with Mr. Melendez when he said, “I love this embassy, I love the Italian people. I go to Italy every summer, it plants a seed even on us.”
