February 7, 2018 – The preliminary program of the 55th International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo (April 18 – June 16) was presented today. The festival is regarded as one of the most beautiful and prestigious in Europe and one of major piano events in the world.
The Pesenti Foundation has always been interested in initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting the Italian artistic and cultural wealth and has historically supported this internationally-renowned event.
The press conference was attended by the Councilor for Culture, Nadia Ghisalberti, who underlined the high quality of the event, and the special attention for young people: “the true protagonists of the Festival, both as audience and as performers.”
Andrea Gibellini, President of the Festival, and Piero Carlo Orizio, Artistic Director, announced the theme of this year’s edition:”The Festival speaks Russian. Tchaikovsky, mon amour!” with a tribute to Debussy in the context of the “Festival and Beyond” project.
The History of the Festival
Organized under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic and the European Parliament, over the years, the Festival has turned the two Lombard cities into the cradle of great international music, surrounded by the beauty of this area, nurtured by arts and culture throughout the centuries.
Since the beginning–when the Festival featured for five years the performances of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli–the undisputed protagonist has always been the piano, intended both as a solo instrument and as a prestigious orchestra interlocutor.
Opened in 1964 by Master Agostino Orizio, the Festival is directed by Pier Carlo Orizio and, this year too, will host the most famous orchestras and the most well-known solo artists in the marvellous settings of Teatro Grande in Brescia and Donizetti Theatre in Bergamo, architectural gems from the late eighteenth century.
One of the most distinctive features of the International Piano Festival, beyond the constant high-quality level, is its thematic identity, providing a common thread that, each time, inspires the program and determines the choice of interpreters.
The 55th edition
After the monographs on Beethoven and Mozart, this year’s edition will be focused on Russia, and Tchaikovsky in particular, from the opening night with Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, considered the first masterpiece of the Russian composer.
“As for Tchaikovsky” explains Master Orizio “along with the well-known Concerto No. 1, it will be interesting to rediscover some rare or extremely rare piano pages, in addition to The Seasons and the Grand Sonata in G major.”
Go to the 2018 Program.
Collateral Review
There is actually a subtle and refined artistic link, as well as biographical, with Tchaikovsky behind the choice to dedicate to Debussy as a fine piano composer, on the centenary of his death, the “Cameo” Review hosted in Brescia in the splendid cloister of the Monastery of San Giuseppe, a space with perfect open-air acoustics and a charming ambience, also enriched by the age-old blossoming cherry tree at the center of the portico.
The Collateral Review, this year titled “Au clair de la lune, Homage to Claude Debussy” (1-8 June), is a new initiative introduced within the past few years, a sort of “Appendix” or “A Festival within the Festival”, for presenting young talents who have emerged on the international scene.
Go to Collateral Review.
Program 2018 | Program 2018 Sponsor
Press Release | festivalpianistico.it
Musica Mon Amour | L’Eco di Bergamo
PROGRAM
