18 and 19 June
Gershwine Showcase

After the great musical festival celebrating Chinese pianist Lang Lang (2-5 June) which opens the summer season at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, from 18 June there will be a brief but intense season of concerts linking music and cinema.

Cinema al Sinfonico will feature some of the greatest soundtracks ever written performed by top international musicians. Among the most eagerly awaited concerts will be those on 18 and 19 June dedicated to the music of George Gershwin and including the participation of acclaimed Italian jazz pianist Stefano Bollani. The Gershwin concerts will feature Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris. “Rhapsody”, along with the nocturnal New York skyline, was the “co-star” of Woody Allen’s Manhattan, while the music made famous by the acrobatic dancing of Gene Kelly won the Oscar in 1951.

The concert will be conducted by Xian Zhang, who in March 2009 became the first woman to be named music director of an Italian symphony orchestra when she was appointed to head the Orchestra Verdi of Milan.
Oscar-winning film composers Ennio Morricone and Howard Shore will also be playing their part in the season. On 25 and 26 Shore will conduct the Italian premiere of his score for the Lord of the Rings trilogy that will transport listeners to the magical world of the Hobbit and the other fantastic creatures inspired by the pen of H.R.R. Tolkien.
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22 and 23 June
Sidi Larbi Chekaoui - Apocrifu

The Villa Adriana Festival in Tivoli has by now become one of the preferred venues for the Belgian dancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Following the hugely successful Italian premiere for Myth and Sutra last year, this summer Cherkaoui brings his latest spectacular show Apocrifu. First performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 2007, Apocrifu was greeted with acclaim last year at Pina Bausch’s “Fest mit Pina” in Dusseldorf. It is a haunting and thought-provoking work, questioning the authority of ancient written traditions including the Talmud, the Koran and the Bible. What emerges are cultural similarities across the ages and the absence of one absolute truth. Cherkaoui is joined onstage by Yasuyuki Shuto, a classical dancer with the Tokyo Ballet and French performer Dimitri Jourde, a dance and circus artist. The dancers are accompanied by the soaring polyphonic vocals of the Corsican a cappella ensemble A Filetta. Founded in 1978 by Jean-Claude Acquaviva, A Filetta have been bringing the passion, emotional fervour and beauty of their art to audiences around the world ever since. Corsican folk song and sacred hymns are a fundamental part of their repertoire but with original compositions, film soundtracks (including award-winning music for “Himalaya” and “Le Peuple Migrateur”), dance, theatre and opera collaborations, they are constantly carrying the traditions forward.

For info:
www.auditorium.com
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24 June
Daniel Barenboim: Verdi - Requiem

The Orchestra and Chorus of the temple of Italian opera, the Teatro alla Scala of Milan, will be performing at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia for a concert which already has the hallmark of an historic event. Conducted by Daniel Barenboim, they will perform the dramatic and monumental meditation on death which is Verdi’s Requiem. First performed on 22 May 1874 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Alessandro Manzoni, a poet and novelist much admired by Verdi, the Requiem won immediate success and has been a hugely popular work ever since. Throughout the work, Verdi uses vigorous rhythms, sublime melodies, and dramatic contrasts – much as he did in his operas – to express the powerful emotions engendered by the text. The terrifying (and instantly recognizable) “Dies Irae” that introduces the traditional sequence of the Latin funeral rite is repeated throughout for a sense of unity, which allows Verdi to explore the feelings of loss and sorrow as well as the human desire for forgiveness and mercy found in the intervening movements of the Requiem. The performance in Rome will be crowned by the participation of four world class soloists: Barbara Frittoli, Sonia Ganassi, Marcello Giordani and René Pape.

For info:
www.santacecilia.it
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27 June
Ry Cooder & Nick Lowe

The seventh edition of July Sounds Good, the Auditorium’s annual summer music festival, will once again attract a host of major international artists. Among this year’s guests will be: James Taylor & The Excellent Band European, Tracy Chapman, Anastacia, Burt Bacharach, Mogwai, Michael Bolton and the Buona Vista Social Club.
Opening up events in grand style will be American guitar legend Ry Cooder. The producer behind the international musical phenomenon that was the Buena Vista Social Club, composer and performer of many memorable film soundtracks including Wim Wenders’ Paris Texas, Cooder was ranked number 8 on Rolling Stone’s “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. For July Sounds Good the Californian musician will be appearing with the English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, a pivotal figure in British punk rock and new wave who has also achieved an international reputation as a producer, most notably with Elvis Costello. Cooder and Lowe will be joined on the stage of the Auditorium by the Grammy-winning Tex-Mex accordionist Flaco Jimenez and by Joachim Cooder on drums. There will be a special guest appearance by LA-based singer Juliette Commagere.

For info:
www.auditorium.com
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Evenings of a great music
at the courtyard of St. Ivo alla Sapienza

 
This summer, for its 28th consecutive concert season, the International Chamber Ensemble will once again treat Rome audiences to fifteen unforgettable evenings featuring musical masterpieces in the courtyard of one of the eternal city’s most splendid examples of Renaissance architecture.

Located in the heart of ancient Rome just a short walk from Piazza Navona, the Courtyard of S. Ivo alla Sapienza (hallowed halls of the original 15th century university of Rome) will lend its architectural and acoustical excellence, as it has for the past thirteen years, to the International Chamber Ensemble’s 2009 summer series.

The season’s repertory highlights a stimulating array of immortal music ranging from Mozart to Samuel Barber, from Vivaldi to Nino Rota, from the triumphs of Italian baroque music to the unforgettable melodies of Frank Sinatra. The series also includes four fully-staged and costumed performances of Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro”, presented in collaboration with the Opera Academy company of international singers. Under the exceptional direction of Francesco Carotenuto, this twenty-eighth season guarantees, as always, to please both veteran and novice concert and opera goers alike.

Following is the calendar of performances for this upcoming summer:
 
Evenings of Great Musica at the Courtyard of S. Ivo
Corso Rinascimento n.40
 
July 4 and 7, August 7 and 8 – at 9:30pm  (repeats August 7 and 8)
The Triumph of Italian Baroque under Borromini’s dome

TARTINI - Sinfonia in D
ALBINONI - Concerto in F for violin and string orchestra
GEMINIANI - “La Follia” Concerto grosso n.12 in D min.
PERGOLESI - Concerto in E min.
VIVALDI - Concerto in D min. for 2 violins, cello and strings
VIVALDI - Concerto in G min. “Summer” from The Four Seasons

soloists Giuliano Bisceglia, Henry Durante, Antonio Ramous
International Chamber Ensemble String Orchestra
conductor Francesco Carotenuto
 
July 10, 11 and 14  – at 9:30pm
Three centuries of masterpieces for string orchestra
 
MOZART - Divertimento in D major. K.136
ROSSINI - Sonata VI in D major
RESPIGHI - Antique Airs and Dances for Lute, suite n.3
BARBER - Adagio
ROTA - Concerto per archi
 
International Chamber Ensemble String Orchestra
conductor Francesco Carotenuto

July 22, 23, 25 and 26 – at 9:00pm
“The marriage of Figaro” – opera in 2 acts by W.A. MOZART
 
Stage Director Peter Atherton
The Opera Academy Company
International Chamber Ensemble Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Francesco Carotenuto
 
July 30, 31 August 4 and 11 – at 9:30pm
The great American Song tradition… from “Summertime” to “New York New York”
 
GERSHWIN - Orchestra Suite from “Porgy and Bess”
CAROTENUTO - F. Sinatra Orchestra Suite

featuring original songs by G. GERSHWIN, C. PORTER, K. WEILL, R. ROGERS, G. MILLER, H. MANCINI, T. KERN, B. KAENPFET, J. REVAUX,
C. FRANCOIS….

International Chamber Ensemble
conductor Francesco Carotenuto
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Advance ticket sales for the XXVIII season will begin on June 8th at all of the major ticket outlets around the city.
From June 29th, tickets will be available at the door of the St. Ivo Courtyard (Corso Rinascimento n.40),
Monday-Friday h. 10-19, Saturday h.10-13.
Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.interensemble.org



INFO: tel. 06.86800125   |   intchens@tin.it     |    www.interensemble.or