ClassicheFORME International Chamber Music Festival

«To me “ClassicheFORME means offering musical experiences that focus on sharing and interacting; presenting “chamber music” in a dynamic, young, and attractive way, a way that is in line with our times». This is how Beatrice Rana, multi-awarded twenty-six-year-old pianist, and one of the youngest Italian artistic directors, describes the International Festival of Chamber Music “ClassicheFORME”, a Festival she created three years ago, that will be running from 5 to 7 July 2019 in Lecce.

This is another step forward for a Festival that’s about to open its third edition after the success of the previous years, and which was awarded the “Medaglia del Presidente della Repubblica Italiana” for its high value in music culture, for the improvement of young talents, and for the attention to the area in which it takes place. It’s indeed Apulia, and specifically Salento - birthplace of its artistic director - to host the events that for three consecutive days will bring music into places full of history, and help reveal and appreciate their beauty. After Ipogeo Bacile di Castiglione in Spongano, home of the first two editions, the Festival will now move to the heart of Lecce, at the Chiostro dell’Antico Seminario, in Piazza Duomo, a seventeenth century jewel; and in the historical Palazzo Tamborino Cezzi, well known also thanks to film director Ferzan Ozpetek who used it as the set for two of his renowned movies. Beatrice Rana, nominated in 2018 “Female Artist of the Year” at the Classic BRIT Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London, will be performing alongside well known international artists and young talents from all over Europe.

The three main events of “ClassicheFORME”, taking place at 9pm at the Chiostro dell’Antico Seminario, present an overview of the chamber repertoires, spanning over almost three hundred years of music, from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to present day composers. The Festival will open on Friday 5 July with a selection of vocal works interpreted by baritone Vittorio Prato, a well known Belcanto interpreter with a wide repertoire, who will sing the romances by Aleksandr Borodin called Krasavitsa-rybachka (The Beautiful Fischer Maiden) and Razlyubila krasna-devitsa (The Pretty Girl No Longer Loves Me) accompanied by the Rana sisters (Ludovica, playing the cello, and Beatrice, at the piano); the cycle Don Quichotte à Dulcinée based on three poems by Paul Morand set to music by Maurice Ravel; two Lieder by Richard Strauss, Morgen, on lyrics by John Henry Mackay, and Zueignung, on lyrics by Hermann von Gilm; and the English songs by Francesco Paolo Tosti Who?, My Love and I, and More and More, all accompanied by Beatrice Rana at the piano. A female string quartet made of young talented musicians like Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma, German violinist Anne-Luisa Kramb, Spanish violist Sara Ferrández, and cellist Ludovica Rana, will be presenting four extracts from Cypresses B 152 by Antonín Dvořák, No. 3, 5, 11 and 12. Two sonatas will then complete the program: Sergey Prokofiev’s Sonata for two violins Op. 56, interpreted by Lamsma and Kramb, and César Franck’s Sonata in A major for violin and piano, performed by Lamsma and Beatrice Rana. Saturday 6 July is the turn of an extraordinarily exciting concert with pianos and percussions for Béla Bartók’s original Sonata for two pianos and percussions BB 115, SZ 110. For the occasion Benedetto Lupo, internationally renowned pianist with an intense concert and educational schedule, will be playing with his pupil Beatrice Rana. They will be joined on stage by two exceptional young percussionists like “Abbiati Prize” winner Simone Rubino, and the principal timpanist from the Orchestra del San Carlo di Napoli, Andrea Toselli. The musicians will then go on to perform in duos: the Sonata for two pianos KV 448 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and “Rebonds B” for percussions by Iannis Xenakis. Water Cadenza for percussions, written by Chinese Oscar Academy Award and Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award Tan Dun, will complete the program. The Festival will be closing on Sunday 7 July with an intimate evening titled “Casa Schumann”, dedicated to the German composer Robert and his wife Clara Wieck. The works by Schumann presented are the Adagio and Allegro Op. 70 for cello and piano, with Dutch cellist Ella van Poucke in duo with Beatrice Rana; the two musicians will also be performing the Quartet Op. 47 for piano and strings, together with Simone Lamsma and Sara Ferrández. The works by Clara Wieck performed by the artists are the 3 Romances for violin and piano, Op. 22, and a selection from the 6 Lieder for cello and piano, Op. 13, namely No. 1 Ich stand in dunklen Träumen, and No. 6 Die stille Lotusblume, respectively interpreted by Simone Lamsma and Ella van Poucke, both accompanied by the Festival’s Artistic Director at the piano.

The program of the closing event includes the world premiere of a new work commissioned by “ClassicheFORME” to Silvia Colasanti, a leading international composer whose works are performed in halls like the Philharmonie in Paris and the Konzerthaus in Berlin. Her work for the Festival is called Lamento, and it will be interpreted by Sara Ferrández and Ella van Poucke.

The third edition of “ClassicheFORME” comes with a novelty: plenty of space will be given to the younger musicians, with two morning concerts, at 11am, and two in the late afternoon, at 7pm, on 6 and 7 July at the Palazzo Tamborino Cezzi. The musicians involved are students from the Conservatories of Bari and Lecce, and pupils from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.

The Festival ClassicheFORME, organized by the Association “Opera Prima”, is made possible thanks to support from the Department of Tourism and Culture of the Apulia region, represented by Loredana Capone, and thanks to Borletti Buitoni Trust, Fondazione Puglia, and in collaboration with Università del Salento and the Conservatory “Tito Schipa” in Lecce. To be noted that important contributions are also made by several Patrons and Friends of the Festival who believe in the project.

The important media partnership with Radio3 Rai si confirmed. The radio will be airing the three evenings of ClassicheFORME within a specifically appointed program dedicated to Italy’s most renowned festivals. Other important partners are Fazioli Pianoforti, providing the instruments for the events.

Tickets for the 9pm concerts at the Chiostro dell’Antico Seminario, from 20 to 10 euro (reduced for Under30), are available by booking through the email info@classicheforme.com or the phone number +39 393.1948557. The events at 11am and 7pm at Palazzo Tamborino Cezzi are free of charge, and are subject to availability.