Thursday, December 12 at the Teatro Sociale
in collaboration with Fondazione Polli Stoppani
After the inauguration with Alessandro Quarta and his Five Elements, the Opera section of the 2024/2025 Theater Season of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti continues on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at the Teatro Sociale (8:30 PM) with another notable event. The protagonists will be two pianists of absolute value, Monica Leone and Michele Campanella, engaged in the interpretation, in the legendary transcription for two pianos by Franz Liszt, of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which this year marks the bicentennial of its first performance. The concert is organized in collaboration with the Fondazione Polli Stoppani, concluding its concert season promoted together with the Biblioteca Musicale de Sabata Ceccato. “The collaboration with the Fondazione Polli Stoppani gives a significant boost to our musical programming within the Theater Season,” comments Massimo Boffelli, General Director of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti, “and testifies to our openness towards those realities that, like us, contribute significantly to the cultural life of the city.” Giovanni Gavazzeni, Artistic Director of the Fondazione Polli Stoppani series, emphasizes: “Events like the concert of the Leone – Campanella duo aim to strengthen the role of classical music as an element of cultural and social growth, involving both enthusiasts and those approaching this art form for the first time. The collaboration with the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti is central to this vision: thanks to the synergy with such a prestigious institution, it is possible to create events capable of hosting internationally renowned artists.” The piano duo formed by Monica Leone and Michele Campanella does not have an official birth date, but it is the natural development of the habit of playing together first as teacher and student, then as partners in music and life. It is the result of a shared mentality and approach to the piano from the beginning, as both grew up, at different times, in the school of Vincenzo Vitale. The ever-expanding repertoire includes music for four hands and two pianos, ranging from Bach to Bartok. Among the most performed pieces, in addition to a wide anthology of Schubert’s four-hand music, are Ferruccio Busoni’s Fantasia Contrappuntistica, Beethoven/Liszt’s Ninth Symphony, Stravinsky’s Concerto for Two Pianos, Liszt’s Dante Symphony, and Poulenc’s Sonata. The duo’s numerous and significant appearances and collaborations include: the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Sydney Opera House, the Coliseum in Buenos Aires, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the Settimana Musicale Senese, the Sagra Umbra in Perugia, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the Orchestra della Toscana in Florence, the Orchestra da Camera di Padova e del Veneto, the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, the Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti in Rome, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Rossini Opera Festival, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano, Auckland in New Zealand, Melbourne and Brisbane in Australia.
