The Ouverture from “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, the Ouverture from “La Gazza Ladra” , a Fantasy on “Il Tancredi”and the Ouverture from “La Cenerentola”
by Giocchino Rossini will be performed by the Musica Nova Duo at The Santa Marija Chapel, Bir Miftuh, Gudja on 30 May at 8pm. The Duo, Massimo de Bonfils on Violin and Luca Minervino on guitar are sponsored by the Italian Embassy, Istituto Italiano di Cultura and Conservatorio di Sant Cecilia, within the activities of the Milano EXPO 2015.
In the XIX century Italy was fascinated by the Opera. The best solo musicians were forced to emigrate to find a well-deserved success. Among them there were some guitarists such as Carulli, Gragnani, Molino and Giuliani and violinists as Viotti. To their surprise, the public abroad asked them to play the very Opera themes from which they were fleeing. In France, many of these musicians were hosted by Rossini. The big Gioacchino, unprepared to Romanticism, had in fact withdrawn in Paris terminating his work as a composer. He was an expert cook and often invited Italian musicians to dinner. They, in turn, reciprocated by composing transcriptions and fantasies inspired by the maestro’s most famous works. The program for this concert covers some of the transcripts of the most famous works by the Italian composer.
Massimo de Bonfils is Professor at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, he graduated both in Violin and Viola. Winner of first prizes at contests of the Santa Cecilia National Academy Orchestra of Rome, the Franz Joseph Haydn Symphony Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento, the Teatro dell’Opera of Rome and the Rome Festival Orchestra of New York; at the age of twenty he was already a conservatory professor and at thirty-one he become, in Alessandria and Novara, the youngest Conservatory director in Italy. He has participated in tours with the Orchestra of the Petruzzelli Theatre in Europe, Brazil and the USA. He has performed as soloist with Orchestras in countries of three continents and is invited to be part of numerous juries of prestigious International Awards. He played concerts and radio-TV recordings in more than sixty countries in Europe, America, Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. Moreover, he directed Chamber Orchestras in Italian Festivals and abroad (Burgos, Spain 1986 – Carthage, Tunisia 1999 – Santa Cruz, Bolivia 2004).
Luca Minervino graduated in classical guitar at the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory in Bari under the guidance of the Maestro Sante Tursi and has attended various master classes given by F. Cucchi, E. Isaac, M. Mela, L. Micheli and J. Lorenzo. He has quickly established himself in various national and international competitions. He has played in the first edition of the First Intl. World Bach Festival (Palazzo Vecchio - Florence), at Teatro del Sale (Florence), at the Music Festival of Nations (Teatro Marcello - Rome), in Cremona on the occasion of the MondoMusica Festival and in Fucecchio (Florence). In addition, he has performed in New York at the Bronxville Women's Club and also in St. Petersburg at the Italian Institute of Cultural Heritage.
Recent Duo concerts by the duo: Rome (Academic Hall of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory), Frankfurt Regensburg, München, St. Petersburg, Valencia, Tokyo, Hong Kong and New York. Next: Cremona, Roma, Florence, St. Moritz.
The concert will be followed by a reception in the gardens of the Medieval Chapel of Ħal Millieri. For more information: Din l-Art Ħelwa 21225952, [email protected]