MUSIC

With a programme that sees Mozart as a source of inspiration for the future, the Festival consists of seven events at the very highest level. The venues are particularly noteworthy: although Rovereto and the Vallagarina take pride of place, in tribute to the Mozartian tradition, one of the most important events will take place at the Teatro Sociale in Trento, highlighting the Festival’s desire to involve the provincial capital in a major international project.

Some clear steps in this direction have already been taken recently (for example the “Summer Preview” on 1st August at Madonna di Campiglio). One of the most significant was the decision to become active partners in the Bologna “2nd August” International Composition Competition, an event which commemorates the victims of the Bologna terrorist bomb attack on 2nd August 1980 by creating positive and vital works through the language of art and music. This collaboration with the “2nd August” Competition has led to the setting up of a special prize awarded to those competitors who choose to include references to Mozartian themes in their scores (the “Rovereto Mozart Festival Prize” was awarded this year to Stefano Guarnieri for his “Electric Dies Irae”).

There are two outstanding symphony concerts in the Rovereto International Mozart Festival programme. The first, at the Melotti Auditorium in Rovereto on Saturday 29th September at 9 p.m., features the Prague Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kaspar Zehnder, with Isabelle van Keulen – one of the greatest violinists on the interntional concert scene – as soloist. The second, at the Teatro Sociale in Trento on Saturday 6th October at 9 p.m., features the “Arturo Toscanini” Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Massimo Mazza. This concert will provide an opportunity to hear, as well as the music of Mozart, the winning pieces from the “2nd August” International Composition Competition.

A number of chamber music concerts will take place against the aristocratic backdrop of the palaces of the Vallagarina, associated with Mozart, as well as in the concert halls of Trento and Rovereto: Palazzo Libera at Villa Lagarina, Palazzo de Probizer at Isera, Palazzo de Pizzini at Ala, and the Philharmonic Halls of Trento and Rovereto will host the Trio of the Lisbon Escola Superior de Musica, the Open Trios, the Rogliano/Dindo Duo, the Moreno/Capelli Duo and the pianist Sigrid Trummer respectively, with programmes of both classical music and compositioins inspired by Mozart specially commissioned by the Festival.