Programme 2017 Edition

The much loved Elba European Island MusicFestival is back: from August 30th till September 8th the cultural life of our island will once again be changed into a music festival.
 
With this21st edition the opening night will be held not only on the Island of Elba but also in Los Angeles!
It is precisely in Los Angeles where the successful collaboration between Karima, the pop and jazz singer from Livorno and Burt Bacharach, the American legendary pianist and pop composer, all started. Close to you is the name of the album that contains the songs composed by this composer that Karima has recently recorded, that she will sing accompanied by her faithful assistants Piero Frassi, piano and Mirco Rubegni, trumpet, on the opening evening of the Elba festival right in the centre of the old part of Portoferraio on Wednesday August 30th.

The following day, Thursday 31st, the Festival will be held in the Renato Cioni Vigilanti Theatre, that is also the all time seat of the Festival, and this time it will be the turn of Yuri and Ksenia Bashmet, accompanied by the Moscow Soloists Orchestra. Names that are familiar to us that immediately bring back memories of the first steps taken by the Festival. On the same evening the music of two brilliant artists will enthrall us for the very first time in Elba: that of the English violonist Pryia Mitchell and the Romanian viola player Silvia Simionescu. The exceptionally talented Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson, whose magic fingers enchanted us last year, will also be on the stage with them.

On September 1st, the "Moscow Soloists" orchestra, with Yuri Bashmet as conductor, will look out towards Portoferraio at the Roman Villa Le Grotte where the silence hanging in the air all around will mix with the beauty of the town itself in the sunset in perfect harmony. The same group of musicians alongside Ksenia Bashmet will stand on the stage by the Hermitage Hotel for the unique and unforgettable evening concert on Sunday 3rd September.

On September 2nd, it will be the turn of the Elba Festival Prize, a long awaited appointment that has been encouraged by the Amici del Festival Association and thanks to which the extraordinary pianist Ekaterina Bonyushkina will become the next winner along with the previous fourteen. As with the evening of September 7th, several already known musicians from past editions will perform, and will add even more magic to the atmosphere of the Festival. This year we mustn't forget the Moldavian violonist Alexandra Conunova or the French-Japanese Aki Saulière, the French viola player Béatrice Muthelet, the American cello player Raphael Bell, the double bass playerJoseph Carver and, last but not least, the exceptional Italian pianist Enrico Pace.

This year, Mario Brunello, a long time friend of this Elba special event, will enchant the public not once but twice: on September 4th, alongside his lifelong partner the pianist Andrea Lucchesini, and then with Gabriele Mirabassi, a charismatic clarinet player and composer who is completely at his ease in the worlds of classical music and also that of jazz. The following day, Mario Brunello will perform in a duet with the very talented cello player Gabriele Geminian - his first time at our Festival - on the Island of Pianosa.

Another unique and encanting performance will be on September 6th because it consists of a guided tour inside the Medicean Fortress with a concert held in Forte Falcone. The artists who will perform on the stage that will be especially set up in the Carciofaia Rampart are the saxophonist Jacopo Taddei from Elba, also the winner of the Elba Festival Prize last year and his partner, the accordion player Samuele Telari. Both are completely capable of playing both jazz and South American music.

Programme

Wednesday August 30th, Piazza Cavour, Portoferraio - time 21.15
Karima Trio
Karima, vocals / Piero Frassi, piano / Mirco Rubegni, trumpet
Jazz Concert

Thursday 31st August, Renato Cioni Vigilanti Theatre, Portoferraio - time 21.15
Moscow Soloists Orchestra / Yuri Bashmet, conductor / Ksenia Bashmet, piano
Pryia Mitchell, violin / Silvia Simionescu, viola / Raphael Bell, cello / Alasdair Beatson, piano
L. van Beethoven Quartet in fa minor op. 95 (arr. for G. Mahler string orchestra)
R. Schumann Sonata for violin and piano n. 2 op. 121
interval
M. De Falla popular Suite for viola and piano
El Pano moruno - Nana - Canciòn - Asturiana  - Jota - Polo
A. Schnittke Concert for piano and string orchestra

Friday September 1st, Roman Villa Le Grotte, Portoferraio - time 19.00
Moscow Soloists Orchestra / Yuri Bashmet, viola, conductor
W.A. Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik Serenata for string orchestra K. 525
M. Bruch Romanza for viola and string orchestra op. 85
G. Sviridov chamber symphony for string ochestra op. 14

Saturday September 2nd, Renato Cioni Vigilanti Theatre, Portoferraio - time 21.15
Pryia Mitchell, violin / Aki Saulière, violin / Silvia Simionescu, viola / Raphael Bell, cello / Joseph Carver, double bass / Alasdair Beatson, piano
ELBA FESTIVAL PRIZE 2017: Ekaterina BONYUSHKINA piano
F. Schubert Quintet for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano D. 667 La Trota
D. Scarlatti Three Sonatas
C major K159 - C minor K11 - B minor K27
F. Chopin Ballata for piano n. 1, op. 23
interval
A. Dvoràk Quintet for piano and strings n. 2 op. 81

Sunday September 3rd, HERMITAGE Hotel, Portoferraio - time 19.00 concert-dinner
Yuri Bashmet, viola, conductor / Ksenia Bashmet, piano / Moscow Soloists Orchestra
B. Britten Young Apollo for piano and string orchestra
P. Caikovskij Elegy in memory of Ivan Samarin for string orchestra
J. Brahms Quintet op. 115 (arr. for viola and string orchestra)
D. Sostakovic Joke for string orchestra op. 11

Monday September 4th, Renato Cioni Vigilanti Theatre, Portoferraio - time 21.15
Mario Brunello, cello / Gabriele Mirabassi, clarinet / Andrea Lucchesini, piano
N. Rota Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (1973)
C. Guastavino Sonata for clarinet and piano
interval
A. Schnittke Epilogue from the "Peer Gynt" ballet for cello, piano and magnetic tape (1986)

Tuesday September 5th, Tuscan Archipelago National Park Island of Pianosa - time 19.00
Mario Brunello | Gabriele Geminiani, cellos
L. Boccherini Sonata for cello and thorough bass G. 17
A. Knaifel Lux aeterna for two psalmodic singers (two cellos)
J. Offenbach Duet for two cellos n. 2 op. 54

Wednwsday September 6th, Medicean Fortress - Forte Falcone, Portoferraio - time 19.00
Jacopo Taddei, saxophone — Samuele Telari, accordion
P. Iturralde Pequena Czarda
R. Galliano Viaggio
A. Piazzolla Escualo - Death of the Angel
N. Paganini Capriccio n. 1 - La Campanella
A. Paulsson Manila Vanilla
A. Dulbecco A folk tune
J. Girotto Morronga la milonga - El Cacerolazo - Ciudad
E. Nazareth Cavaquinho

Thursday September 7th, Renato Cioni Vigilanti Theatre, Portoferraio - time 21.15
Alexandra Conunova, violin | Béatrice Muthelet, viola | Gabriele Geminiani, cello | Enrico Pace, piano
G. Mahler Quartet for piano and strings (1876)
G. Faurè Quartet for piano and strings n. 1 op. 15
interval
J. Brahms Quartet for piano and strings n. 1 op. 25

Ticket office and presale
at the INFO POINT Calata Depositi (Gattaia)
From Saturday August 19th to Thursday September 7th 
from Mondays to Saturdays 10.00/12.30 and 17.00/19.00 
Sundays 10.00/12.30
Tel. +39 392 381 54 00
e-mail : info@elba-music.it