Organised as always by the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, with the contribution of the Fondazione Pisa and the patronage of the Municipality of Pisa, Anima Mundi returns for the 22nd time to fill Pisa Cathedral and Camposanto with great music. Seven concerts, as per tradition, from 9 to 28 September, alternating great masterpieces of sacred inspiration, combining the Catholic and Protestant traditions in the spirit of ecumenism, more relevant today than ever, with special moments of instrumental and vocal repertoire.
Artistic direction by Trevor Pinnock.
Opening on Saturday 9 in the Cathedral, with Symphony no. Lobgesang, Canto di Praise, composed in 1840 by Felix Mendelssohn on "words from Holy Scripture" to celebrate the fourth centenary of Johann Gutenberg's Bible and the invention of printing, will be performed by famous soloists and glorious ensembles, the Orchestra and Choir of the Slovenian Philharmonic of Ljubljana under the authoritative guidance of Anima Mundi artistic director Trevor Pinnock.
Moving on to the Camposanto on Tuesday 12, for a recital by Serbian pianist Aleksandar Madžar, made famous in 1996 by winning first prize at the Leeds Competition, one of the most important in the world: a ride through three centuries, with pages by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt and Claude Debussy.
Again in the Camposanto on Thursday 14 for the return of Vittorio Ghielmi and his group 'Il Suonar Parlante', specialised in re-proposing, by getting rid of any genre barrier, repertoires that are both historical and ethnic. Under the title 'Gypsy Baroque' they take us to explore the popular music of Eastern Europe of yesterday and today and its interchanges with the cultures of the past.
The Cathedral will be the backdrop on Saturday 16 to a concert by the legendary boys from Bad Tolz in Bavaria, one of the most celebrated boys' choirs: a collection of Motets by Johann Sebastian Bach and other exponents of his prodigious musical dynasty, interpreted by the Tölzer Knabenchor and its Italian conductor, Marco Barbon.
Also paying tribute to Germanic culture and one of its highest fruits, the Lied, on Tuesday 19 in the Camposanto are soprano Martina Welschenbach, baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist James Baillieu, who will perform invaluable works by Robert Schumann and his wife Clara, Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss.
A not-to-be-missed appointment is the International Competition of Sacred Composition announced every year by Anima Mundi: this year's winner, with Le sette parole di Cristo in Croce (The Seven Words of Christ on the Cross), for baritone and string orchestra, is Matteo Magistrali, born in 1980 in Varese, author of many works, also involved as choir director and organiser. On Friday 22 in the Cathedral, his piece will confront the most classical musical interpretation of Jesus' phrases from the four Evangelists, the purely instrumental one by Joseph Haydn, in a concert by the Cremona Antiqua Orchestra conducted by Antonio Greco with the participation of baritone Piermarco Viñas Mazzoleni.
Back in the Cathedral the closing performance, on Thursday 28, with the most original and curious musical reading of Paradise, the naive and fabulous one seen through the eyes of childhood and proposed by Gustav Mahler in his Fourth symphony on the verses contained in the romantic collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn, The Child's Magic Horn. Celebrated performers here too: soprano Chen Reiss and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Sanderling.
The concerts will start at 9:00 p.m.
All events in the Cathedral will be announced by the Brass on the Tower with a welcome concert of horns, trumpets and trombones.
The audience of Anima Mundi will have the opportunity to support, through free offers, some solidarity and assistance projects in the area. The initiative is promoted by the Archdiocese of Pisa-Caritas Diocesana.
INFORMATION AND BOOKING: https://www.opapisa.it/notizie/anima-mundi-2023-xxii-edizione/
For more information visit www.opapisa.it
