‘Festa della Musica Italiana’ featuring Chamber Music Society of Colombo

Saturday, 25 October 2014 00:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Embassy of Italy is proud to present a concert of some of the finest Italian music, entitled ‘Festa della Musica Italiana’ at the British School in Colombo auditorium, featuring the elite ensemble of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo.

The concert commences at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, 8 November. Free passes, on a first-come-first-served basis will be available at Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza, from 27 October. The concert is generously supported by the Premier Sponsor of the Society, Fairway Holdings. The distinguished guest soloist for the evening will be clarinetist Claudio Cavallaro, from Rome, at the invitation of the Embassy. A graduate of the famed Santa Cecilia Academy, he is a chamber music specialist, and is a regular performer with the wind ensemble, ‘Trio Böhm’. He has performed at prestigious venues in Europe, including Norwegian Music Academy, Oslo, at the Italian Parliament in Rome, at Saint Peter’s Square before his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and at Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica, among others. The repertoire will include Puccini’s intimate Crisantemi (Chrysa-nthemums) for string orchestra, which features two heartrendingly beautiful melodies from his opera Manon Lescaut; and short rarities by the baroque masters Albinoni and Corelli. Cavallaro will perform the Concertino in B flat by Donizetti, as well as the first of the two Clarinet Concertos by the opera composer Saverio Mercadante. Finally, the artistic director and concertmaster of the Society, Lakshman Joseph de Saram, and the principal second violin Othman H. Majid will be the soloists in Vivaldi’s elemental Concerto for Two violins in A minor, RV. 522), from his L’estro Armonico (Harmonic Inspiration), Op. 3.