On 9 April, at the Forstanderskapssalen in Oslo, the doors opened at 5:30 p.m. and the room was already full. Sold out. A signal that says everything about the strength of a project born from the vision of young musicians able to build bridges – literally, since the theme of the second edition is precisely “BRIDGE” – between traditions, cultures and generations.
The inaugural event of the new Mediterranean season Chamber Music Festival – organized by the Mediterranean Culture Association, in collaboration with the Mediterranean Music Academy and the Euterpe Cultural Music Association, with the patronage of the Municipality of Pulsano and the support of reality of the territory – brought together in the heart of Norway some of the most significant personalities of the cultural and diplomatic scene: the Italian Ambassador Stefano Nicoletti, the director of Culture Among the audience also prominent figures of the Scandinavian musical world, such as Henninghe Landaas, first viola of the Oslo Filarmonic, and Elise Båtnes, Konzertmeister of the Oslo Filarmonic.
From 18, the stage hosted a succession of chamber formations – from the duo to the quartet – with interpreters from Norway, Italy and Sweden: Frøydis Fegran Kopperud, Birk Landaas, Alfred Linus Wang, Andreas Nøstrud Grimstad, Birgitta Elisa Oftestad, Simon Sundström, Romolo Ludovico Lanzarum and Sigmund Sk. In program pages of Stravinsky, Respighi, Rota, Brahms and Auerbach: a path that has crossed centuries and styles, showing the international vocation and artistic maturity of the festival.
During the evening the Artistic Director Romolo Ludovico Lanza and Associate Director Sigmund Skjeldrum Toppe presented the program of the second edition, announcing a high profile poster with artists like Andrea Scaffardi, Ivan Rabaglia, Christopher Park, Annariina Jokela and many others. The Mediterranean Academy, the perfecting school of the festival, will be re-launched with a training offer designed for young musicians of the highest level. The evening ended with the premiere of the after movie signed by the Milanese director Alice Bulloni.
On 24 May the festival will stop in Taranto, with the Italian presentation at MUDIT Casa Viola, in collaboration with Mangrovie A.P.S. An event not to be missed to discover the project closely and meet the protagonists of this initiative that brings great music to South Italy with the same rigour with which he conquered Oslo.
The festival will be held from 21 to 30 June mainly in Pulsano, with a selection of events also in Taranto and Martina Franca. Among the most anticipated dates, that of June 28: a day entirely dedicated to cultural contamination, hosted in the beautiful Masseria Cappella in Martina Franca. From the morning, with the open class of the Mediterranean Academy and a literacy conference, until the evening, with a gala dinner and a concert of the festival’s octet – an experience that combines training, crafts, landscape and music of excellence in a single unforgettable day.
This festival is not just music: it is a model of how culture can generate real connections between people, places and traditions far away. It is Puglia that dialogues with Oslo, it is a generation of young musicians who demonstrates how excellence does not know geographical boundaries.
All details here
L’articolo Mediterraneo Chamber Music Festival: from Oslo to Puglia, music as a bridge between cultures comes from IlNewyorkese.