music

Leonard Bernstein
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Boosey & Hawkes Editions

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 1
Universal Editions

conductor Diego Matheuz
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi

Beyond the celebratory occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Bohemian composer's birth and the 20th anniversary of Bernstein's passing, the choice to place these two great composers of the 19th and 20th centuries side by side is not accidental: Bernstein is considered one of the
greatest interpreters of Gustav Mahler's music and is certainly the conductor who best embodied his musical message, perhaps because, like the Austrian musician, in addition to being a great conductor, he was also a great composer.
Bound from a vehement and intellectual style, they both tended though in two different eras to harmonize the contrasts typical of their way of being and making music, and it was through this search that came to
light for both of them that artistic truth that comes from laying to bare their inner conflicts.

Diego Matheuz is a rising star on the music scene now internationally known to despite his very young age. He is Venezuelan, only 25 years old and one of the happiest outcomes of the well-known "System" founded in 1975 from José Antonio Abreu. Considered the successor to Gustavo Dudamel, he is a protégé of Claudio Abbado, who appointed him Principal Guest Conductor of the Mozart Orchestra of Bologna.

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), called by the New York Times "the most prodigious talent in the History of American Music," was the first among New Continent musicians to to achieve universal fame thanks to his extraordinary and exuberant way of making music that could catalyze the attention of the most diverse audiences. He achieved worldwide success with the music for West Side Story, the celebrated Broadway musical. This very year marks the 20th anniversary of his death.

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) is considered the genius of the late 19th century and the forerunner of the New Music. 2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the renowned composer who was the director of the Vienna StateOpera for ten years, and 2011 marks the centenary of his death.

The Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, founded in 1993 from Vladimir Delman, has established itself from several years as one of the most relevant national symphonic ensembles, capable of tackling a repertoire ranging from from Bach to the cornerstones of nineteenth-century symphonism to twentieth-century music. The Orchestra's
playbill includes more than thirty symphonic programs each year, with a layout in which the classics are flanked from less usual pages, as well as some adjoining seasons, such as the "Crescendo in Musica" cycle, an important review for children and young people.
From 1999 to 2005, Riccardo Chailly, now Honorary Conductor, served as Music Director.
Wayne Marshall and Helmuth Rilling have held the position of Principal Guest Conductors since the 2008/2009 season; Maestro Rudolf Barshai, from many years connected with the Orchestra, has been Conductor Emeritus since the 2006/2007 season, a position held by Carlo Maria Giulini until his passing. Cornist Radovan Vlatkovic and pianist Simone Pedroni, on the other hand, have been present since the 2007/2008 season as Resident Artists.
For the 2009/2010 season, Xian Zhang from China is Music Director, while Ruben Jais holds the position of Resident Conductor.
On October 6, 1999, the Orchestra's new permanent home, the Milan Auditorium, was inaugurated with Mahler's Symphony No. 2 Resurrection conducted from Riccardo Chailly. Another distinguishing feature of the Orchestra is the establishment, in October 1998, of the Giuseppe Verdi Symphonic Chorus of Milan, led until his passing by Maestro Romano Gandolfi, a prestigious figure of
choral conducting who worked with the greatest conductors and in the most important opera houses in the world. The Chorus currently has 100 members capable of tackling the great operatic-symphonic repertoire from the Baroque to the 20th century.
Some recurring appointments mark the Verdi's musical journey: the performance of the complete cycle of Mahler's Symphonies, the annual appointment with one of Bach's great Passions near the Easter holidays, and the New Year's Eve concert with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The Orchestra has been conducted by, among others from Riccardo Chailly, Georges Prêtre, Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Rudolf Barshai, Claus Peter Flor, Christopher Hogwood, Helmuth Rilling, Peter Maag, Marko Letonja, Daniele Gatti, Roberto Abbado, Ivor Bolton, Kazushi Ono, Vladimir Jurowski, Yakov Kreizberg, Ulf Schirmer and Eiji Oue. In the 2005/2006 season, Herbert Blomstedt and Krzysztof Penderecki made their Verdi debuts, and in 2006/2007 Leonard Slatkin, Vladimir Fedoseyev, and Wayne Marshall.
The orchestra has also collaborated with soloists such as Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vadim Repin, Lynn Harrell, Viktoria Mullova, Han-Na Chang, Sarah Chang, Midori, Alexander Kobrin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nelson Freire, Salvatore Accardo, Mario Brunello, Alexander Toradze, Hilary Hahn, and Radovan Vlatkovic.

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