Ferrara Musica - Residenza Italiana Mahler Chamber Orchestra
As Daniel Harding gave the downbeat on the morning of 31 October, 2007, visitors to the general rehearsal at the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara were treated to a surprise. Instead of, as expected, the beginning chords of Schubert’s Third Symphony, the sounds of “Happy Birthday” rose from the orchestra, followed by cheers from the stage and the audience. On that day, the MCO officially celebrated its tenth Anniversary, and there was no better place to celebrate it than Ferrara.
Ferrara, which was declared a place of World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO in 1995, is one of the most significant cultural centres in Northern Italy. Under the rule of the d’Este family, the early modern period saw the establishment of a musical tradition that is still to be found in the city today. The family d’Este combined prudent patronage with a deep appreciation of the arts and a sharp sensitivity for the representative power of music, thereby successfully building long-term relationships between their court and Europe’s most important and interesting artists.
Today, the concert promoter Ferrara Musica is a major player in the musical scene in Ferrara. The founder of the MCO, Claudio Abbado, whose influence extends far beyond the conductor’s podium, founded Ferrara Musica in 1989 and has since then acted as honorary president of this cultural institution, considered by many to be one of the most important in Italy. It was Claudio Abbado who suggested the MCO as orchestra-in-residence for Ferrara in 1998, giving the newly founded ensemble its first home. The MCO regularly plays concerts with Abbado in Ferrara, but even more significant are the opera projects that take place here under his direction, including, for example, the legendary performances of Simon Boccanegra or the Magic Flute. Currently, Ferrara’s subscription customers are waiting impatiently for ticket sales to begin for a series of Fidelio performances in November 2009.
Ferrara Musica and the MCO can look back on a notable artistic history together, and forward to an ambitious future. In the context of the MCO’s residence there, 76 concert programs and seven operas have been performed at the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara. The repertoire spans periods from baroque and early classical to contemporary music and world premieres. Chamber music concerts performed by a handful of string players are just as well-received here as large symphonic repertoire. A majority of the concerts are conducted by the MCO’s Principal Conductor Daniel Harding; in Ferrara, Harding and the MCO have the chance to explore new musical territory, be it discovering new areas of repertoire or inviting new and promising soloists for exciting first encounters.
For the orchestra, Ferrara has become an artistic and emotional home in the last 10 years – here, every subscription concert-goer, every restaurant owner and every newspaper man knows the MCO musicians personally, and the local press speaks lovingly of “il ritorno della Mahler” when the orchestra rolls into town for another extended stay.
OCTOBER 2009 16 OCT / FRI 20:30 / TEATRO COMUNALE DI FERRARA >>MORE 21 OCT / WED 20:30 / TEATRO COMUNALE DI FERRARA >>MORE 26 OCT / MON 20:30 / TEATRO COMUNALE DI FERRARA >>MORE FEBRUARY 2010 28 FEB / SON 20:30 / TEATRO COMUNALE DI FERRARA >>MORE MARCH 2010 12 MAR / FRI 20:30 / TEATRO COMUNALE DI FERRARA>> MORE APRIL 2010 11 APR / SON 20:00 / FERRARA >>MORE
