Ravello Concert Season 2015-2016 Marks The 30th Anniversary Of The Biggest Italian Music Festival

Ravello is one of the biggest, oldest and one of the most renowned music festivals in Italy. The Festival as we know it today is the outcome of a number of previous initiatives, and Girolamo Bottiglieri and Paolo Caruso were the chief architects of the annual event that led to Ravello becoming the “City of Music”.

Ravello Festival

Via benvenutolimos.com

Ravello Music Festival, Italy’s biggest musical event, kicks off on 3rd April and marks the start of the 30th anniversary celebrations. The festival has always been one of the most prestigious and sought after occasions in Italy’s calendar and the sheer musical extravagance attracts many visitors who come almost every year to witness the best musical talents performing at a beautifully crafted stage that has a scenic view of the sea as the backdrop.

Since this year’s festival marks the 30th anniversary, the Ravello Concert Society have made some major (and not so major) changes to some aspects of the event in keeping with the interests of the audience as shared by visitors over the years. Now this is a spectacle that should not be missed for anything.

Major Changes to the Festival

Change is an important aspect of life and without it, things can never be taken to the next level. The interesting part about the recent modifications is that the festival has remained constant in terms of certain aspects for the last 30 years. Never before has any such change been introduced for the festival. But on this special milestone occasion, the RCS has decided to bring the following modifications.

· The festival has decided to abide by global timing standards (for such events) and in keeping with this, the show start time (during Spring and Autumn) has been moved to 7pm (instead of the previous 9:30pm). This is also a much needed change considering the bus timings (public bus service). Concert goers would still be able to catch the last bus to their respective towns located on the Amalfi Coast.

*Concerts performed between 8 June and 13 September will commence from 9:00pm. However, you can still catch the last bus to the town if you attend these shows.

·Ravello Art Center (formerly the Grand Caruso Wine Cellar) is a new recital hall that will receive further enhancements including a dedicated exhibition space. This facility has been restored and converted to a concert hall that has been designed especially for chamber music. The acoustics in this place is simply out of this world and you can be assured of the highest quality live music here.

Moreover, the seating capacity has been limited to 100 which ensures the maintenance of intimacy in the facility (an important factor for enjoying chamber music). This won’t be a regular venue. All concerts held on a Sunday during Spring and Autumn would be hosted at this facility.

Important Events

Via youtube.com

While the entire festival in itself is special, there are certain important events that you need to look out for during your private Italy tour. Mark your calendars so that you don’t miss out on any of these events.

· 3rd April, 2015: The festival would start with a piano recital by Fabrizio Romano

· 6th April:Haydn’s Quartet

· 25th May:Beethoven’s Quartet

· 11th June: Famous pop pieces performed by Valeria Vertuccio

· 22nd June:Mendelssohn’s Quartet

· 26th June:DaniloBlaiotta will perform his own original compositions

· 11th and 13th August:Raffaele Maisano&MattiaMistrangelo performed by “Jazz takes on Classical”. The speciality of this performance is that two individual pianos would be positioned as facing each other and would offer a spectacle comprising the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Jazz improvisations.

· 1st September:Giovanni DoriaMiglietta will give “A Tribute to Earl Wild”

· 6th September: The renowned piano-duo of Francesco Nastro - NelloMallardo will perform “Flying on the classics, from Brahms to Listz across the Jazz”.

· 12th October:Schubert’s Quartet

These are but a glimpse of the immensely rich musical experience that you would get if you head over to this festival. For 30 years, the festival has managed to preserve the essence of music in this small region in Italy. If you love chamber music, then this is the place to be. Don’t miss it for anything!