Four musical evenings to savour in some of the most important symbolic places of Castelfiorentino culture: the Monastery of Santa Maria della Marca, the Cambio Cultural Centre and the Teatro del Popolo. From Wednesday 4 June (9:00 pm), the “Giugno musicale castellano” kicks off, a concert series organised by the “Orpheus” Association in collaboration with the Municipality of Castelfiorentino, the “Associazione Amici della Lirica U. Borsò” and the “G. Verdi” Philharmonic Orchestra, which will be opened by the latter in the inner courtyard of Santa Maria della Marca, an ancient settlement whose origins date back to the visit St. Francis made to Castelfiorentino in the 13th century. The Philharmonic concert will be accompanied by the students who took part in the school projects (two classes, with winds and percussion) by the Bandina conducted by Martina Fondati (formed by students and teachers from the Castelfiorentino music school) and by the brass band Squilli-Brass conducted by Jasmine Conti, recent winner of the “Riviera degli Etruschi” competition in Piombino.
On Wednesday 11 June at the Teatro del Popolo (9:00 p.m.), a theatrical-musical performance entitled “Mozart Vs Salieri”, a legendary rivalry between theatre and music, promoted by the “Amici della Lirica Umberto Borsò” association. The evening, which is proposed for the bicentenary of Antonio Salieri’s death (1825), takes its cue from this little drama in which the alleged poisoning carried out against Mozart by Salieri himself is narrated, and which has contributed decisively to the mythologising of Mozart’s death, which occurred prematurely after a rapid but merciless illness, in unclear circumstances. Two characters representing two opposing worlds: Mozart, an innate talent without boundaries and ineffable almost unconscious of the divinity ray he carries within him, and Salieri, who represents merit, that is, the order and perseverance of honest and rigorous men, respectful of hierarchy but sometimes also of mediocrity. The musical part of the performance is entrusted to the Orpheus Orchestra (conducted by Maestro Gabriele Centorbi), the Castellano Lyric Choir of the Associazione Amici della Lirica Umberto Borsò and an important cast of young opera singers, most of whom were selected and awarded prizes as part of the “Premio di canto Lirico Umberto Borsò” 2025 edition.
Thursday 12 June in the courtyard of Santa Maria alla Marca a Jazz concert under the stars by Claudio Fontanelli entitled “Jazz and the 1900s”. Wednesday 18 June finale of the festival at the Cambio Cultural Centre with the “Orpheus” string orchestra conducted by Giovanni Mancini entitled “La viola e il Contrabbasso” with the participation of Massimo Nesi (violin) Osvaldo Dal Boni (viola) and Franco Pianigiani (double bass). The concert will also feature the string group of the Castelfiorentino music school.
Admission to all evenings of the festival is free.
“For our Association and for all the young people who attend the music school”, observes director Stefano Mangini, “this is a beautiful opportunity to meet and listen to a very stimulating musical repertoire”.
“The Giugno Musicale Castellano”, observes the Councillor for Culture, Franco Spina, “is undoubtedly one of the events that most qualifies and enhances the places where culture is played in Castelfiorentino: the Teatro del Popolo, one of the most important historical theatres in Tuscany, the Monastery of Santa Maria della Marca, where restoration work on the church will soon begin, and finally the new Cambio Cultural Centre, which hosts high-level exhibitions. But it is also a review where visibility and space, adequate and appropriate, is granted to the musical associations present in our territory, which will offer the public a wide and diversified repertoire, with genres ranging from Opera to Jazz, to meet everyone’s preferences. I am therefore sure that the citizenship will not fail to appreciate their commitment and professionalism”.
For more information: stefamangini@katamail.com, +39 3482839708.
