Alessandro Bonato

One of the points of contact between the Italian operatic tradition and the Russian symphonic repertoire is undoubtedly the expressiveness of the melodies and the visionary nature of the orchestration. It is precisely this aspect that underpins the uniqueness of the programme, which brings Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 into dialogue with a selection of opera overtures by Giuseppe Verdi and Gioachino Rossini, composers who have left their mark on the history of Italian opera. Among the pieces most loved by audiences and, at the same time, most feared by entire generations of pianists, the Concerto is one of the most celebrated of those written by Rachmaninov, thanks to its intense and captivating melodies, combined with a truly unique orchestral energy and a daring pianistic virtuosity that leaves the audience literally breathless.