Rafal Blechacz, piano
The young pianist launched his career by winning all five prizes at the International Chopin competition in Warsaw in 2005. He records for the Deutsche Grammophon label. 
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia
Friday, May 17, 8:30 pm
€38-18 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
trailer

Bach:Partita n. 3
Beethoven: Sonata op. 10 n. 3
Chopin: Nocture op. 32 n. 2
Chopin: Polonaise  op. 40
Chopin Three Mazurkas op. 63
Chopin Scherzo n. 3

 

Orchestra, Chorus and Children's Choir of the Accademia  di Santa Cecilia
Michael Tilson Thomas, conducting with Katarina Karnéus, contralto
Leading conductor and composer Tilson Thomas is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra. With the SF Symphony, he has recorded the works of Mahler.
Born in Stockholm, Katarina Karnéus won the 1995 n the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Since then she has appeared throughout the world in opera, concert and recital. Opera engagements have included The Metropolitan Opera New York, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
The Symphony No. 3 by Gustav Mahler was written between 1893 and 1896. It is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire, with a typical performance lasting ninety to one hundred minutes. Like most of his symphonies, it is loosely related to a theme, in this case, "A midday summer's dream."
Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia
Saturday, May 18, 6 pm; Monday, May 20, 9 pm
Tuesday, May 21, 7:30 pm
€52-19 tel 892 982 www.listicket.it
trailer

Mahler: Symphony n.3

Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Francesco La Vecchia conducting 
Shostakovich decided instead to dedicate his seventh symphony to the city of Leningrad on its completion in December 1941. It soon became very popular in both the Soviet Union and the West as a symbol of resistance to Nazi totalitarianism and militarism and is still regarded as the major musical testament of the estimated 25 million Soviet citizens who lost their lives in World War II. The symphony is played frequently at the Leningrad Cemetery, where half a million victims of the 900-day Siege of Leningrad are buried. As a condemnation of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the work is particularly representative of the political responsibilities that Shostakovich felt he had for the state, regardless of the conflicts and criticisms he faced throughout his career with Soviet censors and Joseph Stalin.
Auditorium della Conciliazione, Via della Conciliazione 4
(near Castel Sant'Angelo, the Vatican)
Sunday, May 19, 5:30 pm; Monday, May 20, 8:30 pm
€20 tel tel 892 101  www.ticketone.it

Shostakovich: Symphony n. 7 "Leningrad"

Mikhaïl Rudy piano
Born in exile in Uzbekistan, and raised in Siberia, Rudy won the Marguerite Long Competition in 1975. He subsequently asked for political asylum and settled in France. He made his debut in Paris on the occasion of Marc Chagall's 90th birthday in 1977, performing Beethoven's Triple Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovitch and Isaac Stern. As well as being a concert pianist, Mikhail Rudy has performed with jazz pianist Misha Alperin with whom he devised a program entitled "Double Dream," performing improvised compositions based on the classical repertoire. He is also a television broadcaster and is active in experimental video-filming and writing. He has prepared several series including a BBC television documentary on the life and works of Tchaikovsky and radio projects for France-Musique highligting the life and works of composers such as Alexander Scriabin, Johannes Brahms, Karol Szymanowski and Leoš Janácek.
His program in Rome includes by Scriabin, Stravinsky and Musorgsky along with video projections he himself has designed in cooperation with the Cité de la Musique - Paris. 
Aula Magna, Università la Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Magno (San Lorenzo)
Tuesday, May 28, 8:30 pm 
€30-25-20 under age 30 €12 www.greenticket.it
trailer

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CONCERTI e PALAZZI
A series of concerts in Rome's great palaces, many of them usually closed to the public.
Free but reservations are advised: tel 853 57191 during office hours.

Palazzo Piacentini
Via Arenula 70
Soprano Marta Calcaterra and tenor Edoardo Milletti, winners of the Concorso Lirico della Comunità Europea 2012 with pianist Sabrina Trojse perform music by Arlen, Mancini, Lloyd Webber, Bernstein, Morricone, Loewe, Porter, Webber.
Saturday, May 18, 8:30 pm

Museo Ara Pacis
Lungotevere Augusto Imperatore (near Piazza del Popolo)
Winners of the Premio Naizonale delle Arti, Erica Piccotti cello, Matteo Flori percussion, Giulio Amico Padula trumpet and Alexander Gadjiev piano, perform music by Dvorák, Xenakis, Arutjunjan and Ravel.
The concert takes place after closing hours so it will not be possible to tour the museum.
Tuesday, May 21, 8:30 pm

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In the Churches

SS. Michele e Magno
Salita SS. Michele e Magno (just beside Saint Peter's square)
Organist Giovannimaria Perucci plays music of Corelli and Handel.
Saturday, May 18, 6 pm
Free

Cappella Paolina, Palazza del Quirinale
Piazza Quirinale
In this magnificent chapel, a series of Sunday morning concerts. Get there early to tour the palace and expect to go through security.
Paola Biondi and Debora Brunialti, pianists, perform music by Gaslini, Bennet, Bollani, Gershwin
Sunday, May 19, 11:50 pm
€5, over 65 and under 18 free.

Convento SS XII Apostoli, Sala Immacolata
Via del Vaccaro 9 (historic center)
Duo Pianists Cinzia Merlin and Michela Senzacqua perform music by L. Vuillemin, C. Debussy, F. Poulenc, M. Ravel
Sunday, May 19, 7 pm
€10, under age 12 €5

Santa Prassede all'Esquilino
Via di Santa Prassede 9/a (near Santa Maria Maggiore)
Alessandro Licato performs music by Bach.
Sunday, May 19, 7 pm
Free


San Antonio dei Portoghesi
Via dei Portoghesi 2 (between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon)
A series of concerts showcasing the church's historic pipe organ.
Roman Perucki (Poland) plays music by Bach, Markull, Reger.
Sunday, May 19, 6:30 pm
Free

Saint Paul's Within the Walls
Via Nazionale at Via Napoli (near Piazza della Repubblica)
Nova Amadeus Chamber Orchestra Patrizia de Carlo, violin soloist. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons.
Sunday, May 19, 6:30 pm
€20, reduced €15

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