The programme of this evocative evening in the light of the sunset against the backdrop of the Miramare Castle offers some of Rachmaninov’s best-known pages: one might even say some of the most beautiful pages, although all the music of the well-known Russian composer has a beauty of its own, deep and wonderfully sad. Vocalise is one of the pieces that most embodies all this, and it does so with a clarity of expression that has few equals in the history of music.

The Second Concerto is perhaps Rachmaninov’s most famous piece, and with good reason: this work has realised all the best aspects of the composer, from his extraordinary melodic inventiveness to his ability to derive dozens of minutes of music from very few thematic cells. A particularly interesting aspect of the Second Concerto is that it was written following a three-year period of depression in which Rachmaninov was unable to write practically anything. The work is dedicated to Dr Dahl, who helped him come out of this difficult period and begin writing the concerto, which in fact marked the full resumption of Rachmaninov’s activity as a composer.
Reservations for the concert are handled by the Tartini Conservatory by calling 0406724911.

Andrea Virtuoso – piano
David Kulikov – conductor
Conservatory Strings

Vocalise, from the 14 Romances op. 34 (arrangement for strings by F. Fani)

Second Piano Concerto op. 18 (arrangement for piano and strings by A. Virtuoso)
I. Moderato
The. Adagio sostenuto
III. Allegro scherzando

The concert will take place from 7.30 p.m., last about an hour, and it will then be possible to visit the exhibition Kosmos the sailing ship of knowledge until 11 p.m.