Giancarlo Giannini and the OFI will take the public on a journey through the history of cinema
In a photographic concert, screen legend Giancarlo Giannini will present the history of cinema through the music and images of the people who made it great, at the same time offering up a visual history of Italy. "Symphonies on Stage" will be held on July 28 at 9:30 p.m. at Milan's new UniCredit Pavilion (Piazza Gae Aulenti, 10), a multipurpose facility designed by architect Michele De Lucchi and constructed by UniCredit. The concert will be the first in a series of events at the venue, which was built to strengthen the ties between the bank and the surrounding community. The pavilion's auditorium, which can accommodate up to 700 people, will host regular conferences, exhibitions, concerts and events in the heart of the Porta Nuova district.
"Symphonies on Stage" was created and produced by Tullio Mattone in collaboration with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia—Cineteca Nazionale (Experimental Cinematography Centre—National Film Archive). Mattone is also one of the show's directors along with Adriano de Santis. Mr. Giannini, an icon of international cinema, will guide the public on an engaging journey through the history of film, presenting anecdotes and poetry as well as movie excerpts and music. The event will feature a performance by the Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana (OFI) with the participation of singer Emanuela Loffredo. Maestro Maurizio Abeni, responsible for the musical arrangements, will conduct. The concert will also include a guest performance by Chiara Civello, the singer-songwriter once described by Tony Bennett as "the best jazz singer of her generation."
The most unusual feature of the photographic concert is how it will blend different forms of art - music, cinema, voice and theatre. The show will reverse the conventional relationship between film and music, with the imagery being used to exalt the expressive force of musical themes, rather than the other way around. The purpose of the projected visuals will be to underscore the dynamics of the concert according to the logic and timing of the conductor.
Behind the symphonic orchestra, a large screen on the stage of the UniCredit Pavilion will display scenes selected from the extraordinary National Film Archive. The orchestra will perform a selection of masterpieces composed by the great Italian film composers, including Nino Rota, Alessandro Cicognini, Armando Trovajoli, Ennio Morricone and Nicola Piovani. The film clips will be drawn from the work of the great directors who had long partnerships with these composers, including Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Vittorio De Sica, Massimo Troisi, Giuseppe Tornatore and Roberto Benigni.
This inaugural program provides an excellent example of how the UniCredit Pavilion will serve the city and the community. Its fusion of different artistic languages is intended to highlight the full potential of this remarkable facility, with a show that will also be projected for the public outside the building, using the large wings facing out onto the park and the square.
Admission is free.
Milan, July 20, 2015