The world-renowned, multi-talented Italian composer and musician Vittorio Ghielmi and Elisa Citterio, music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, join Alessandro Ruggera, director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, for a conversation about their wide-ranging musical passions and the history behind the enigmatic viola da gamba or viol, a cousin of the cello. A staple of 17th and 18th century music, the viola da gamba is known for its an intimate and expressive sound, thanks to its delicate construction, six strings, fretted fingerboards, and unusual underhand bow hold. The instrument is also capable of great virtuosity in the hands of a master like Ghielmi, who will offer a short demonstration. Learn more about what makes this unusual instrument so special and how period instrument performances remain relevant in the 21st century.
ABOUT VITTORIO GHIELMI
The Italian viola da gamba player, conductor, and composer Vittorio Ghielmi has attracted attention for his tremendous virtuosity, and for his new approach to the sound of baroque repertoire. He has performed as a duo with lutentist Luca Pianca since 1999. In 2007, together with Argentinian singer Graciela Gibelli, he founded IL SUONAR PARLANTE ORCHESTRA, devoted to a new investigation of the early music repertoire as well as the creation of new projects and collaborations with, among others, great jazz artists such as Kenny Wheeler, Uri Caine, Paolo Fresu, and Markus Stockhausen. IL SUONAR PARLANTE ORCHESTRA is regularly invited to perform at leading halls and festivals throughout Europe, and has produced numerous award-winning recordings.
Vittorio Ghielmi makes his Toronto debut with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Dreaming Jupiter, February 6 to 9, 2020 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. For these concerts, Ghielmi has curated a selection of French solo and orchestral music, together with the world premiere of his own composition, Jupiter.
Vittorio Ghielmi is Head of the Institute for Early Music at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and is a Visiting Professor at the Royal College in London. As director or soloist he has appeared with leading baroque and modern orchestras, including L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Berlin Philharmonic, and Vienna Philharmonic. He has worked as Assistant to Riccardo Muti at the Salzburger Festspiele, and in 2018 conducted Rameau’s Pygmalion at the Drottningholms Slottsteater in Stockholm. His experiences with traditional musicians are captured in the film The Heart of Sound: A Musical Journey with Vittorio Ghielmi.
ABOUT ELISA CITTERIO
The brilliant violinist Elisa Citterio joined Tafelmusik as Music Director in 2017. She moved to Toronto from her native Italy, where she divided her artistic life between orchestral work and an intense schedule as a chamber musician. She has recorded and toured, often as leader or concertmaster, with such ensembles as Dolce & Tempesta, Europa Galante, Accademia Bizantina, Accordone, Zefiro, la Venexiana, La Risonanza, Ensemble 415, Concerto Italiano, Orquestra del Monsalvat, Il Giardino Armonico, Orchestra Academia 1750, and Balthasar-Neumann Choir & Ensemble (Thomas Hengelbrock). From 2004to 2017 she was a member of the Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano.
Elisa Citterio’s discography includes more than 35 recordings with Accademia I Filarmonici (Vivaldi), Europa Galante (Vivaldi and Bach), Zefiro (Handel), Accordone (Storie di Napoli), Brixia Musicalis (Vivaldi Four Seasons), Accademia Bizantina (Handel and Corelli), Il Giardino Armonico (Handel and Haydn), La Venexiana (Monteverdi), Joachim Quartet (Schuster), Helianthus Ensemble (C.P.E. Bach trios), and a number of opera recordings with the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala under such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Edward Gardner, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Harding, Lorin Maazel, and Riccardo Muti.
Upcoming appearances as guest director include Seattle Symphony, the Artosphere Festival in Arkansas, and Québec’s Les Violons du Roy.
PRESENTED BY THE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA IN COLLABORATION WITH TAFELMUSIK
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