The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with maestro Daniele Gatti on the podium, returns to Orvieto Cathedral for the customary Easter concert as part of the 'Homage to Umbria' project and dedicated to all children victims of war. In the opening one of the best-known compositions by Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony no. 44 in E minor, known as the Trauer-Symphonie (Funeral Symphony), composed around the beginning of the 1770s and intended primarily for performances in the sumptuous homes of the Esterházy princes, of whose orchestra Haydn was choirmaster. Following the suite The Noblest Vision, by Paul Hindemith: the inspiration came to the composer from Hanau during the period in which he was in Florence, where he was deeply impressed by Giotto's frescoes in the Church of Santa Croce, especially those depicting Saint Francis of Assisi. The concert closes with "Karfreitagszauber" ("The Spell of Good Friday") – a musical fresco that describes the awakening of nature with the first morning sun – and an extract from Parsifal, Richard Wagner's last masterpiece.

Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 44 in E minor, Trauer-Symphonie (Mourning Symphony)

Paul Hindemith
Nobilissima visione (The Noble Vision), suite

Richard Wagner
From Parsifal: “Good Friday music” (act III)

The concert will be broadcast on Rai 1 on Good Friday after the Via Crucis (29 March 2024) and on Rai 5 on the following days.