Sunday March 30th 2025 at 11am, “Tutto d’un fiato”, the show starring the professors of the Maggio Orchestra

On the podium of the Mehta Hall, the conductor Danila Grassi

The program includes music by Boris Papandopulo, Gaetano Donizetti and Ralph Vaughan Williams

The concert will be presented by musicologist Katiuscia Manetta

The public will be able to access directly from the Theater Cafeteria (opening 9:30am) and, by showing the ticket, will receive a countermark for breakfast (included in the ticket).

Florence, March 28th, 2025 – The funny concerts of the C’è musica & musica 2.0 cycle continue: the Maggio initiative created to bring young and very young audiences closer to the charm of the world of theater, its performances and shows.

On sunday, March 30th at 11 am, in the Zubin Mehta Hall, the protagonists of the morning – which takes the name of “Tutto d’un fiato” – are some professors of the Maggio Orchestra: Francesco Viola, piccolo; Massimiliano Salmi, English horn and Mario Barsotti, bass tuba, on the podium the conductor Danila Grassi.

The music on the program is colorful and fun: the “Concertino for piccolo and strings” by Boris Papandopulo opens the show. The story behind the Concertino is almost anecdotal since it is said that Tinka Muradori, a young virtuoso flutist at the time, overheard Papandopulo say that there was no instrument for which he had not composed a symphonic piece. She had the courage to contradict the maestro, pointing out that he had never composed a piccolo concerto. Papandopulo was astonished and several months later invited the young flutist to try playing his Concertino. The composer often used the piccolo in his works, mainly to represent nature, the pastoral idyll, the sounds of shepherds' flutes, the chirping of birds or stylized folk dance.

The morning continues with the “Concertino for English horn and orchestra” by Gaetano Donizetti. Written when the musician was just twenty years old, this composition was intended for his fellow student, Giovanni Catolfi. The form of the piece also allows the soloist to demonstrate considerable technical skill.

The show closes with the “Concerto for tuba and orchestra” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, who composed it on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the London Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere took place in June 1954 at the Royal Festival Hall with Philip Catelinet (principal tubist of the London Symphony Orchestra) and Sir John Barbirolli on the podium.

Danila Grassi, at her first engagement as conductor on the podium of the Maggio, graduated in conducting under the guidance of Marcello Bufalini, at the “A. Casella” Conservatory of L'Aquila and subsequently perfected her skills with Dario Lucantoni and Donato Renzetti. Since 2021 she has been working as assistant to Fabio Luisi for the Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca, where she made her debut conducting a new production of Antonio Salieri’s La Scuola de’ gelosi, the first woman to conduct an operatic title in the history of the Festival. He also worked as assistant to Maurizio Benini for Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda at the “Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía” in Valencia. With Michele Spotti he collaborated with the Benevento Philharmonic Orchestra, the Valle d’Itria Festival and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo for Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.

The show is presented by musicologist Katiuscia Manetta.

We would like to remind you that thanks to the collaboration with Unicoop Firenze, an area dedicated to the very young has been set up in a space close to the Foyer Cafè area, with stationery products from the eco-friendly "ViviVerde Coop" line, which provides children with materials for writing and drawing.