At the Teatro del Maggio on Jan. 5, 2024 at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall, a concert for piano and orchestra by composer and pianist Giulia Mazzoni is staged, presenting her latest album YAS - Your Anima System
On the podium, conducting the Maggio Orchestra, maestro John Axelrod
Interventions of electronic music are curated by 16-time Grammy Award winner Thom Russo
Choreography - performed by the YAS Dance Project - is created by Luca Lupi

Florence, Dec. 30, 2023 - The new year opens at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with a special evening that blends modernity and tradition: on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, at 8 p.m. - in the Main Hall - Giulia Mazzoni presents YAS - Your Anima System, the Tuscan pianist and composer's new album, which is offered to the audience on the Maggio stage on the very day of its release.
Conducting the Maggio Orchestra on the podium is maestro John Axelrod, who returns to Maggio after the concert held in the spring of 2018; Thom Russo, winner of no fewer than 16 Grammy Awards, takes care of the percussion and electronic music interventions; Luca Lupi, signs the choreographies performed by the YAS Dance Project and Francesco Baldi takes care of the programming (the integrations , that is, between the recorded backing tracks and the pieces performed live by the piano and orchestra).
In addition to Yas's previously unreleased compositions, composer and pianist Mazzoni will perform some pieces from her previous albums, including Wildness from the soundtrack composed for Marco Amenta's film Anna presented at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.
YAS - Your Anima System, recorded in Los Angeles, Prague and Florence, is a concept album in which instrumental music is presented in a new form, with a renewed and modern language that boldly blends elements of the classical tradition with pop. The album has a musical architecture with two distinct sections: an electro-symphonic one featuring the piano, almost as if the instrument were the leader of a band in dialogue with electronic programming and rhythmic elements, and a piano-only one, more introspective.
Speaking about her new record and the opportunity to present it on the Florentine stages of the Maggio, Giulia Mazzoni said she was excited and emphasized some of the main aspects of her work: "My desire is to make the piano a living instrument without barriers because it is a classical instrument that lives well in modernity. That is why the piano is always at the center in my music and performances and also during the concert at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino it will be the protagonist around which everything else will revolve. It is a great honor and an immense thrill for me to make my debut at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, a temple of excellence and guardian of the deepest and most sacred tradition of classical music. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to perform in many magnificent opera houses around the world, but the Teatro del Maggio represents something special for me, a dream come true."

Biographies:
Giulia Mazzoni, Italian composer and pianist, winner of the Ciampi Prize in 2013, has released two albums with original music, "Giocando con i bottoni" and "Room 2401." She has performed in major Italian theaters and festivals, and abroad, particularly in China, where she has played solo piano concerts in the most prestigious opera houses, including the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai and the Tianjin Grand Theater.

John Axelrod is an international conductor with more than 25 years of experience leading nearly 200 orchestras worldwide. He is known for his diverse repertoire, ranging from classical to contemporary and crossover music. In 2020 he received the Special Achievement Award issued by International Classical Music Awards for his outstanding achievements and interpretations.