Filarmonica della Scala

When that tireless founder of orchestras Claudio Abbado brought the Filarmonica della Scala to life in 1982 with the musicians from the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, he had a vision of an ensemble modelled on the Vienna Philharmonic: one that would not only perform operas but also expand the symphonic repertoire. The Filarmonica, which places a special focus on contemporary music, has rapidly established itself as a top international orchestra – and has now given over 600 touring concerts. To mark Italy’s status as Guest of Honour at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair, the Filarmonica della Scala will also visit Berlin together with its Principal Conductor Riccardo Chailly – with Luciano Berio’s “Quatre dédicaces”: four brilliant orchestral miniatures, which, according to the composer, should enable the musicians to show off how superbly they have mastered their instruments. This is followed by “Dis-Kontur”, a work by Wolfgang Rihm from 1974 with which the then 22-year-old startled the avantgarde: its bleak and highly expressive music is reminiscent of rusty, ruined factories in the no-mans-land of abandoned industrial wastes. Bucolic idylls are then evoked by the two orchestral suites “Daphnis et Chloé”. These seminal orchestral works by Maurice Ravel were originally composed for Sergei Diaghilev’s legendary Ballets Russes. However, they rapidly conquered the concert hall in the form of two sets of “fragments symphoniques” – Igor Stravinsky regarded them as one of “the most beautiful things the whole of French music has produced.”