Child prodigy, pianist and composer of exceptional talent, main character of a movie awarded with eight oscars: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was all of these. At the age of nine he composed first symphony, at twelve his first opera.

Sources report that the child Mozart was able to transcribe a Miserere for nine voices by Greogrio Allegri after having listened to the piece only once. In older age his talent fully blossomed in a unique musical language born from the combination of the multitude of styles that he mastered.

Legends narrate that Mozart never made mistakes during his compositional process and that all is left of his manuscripts are clean copies where no correction marks are visible.

In this edition of the Festival, the Ensemble Academia is going to perform the famous Quartet in D major K285 for flute and strings.

Born in a family of great musical tradition, Georges Bizet approached the study of the piano and of the composition early in his life. Despite being equally talented in both disciplines – his piano playing was praised by the great Franz Listz – Bizet showed a preference for creating his own music rather than performing someone else’s.

The successes that Bizet obtained in important competitions – the most important of all the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857 – made clear to everyone, including his mother who pushed for a career as a pianist, that composition was the right path to follow. His elegant style and his ability to describe in music exotic places will be the trademark of his works. Bizet’s masterpiece is Carmen, an opera of passion and jealousy staged in Spain in an imaginary world of toreadors and gypsies. In this edition of the festival the Ensemble Academia is going to perform a Suite for nine instruments based upon the two orchestral suites that Bizet himself composed on Carmen most famous themes.

Ennio Morricone is a living legend in the movie industry and in the music world. His soundtracks have accompanied some of the most beautiful scenes seen on the screens since the 1960’s. After graduating in trumpet from Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome, he started to compose and soon began important collaborations with Italian directors and song-writers, reaching notoriety creating the iconic music for the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone. Morricone worked for some of the most important Hollywood directors including Brian de Palma, Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone, and John Carpenter.

He was awarded two Oscars and received six nominations between 1970 and 2016, year of his inclusion in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Festival proposes three works taken from the soundtracks of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “Once Upon a Time in the West” arranged for nine instruments.

Was born in the North of Italy in a modest family. His parents soon recognized his talent and encouraged his musical studies. He approached composition and violin, becoming a young virtuoso and beginning a career as a soloist traveling throughout Europe. He was particularly appreciated in France and England and in both countries he left an important mark, being appointed principal conductor of the Opera in Paris and being one of the founders of the London Symphony.

Viotti was one of the most important representatives of the Italian violin school, he belonged to the pedagogic lineage of the legendary Corelli, and was able to affirm himself as one of the most esteemed voices of the violin wherever his nomad life took him. The Festival proposes his Quartet in C minor for flute and strings, a composition permeated by a dramatic character that perfectly exemplifies Viotti’s style and his gift for melody.

Is one of the most famous American composers of all time. His production covers multiple genres and styles, including popular music and jazz. Gershwin is considered one of the noble fathers of the American musical, and is the composer of some of the most famous Broadway tunes. Among many relevant works, the symphonic poem An American in Paris, and the Rhapsody in Blue – an orchestral piece featuring piano concertato that brilliantly mixes Jazz and academic language – are particularly famous.

In this edition of the Festival the Ensemble Academia is going to perform an arrangement for wind quintet of the themes from Porgy and Bess, another of Gershwin masterpieces. Conceived by Gershwin as an “American folk opera”, Porgy and Bess tells the tale of an imaginary Afroamerican suburban area of Charleston of the 1930’s, where the characters live their lives in a difficult social situation. Among the pages of Porgy and Bess one can find the notes of Summertime, probably Gershwin’s most famous hit.

Born in the Czech Republic, he spent the last years of his life in the United States where he was invited to move because of the fame he had acquired in Europe. His 9th symphony, inspired by the “new world”, is one of the most famous pieces of the history of the music. Dvorak’s most celebrated chamber work is his string quartet in F-major Op.96 no.12  (“the American”).

This piece was transcribed for wind quintet early in the 20th-century and soon entered the gotha of the repertoire for this specific chamber ensemble. The beautiful melodies that characterize this piece are evocative of the charm that the American continent exercised over the composer when he landed in North America from Europe.

Rossini is undoubtedly among the most appreciated Italian composers.

His opera production, characterized by is unique style, worth him international fame. Works like Guglielmo Tell, il Barbiere di Siviglia, la Gazza Ladra, l’Italiana in Algeri, showcase his formidable sense for melody and his wonderful orchestration skills. The overtures to this works crossed the border of opera stages to become milestones of the orchestral repertoire, and are often performed in symphonic concerts as independent self-standing pieces. In these brilliant works able to intrigue any kind of audience, the virtuosic use of winds is one of the most prominent characteristics and inspired many valid transcription for wind quintet that became quickly integral part of the repertoire for this chamber group.

The Ensemble Academia will perform in this edition of the Festival the overture to the Gazza Ladra – in woodwind quintet – and the overture to Guglielmo Tell – for nine instruments.

A legend of the Italian flute school whose name, still today, is a synonym of excellence. Active in the 1800’s Briccialdi was also a brilliant composer who left behind an important production that includes three wind quintets of great craft, featuring remarkable musical moments.

Surprisingly modern in taste, these pieces recall Nino Rota’s sound tracks for the cinema.

In these edition of the Festival the Ensemble Academia will perform his wind quintet in D major.