Alchemy of a concert
I have come to love music as an ignorant because musical education was not considered important in my family.
It was precisely this lack of knowledge that gave a greater value to the emotions that live music gave me and so I always tried to listen to the music without expectations, to begin every time a new journey with the musicians.
La Camerata dei Bardi : falling in love
The Camerata de' Bardi was founded in 1989 from the idea of a group of students of the University College of Pavia; among them Franco Gerevini and Luca Bardi.The Orchestra is named after him, and bears the same name of the historical cenacle of Florentine intellectuals who in the sixteenth century gathered to talk about music, literature, science, art at the Count Giovanni Bardi.
Luca comes from San Quirico d’Orcia and when my husband was in the City Council the Orchestra was invited to play in our church Collegiata.
It sounds to me as a story of long ago, it’s been 30 years! The town council’s coffers had limited resources and the citizens were asked who was available to host the musicians and as the wife of the city councilman I could hardly hold back!
I had two little girls and I must admit that I was not enthusiastic, but in the end I had to welcome at home 6 members of the Camerata: and a friendship was born that still lasts today, indeed, something more: I literally fell in love with classical music through the passion that those young students put into playing it.
Discussions on this or that difficult passage in fact began in the morning in front of a cup of coffee interspersed with the funny stories of Vittorio who is always in his element when he can entertain someone.
Then came the time of rehearsals and finally the concert in the church, for which, thanks to the involvement of the citizens in hospitality, there was a high participation.
Obviously for the concert they were all dressed as usual in black and white, but I had the real shock the next day, when the musicians were about to leave. It was October and it was raining, and they gathered the square with raincoats and umbrellas protecting the instruments cases, but they did not want to leave and decided to make a last stop at Bagno Vignoni, where they sheltered under the Loggiato di Santa Caterina, near the old thermal pool and began to play. After a while, in a Bagno Vignoni that seemed deserted, dozens of umbrellas appeared under and around the Loggiato to listen to them!
Since then La Camerata dei Bardi came several times to play in San Quirico and always found the doors of our house wide open to accommodate them. They played at our wedding in 1995 and in 1996 we organized a tour in England, relying on the kind hospitality of the citiziens of Petworth , West Sussex, with whom San Quirico is twinned.
During that trip they played in Petworth, Bognor Regis and at St Martin in the Fields in London.
The friendship with many of them still lasts nowadays and we could fill a book with stories.
It is possible that our daughter Luisa , who has a diploma in opera singing, owes to them her passion for music!
They came last time in 2009 to celebrate 20 years of the Orchestra and, albeit too late, we’re waiting for them for the concert of the 30th year, which we could not attend in 2019.
Musicians of La Camerata dei Bardi playing at our wedding,, 10 giugno 1995
La Camerata dei Bardi , London 1996
La Camerata reharsing on the lawn in front of Casabianca. Conductor: Franco Gerevini ( 1994)
La Tramontana Chamber Orchestra: the wind from the North
A few years later it was a friend of mine ,who had played as a student with the Camerata dei Bardi, who introduced us Benedikt Kramer Rouette, violinist of the Düsseldorf Simphony Orchestra, asking us to help him organizing concerts in Valdorcia for a group of his students.
The Tramontana was born almost by chance: in a still relatively unknown Valdorcia a group of young German musicians had managed to play in the Abbey of Sant'Antimo thanks to the kindness of the caretaker who loved the music.
They chose quite an unusual name for a classical music ensemble, thinking of the northern wind that, like them, crosses the Alps and arrives in Italy, where it brings, usually , good weather.
La Tramontana, Tournèe in Toscana 2007
The story of La Tramontana is even more linked to that of our family than the previous one. In fact it was during one of their stays in Tuscany that our daughter Luisa, who studied violin at the musical high school, met Matthias . To their friendship followed a love story and Luisa and Matthias are now married and run Il Rigo, the family farm.
La Tramontana came many times to Tuscany, playing in San Quirico, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Cortona and, obviously, Sant’Antimo!
Tradion repeats itself: in 2014 some musicians of La Tramontana played at Luisa’s and Matthias wedding.
In July this year they came back again to celebrate twenty years of concerts in Tuscany and we were very happy to listen to them and follow them at every concert, just like before....
La Tramontana a Casa dell’Abate Naldi , luglio 2021
Trio Chagall : looking for the lion
Trio Chagall was our guest, thanks to Le Dimore del Quartetto, for three consecutive years. We already introduced them to you in this blog last year. A good friendship was born with them too and every year we followed their musical growth, listened to their projects and dreams. We hope that they will all be realized - and the Trio is certainly on the right track and receives many appreciations, from the public and from the masters of which they are never satisfied to follow the teachings, constantly seeking to improve.
Music is a journey, music is alchemy, and every concert must create as soon as possible a link between the musicians and the audience so that the journey begins.
Francesco, the cello of the Trio, confirmed to me how important this is for a musician to achieve.
“ We are like the guides of a safari in Africa - he said - who know where usually it’s easy to see the lion. But they do not have the absolute certainty that that day the lion will be seen… We are committed to finding the lion with you, in the hope of making a nice trip together!"
I think that this year we found it, thank you Lorenzo, Francesco and Edoardo!
Come back soon!
Il Trio Chagall a Casa dell’Abate Naldi: 26 agosto 2021
I Prossimi Eventi
La Casa dell’Abate Naldi ospita le Lezioni di Cucina de Gli Archi Culinary School, eventi musicali, mostre di Arte ed Artigianato.
Clicca sui giorni del Calendario per scoprire quali sono i prossimi eventi, ti invitiamo a partecipare e a venire a conoscerci a S. Quirico d’Orcia, in Toscana.