Festival: MITO Settembre Musica 2020

MITO Settembre Musica, the widespread musical festival revolving in contemporary around the cities of Milan and Turin, makes its comeback in a brand-new all-Italian version. A feast of music that is defined as popular but is cultured at the same time. And an evocative theme: “spirits”, midway between the sacred and the profane. This 14th edition of the festival speaks to the listener’s heart and soul, but also of those performing some of the most sophisticated pieces of classical and contemporary music. The 2020 edition, with 80 concerts over fifteen days, every afternoon and evening, proposes to bring together music enthusiasts of all ages in a moment of “spiritual” rebirth.

Two cities, a myriad concerts

As every year, the event takes place in Milan and Turin, two cities that will exchange their artists daily, according to an extensive programme the details of which are shown on the website. The schedule proposes a winning mix, exclusively prepared for MITO, of pieces from the classical repertoire and contemporary music, some even being performed for the first time. In this special edition marking the return to live music before an audience, foreign artists will not be performing due to the obvious current logistical difficulties in travel: this will therefore be an all-Italian MITO with guests such as conductors Ottavio Dantone, Michele Mariotti and Alessandro Cadario, cellists Mario Brunello, Enrico Dindo and Giovanni Sollima and pianists Andrea Lucchesini, Benedetto Lupo, Emanuele Arciuli, Filippo Gamba, Davide Cabassi, Filippo Gorini, Bruno Canino and Antonio Ballista. A new formula for the concerts too: without intervals and lasting approximately 1 hour, with double programming for evenings.

The locations

The Milan venues chosen are the Teatro Dal Verme, the Teatro Bruno Munari, Spazio Teatro 89, the Teatro Delfino and the Teatro Elfo Puccini, with two mornings to listen to sacred music in the Church of Sant’Alessandro in Zebedia on Sunday 6 September and in the Abbey of Santa Maria Rossa in Crescenzago on 13 September.

The programme

The festival will close in Turin (Teatro Regio) on 18 and in Milan (Teatro Dal Verme) on 19 September with a concert entitled “Cinema”. In the spotlight are the pages of classical music borrowed by the silver screen: from Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms, present in the film “The Great Dictator” by Charlie Chaplin (1940), to the Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 in D major by Alexander Borodin, included in the soundtrack of “The Living Daylights” directed by John Glen (1987), to Souvenir de Florence op. 70 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, which can be heard in “The Gambler” by Karel Reisz (1974), and finally Piano Concert No. 1 in C minor op. 35 by Dmitri Shostakovic with orchestra accompaniment of strings and trumpet.