To celebrate its first ten years, the LAC chooses music that spans the centuries and still speaks to everyone: the Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach, absolute masterpieces of freedom, invention and virtuosity. They will be interpreted by I Barocchisti conducted by Maestro Diego Fasolis, in a musical and symbolic journey that goes from the profane to the sacred, with the six concerts performed over the course of a day in three evocative venues. Two concerts are offered at each stage, matched for affinity of instrumentation, form or expressive tension.
Friday 12 September
Vari luoghi
The six concertos dedicated by J.S. Bach to the Margrave of Brandenburg Christian Ludwig were not particularly appreciated by the nobleman, who probably did not even have them performed by his court orchestra. One had to wait until the “Bach Renaissance” of the 19th century to hear them. It is often the case that the deep commitment and hopes of artists collide with the inability of dedicatees to understand the level of what they are receiving as tribute. It took Bach almost a decade to elevate, between already written material and new compositions, this Monument now recognised everywhere as one of the greatest in Western musical art and human thought in general.
The collection is the “Summa” of various skills ranging from a profound knowledge of Music, to the recall of classical Myths, Numerology, Theology, passing through the rules of Rhetoric and Form and recalling all European styles from Italian to French taste passing through German architectural and polyphonic rigour.
A sort of Grand Festival or Court Spectacle that I Barocchisti wish to bring inside and outside the LAC to celebrate what was one of Lugano's most important buildings and is now the fulcrum of the country's cultural life.
I Barocchisti have released I Sei Concerti Brandeburghesi with the record company ARTS and produced for RSI, directed by the late Mando Bernardinello and produced by Renzo Rota. The English flutist and conductor Philipp Pickett wrote an interesting article published in Germany on a rhetorical and mythical reading of the six concertos that fits well with our reading, which starts from political power and arrives at the enlightenment of the Faith through agreements and disagreements.
- Diego Fasolis
Program
First intervention
15:30
Piazza Bernardino Luini
The Barocchists
Diego Fasolis conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto No. 1 in F major BWV 1046
For 2 hunting horns, piccolo violin, 3 oboes, bassoon strings and basso continuo
[Allegro], Adagio, Allegro, Minuet, Trio I, Polonaise, Trio II
Concerto No. 2 in F major BWV 1047
For trumpet, recorder, oboe, concertina violin, strings and basso continuo
[Allegro], Andante, Allegro assai
II° intervention
7 pm
Agora
I Barocchisti
Diego Fasolis conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto No. 3 in G major BWV 1048
For 3 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos and basso continuo
[Allegro], Adagio (cadenza), Allegro
Concerto No. 4 in G major BWV 1049
For principal violin, 2 echo flutes, strings and basso continuo
Allegro, Andante, Presto
3rd intervention
8:30 p.m.
Hall
The Barocchists
Swiss Radio and Television Choir
Diego Fasolis conductor
Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1613)
From: ‘Sacrae Symphonie I’ Magnificat for 12 voices in 3 choirs
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
From: Six Brandenburg Concertos
Allegro 1. from Concerto No. 1,
Andante 2. from Concerto No. 2,
Allegro 3. from Concerto No.3,
Presto from Concerto No. 4
Concerto No. 5 in D major BWV 1050
For principal violin, transverse flute, harpsichord, violin and viola di ripieno and basso continuo
Allegro, Affettuoso, Allegro
Concerto No. 6 in B flat major BWV 1051
For 2 violas da braccio, 2 violas da gamba, cello, violone and basso continuo
[Allegro], Adagio ma non tanto, Allegro
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1756)
Te Deum for 8 voices and basso continuo
Recognised worldwide as one of the reference performers of historically informed music, he combines stylistic rigour, versatility and virtuosity. He studied in Zurich, Paris and Cremona, earning four diplomas with distinction. He began his career as an organ recitalist, performing several times the complete works of Bach, Buxtehude, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Franck and Liszt. In 1993, he was appointed permanent director of the vocal and instrumental ensembles of Swiss Radio and Television, with which he produced a monumental production of 250 titles from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Since 1998 he has been conducting I Barocchisti, an ensemble with historical instruments that he founded with his wife Adriana Brambilla, who died prematurely, and to whom he dedicated a charitable foundation in 2013 to support young musicians. He collaborates as guest conductor with leading ensembles and important voices on the international scene. In particular, he works with mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli on major projects, audio and video recordings and concert tours, the last of which was dedicated to Italian and German composers in the St. Petersburg archives. Since 2012, he has performed regularly at the Salzburg Festival with concerts and operas from Palestrina to Rossini, from Händel to Schubert. In 2016, La Scala entrusted him with the creation of an orchestra with original instruments, which he conducted in Händel's Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and Tamerlano with Placido Domingo. In the same year he took up Nikolaus Harnoncourt's legacy, performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony three times at the Vienna Musikverein with the Concentus musicus Wien and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI awarded him a doctorate honoris causa for his commitment to the performance of sacred music. He boasts an impressive discography comprising more than 120 titles with which he has received gold discs, Grand prix du Disque, Echo Klassik, Grammy Awards and International Opera Award nominations. In 2023, he was awarded the Doron Preis.
