Love Letters, A Play

Performed in English with Italian Surtitles

LOVE LETTERS by A.R. Gurney

The story of Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III – their 50 years of love and loss, hopes and dreams, victories and defeats and love. A beloved play performed by many stars over the years, now Florence will have Linda Purl and Patrick Duffy, a couple in real life. Linda, known to audiences for her many television roles and Patrick, television star, beloved by Italian audiences for his role as “Bobby Ewing” in Dallas among many other character roles will be sure to move you. 

Linda Purl 

(Melissa Gardner)
 
Purl is known for her running roles on multiple, iconic television series. Besides being Richie Cunningham’s girlfriend, Fonzie’s fiancée on Happy Days, Matlock’s daughter Charlene Matlock, Pam’s Mom/Steve Carell’s girlfriend on The Office, she has starred in over 45 made-for-TV movies.  Current recurring, After Forever.  Theatre credits (partial listing) Broadway: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Getting and Spending. Off-Broadway, Mr. Toole, The Baby Dance. Westend, The Year of Magical Thinking. UK Bill Kenwright tour of Catch Me If You Can. Over 65 regional productions at such theatres as: Long Wharf, The Old Globe, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Santa Fe Opera, Cleveland Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, The Lensic Santa Fe, Williamstown Theatre Festival (six seasons); Theatre Princesse Grace, Monaco; Imperial Theatre, Tokyo, Japan; Westend’s The Other Palace. Highlights include, Mame, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Merchant of Venice, The King and I. Partial film: Paul’s Promise, Mighty Joe Young. Upcoming: Hollywood Grit .  Past concert venues include 54 Below, Dizzy’s and Rose all at Lincoln Center Jazz, Birdland, Catalina Jazz Club, Naples Philharmonic, Feinstein’s at Carmichael, Crazy Coqs in London, Club Raye in Paris and Satin Doll in Tokyo. She has performed with the Glenn Miller, Diva Jazz and Orlando Jazz Orchestras and Colorado Springs Symphony. Solo albums include, Midnight Caravan, Up Jumped Spring, Taking a Chance on Love and most recently This Could Be the Start.

Patrick Duffy

(Andrew Makepeace Ladd III)

A celebrated actor who discovered his talent as a young teenager, Patrick Duffy has captivated audiences for 34 years as a familiar face on some of television’s most beloved series. 

Duffy reprised his iconic role as “Bobby Ewing” in the TNT continuation of the 1980’s drama series Dallas.  Duffy was an original cast member of the 1978 series, starring in all 14 seasons. The series was nominated for numerous Emmy and Golden Globe Awards and won the People’s Choice Award for “Favorite TV Dramatic Program” for three consecutive years from 1980-1982 and again in 1987. In the 2012 series Duffy starred opposite a notable cast including original cast members Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, as well as new cast members Brenda Strong, Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe, Jordana Brewster and Julie Gonzalo.  The series aired for three seasons. 

Patrick is the voiceover narrator of the avant-garde 2016 feature film “Hotel Dallas,” which riffs on the series “Dallas” and which was shot in Romania at the Hotel Dallas-a life-size replica of Southfork. The narrative alternates with documentary segments on the role of “Dallas” in Romanian history. The film is currently appearing at various film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.

Duffy was also previously seen on the popular ABC sitcom, Step by Step where he starred as “Frank Lambert,” the husband of Carol Lambert played by Suzanne Somers.  The series, which had a successful run from 1991 to 1998, was set in Port Washington, Wisconsin and was based on the typical situations that arise when two families are brought together under one roof, and as one big stepfamily.  The series was part of ABC’s TGIF lineup. 

Additionally, Duffy has had a longstanding role in the CBS daytime soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful, starring as “Stephen Logan.” Since its premiere in 1987, the show has become the most-watched soap in the world, with an audience of an estimated 26.2 million viewers.  Patrick reprised his recurring role in early 2023. Duffy was originally introduced to viewing audiences as the lead character in the sci-fi adventure series, Man From Atlantis starring as “Mark Harris,” who was believed to be the only surviving citizen of the lost civilization of Atlantis. He possessed exceptional gifts, including the ability to breathe underwater and superhuman strength. Harris is recruited by the Foundation for Oceanic Research, a governmental agency that conducts top secret research and explores the depths of the ocean in a sophisticated submarine called the “Cetacean.” In addition, Duffy has made dozens of movies for television and hosted dozens more specials. Other roles have included stints on Freeform’s “The Fosters” and a recurring role on Amazon’s “Welcome to Sweden.” Patrick guest-starred in the ABC series “Station 19” concluding episode of the 2018/19 season, having previously guest-starred on Fox’s “Cool Kids” and ABC’s “American Housewife.” Patrick’s recent work has included guest-starring appearances on CBS’ “All Rise” and “NCIS,” respectively. He also recurred on the recent series for Netflix “On The Verge.” Fall of 2021, Patrick completed the Hallmark movie “Christmas Promise.” For Lifetime, he co-starred in a supporting lead role opposite Linda Purl in “Doomsday Mom,” in 2021. He had appeared the previous Christmas season in Lifetime’s “Once Upon a Main Street.” In September 2023, Patrick completed the key leading supporting role in the Hungarian Made For Television Movie “Rebound.” Patrick plays a recurring role on the BET series “The Family Business,” which completed its fifth season Spring of 2024.

On the big screen, Duffy appeared in the 2010 romantic comedy “You Again” opposite Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis. Duffy played Weaver’s high school sweetheart, “Richie Phillips.”  Patrick is the voiceover narrator of the 2016 avant-garde feature film “Hotel Dallas,” which riffs on the series “Dallas” and which was shot in Romania at the Hotel Dallas-a life-size replica of Southfork. The narrative alternates with documentary segments on the role of “Dallas” in Romanian history. The film played at various film festivals in the U.S. and abroad. He could also be seen in Will Wallace’s directorial debut “Trafficked.”  It is written by Siddharth Kara and stars Ashley Judd, Elizabeth Rohm, Sean Patrick Flannery and Anne Archer.  Inspired by real characters, it follows three young women who are trafficked through an elaborate network and enslaved in a Texas Brothel from which they attempt a daring escape. Patrick appeared in the feature film “April, May And June,” in which he co-starred for director Will Koopman, in Amsterdam, which opened to a fall 2019 European premiere. Patrick has the feature film “Lady of The Manor,” which was directed by and stars Justin Long, currently in release through Lionsgate. He played a supporting role in the independent film noir feature film “L.A. Grit” late Winter of 2024.

As for the stage, Duffy appeared on the West End in London in Art in 2000 and also had a stint in the UK’s traditional Panto. Patrick toured the UK in 2022 in Producer Bill Kenwright’s production of Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert’s hit play, the thriller “Catch Me If You Can,” opposite Linda Purl. He preparation toured the UK late Fall of 2023 in Producer Bill Kenwright’s production of Playwright Reginald Rose’s celebrated play “Twelve Angry Men.”

Klezmerata Fiorentina

SUPERSTARS OF THE ITALIAN MUSICAL SCENE PLAY EASTERN EUROPEAN MUSIC!
 
The Klezmerata Fiorentina was established thirty years ago by Igor Polesitsky, first viola for 40 years of the Maggio Musical Fiorentino Symphony Orchestra. With Polesitsky on violin, Riccardo Crocilla on Clarinet, Francesco Furlanich on accordion and Riccardo Donati on Double Bass, the KLEZMERATA FIORENTINA known throughout the world for their staggering virtuosity and sense of fun will play in their home town and light up the Teatro Niccolini with sounds that will stay with you for a long time!

Klezmerata Fiorentina is a quartet comprised of principal players of one of the leading Italian operatic and symphonic orchestras, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino,In 2005, the violinist and violist Igor Polesitsky, clarinetist Riccardo Crocilla, accordionist and bassoonist Francesco Furlanich, and double bass player Riccardo Donati formed the ensemble to explore new ways of creative, unwritten elaboration of authentic Yiddish folk material, the musical heritage of the group’s founder, Igor Polesitsky.

Old traditional melodies, collected in the early twentieth century through the groundbreaking fieldwork of a handful of pioneering ethnomusicologists, are seen in their full emotional complexity and interpreted by Klezmerata as the living voice of a now vanished, European Yiddish civilization.

Since the group’s debut in 2005 at the Progetto Martha Argerich Festival in Lugano, Switzerland, Klezmerata Fiorentina has appeared on some of the world’s most prestigious stages. Of special note are their performances at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, the official residence of the President of the Republic of Italy, at the Great Hall of Congresses in the Kremlin, Moscow’s Dom Musyki, the Rachmaninov Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic society, Società di Quartetto in Milan, Amici della Musica in Florence, the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, the Italian Festival delle Nazioni, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Natalia Gutman’s Kreuth Festival in Germany, the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, the Chutzpah! Festival in Vancouver, the Telavi Festival in the Republic of Georgia, the Summertime Festival in Jurmala (Latvia), etc.

The Italian state broadcasting company RAI, as well as Canadian, Slovenian and Russian television networks, have devoted a number of specials to the group.
Klezmerata Fiorentina’s work has attracted the attention and support of some of the world’s foremost classical music personalities. Zubin Mehta described the ensemble’s art as the “…perfect expression of both joy and sorrow. It is not just great entertainment, it is great music making!”

Charles Castronovo

Charles Castronovo Superstar Tenor from the stages of The Metropolitan Opera to La Scala and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

With Hershey Felder, piano

ITALIAN, SICILIAN and NEAPOLITAN FAVORITE SONGS
From Tosti to Puccini and more! A thrilling evening with one of the most beautiful and expressive voices in the world!

 

CHARLES CASTRONOVO

(Tenor)

Born in New York, Charles Castronovo made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera of New York in the role of Beppe (Pagliacci). He soon found himself cast in other roles, including Fenton (Falstaff), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Alfredo Germont (La Traviata), the title role in Faust, Rodolfo (La Bohème), Nadir (Les Pêcheurs de perles), Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto), Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress), Elvino (La sonnambula), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor). In 2010, in Los Angeles, he portrayed the title role in Daniel Catán’s opera Il Postino for its creation, alongside Plácido Domingo.
In recent years he has performed the roles of Roméo (Roméo et Juliette) in New York, Don José (Carmen) in Berlin and Chicaco, Faust (La Damnation de Faust) in Salzburg, Nemorino in Chicago, Rodolfo in New York, Berlin and Munich, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in Munich, Vienna and Madrid, Alfredo Germont in New York, Don Ottavio in London, Des Grieux (Manon) in Vienna, and Jason (Médée) in Berlin. He performed the role of Riccardo / Gustavo (Un ballo in maschera) in Munich and in New York, the title roles of both Don Carlo in Italian in Munich and Don Carlos in French in Geneva, and the role of Gabriele Adorno (Simon Boccanegra) at the Salzburg Festival, Opéra de Paris and for his debut at la Scala in 2024. He recently had his role debut of Cavaradossi (Tosca) in Munich and released a recording of a world premiere orchestration of Puccini songs, I Canti, with the Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra on BR Klassik label.

Future projects include the release a full recording of Ernani on BR Klassik, a role debut as Max in Der Freischütz with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the title role of Don Carlos in French at Opéra de Paris and a full recording of Verdi’s Requiem with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Santino Fontana

Tony Award winner Santino Fontana known for his Broadway leading roles in TOOTSIE, for the voice of Prince Hans in Disney’s animated feature FROZEN, for his beloved role of Greg on televisions CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND and much more, joins us in Florence at Teatro Niccolini for a concert featuring some of Broadway’s greatest music of the last 100 years and the stories behind them. Accompanied by cherished Broadway performer and maven Seth Rudetsky of Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s SETH SPEAKS – ON BROADWAY and SETH’S BIG FAT BROADWAY. An evening of Broadway Bliss in Florence like none other.

Santino Fontana

Santino Fontana has cemented himself as one of Broadway’s foremost leading men as well as a formidable screen talent. In 2019, Santino won the Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Musical” for his tour de force performance as “Michael Dorsey”/”Dorothy Michaels” in Tootsie. His dual role also garnered him a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle Award. 

He is widely known for lending his voice to the villainous “Prince Hans” in Disney’s Academy Award-winning animated feature, Frozen. He was also seen in Universal Studio’s Sisters, opposite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. 

He will soon be seen starring opposite Martin Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, and June Squibb in Lost and Found in Cleveland, opposite Tommy Sadoski in the drama Stalking the Bogeyman, and in the dark comedy Brenda & Billy and the Pothos Plant at the Tribeca Film Festival. 

His independent film work includes the romantic comedy Off the Menu, psychological thriller Impossible Monsters, and comedy Papercop, for which he won a Best Actor Award at the Williamsburg International Independent Film Festival. 

On television, Santino was featured on Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He also starred on The CW’s critically acclaimed hour-long musical comedy series, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, as fan favorite “Greg” while appearing on NBC’s drama series Shades of Blue, opposite Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta, simultaneously. Other television credits include Singularity, an FX pilot from producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, as well as roles on Fosse/Verdon, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie, Brain Dead, Mozart in the Jungle, and Royal Pains. 

One of Broadway’s brightest stars, Santino is highly regarded for his work onstage. The New York Times wrote, “Santino Fontana [is] one of the most promising actors to emerge in the New York theater in recent years.” Santino received a Tony Nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of “Prince Topher” in Cinderella. His other Broadway credits include his roles in Scott Rudin’s Tony-winning mega-hit, Hello Dolly!opposite Bernadette Peters, as “Moss Hart” in the Tony-nominated Act Oneopposite Tony Shalhoub, The Importance of Being Earnest (Clarence Derwent Award), A View from the Bridge, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Drama Desk Award), Billy Elliot, and Sunday in the Park with George. Santino won a Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and Drama League Award for his acclaimed performance in Stephen Karam’s Sons of the Prophet. He also starred as “John Adams” in 1776 and “Elliot Rosewater” in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, both for New York City Center Encores!. 

As a vocalist, Santino has performed in jazz venues such as Lincoln Center’s Appel Room and Birdland. As an orchestra soloist, Santino has sung at Carnegie Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and other top-tier venues with symphonies, big bands, and smaller ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

@santinofontana

SETH RUDETSKY

(Pianist) 

Seth Rudetsky When Broadway shut down, Seth and his native Texan husband James Wesley started hosting the livestream “Stars In The House” which raises money for The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund). So far, they’ve raised over $1.2 million dollars and recently celebrated their three-year anniversary of the show. Before that, Seth spent many years on Broadway as a pianist and conductor as well as two years as a comedy writer on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” (three Emmy nominations with his co-writers). He is now the afternoon deejay on the Sirius-XM Broadway channel as well as the host of “Seth Speaks.” He performed his show, Deconstructing Broadway, in London, Boston (Irne award), and L.A. (with Barbra Streisand in the audience!). He co-wrote and co-starred in Disaster! (New York Times’ critics’ pick) on Broadway which was licensed by Music Theater International and is being performed around the country. He’s written the books Seth’s Broadway Diary Volume 1 and 2 (Dress Circle publishing) and has also authored two young adult novels My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan and The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek (Random House) and the just available Musical Theatre for Dummies. Seth and James co-produced the “What the World Needs Now Is Love” recording with Broadway Records (number one on iTunes) featuring amazing singers like Jessie Mueller, Carole King, Audra McDonald, Lin-Manuel Miranda and so many more to help the victims and families of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub Shooting. He and James also produce and host the yearly “Voices for the Voiceless” concert to benefit You Gotta Believe which helps older foster kids find families (stars have included Tina Fey and Megan Hilty) as well as producing/hosting 13 Concert For America benefits which help non-profits like National Immigration Law Center and MAACP (stars have included Barry Manilow and Chita Rivera). James and Seth run “Seth’s Big Fat Broadway Cruise” which brings Broadway stars and Broadway lovers together to fabulous destinations!

Sergio Tiempo

Program

Chopin:
Prelude Op.28, no.3 in G Major
Etude Op.10, no.6 in e♭ minor
Etude Op.25, no. 1 in A♭ Major
Prelude Op.28, no.15 in D♭ Major
Prelude Op.28, no. 16 in b♭ minor
Sonata no. 3 in b minor
 
—interval—
Moises Moleiro: Joropo 
Piazzolla/Tiempo: Muerte del Angel 
Jobim/Tiempo: Retrato em Branco e Preto
Piazzolla/Tiempo: Fuga y Misterio
Villa Lobos:
A Prole do Bebe
Branquinha
Moreninha
O Polichinelo
A Pobrezinha
Ginastera: Malambo

Sergio Tiempo – Piano

Whether you consult the New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or Limelight Magazine, it is hard to find a review of Sergio Tiempo that does not highlight the virtuosity of his playing. Yet his technical prowess is rendered almost irrelevant by the individuality of Tiempo’s interpretations and by the depth of his understanding and insight into the repertoire he plays, from Brahms to Villa-Lobos, from Beethoven to Ginastera. Utilising the full arsenal of expression at his disposal, from a “sound [so big] you might have thought his piano was amplified” (Philadelphia Explorer) to “a seductive pianissimo” (Berliner Morgenpost) and “whispering phrases” (New York Classical Review), both “percussive” and “sparkling and crystalline” (Frankfurter Rundschau), he lets the listener in on what he sees in a piece of music. Both audacious and nuanced, his playing exposes the composer’s ideas as he recognises them. If his choices seem daring, then that is a risk that pays off. It is easy to set Tiempo’s interpretations apart from any other and the results are “scintillating” (New York Times) performances, presented with incredible stage presence and charisma.

A career that started more than 35 years ago, when Tiempo made his professional debut at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw at the age of 14, has seen him perform with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and Berliner Philharmoniker in the past five years alone.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Tiempo began his piano studies with his mother, Lyl Tiempo. He pays tribute to her, and some of his closest musical relations and influences, in his new album ‘Hommage’ (September 2023, Avanti). Among them are his sister and regular recital partner Karin Lechner, with whom he recorded Tango Rhapsody for two pianos and orchestra, written for the duo and the RSI Lugano by Argentinean composer Federico Jusid; Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire, both of whom entered his life as family friends long before they became teachers and companions of his musical journey; Alan Weiss, a life-long friend and one of his earliest teachers; Mischa Maisky, who, aside from his sister Karin, became Tiempo’s first chamber music partner and with whom he recorded several discs for Deutsche Grammophon. Other recordings have included Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit and three Chopin Nocturnes for ‘Martha Argerich Presents’ on EMI, as well as his disc ‘Legacy’, released on Avanti in January 2018.

It is this rich environment of musical minds, driven as much by compassionate generosity as by uncompromisingly demanding artistry, that shaped Tiempo more than anything, and from where he went on to Fondazione per il Pianoforte in Como, Italy, where he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, Fou Tsong, Murray Perahia and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

He has performed with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Marin Alsop, Myung Whun Chung, Sir Mark Elder, Christoph Eschenbach, Thierry Fischer, Emmanuel Krivine, Ken-David Masur, Ludovic Morlot, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Alondra de la Parra, Rafael Payare, Alexander Prior, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, Xian Zhang, and, maybe most of all, with his fellow countryman and friend Gustavo Dudamel. With him, notable performances include the world premiere of Esteban Benzecry’s new piano concerto Universos Infinitos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, followed by  performances of the work at the Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic. Among their many shared performances of Ginastera’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is Tiempo’s recent debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Strong relationships connect him especially to the L.A. Philharmonic and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, where he was Artist in Residence in 2018.

Orchestral repertoire in recent season has also included Beethoven Triple Concerto (L.A.), Chopin 1 (L.A., Philadelphia), Grieg (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE Madrid, Queensland), Prokofiev 1 (LA), Ravel (Taiwan National Symphony, Boston), Rachmaninov 3 (Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Liverpool, Stavanger, St Petersburg), Rachmaninov Paganini Variations (Frankfurt) and Tchaikovsky 1 (L.A., Sao Paulo, Queensland).

As a recitalist, he has appeared at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London’s International Piano Series, Konzerthaus Wien, Wigmore Hall, Berliner Philharmonie and Edinburgh International Festival, at Klavier Festival Ruhr, at the George Enescu Festival, the Martha Argerich Festivals in Lugano and at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Warsaw Chopin Festival, Brussels Chopin Days, Music Days in Lisbon, and recital tours across China, Korea, Italy, and North and South America.

Boris Giltburg

Titans of the Piano Across Time

Fryderyk Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Towering Bb Minor Sonatas.

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) revered and performed Fryderyk Chopin’s “Funeral March” Sonata in his performances, and went on to create a mirror of this sonata in his own magnificent sonata in the same key. Played by International piano superstar, Boris Giltburg, this promises to be an evening that takes us traveling through time.

Boris Giltburg, Piano

Boris Giltburg is lauded across the globe as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling interpreter. Critics have praised his “singing line, variety of touch and broad dynamic palette capable of great surges of energy” (Washington Post) as well as his impassioned, narrative-driven approach to performance.

Giltburg regularly plays recitals in the world’s most prestigious halls, including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Brussels’ Bozar, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, London’s Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Prague’s Rudolfinum and Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Throughout the 2024/25 season, he embarks on a series of eight concerts performing the entire cycle of Beethoven Piano Sonatas at the Wigmore Hall, all of which will be live-streamed.

Giltburg is widely recognized as a leading interpreter of Rachmaninov: “His originality stems from a convergence of heart and mind, served by immaculate technique and motivated by a deep and abiding love for one of the 20th century’s greatest composer- pianists.” (Gramophone). To celebrate Rachmaninov’s 150th anniversary in 2023, Giltburg released the last disc in his acclaimed Rachmaninov concerto cycle which received a Choc de Classica award and a 5* review in The Times. In recent years Giltburg has engaged in a series of in-depth explorations of other major composers, including Ravel (performing solo works at Bozar, Flagey, the Amsterdam Muziekgebouw and the Wigmore Hall, and concerti with the Orchestre National de France, Brussels Philharmonic and Residentie Orkest) and most recently Chopin, including three recitals at the Wigmore Hall last season.

This season’s Beethoven cycle continues such an exploration as, in 2020 to celebrate the Beethoven anniversary, Giltburg embarked upon a unique project to record and film all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas across the year: “these interpretations are enormously pleasurable and at times revelatory… Giltburg’s pianism is ideally suited to late Beethoven” (five stars, BBC Music Magazine). He also recorded the complete concerti with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, appeared in the BBC TV series Being Beethoven.

Giltburg’s list of orchestral collaborators includes the Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, NHK Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Oslo Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra and Santa Cecilia di Roma. In the 2024/25 season, Giltburg explores concerti by a range of composers: he performs Rachmaninov with the Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony and Gulbenkian Orchestra, Prokofiev with Belgian National and Stavanger Symphony, Tchaikovsky with London Philharmonic, Mozart with Hamburger Symphoniker, Shostakovich with Enescu Philharmonic, Bartók with Teatro Colon, and Grieg with Dresden Philharmonic.

Giltburg is a consummate recording artist and has been exclusive to Naxos since 2015, winning the Opus Klassik Award for Best Soloist Recording for Rachmaninov concerti and Etudes Tableaux; a Diapason d’Or for Shostakovich concerti and his own arrangement of Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet; and a Choc de Classica Award for Rachmaninov concerti. He also won a Gramophone Award for the Dvořák Piano Quintet on Supraphon with the Pavel Haas Quartet, as well as a Diapason d’Or and Choc de Classica for their joint release of the Brahms Piano Quintet.

Giltburg feels a strong need to engage audiences beyond the concert hall. His blog “Classical Music for All” is aimed at a non-specialist audience, which he complements with articles in publications such as Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, The Guardian, The Times and Fono Forum.

Paganini – A New Musical Play

December 12th – Performed in English
December 13th –  Performed in Italian 

A new musical play featuring violin virtuoso PHILIPPE QUINT in the role of PAGANINI
And Hershey Felder in the role of an only friend and piano accompanist.

Featuring Paganini’s most famous compositions played live.

Written by Hershey Felder

 

Phillipe Quint (Paganini)

Hailed by the UK’s Daily Telegraph for his “searingly poetic lyricism”, Philippe Quint has established himself as one of America’s preeminent violinists, enchanting audiences through his performances that seamlessly blend consummate musicianship with “breadth of tone and passion” The New York Times

With multiple Grammy Award nominations to his name, Quint is celebrated for his distinctive approach to classical core repertoire, advocacy for contemporary music, rekindling of neglected repertoire, and original multimedia story-telling programs including : The Muse, Homage to J.S.Bach, Charlie Chaplin’s Smile and The Legend of Astor Piazzolla with his Quint Quintet and members of the Joffrey Ballet. Quint has soloed with some of the world’s finest orchestras across the globe including the London Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  

Rhapsody and the Blues

Rhapsody and the Blues

Featuring International Trumpet Virtuoso Jens Lindemann and
The FIRENZE ALL STAR JAZZ BAND

Music of Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Glenn Miller and more!

ARTISTS:

International Trumpet Virtuoso Jens Lindemann With Guest Stars

  • Andrea Tofanelli – Trumpet
  • Hershey Felder – Piano

  • And the FIRENZE ALL STAR JAZZ BAND
    • Andrea Tofanelli – trumpet / tromba
    • Federico Trufelli – trumpet / tromba
    • Francesco Cecchetti – trumpet / tromba
    • Francesco Cangi – trombone
    • Marcello Angeli – trombone
    • Renzo Telloli – alto sax / sax contralto
    • Michele Tino – alto sax / sax contralto
    • Luca Signorini – tenor sax / sax tenore
    • Dario Cecchini – baritone sax / sax baritono
    • Antonino Siringo – piano / pianoforte
    • Guido Zorn – acustic bass / contrabbasso
    • Andrea Melani – drums / batteria

Featuring a brand new big band arrangement of George Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue” which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

“Jens Lindemann gave a sizzling, high energy performance in the American premiere of the trumpet concerto ‘Dreaming of the Masters’ at Carnegie Hall”
-New York Times

 

Jens Lindemann

As the first classical brass soloist to ever receive the Order of Canada, Jens Lindemann is hailed as one of the most celebrated artists in his instrument’s history and was recently named “International Brass Personality of the Year” (Brass Herald). Jens has played both jazz and classical in every major concert venue in the world: from the Philharmonics of New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Moscow and Tokyo to Carnegie Hall and even the Great Wall of China. His career has ranged from appearing internationally as an orchestral soloist, being featured at the 2010 Olympics for an audience of 2 billion people, national anthems at the Rose Bowl and for the San Francisco Giants on Memorial Day, performing at London’s ‘Last Night of the Proms’, recording with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to playing lead trumpet with the renowned Canadian Brass and a solo Command Performance for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Jens has  also won major awards ranging from Grammy and Juno nominations to winning he prestigious Echo Klassik in Germany and British Bandsman 2011 Solo CD of the year as well as receiving several honorary doctorates.

Classically trained at the renowned Juilliard School in New York and McGill University in Montreal, Jens’ proven ability to perform as a diverse artist places him at the front of a new generation of musicians. He has performed as soloist and recording artist with classical stars such as Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Angel Romero, Pinchas Zukerman, Doc Severinsen, Charles Dutoit, Gerard Schwarz, Eiji Oue, Bramwell Tovey, Kent Nagano, Lior Shambadal, Boris Brott and Jukka Pekka Saraste. Having recorded for BMG, EMI, CBC and the BBC, Jens is helping to redefine the idea of the concert artist by transcending stylistic genres and the very stereotype of his instrument by performing with “impeccable attacks, agility and amazing smoothness” (The Clarin, Buenos Aires).

A prodigious talent, Jens Lindemann performed as a soloist with orchestras and won accolades at numerous festivals while still in his teens. A prizewinner at numerous jazz and classical competitions including the prestigious ARD in Munich, Jens also placed first, by unanimous juries, at both the Prague and Ellsworth Smith (Florida) International Trumpet Competitions in 1992. Since then, he has performed solos with orchestras including, the
London Symphony, Berlin, Philadelphia, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Beijing, Bayersicher Rundfunk, Buenos Aires Chamber, Atlanta, Washington, Seattle, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Montreal, Toronto, National Arts Centre, Vancouver, Warsaw, Mexico City, Costa Rica, Bogota, Welsh Chamber, I Musici de Montreal, St. Louis, and Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center.

Heralded internationally as an outstanding artist, critics have stated: “He played with golden timbre and virtuosic flair” (New York Times)“, “a world-class talent” (Los Angeles Times), “it was one of the most memorable recitals in International Trumpet Guild history” (ITG), “performed brilliantly in the North American premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Concerto with the Toronto Symphony” (Toronto Star), and “he gave the virtuoso highlight of the evening with the Montreal Symphony”.

Based in Los Angeles as Professor with High Distinction at UCLA, Jens is also director of the summer brass program at the Banff Centre in Canada. Jens Lindemann is an international Yamaha artist playing exclusively on 24K gold plated instruments.

I Found My Horn – A Musical Play

Written By Jonathan Guy Lewis and Jasper Rees,
Directed by Harry Burton
Based on Rees’ best selling memoir “I Found My Horn.”

I FOUND MY HORN, musical one man play based on the best selling book by International Journalist JASPER REES and written by JONATHAN GUY LEWIS and JASPER REES, starring JONATHAN as JASPER. The result of a mid-life crisis is that a man finds the French Horn of his youth, and confronts his entire life as he tries to make music once again.

“A WRYLY FUNNY, INFINITELY TOUCHING account of the joys and hazards of making music and confronting one’s private demons. Spectacular!” – Michael Billington, The Guardian

“This musical show provides what’s need in such dark days: the occasional lift out of the humdrum and a shot of pure joy. LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY!” – Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

“This is A GEM. VIRTUOSO ACTING full of humour, and a passion for music. Lewis fills the house with the feeling that if music be the food of love, it must also be the food of life.” – John Peter, The Sunday Times

Jonathan Guy Lewis

(Playwright/Jasper)

Jonathan Guy Lewis has worked extensively as an actor, writer, director, teacher, mentor and coach for over thirty years and has won a number of awards for his work. An ex-army scholar, he has a degree from Exeter University in Politics & Society and is a graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Whilst there he adapted and performed a highly acclaimed one-man musical, ‘Skylark’, which he subsequently performed with the National Student Theatre Company. After leaving Drama School he worked in Repertory Theatres up and down the country, including Harrogate, Colchester, Leeds, York. Plays included ‘She Stoops to Conquer’,  ‘Colours’, ‘London Assurance’, ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’, ‘How The other Half Loves’. He then joined the NT and was in the production of ‘Peer Gynt’ directed by Declan Donnellan as well as helping to develop a number of projects at the NT Studio. He went on to play Gerald Croft in Stephen Daldry’s highly acclaimed production of ‘An Inspector Calls’ at The Aldwych Theatre in The West End. He toured the US with a production of ‘Hamlet’ and appeared in Derby Playhouse and Hampstead Theatre’s European premiere of Andrew Bovell’s ‘Speaking in Tongues’ as well as Neil Simon’s ‘Gingerbread Lady’ with Lesley Joseph. Another highlight was acting alongside Rob Lowe and Suranne Jones in the West End premiere of Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway hit which subsequently became the movie ‘A Few Good Men’ at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He also starred in Ayckbourn’s ‘Absent Friends’ at Watford Palace, and ‘Protest’, ‘Mountain Hotel’, and ‘Green Wash’, all at the Orange Tree in Richmond as well as ‘Myth, Propaganda, and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America’, by the Australian playwright Stephen Sewell. Further productions at Hampstead include ‘Alphabetical Order’ and ‘Elephants’, and ‘Perfect Pitch’ at The Soho Theatre. Since then, he has played Eddie Carbone in a National Tour of ‘A View from The Bridge’ for The Touring Consortium, directed by Steve Unwin. And Dr John Hall in Peter Whelan’s ‘The Herbal Bed’, directed by James Dacre, originating in Northampton and then a UK tour. He also starred in a production of his play, ‘The Be All & End All’ at York Theatre Royal and on tour. It was directed by Damian Cruden.

Back in the late 90’s, his regular television roles made him a familiar face on the small screen. They included Sgt Chris McCleod in ‘Soldier, Soldier’, and Station Officer Chris Hammond in ‘London’s Burning’, both for ITV. Whilst starring as Ian Bentley inCoronation Street, over twenty million viewers tuned in to see bride-to-be, Sharon’s (Tracie Bennett) attack on Ian at the alter! He was then seen as Ray Winstone’s brother-in-law in the series for Granada, ‘Vincent’. Other television credits include, ‘Skins Redux’, ‘Endeavour’, ‘Desperados’, ‘Silent Witness’, ‘Sea Of Souls’, ‘Holby’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Casualty’, ‘Inspector Morse’, ‘Peak Practice’, and ‘The Governor’. His most recent television appearance will be in the forthcoming reboot of the classic UK detective series Bergerac.

His first play as a writer was ‘Our Boys’. Based on his own experiences of being invalided out of the military, it won The Writers’ Guild Award for Best New Fringe Play, and he was named as the TAPS new Television Writer of The Year, as well as being nominated for The Lloyds Bank Playwright of The Year. His other work includes ‘A Comedy of Arias’ at The Pleasance, Edinburgh and as part of ‘A Pick Of The Fringe’ season at The New Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End, as well as his own play ‘All Mouth’ at The Menier Chocolate Factory. He wrote and directed ‘Pitch Perfect’ at Soho Theatre, and again at Tristan Bates, and a further production at The Tabard, as well as writing and performing in ‘My First Trainers’, also at The Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden. He has also freely adapted a German play, ‘Rock and A Hard Place’, which he directed at The Tristan Bates Theatre and at the Brighton Fringe Festival. More recently he co-wrote ‘I Found My Horn’ which he has performed all over the world – from London’s Hampstead Theatre and The West End to theatres and festivals in Buxton, Bridport, Ludlow, and in Copenhagen, Lisbon, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Bangalore, Zurich, Toronto, New York, LA and The Laguna Beach Playhouse. He has also directed ‘The Club’ by David Williamson and Chris England’s hit, ‘Breakfast with Johnny Wilkinson’ also at The Menier Chocloate Factory and at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as Chris England’s comedy ‘Twitstorm’ at The Park Theatre. He has also written for television, including primetime dramas for Granada, Carlton, LWT, Pearson and The BBC as well as writing and directing a number of short films.

 

Jasper Rees

(Playwright) Jasper Rees is a journalist who has written regularly for many newspapers and magazines, principally about arts, books and entertainment. On Saturdays in the 1990s he moonlighted as a football reporter, culminating in his first book, a biography of Arsène Wenger. His next book, Blizzard: Race to the Pole, was about the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. I Found My Horn: One Man’s Struggle with the Orchestra’s Most Difficult Instrument (published as A Devil to Play in the US) was followed by Bred of Heaven: One Man’s Quest to Reclaim His Welsh Roots. Both were abridged as a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4. More recently he wrote Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood, and edited an anthology of her archival treasures in Victoria Wood Unseen on TV. He is also the biographer of Florence Foster Jenkins. The stage version of I Found My Horn, co-adapted with Jonathan Guy Lewis, is his only play.

Harry Burton

(Director)

Harry Burton is an actor, director, teacher, coach, writer and film-maker. As an actor he has played many Shakespearean roles at the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park. He created roles in theatrical world premieres by Noël Coward & Harold Pinter. As a director his West End revival of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter won many awards. His West End directing credits also include the world première of Barking in Essex by Clive Exton. On TV he directed the acclaimed Channel 4 documentary Working With Pinter. He also co-produced the Emmy-winning documentary A Thousand Years of Joy, about the late American poet, mythologist and activist Robert Bly. Last year his London production of I Found My Horn transferred from the White Bear Theatre to Riverside Studios. Harry regularly directs and teaches internationally at various universities and drama schools.  His recent acting work includes Bob Marley: One Love and FBI International. Harry lives in London with his wife, and has recently become a grandfather for the first time.

Francesco Libetta

Program:

  • F. Liszt (1811-1886), C. F. Gounod (1818-1893)
    • Valse de l’Opéra Faust de Gounod     À Monsieur le Baron Alexis des Michels
  • F. F. Chopin (1810-1849)
    • Etudes op. 25 n. 1, 2, 5, 8, 12.    à Madame la Comtesse d’Agoult
    • Berceuse op. 57.    à Mademoiselle Elise Gavard
    • Valzer
      • op. 64 n. 1.    à Madame la Comtesse Delphine Potocka
      • op. 64 n. 2.    à Madame la Baronne Nathaniel de Rothschild
      • op. 64 n. 3.    à Madamoiselle la Comtesse Catherine Branicka
    • Scherzo op. 31.    à Mademoiselle la Comtesse Adèle de Fürstenstein
  • van Beethoven (1770-1827)
    • Sonata Op. 109.    dem Fräulein Maximiliana Brentano gewidmet
  • Ravel (1875-1935)
    • Jeux d’eau.    à mon cher Maitre Gabriel Fauré
    • La Valse.    à Misia Sert

Francesco Libetta

For the New York Times Libetta is “Poet-aristocrat with the profile and carriage of a Renaissance prince,” while for Le Monde de la Musique “l’éritier des Moritz Rosenthal, des Busoni et des Godowsky,” and for Corriere della Sera “a lordliness we thought lost in the archives of piano performance.” D’Avalos dedicated all his solo piano pieces to him, and Paolo Isotta called him “the greatest living pianist.” He has made piano integrals of Beethoven, Händel, Chopin, Godowsky, Paisiello, Bosso; he has released recordings of Schumann, Liszt, Ligeti, Ravel, Debussy. His recordings are multi-awarded by Diapason, Le Monde de la Musique, Classique, Amadeus among many others. He has collaborated with conductors such as Pappano, Andreae, Mandeal and artists such as Sollima, Caterina Antonacci, Devia, Italian actors such as Boni, Laurito, Preziosi, Marchini, dancers such as Carla Fracci and founded the dance group Corerofonie. After studying composition with Marinuzzi in Rome and Castérède in Paris, he wrote music for theater, cinema, acousmatic, chamber, symphonic, and the opera L’Assedio di Otranto, staged in Puglia and Rome and published on CD. “Libetta composer is poet doctus,” Isotta wrote, enshrining the profile of one of the world’s most esteemed and versatile Italian artists, from conducting to working as a musical essayist, director of visual art and in turn starring in documentaries by Monsaingeon and Battiato, after teaching at the Miami Piano Festival and now in Martina Franca with the Grassi Foundation, Libetta is Steinway Artist.