On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, Klezmerata Fiorentina returns to the stage with La via della Klezmerata, a project that is at once a musical celebration and a live narrative.

Founded in 2005, the ensemble is made up entirely of soloists from the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and offers an original reinterpretation of the klezmer tradition as improvised chamber music. At its core are orality, the continuous dialogue between instruments, and a strong expressive freedom that makes each concert different from the last.

Klezmer music—historically passed down by the klezmorim of Eastern Europe through listening and memory—is treated here as a living, spoken language. Melody becomes an emotional narrative shaped on stage by the moment and by the interaction among the musicians, in a constant balance of irony, melancholy, and virtuosity.

At the origin of the project are also the Jewish-Ukrainian roots of founder Igor Polesitsky, born in Kyiv, for whom many of these melodies are tied to family and childhood memories. Alongside the violin, clarinet, accordion, and double bass create a true sonic dramaturgy, where improvisation becomes a tool for storytelling.

The repertoire draws on authentic historical sources, particularly the collections of Moshe Beregovski compiled in Ukraine between the 1920s and 1930s, reworked through the expressive means of classical music thanks to the quartet’s chamber training.

Over the years, Klezmerata Fiorentina has performed successfully across Europe, Japan, the United States, and Canada, appearing in concert halls and international festivals. Zubin Mehta has described their sound as capable of moving from joy to deep emotion—not merely great entertainment, but music made at the highest level.

La via della Klezmerata celebrates twenty years of international activity with a concert that is each time a unique event: a journey between memory and invention, tradition and freedom.