London Sinfonietta at MITO: Turin

As part of the MITO Settembre Musica Festival, London Sinfonietta present a programme of new works and commissions in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy.

Featuring Monica Germino as soloist, Louis Andriessen’s La Girò for violin and large ensemble has a distinctly Italian theme. As the composer explains: “In La Girò I am musing about a composer I admire a lot: maestro Antonio Vivaldi. The title refers to Anna Girò, Vivaldi’s favourite singer who, together with her sister, lived in his house for some time".

Harrison Birtwistle’s In Broken Images also uses the work of an Italian composer as its starting point, taking inspiration from the interplay between groups of instruments in the music of Giovanni Gabrieli. Rather than emulating the Venetian composer’s use of echo effects and ritornelli however, Birtwistle’s work tracks an independent path in which the music is in a permanent state of exposition.

These two premieres are partnered with new works by Italian composers Matteo Franceschini and Fabio Vacchi .