The 5th Roma Film Music Festival kicks off

The Roma Film Music Festival celebrated the art of Piero Umiliani, the great author of soundtracks (over 150), including 'I soliti ignoti' and the theme song of 'Domenica sportiva' from the 1960s and 1970s. In Milan, the only Italian date for the famous Budapest Festival Orchestra, with pianist Igor Levit. In Turin two great American composers, the contemporary John Adams and the twentieth-century Aaron Copland.

From 16 to 22 March at the Auditorium della Conciliazione and the Forum Theatre the 5th Roma Film Music Festival. Dedicated to Piero Umiliani, author of over 150 soundtracks (including Mario Monicelli's 'I soliti ignoti'), with two concerts (on 16 and 18) and an immersive exhibition. The first is with Gegè Munari, Umiliani and Ennio Morricone's historic drummer; the second is with Calibro 35, "dedicated to Piero Umiliani". The immersive exhibition 'Piero Umiliani 100th anniversary' can be visited every day and also one hour before the two concerts. On 19 for the first time in Italia, the piano of Randy Kerber; collaborator of John Williams and performer of soundtracks including "Harry Potter", "Titanic", "La La Land" and "Forrest Gump" presents the immersive concert "The Piano in Hollywood - A Night with Randy Kerber". On 21-22 the screening of "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" with the Orchestra Italiana del Cinema performing the soundtrack live.

On the 21st at La Scala the Budapest Festival Orchestra with its founder and conductor Iván Fischer; piano soloist Igor Levit. The programme includes music by Prokofiev. It is the only Italian date for the ensemble, which then continues its tour in Berlin, Beijing and other Chinese cities. With this formation, Fischer has had a great impact on the international symphonic scene in recent decades, thanks to a kind of 'winning formula'. This is based on a continuous and tireless search for new and challenging interpretations of music-making, on a way of approaching the symphonic repertoire similar to that of chamber music, and on a special focus on the artistic development of each musician.

(Marco Borggreve)

On the 19th at the Auditorium Toscanini, the Rai Orchestra conducted by Robert Treviño presents the Italian premiere of John Adams' 'Frenzy: a short symphony' and Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3. The concert is broadcast live (8.30 pm) on Rai Radio3 and in live streaming on the Rai Cultura portal. Adams' work is dedicated to the celebrated conductor Simon Rattle, who first performed it in March 2024 with the London Symphony Orchestra. Copland's Symphony, written in 1946, has been missing from the music stands of the Turin orchestra since 1992.