Di nuovo ci darem la mano

Di nuovo ci darem la mano 2020 was a year of postponements and closures for everyone, but especially for the world of culture and music. In 2020 we would have loved to remember and celebrate one of our greatest musicians, Giuseppe Tartini, whose 250th anniversary of his death (1770) fell last year; this year we will fill that debt with a performance of his works for the violin by the English composer Gordon Jacob. Another anniversary is that of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of composer Igor Stravinsky, with his Tre Pezzi for string quartet, whose abstract and contrasting character appalled both public and critics at its first performance in 1915. The programme is rounded out by first performances of works that had fallen into hibernation during the winter of the pandemic, but which are finally able to reawaken and blossom, such as those by Mario Guido Scappucci and Mario Pagotto. Finally, Franz Danzi, a composer who perfectly embodies the transition from classicism to romanticism, whose Fantasia on “La ci darem la mano” op. 45 will hopefully be a good omen so that as soon as possible we will all “ci darem la mano” again without hesitation or fear.