The program features two compositions by Antonio Giardina,  Nightscapes  and  Mandorlo in Fiore , both performed for the first time ever. Two profoundly different works in origin and imagery, but united by a highly descriptive conception of music, in which sound often arises from an image, a real or imaginary landscape, or an emotional state transformed into musical material.

Notes at the Museum

Palazzo Abatellis

Thus wrote Poulenc in 1945 to the French singer Pierre Bernac, whom he often accompanied on the piano, about his The Tale of Babar the Elephant , the composition of which had been begun almost by chance five years earlier, following a protest from one of his nieces. On a dull, sleepy afternoon in the summer of 1940, Poulenc, in the company of his family, was playing one of his compositions, Melancolie , on the piano , without much success with his four-year-old niece. The little girl, bored by the music, said sincerely and even a little impertinently to her uncle: " Uncle Francis, what boring music. Play this instead ." So saying, the little girl took an album with the tale of Babar the Elephant and placed it on the piano stand, ordering him to play. Poulenc, amused, began to improvise chords, pretending to read music from the album. Thus was born the idea of ​​composing a series of pieces to be organized into a cycle, which in its unified structure became The Story of Babar the Elephant . Originally composed for voice and piano, The Story was orchestrated in 1962, shortly before the composer's death, by Jean Françaix and enjoyed considerable success in this form. On this occasion, it is presented in the chamber orchestra version by David Matthews.

Claudio Laureti

Events

Past events

Sep 17, 2026

Notes at the Museum · Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana

Apr 20, 2026

Poulenc's L'HISTOIRE DE BABAR & Campogrande's THE TWO NIGHTINGALES · Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana

About

Claudio Laureti hasn't added a bio