Enrico Onofri is preparing to conduct two orchestras in two different cities, engagements that excite him deeply for distinct reasons, which he highlights in the statements below. In addition to these concerts, further recording sessions for the “Beethoven and the Italians” project will take place in Munich.

The first concert is set for 9th October with the Münchener Kammerorchester. On the subject, the Maestro said: “The programme I will conduct in Ravensburg with the Münchener Kammerorchester partly features one of the works we’ve just recorded for Harmonia Mundi: the viola transcription of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, brilliantly realised by Timothy Ridout. The heart of the concert, however, will be the Prague Symphony, a work Mozart composed with the dazzling virtuosity of the city’s musicians in mind, allowing him to combine instrumental playfulness with a solemn and majestic structure. I am proud and delighted to conduct this symphony with the MKO, an orchestra perfectly suited to express both sides of its character.”

The second engagement will be in Lugano, on 16th October, with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana: “The Lugano Auditorium holds a special place in my heart, as it was the setting for many successful recordings for the historic Teldec label with my former ensemble, Il Giardino Armonico” – continued Onofri. “It is therefore a true honour to be invited back to conduct the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in a programme which, marking their anniversary, recalls those performed in the orchestra’s early years. The first half will include two twentieth-century works by Krenek and Nussio — both written for the orchestra itself — alongside a new commission by Duilio Galfetti, a violinist in the orchestra and, coincidentally, violist of Il Giardino Armonico in those very years. The concert will close with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which I will then record in the following days in Munich with my Münchener Kammerorchester: the final volume of the Beethoven and the Italians project to be released by Harmonia Mundi to mark the next Beethoven anniversary.”

Cover photo © Florian Ganslmeier / MKO