Press Release:
THE VIRTUOSITY OF IGOR SKYLAROV AND VENICE MUSIC PROJECT
IN COLLABORATION WITH ITALIAN GLASS WEEKS 2022
Special evening organized by the Associazione Venice Music Project
Venice, Saturday, 17 September at 7pm
VENICE – History, science and music will come together at an extraordinary Baroque concert performance here of a 250-year-old cantata for Soprano, Glass Harmonica, and Orchestra to celebrate the opening night of Italian Glass Weeks on Sept 17 at the magnificent Scuola Grande dei Carmini.
The Cantata “L’Armonica” was composed in honor of the 1769 marriage of the Prince Ferdinando di Borbone to the Archduchess Maria Amelia of Austria for voice accompanied by the Glass Harmonica – and is the only one of its kind.
The “armonica a bicchieri”, also often referred to as “the instrument of the angels” for its celestial melodies, was invented by none other than Benjamin Franklin in London in 1761, and was wildly popular across Europe for nearly half a century. The instrument is formed by a series of crystal chalices in varying sizes, hollow through their bases, capable of reproducing musical notes when their edges are caressed lightly by the musician’s dampened fingertips.
The rarely-heard Cantata will be performed by the American soprano Liesl Odenweller and the orchestra of the Associazione Venice Music Project, along with special guest star Igor Skylarov, the greatest living virtuoso of the Glass Harmonica, who has performed with a wide variety of musicians ranging from David Gilmore (Pink Floyd) to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
As well as taking an unforgettable musical journey through time, attendees will be able to admire the masterful Tiepolo frescoes preserved in the halls of the Scuola Grande, and following the concert, enjoy an opportunity to meet the musicians at a prosecco reception generously sponsored by Prosecco Najma.
L’ARMONICA – cantata for Soprano, Glass Harmonica, and Orchestra
Music by Johann Adolf Hasse – Text by Pietro Metastasio
Liesl Odenweller, Soprano
Igor Skylarov, Glass Harmonica
Venice Music Project Ensemble
Saturday, 17 September, 7pm
Scuola Grande dei Carmini, Campo Santa Margherita 2617 – 30123 Venice
For information: www.venicemusicproject.it info@venicemusicproject.it
Federica Camali, Press Office Assoc. Venice Music Project: +39 345791194
