Bagni di Lucca’s Traditional Christmas Concert

Posted on December 15, 2018 by Francis

The traditional Bagni di Lucca Christmas concert, held in the former Anglican Church, was an unqualified success.

Here is the announcement poster of the concert with the cast of presenters and singers:

This was the programme:

All the singers were good but I have to single out Nicola Simone Mugnaini for special praise. We know him from the time we were guests with Andrea Colombini and the Lucca Symphony orchestra on one of the most memorable musical occasions in our lives – the journey to Vienna to perform at the golden Musikverein, which I write about in my post at:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/lucca-conquers-vienna-with-music/

Anyway, for those unlucky enough to have been unable to attend the Bagni di Lucca concert here are some excerpts from that evening:

The first half contained the more serious stuff.

(Bianca Barsanti sings ‘Il sogno di Doretta’ from Puccini’s ‘La Rondine’)

(Nicola Simone Mugnaini sings ‘Vesti la Giubba’ from Leoncavallo’s ‘I Pagliacci’)

(Bianca Barsanti with the Queen of the Night’s aria from Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’)

The second half contained some very lively operetta items.

Pacelli and Bocci sing Carlo Lombardo’s ‘Spesso a cuori e Picche’ from his operetta ‘Madama di Tebe’)

(Bianca Barsanti sings mechanical doll Olimpia’s aria from Offenbach’s ‘Tales of Hoffman)

(Mugnaini sings Leoncavallo’s celebrated ‘Mattinata’)

(Mugnaini with the romanza from Lehar’s ‘The land of smiles)

(Barsanti and Mugnaini sing ‘Tace il labbro’ from Lehar’s ‘Merry Widow)

(Pacelli and Bocci sing a duet from ‘Cin Ci La’)

‘Cin Ci La’ was composed by Carlo Lombardi with libretto by Virgilio Ranzato, first performed in Milan in December 1925 scoring a great success which it has retained (with Italian audiences) ever since.

Carols followed:

The brilliant Menicagli piano added to the evening with its special sonorities.

Four hundred Euros were collected for the restoration of the historic protestant cemetery of Bagni di Lucca. (See one of my posts on this cemetery at

John Gibson and the Protestant Cemetery

The evening concluded with the characteristic Christmas Brindisi with a glass of prosecco and a piece of panettone.

The festive season has truly begun and as we returned home we found the lights of Bagni di Lucca Villa had finally been installed and switched on.

As ever, we have to thank the indefatigable Marcello Cherubini, founder and president of the Fondazione De Montaigne for enabling Bagni di Lucca to enjoy another of its truly high quality evenings of great entertainment.

How to Spend this Sunday in Val di Lima

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Francis

Advent started on December 2nd. Christmas decorations have gone up in Fornoli and Ponte di Serraglio but not yet in Bagni Villa (!).

Yesterday, the traditional Christmas market at Fornoli took place. It’s always on the 8^th of December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. (The Immaculate Conception refers, incidentally, not to the virgin birth of Jesus but to the free-from-original-sin birth of the Virgin Mary).

The Fornoli market extended all the way from the Nottolini Ponte delle Catene to the main road to Barga and it was very well attended. Fortunately, the day was beautifully sunny.

Today, Sunday, 9^th December there are three big local events not to be missed:

The living Christmas crib at Anchiano (definately not to be missed).

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The Christmas nativity scenes itinerary (with a hundred separate cribs) at Montefegatesi. It starts at 11 am and there’s the ‘Joyful angels’ gospel choir concert at 5.30 PM

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The concert at the convent of Saint Francis at Borgo a Mozzano at 5.30 PM given by the Jubilum Jazz choir conducted by Piero Gaddi who is also their piano accompanist and music arranger.

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It’s a pity that both concerts are at the same time. I wonder which one I’ll attend.

So much happening now…. If you haven’t received a Christmas card by terrestrial snail mail from me so sorry! But this year I’m only sending them, slightly scrooge-like, to those who have already sent me one. So if you want to receive a card from me do send me one first. Thank you!

(This year’s Christmas tree in Rome’s Piazza Venezia – from which gorgeous city I have recently returned – looking less ‘spelacchiato’ than last year’s effort.)

Places of Beauty and Culture at Borgo a Mozzano

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Francis

The “Musical meetings – places of beauty and culture” season, which is now in its ninth year, resumes on 11 November.

There will be six events (five concerts and a guitar masterclass) bringing to Borgo a Mozzano great classical music and international guests such as Finnish guitarist Patrik Kleemola.

The concerts will take place at different locations in and around Borgo : the Teatro Comunale “Colombo” of Valdottavo, the San Giovanni Leonardi Library of Diecimo, the Municipal Library, the Convent of San Francesco and the Salone delle feste in Borgo, thus giving opportunities for the public to rediscover places of important artistic-architectural importance in their comune.

The opening concert is on Sunday 11 November, at 5.30 pm, at the “Colombo” Theatre and features the reciting voice of Piero Nannini, flautist Elisa Cozzini and guitarists Nicola Fenzi, Marta Marchetti, Dario Atzori and Giacomo Brunini in a “Homage to Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco” on the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. This concert features important compositions for solo guitar and chamber groups with guitar by the Florentine composer who died in 1968. It will be preceded by an introduction by musicologist Renzo Cresti.

The events continue on November 25 at the San Giovanni Leonardi Library Diecimo, always at 5.30 pm, where there’s a concert by the Atzori-Brunini guitar duo with music by Albeniz, Granados, De Falla, Rebay, Takemitsu, The Beatles and contemporary composers, Alvaro Compagno, Girolamo Deraco and Saverio Rapezzi.

On Saturday, December 1, at 5.30 pm, at the Municipal Library of Borgo a Mozzano there’s a recital by Finnish guitarist Patrik Kleemola who performs music by Bach, Sor and Granados and contemporary Finnish composers Harri Vuori and Mikko Heiniö.

On Sunday 2 December Kleemola will hold a masterclass at the Municipal Library. Kleemola is among the most famous Finnish guitarists and is winner of the “Takemitsu” International Guitar Competition. He has performed in many European countries and in South America, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, Greece, Sweden and Estonia, also collaborating with important orchestras such as I Pomeriggi Musicali of Milan, the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra , the Lecce Symphony Orchestra and the Turku Philharmonic. He has recorded several CDs . Alongside his concert activity he teaches guitar at the Turku Music Institute and also holds master classes in Finland, Argentina, Italy and Estonia.

On December 9th, at 5.30 pm, the musical encounters move into the splendid setting of the Church of the Convent of San Francesco where the Jubilum Jazz Chorus conducted by Maestro Piero Gaddi performs music ranging from gospel to soul to jazz arranged by Gaddi himself.

The season ends on Sunday December 16th at the Salone delle Feste at 5.30 pm with a concert by “The flutes of Lucca” and the “10,100,1000 string ensemble” made up by the students of the Liceo Musicale and the Lucca 2 with Antonio Barsanti, Letizia Carriero and Francesco Ciampalini. The young flute students of the “Salotti” Civic School with Caterina Brunini will also take part in the event.

All concerts are free entry with welcomed donations.

The music festival is organized by the “Salotti” Civic Music School under the patronage of the Municipality of Borgo a Mozzano and the artistic direction of Giacomo Brunini. In addition, the socio-cultural missionary association San Giovanni Leonardi, the Leonardini Fathers of Diecimo, the music schools of Barga and Castelnuovo Garfagnana, the Misericordia di Borgo a Mozzano, the Teatro Colombo and the Associazione Cluster di Lucca are collaborators in the concert series.

(Giacomo Brunini)

To receive more information you can contact the following addresses: borgoamozzanomusica@gmail.com – Cell. 3498496612 (artistic director) or visit the website http://www.scuolacivicasalotti.it

NEW YEAR’S EVE BUFFET AND CONCERT

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Francis

Monday, December 31st, starting at 8.30 pm, the GRAN CENONE DI SAN SILVESTRO will take place at the Teatro del Giglio (tenth year) with music and entertainment, aperitifs, buffet dinner, Christmas cakes and champagne by “Lazzeroni Catering srl”.

From 9 pm to 10.15 pm there’s a GRAN GALA LIRICO organized by “PUCCINI AND LUCCA” with Deborah Vincenti, Silvia Pacini (sopranos), Giovanni Cervelli, Mattia Nebbiai (tenors) accompanied on the piano by Diego Fiorini. The program includes music by Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi and others.

From 10:30 pm to 11:30 pm OSMANN GOLD SWING ORCHESTRA presents “From Glenn Miller to Hollywood”, a journey through the world of Swing of the ’30s,’ 40s and ’50s.

Music by Glen Miller, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and many others.

From 11.45 pm to 01.30 am there’s a further concert titled “TRIONFO DI VALZER, Gran Gala Lirico Sinfonico” with soprano Francesca Maionchi and tenors Nicola Simone Mugnaini and Giovanni Cervelli. Special Guest Star: Meme Lucarelli (guitars and various surprises).

The Lucca Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Andrea Colombini. Music by Puccini, Johann Strauss Sr. and Jr., Verdi, Lehar and many others.

Admission (including buffet and concert events):

Stalls and first tier boxes – € 130 / second and third tiers – € 95 / galleries – € 90

Admission without buffet from midnight only: € 50 (no discounts)

Discounts available for residents from Lucca and its province inclusive of dinner and show.

Reservations at info@puccinielasualucca.com or infoline340 8106042 (but with confirmation from the Teatro del Giglio for numbered seats assignments)

TEATRO DEL GIGLIO – 0583 465320 (during booking office opening hours)

TICKETS ALREADY AVAILABLE – LIMITED NUMBER OF SEATS – BOOK NOW!

Piazzolla a Piccadilly

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Francis

Non tutte le chiese del grande architetto rinascimentale, Sir Christopher Wren, si trovano nella City. Nel West End, a pochi passi dalla statua di Eros a Piccadilly Circus, la chiesa di Saint James, costruita nel 1685 di mattoni rossi, con rifiniture in pietra di portland stone, si presenta elegante e spaziosa.

Nel suo sagrato, ci sono i mercatini: il lunedì e martedì, di cibo, il mercoledì e il sabato, di artigianato. Siamo venuti il lunedì scorso e c’era da scegliere da mangiare indiano fino a quello dell’Argentina.

L’interno della chiesa ha una splendida volta a botte, un organo risalente al 1686 di Renatus Harris, in restauro, con splendida cassa di Grinling Gibbons, e le consuete gallerie per i parrocchiani.

Di notevole valore artistico sono due opere del grande scultore ligneo, Grinling Gibbons: il dorsale dell’altare eseguito in legno di tiglio:

e la fonte battesimale, questa volta scolpita in marmo.

St James (Giacomo) ha una vivace vita liturgica e culturale. E’ famosa per i suoi concerti e ci siamo venuti per sentirne uno.

Doveva essere una violinista a suonare Bach ma invece ci ha fatto alquanto piacere sentire una giovane pianista argentina, Julieta Iglesias, presentare un ‘omaggio a Piazzolla’.

Questo era il programma:

Non avevo mai sentito Piazzolla senza l’intervento del bandoneon. Ascoltarlo suonato sul solo pianoforte era dunque un’esperienza nuova e mi è veramente piaciuta, e emozionato, tanto.

L’esecuzione fluida e molto naturale di Julieta era squisita. Il suo sangue, metà argentino e metà italiano, si sentiva nel linguaggio idiomatico attraverso il quale trasmetteva il sempre presente sotto-battito del tango, qual volta lirico, qualvolta impetuoso nelle opere di Piazzolla:

Intanto il profumo di bistecca all’argentina dal mercatino entrava nella navata non solo aumentando l’atmosfera Piazzolliana ma anche la nostra fame!

Mi faceva anche ricordare quella giornata indimenticabile del 2013 quando fu celebrata alla fortezza di Mont’Alfonso, vicino a Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, la riscoperta della discendenza del grande compositore dai nonni abitanti di Massa di Sassorosso.

Il brano intitolato ‘Adios Nonino’ ebbe, così, una risonanza speciale.

Bravissima la Julieta che incoraggia anche la presente generazione di compositori argentini, in particolare Mauro de Maria.

Ascoltate le registrazioni della Iglesias su Youtube per capirne di più.

Potrete anche consultare i miei post su Piazzolla e la sua celebrazione nella Garfagnana che troverete a:

Don’t cry for me Sassorosso

Terre lontane:

mestizia d’un tango,

tocco di labbra.

A Wonderfully Unusual Combination in Lucca

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Francis

One of the concerts I attended in Lucca’s BASS2018 LUCCA (Sixth European Biennial Double Bass Congress and Festival running from July 30th to August 5th, 2018) was that held in the Boccherini conservatoire’s red room. The performers were Valentina Ciardelli (double bass), Anna Quiroga (harp) and Stefano Teani (piano).

It was a quite fantastic concert: lively, different, lyrical, surreal, fun, fab, with something to please all except for one person (wait till the end to find out).

The afternoon recital started with something frenetically Rossinian. It was a real challenge to play this piece in the mounting heat of a Lucca scorched by one of its hottest days.

The both lyrical and witty second item was composed by Valentina.

Other pieces followed including some by Frank Zappa (Valentina’s sobriquet is ‘Zappawoman’).

Valentina’s pot-pourri arrangement of themes from Puccini’s ‘Madama Butterfly’ paid elegant homage to Lucca’s most famous composer.

My favourite, however, was the Royal March from Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale played by Ciardelli and Quiroga (the duet otherwise known as the Girls in The Magnesium Dress).

If ever there is such a thing as an eclectic double-bass player then it is Ms Ciardelli; she is a superb performer, extracting every type of timbre and nuance from a very exacting instrument, a brilliant and clever arranger and a highly talented composer. Most of all Valentina is doing for the double bass the kind of job that James Galway did for the flute, nurturing people’s increasing appreciation for the double bass. Having such astounding team members like Teani and Quiroga does help…

(PS I have to add that the left hand of the management at this particular festival item didn’t know what the right hand was doing. Evidently, a pass was required for entry to the concert, although this was not clearly specified. A rather officious young man at the entrance let us in on the basis that I had written an article on the festival in ‘Grapevine’, the Lucca area English magazine. However, we found out when we’d returned home that there were two persons, arriving a little later than us, who were excluded from enjoying the concert because they didn’t have a pass. One was the editor of ‘Grapevine’; the other was her daughter, a professional harpist of some distinction. I thought this was quite unacceptable.)

A Great Quartet in the Making

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Francis

Recently I attended perhaps one of the best concerts performed in Bagni di Lucca this year: the Elmire quartet, winner of the Adolfo Betti award, first violin of the legendary Flonzaley quartet and twin brother of the great chemist from which Massimo Betti’s family descends, gave us, at the casinò, impeccable and heartfelt performances of the forty-year-old Haydn’s Op 20 no 3, a piece of the pre-atonal Webern and the quartet op 18 no 3 by Haydn’s twenty-year-old student, Beethoven.

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It was a truly memorable evening!

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Here is the recording I made of the Elmire playing the first movement of Haydn’s string quartet Op 20. no 3 from the series known as the ‘sun quartets’ (from the sun shown on the title page of an early edition).

Op 20 are a milestone in the history of string quartet development. For the first time each instrument has a truly independent melodic line and there is a seriousness which goes against the more light-hearted ‘galant’ style of the times.

And here is the last movement of Beethoven’s string quartet op 18 no 3 which already shows the young composer’s complete mastery of the form he largely learnt from his teacher, Haydn.

Something about the quartet which inspired the Adolfo Betti award: the Flonzaley Quartet was organized in Manhattan, New York City in 1902 and was one of the first of a line of great quartets which would include, later in the century, such famous names as the Griller, Busch and Amadeus quartets.

The quartet, which took its name from its sponsor Edward de Coppet’s villa in Switzerland, had the following line-up:

1st violin: Adolfo Betti (Bagni di Lucca, 21 March 1875 – Lucca, 2 December 1950).
2nd violin: Alfred Pochon (Yverdon, 30 July 1878 – Lutry, 26 February 1959).
viola: Ugo Ara (Venice, 1876 – Lausanne, 1 December 1936), until 1917; replaced by Louis Bailly (Valenciennes, 13 June 1882 – Cowansville, Québec, 21 November 1974), until 1924; by Félicien d’Archambeau (? – ?), until 1925; by Nicolas Moldavan (Kremenetz, 23 January 1891 – New York, 21 September 1974)
violoncello: Iwan d’Archambeau (Herve, 1879 – Villefranche-sur-Mer, 29 December 1955).

Flonzaley1

(Adolfo Betti is first on the left)

The quartet, which had strict orders to devote themselves entirely to quartet playing without any outside commitments to orchestras, lasted until 1929. It made a number of recordings which are readily available on YouTube. I remember a conference given some years back, at Bagni di Lucca’s library in which Michele Bianchi, the noted Puccini scholar, gave a fascinating account of the Flonzaley’s playing technique. They played with extreme precision and empathy and did not indulge unduly in needless vibrati, portamenti and glissandi so common at the time. The quartet’s approach appealed to composers like Stravinsky who wrote his three string quartet pieces and a concertino for them.

Here is the Flonzaley playing the fourth movement of Haydn’s ‘Lark’ quartet, recorded around 1927.

Some Enchanted Evening

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Francis

A wonderfully evocative concert on the evening of the century’s longest red moon was held in the front garden of the Villa Bonvisi by soprano Charlotte Potter, seen here in my photo of her by the villa’s gorgeous hydrangeas:

The concert was organised with the help of enterprising Priscilla Valentino (daughter of our GP) who has enlivened Bagni di Lucca with such events as the Christmas celebrations at the villa.

The event was suitably entitled ‘Eclissi Concert’:

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Charlotte has just finished her first year at the renowned Chetham’s school of music in Manchester and has a beautifully developing soprano voice with a timbre which lends itself well to both classical opera, and modern musicals.

Charlotte charmed us with well-chosen items ranging from a song with words by Lord Byron, who spent his holidays in 1822 at the villa as guest of his friend Scottish banker John Webb, to Puccini who loved spending his summers at Bagni di Lucca.

Charlotte introduced her last item, ‘O mio babbino caro’, from Puccini’s ‘Gianni Schicchi’ by relating that she’d earlier visited Puccini’s birth-house in Lucca and was asked by the curator what she was going to be doing that day. ‘I’m singing in a concert at Bagni di Lucca tonight’, answered Charotte. Upon which the curator asked her ‘would you like to sing something next to Puccini’s own piano?’ Charlotte chose that meltingly pleading song sung by Lauretta after her father threatens to separate her from her love Rinuccio. Charlotte transmitted to us her great emotion at singing by Puccini’s piano.

Here is Charlotte’s rendition at the Villa Bonvisi:

In case you don’t understand the Italian words, here is a translation:

Oh my dear papa,
I love him, he is handsome, handsome.
I want to go to Porta Rossa
To buy the ring!Yes, yes, I want to go there!
And if I loved him in vain,
I would go to the Ponte Vecchio,
but to throw myself in the Arno!I am anguished and tormented!
Oh God, I’d want to die!
Papa, have pity, have pity!
Papa, have pity, have pity!

Oh my beloved father,
I love him, I love him!
I’ll go to Porta Rossa,
To buy our wedding ring.Oh yes, I really love him.
And if you still say no,
I’ll go to Ponte Vecchio,
And throw myself below.My love for which I suffer,
At last, I want to die.
Father I beg, I beg.
Father I beg, I beg.

By this time the red moon was clearly visible in the background and its appearance to the left of Charlotte was quite transcendent.

Later at our mountain home I was able to photograph that amazing, passionate moon more clearly.

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In this photo you can see the planet Mars to the south-east of the blood-moon.

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I do regret, however, that I didn’t record the item I thought Charlotte sang best of all: that haunting song from ‘Les Miserables’: ‘I dreamed a dream’

The biggest surprise of the evening for most of us, however, was to find out at the end that the beautiful voice we had heard belonged to a seventeen year old!

Bagni di Lucca’s New Concert Hall Presents a Stunning Debut

Posted on July 28, 2018 by Francis

The Villa Bonvisi in the old part of Bagni di Lucca is a grand building, and is also known as the Villa Webb, since it was sold to the rich Scottish banker, one of whose guests was Lord Byron. Other visitors included James III, otherwise known as the ‘Old Pretender’, whose son was Bonnie Prince Charles.

Last Wednesday we too became guests of this noble mansion which has seen so much history. Indeed, more history was made by the solo harpsichord debut of Tommaso Nicoli, barely out of his teens, now perfecting his studies at La Spezia conservatoire and by all accounts, well on the way to becoming one of the most promising of Italy’s new generation of period-music and baroque keyboard players.

Like several historical instances Tommaso comes from a family with a musical background and, like those instances, he has become one of the most talented of them. If his father was a ‘Leopold’ then, clearly he is a ‘Wolfgang’. I was glad to note that Eliseo Sandretti, one of his earlier teachers was there. Eliseo, too, has a musical background, his father having been organist at Valdottavo. Eliseo was performer at the inauguration of the newly-restored Ravani organ at Borgo a Mozzano on which I have written a post at

https://longoio3.com/2018/06/20/borgo-a-mozzanos-magnificent-organ-sings-again/

The expansive hall of Villa Bonvisi was very well-filled. Last year young Nicoli collaborated in a duet concert so this year was truly his solo ‘esordio’ in Bagni di Lucca.

This was the programme:

The preponderance of French baroque music clearly shows the performer’s love of this music. Having been acquainted with Tommaso Nicoli since he was a tear-away kid of seven I was glad that the recordings I made for him of Forqueray, Rameau et al. had clearly remained with him.

Nicoli already has an idiomatic feel for the French 18^th century use of ‘notes inegales’ (i.e. the performance practice, in which some notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations, usually as alternating long and short, or sometimes conversely giving a Scottish ‘snap’.)

Nicoli’s use of ornamentation was also quite prodigious, especially since this is the only way a note can be sustained for any length of time on the plucked instrument.

The Bach prelude and fugue from book one of the well-tempered clavier started, surprisingly for me, with the dampened timbre of lute-stopped strings which then were released in the final fast flourish. (I would, honestly, have preferred to keep the same resonance throughout the whole piece.)

Pacing and timing were very well-though out on the whole, though I am used to some pieces played at a slower tempo.

I was particularly pleased with the Domenico Scarlatti sonata which stands a not unfair comparison with Gilbert Rowland’s rendering. (See my post on that concert at

Heavenly Harpsichord Ripples

I think, however, that repeats should have been included. The cross-handing was pretty good..

I and my guest (who knows a thing or two about music) were rather pleased with the harpsichord’s timbre, (tuned to baroque temperament so you may have to get used to some of the note intervals) which was mellower without the clanginess that some instruments suffer from.

Tommaso Nicoli presented himself very well. He gave a concise and clear introduction of the concert pieces to an audience who was largely not well-acquainted with baroque keyboard music; his Indian muslin white attire was elegant and well-suited to our muggy summer evenings.

The whole concert was professionally recorded but I took the chance to capture a few snippets myself.

Let my snippets of Tommaso Nicoli’s performance speak for themselves. I think you may be well astounded….

Don’t you agree that the march of the Scythians is definately Tommaso Nicoli’s pièce de resistance?

Lucca’s Double-Bass Bonanza

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Francis

LUCCA’S “BASS 2018”

The ‘concerto’ (which in Italian also means ’concert’) came fully into its own in the eighteenth century with the likes of Vivaldi and the Lucchese Geminiani. Concerti were written from the piccolo to the newly invented clarinet and from the bassoon to the viola d’amore and many featured instrumental combinations. However, the harpsichord and the double-bass were neglected as concerto soloists and were classified as accompanying or ‘continuo’ instruments.

It wasn’t until the invention of the piano that concerti began to written for keyboard instruments and from the nineteenth century onward the piano, and the violin, of course, have been the main concerto instruments we love to hear.

How many of us, however, have flocked to hear a double bass concerto? Certainly the double bass has entered into the jazz repertoire, although its strings there are largely plucked rather than bowed, but what about classical and cross-over music? Ever heard of Dragonetti, Sperger or Bottesini?

Luckily you’ll now get the chance of hearing and becoming a fan of the double bass since, from July 30th to August 5^th, Lucca is hosting the sixth ‘Bass2018’, the biennial international double bass festival bringing together musicians, instrument makers, composers and publisher thanks to Lucca’s ‘Boccherini’ conservatoire, the City and Province of Lucca and Cassa di Risparmio Foundation. Events take place in the Palazzo Ducale, Teatro Del Giglio and the Boccherini conservatoire with concerts, master classes, competition and conferences.

Of special interest will be the award for women composer of music for double bass, in collaboration with the Adkins Chiti – Women in Music – Foundation.

The festival’s artistic directors are Gabriele Ragghianti and Alberto Bocini.

Incidentally, this year I attended a concert featuring the double bass in London’s lovely Queen’s house in Greenwich. Performers were harpist Anna Quiroga and double bassist Valentina Ciardelli (also known as ‘Zappawoman’ because of her brilliant arrangements of Frank Zappa’s music) who graduated with the highest honours from Lucca’s own ‘Boccherini’ conservatoire.

Valentina Ciardelli, Anna Quiroga and Stefano Teani will play Zappa, Rossini, Stravinsky, Ciardelli and Puccini in the Saletta Rossa of Lucca’s Istituto Musicale Boccherini on August 3rd at 4.30 PM.”