noon, January 14, 2022 – 3:48 pm
Maurizio Cocciolito has been appointed as artistic guide of the institution: Let’s look at the public, our investment
from Nicola Signorile
The 2022 of the Bari Music Chamber begins with a passing of the baton. After 40 years, Giovanni Antonioni leaves the presidency and the artistic direction of the institution a Maurizio Cocciolito, conductor, pianist, composer born in Teramo in 1962. The artistic director of the Solisti Aquilani, one of the most prestigious chamber orchestras in circulation, collects the heavy legacy of maestro Antonioni who remains a member of the Camerata, but at the age of 80 – the same age as his Camerata, both born in 1941 – takes a step back: It is not enough to scroll through a list of agency names – he explained yesterday during a press conference at Palazzo di Citt – an artistic director must have preparation and intuition , to hire important artists, whether they are young or unknown in Italy. To choose the famous names it is enough to have economic availability. I cite two exceptional examples, unknown at the time: the pianists Daniel Barenboim and Maurizio Pollini. Two examples, but there could be dozens of talents brought to Bari for the first time, from Martha Argerich to Carla Fracci at Petruzzelli – recalls the director Rocco De Venuto – and then the masters of jazz, Miles Davies, Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon .
Cocciolito, a long-time cultural operator, will be the fourth president and director in charge of the Camerata after the promoter, the Marquis Romanazzi Carducci, and the two Antonioni, his father Franco and his son Giovanni, who succeeded each other at his helm. I am very excited – admits the master from Abruzzo – it makes me very responsible to become part of a reality that has made and is making the history of Italian concert associations and beyond. Everyone knows our business, behind there is an extraordinary job: I found a structure made up of great professionals. So – he added – I would like to thank my predecessor, my friend Gianni Antonioni, with whom I shared the vice-presidency of the Italian Association of Musical Activities.
A look at the past is a must to understand the specific weight of the role. But it is necessary to look to the future and to the territory. I immediately called the director of the Piccinni Conservatory of Bari Corrado Roselli (present yesterday alongside the councilor for Cultures, Ines Pierucci, and the historic piano tuner, Angelo Fabbrini) – continued Cocciolito – because I think our relationship with new talents, and with young people in general. They will be the public and the protagonists of the future of cultural events. Our doors are wide open. Also to external solicitations, as well as to the relationship with the institutions, the Municipality above all, I hope for an ever closer relationship and the University. The important thing is that the quality of the proposals remains at the center.
Meanwhile, despite the stormy sea, the Camerata’s activity continued, we continued to work – claims Antonioni – and none of our employees lost their jobs. We still see the results today, with the sold out of the last two events (the New Year’s Concert by the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra and Raphael Gualazzi’s Special Night at the Petruzzelli) and, postponed without ever being canceled.
Tonight there will be a great classic such as Swan Lake of the Russian Classical Ballet at the TeatroTeam while on January 25th Piccinni will host the pianist Andrea Padova in a concert with music by Schumann and Chopin. The season will continue with Femme Fatales, a recital starring Violante Placido, who, in the increasingly frequent role of singer / actress, has chosen five inspiring muses: Nico, Marianne Faithfull, Patty Pravo, Francoise Hardy and Yoko Ono. Five voices and unique personalities in the panorama of international music and culture, staged through stories and songs, on February 1st, again at Piccinni.
January 14, 2022 | 15:48
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