Oct. 23 – The first edition of the festival of Italian baroque music in Ukraine kicks off today. The series of events will come to an end on November 4. The Festival, organized by the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Kiev for the Italian Presidency of the European Union, sees the participation of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. The musical celebration is composed of twelve events that will take place within Kiev’s main cultural institutions and local universities, including: the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, the national museum "Santa Sofia", the Church of St. Andrew, T. Shevchenko National University in Kiev, the National Academy of Music P. Tchaikovsky, and the National University "Academy Kyjevo-Mohyljana." The festival, whose artistic director is Nancy Romano, will see the participation of famous Italian artists and ensembles such as “Accademia Bizantina”, “Festina Lente”, and “Il Sogno Barocco”, as well as famed conductors Stefano Montanari, Claudio Cavina and Paolo Perrone. Soloists Alessandro Carmignani and Raffaele Pe (countertenors) and many more will also take part in the event. (Paf)

ACCADEMIA BIZANTINA

The Accademia Bizantina was born in Ravenna in 1983, with the intent of making music as a string quartet. Today, with the same "chamber" approach, the group is entirely run by its members, who establish goals and guidelines. Over the years, there have been many outstanding personalities in the music world who supported and helped the artistic growth of the group: Jorg Demus, Carlo Chiarappa, Riccardo Muti, and Luciano Berio, among others. Since 1996, Ottavio Dantone and Stefano Montanari have worked in harmony for the management of the musical ensemble, covering respectively the roles of music director and concertmaster. The common aim has always been to combine scholarly research and practical performances on period instruments, with careful and respectful reading of the musical sheets. The group has taken part in numerous recordings for Decca, l'Oiseau Lyre, Harmonia Mundi, Naive, Arts, Denon, and Amadeus, for which they received awards such as the Diapason D'Or and Midem. The also performed for TV and radio programs (Radio France, Radio Rai Tre, RSI , WDR); and have played in the most prestigious halls throughout Europe, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the United States and South America. On December 2011, the Accademia Bizantina won its first Grammy nomination with the album for Decca "Purcell - O Solitude," with Andeas Scholl and Christophe Dumaux. Since 2012, the group’s artistic and musical direction is headed by Ottavio Dantone. Particularly important and meaningful collaborations were undertaken with violinists Viktoria Mullova and Giuliano Carmignola, which led to the recording of important projects for Onyx and Deutsche Grammophon.