Traditional music
The best way to discover the traditional music of the Italian Alps is to follow in the footsteps of the region's folk groups, some of whom have produced works verging on ethnomusicology. In Lombardy, the Barabàn group has gained considerable notoriety locally for its quest to strike a balance between northern Italian musical traditions - Po Valley polyphonies, archaic Apennine songs, etc. - and contemporary sensibilities. - and contemporary sensibility. Northern Italian folk instruments such as the piffero (an oboe), the müsa (a bagpipe), the hurdy-gurdy and the baghèt, another bagpipe typical of Bergamo, can be heard in her music.
In the same spirit, Elsa Abonico has been researching the Lombard folk music tradition for several decades. She has recorded and interpreted her research in numerous recordings.
More specific to the Brianza region, the I Brianzoli folk group was founded in 1987 with the aim of preserving and passing on the traditions typical of its native land. Its forty-odd members have created a show retracing the peasant life of the 17th century, with dances and songs also performed with a typical Brianza instrument called firlenfeu, a kind of pan flute.
Finally, a very interesting document Milanese - Antologia della canzone lombarda. This anthology of Lombard song in twelve albums (performed by Nanni Svampa) catalogs one of the most important collections of research and songs on the musical and dialectal history of Lombardy and the city of Milan in particular. Carefully arranged, these twelve volumes allow you to listen to old ballads as well as songs about work and the underworld.
Classical music
Italy's reputation in the field of art music is well established. And this is largely thanks to its Lombardy region, one of the most fertile in the field. Milan is home to La Scala, considered Italy's leading opera house. Built in 1778, this mythical theater is one of the world's greatest opera stages, welcoming the most prestigious performers every season.
It is also the birthplace of some of the country's greatest orchestra directors: Claudio Abbado (1933-2014) and Riccardo Chailly (both past conductors of La Scala), not to mention Daniele Gatti. The former was one of the most emblematic conductors of his time. Music director at Teatro alla Scala at the age of 35, he enriched the venue's repertoire and opened it up to new audiences. Successively director of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera, before succeeding Karajan at the helm of the Berlin Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado's name remains closely associated with other illustrious conductors of his time, such as Martha Argerich and Zubin Mehta. At just 20, Riccardo Chailly became Claudio Abbado's assistant at La Scala. A springboard that led him to head the most prestigious musical institutions such as the DSO Berlin, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Leipzig Opera before becoming Music Director of La Scala in 2017. A return to his roots and a consecration. Chailly has also been at the helm of Milan's Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra, a lesser-known but excellent ensemble exploring a repertoire ranging from Bach to the great names of the 20th century. Housed in the Auditorium di Milano Fondazione Cariplo, it is often an interesting option for seeing a good concert in Milan at a much lower price than at La Scala.
Last but not least, Daniele Gatti has been widely acclaimed for the quality of his interpretations of both opera and symphony. French audiences have had a soft spot for him ever since he was Music Director of the Orchestre National de France between 2008 and 2016, before taking the helm at Amsterdam's prestigious Concertgebouw.
In addition to La Scala, which attracts the world's attention, Milan is packed with fine venues for classical concerts and operas. Start with the Teatro dal Verme, with its modern auditorium and resident ensemble Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali. There's also the Teatro Arcimboldo, or TAM, which is very modern and open to dance, and the Teatro Lirico, which also hosts jazz and theater.
Northeast of Milan, in Bergamo, the local pride is Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), the great composer behind some of the greatest Romantic operas, such as Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Pasquale and L'Elixir d'amore. Gaetano Donizetti is often honored in his hometown, particularly at the Bergamo Musica Festival and the theater named Teatro Donizetti, both of which never miss an opportunity to perform his works. Further south, in the Po Valley, lies Cremona, a city renowned for its violin-making and illustrious practitioners, such as the Amati family, the Guarneri family and the famous Stradivarius. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), whoseOrfeo is considered the "first opera", was also born in Cremona.
There's no shortage of interesting classical music events in the region, but two that are always well programmed are Mito Settembre Musica, which offers high-quality concerts at low prices (classical, jazz, rock), and Brescia's Festival Pianistico Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, one of Europe's most important classical music recitals since 1964 (dedicated to the great Brescian pianist Arturo Benedetto Michelangeli).
Theater
Milan is the city of all the arts, and it goes without saying that the theater has had its heyday here. Especially in the hands of its most illustrious figure: Dario Fo. Surely the most eclectic of contemporary playwrights, this 1997 Nobel Prize winner is remembered for such timeless works as Mystère Bouffe and Faut pas payer! Another leading Milanese figure, Giorgio Strehler was one of the most fascinating theater directors of his time. An advocate of theater "for the people and with the people", he founded the Piccolo Teatro in 1947 to promote his vision, and gave the city a cult venue for experimental theater. In France, he is remembered for his 1983 appointment by Jack Lang as director of the Théâtre de l'Odéon. Less well known in France, Giovanni Testori (1923-1993), writer, poet, playwright and director, remains one of the most innovative voices in Italian theater. Popular, polemical and at times prophetic, Testori left behind a body of work that is hard-wired for drama.
