Italian
An extraordinary event in Treviso
The execution of certain symphonies has now become an extraordinary event for the orchestra’s ensemble, requiring the presence of a large and experienced choir, as well as capable soloists.
But what determines the quality of a musical performance is something else: it is undoubtedly the presence of an authoritative conductor; the Venezi affair at the Fenice tells us a lot in this regard.
This is the case of the concert that took place on Tuesday, December 9, at the Teatro Del Monaco in Treviso, featuring the renowned Maestro Roberto Abbado, nephew of the famous Claudio, conducting this pivotal composition in the musical history of Europe. He has a stellar career that has seen him conduct in some of the most important venues in Italy, such as the Sferisterio Di Macerata, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and around the world in places like Paris, Salzburg, New York, Santiago de Chile, Israel, and many others.
Honored with the prestigious Abbiati Award by the Italian Association of Music Critics and current Principal Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Roberto Abbado has been appointed by the Korean National Symphony Orchestra as the next Music Director starting in 2026.
Maestro Abbado conducted the Regional Orchestra of Veneto in this concert, which recently received an important national recognition, ranking third in the Art Bonus competition – “Live Performance” category for its activities in 2023, particularly for the originality and value of the project “Musical Drops for Nature,” as reminded to us by Maestro Danilo Rossi, appointed Artistic Director of ORV in 2025, before the concert, interviewed by Elena Filini.
Founded in 1980 under the name Orchestra Filarmonia Veneta, it has been the undisputed protagonist of the concert and opera seasons at the Teatro Comunale di Treviso, the Teatro Sociale di Rovigo, and the Operafestival di Bassano del Grappa for many years. It has also been the main collaborator of the Bottega-Laboratorio Internazionale for young singers and musicians, founded and directed by Maestro Peter Maag.
In 1999, the orchestra was established as an independent association, setting its headquarters at the Teatro Sociale di Rovigo and adopting its current name: ORV – Orchestra Regionale Filarmonia Veneta. Since then, it has continued a vibrant concert and opera activity in major Italian and international theaters, distinguishing itself for artistic quality and versatility.
On stage, there was also a top-notch vocal cast for the soloists, consisting of Johanna Winkel, Mara Gaudenzi, Santiago Sanchez, and Francesco Samuele Venuti, accompanied by the Coro Città di Piazzola sul Brenta conducted by Paolo Piana.
Regarding Symphony No. 9 in D minor for soloists, choir, and orchestra Op. 125, it is universally known as the Ninth Symphony or Choral Symphony and is the last completed symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, first performed on Friday, May 7, 1824, at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna, achieving immediate great success.
The Ninth Symphony immediately appeared as a revolutionary masterpiece, not only for the presence of voices and choir but also because it challenged the very concept of symphony. In addition to being a synthesis of everything that had been experimented with and acquired in the symphonic genre up to that point, from sonata form to Lied, from Variations to fugue style, the Ninth is also a grand sonic architecture in which Beethoven incorporates other musical genres: operatic style, military music, “Turkish” exoticism, and the polyphonic writing typical of sacred music. The Symphony consists of four movements: while the first three are exclusively symphonic, the fourth movement contains a musical version of Friedrich Schiller’s famous Ode to Joy, which has become a universal symbol of peace and unity among peoples.
This is exactly what the wonderful Elena Filini spoke about in her brief but intense opening presentation of the work, where she reminded us that the most famous performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is linked to the fall of the Berlin Wall and is the one conducted by Leonard Bernstein on December 25, 1989, in Berlin (Potsdamer Platz), where the conductor replaced “Freude” (joy) with “Freiheit” (freedom) in the choral finale to celebrate reunification, becoming a symbol of hope and universal brotherhood.
A sold-out audience greatly appreciated the performance on December 4, giving almost fifteen minutes of applause to the Maestro, the Choir, and the soloists.
A more than worthy conclusion to this musical season of the Teatro del Monaco, which with “Musical Drops for Nature” in the three-year period 2025/2027 will bring to the stage of the Treviso theater the great romantic symphonic repertoire of Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms, presenting the complete works of their symphonies.
