Azio Corghi’s Blimunda Suite

To celebrate La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra’s 25th anniversary Azio Corghi, composer and Ricordi author, wrote a symphonic poem that was inspired by Blimunda. With this new piece, Corghi wanted to create a link between La Scala, who during the 1989-1990 season enabled his collaboration with José Saramago, by commissioning him to write Blimunda for them. The first show was on 29th January 2007 at La Scala Theatre, with the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly .

In seven symphonic scenes  connected to each other via the cello, to whom the Maestro entrusted the task of being the narrator, Corghi retraces the extraordinary Blimunda event, of which the protagonist was the novel Memorial do Convento by José Saramago, on which the book was based. This work marks the association between Corghi and Saramago as well as taking on the meaning of an investigation engagée of the duplicate object: history and femininity.

Corghi whets the appetite using a range of tastes – popular songs, madrigal octets, electronica, cultured quotations, inventive tones – to realise a range of plans (history with a capital “H”, history with a small “h” and an honorary region).

Amongst the other Ricordi events, we would like to highlight two premieres:: D’après cinq chansons d’élite for the cello and pianoforte, on 15th March at the MICO (Musica Insieme Contemporanea) festival in Bologna, and Siciliana for the cello and pianoforte, on 23rd  April at Palamostre di Udine, in the Project “Pennisi” area.