20,000 copies * City Map * Useful Information January 2017 Hello Milano Last April, we celebrated 20 years of a wonderful and productive contact Bic with our readers. Guided tours connect with Last Supper tickets www.hellomilano.it Tourist assitence the updated ART DEA online guide More information on I pag 12. join us at www.artidea.co.uk www.friendinmilan.co.uk translations • graphics • free press www.facebook.com/hellomilano Rock Around … Milan The news of the recent Nobel prize awarded to In 1970, in the wake of the Bob Dylan echoed around the world. Woodstock Festival of 18 August This multi-talented singer-songwriter, is not 1969, a group of intellectuals only a composer, who in his performances sings, and Italian artists founded the plays electric guitar, harmonica and piano, but counterculture magazine “Re also a writer, poet, actor, painter, sculptor and Nudo” (namely “Naked King”), radio host. which from 1971 to 1976, or- He is renowned worldwide as one of the most ganized a youth festival for the important artistic figures, able to appeal to mass underclasses, launching the culture, basing his writing on current affairs, slogan “let us make free time which still resonates with political activists to- become time for freedom.” day. The last 4 events were held in Born in America, from a Ukrainian Jewish fam- Milan as the “Proletariat Youth ily, he has captured various musical genres in Festival” in the only place that his art with a range of rock sounds, such as folk was somehow reminiscent rock, blues rock, rock and roll and country rock of Woodstock, ie the Parco that have helped to spread their inherent African Lambro. American culture throughout the world. Over 4 days in June 1975 many Rock, that’s it! young songwriters, who later be- Here we get to the focal point of this story, be- came part of Italian musical histo- cause probably only a few people know that ry, participated in the event: Lucio Milan has a strong musical tradition where in Dalla, Edoardo Bennato, Franco The Proletariat Youth Festival ... supporting freedom recent years Afro-American rock has not only Battiato, Francesco De Gregori, at the Parco Lambro in 1976. spread its roots, but has inspired a new musi- Eugenio Finardi, Antonello Venditti, unknown photographer, public domain, httpsit.wikipedia.orgwindex.phpcurid=5404148.jpg cal style, derived from Mediterranean traditional Giorgio Gaber. sounds. Their talent helped to open re- In the fifties and sixties the Milanese cultural nowned places in Milan such as The Rolling Stone and Beijing, where he will be a guest artist of the environment not only revolved around several on Corso XXII Marzo, opened in 1981 from the famous Chinese singer Zhang Chu. www.euge- clubs and discos, but every school had its own ashes of the Studio 54, and unfortunately closed niofinardi.it (in Italian). rock band that was welcome in a famous club in 2009. For 28 years this location brought the Our musical tradition today also receives impor- called Bang Bang, where our babies were not ... best rock artists to Milan, with live performances tant support from the Rock Targato Italia award, shot down (!), but instead, on Saturday after- by international stars such as Joe Cocker, Bob which promotes emerging music, offering the noons could perform for free and take part in a Geldof, Ben Harper, Lou Reed, Oasis, and many winner a promotional campaign worth € 10,000. competition organized by the club, specifically others. Now, unfortunately, it is late for non Italian rock- to reward the best performances by the high But prior to that, during the ‘70s, Eugenio ers who must wait until next year to submit their school students. Finardi and other artists from the record compa- application. http://www.rocktargatoitalia.eu (in Milan then had a vibrant music scene linked to ny Cramps, looked for a way that would follow a Italian). the hippie and rock movement that flourished more strictly Italian spirit, while maintaining the In addition, the Municipal School of Music named around the art district of Brera where, in addi- essence of rock. after Claudio Abbado, in its CEM Music Education tion to the Bang Bang, other clubs sprouted up Following the progressive attitude of the Milanese Centre sector, organizes studies with specific for music lovers. Expressionism and Futurism, their songs blend- courses of different genres: classical, pop, rock In this cultural context, Milanese singer-song- ed together the sounds of traditional instru- and jazz. writers realized that rock is not really a style of ments such as mandolin and violin, and used Founded in 1862 with the intent of forming in- music in the strictest sense of the term, but the more suitable harmonies to the hendecasyllable strumentalists for the Civic Band and singers for free expression of a mood. Therefore they began of their language, taking inspiration from clas- the Teatro alla Scala, following a 150 year tradi- to follow paths of sound evolution which inte- sical music, Baroque, Puccinian, Neapolitan, tion, the school nowadays can count on highly grated better into the European musical tradi- Sardinian, from rhythmic chants of workers, of qualified teaching staff, and a community of stu- tion. laborers in the rice fields, and local folk. dents from over 30 different countries. http:// A notable example are singer-songwriters such This was a winning hunch, given that over the www.fondazionemilano.eu/musica/english_mu- as Eugenio Finardi, born in an international next year, Eugenio Finardi will begin his tour “40 sica. artistic family from an American mother and Years of Rebel Music” which will bring his perfor- Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado a Milanese father, or Lucio Battisti, Adriano mance to the East, where this kind of music is Villa Simonetta Celentano, Tony Dallara, and groups such as The much appreciated, especially in Shanghai, Hefei Via Stilicone, 36 Pooh, Equipe 84, Cameleonti, and PFM, namely Premiata Forneria Marconi, the only progres- sive Italian rock band that toured in the USA, South America, Japan and Korea, and entered the Top100 ranking of the famous US magazine Billboard. Calls 1st January 2017: Sunday Until 22 January. The Biennale College - Music 2017 aims New Year’s Day, World-wide Peace Day to promote and support the production of a maximum of 3 page 2 micro-budget works of chamber music for theatre, on any subject, of a duration of less than 20 minutes, performed by eight instruments (flute, clarinet, trumpet or trombone, vio- What’s on lin, viola, cello, percussion, MIDI keyboard) and four voices January 2017 (choice of soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass). The plays will be presented at the International Festival of Contemporary Music in 2017 and put on-line on the “Quarto palcoscenico”, the virtual space on the site of the Biennale January highlights dedicated to the show live. http://www.labiennale.org/en/ Home.html Soon. Divertimento Ensemble calls for new voices. They The City hall presents a masterpiece are particularly looking for male voices, to form a non- professional choir of 50 elements (25 male and 25 female) Joining the choir is open to anyone who wants to actively participate in contemporary art music working with highly professional musicians. No musical knowledge is required, just the desire to get involved and to use your voice, not 17.00: New year gala. “Suoni del Danubio” the most fa- only to sing a tune but to find out how many other ways the mous light opera arias; performed by the Budapesti Ope- voice can make sounds and express emotions. http://www. rettszínház, with more than 100 musicians; conducted by divertimentoensemble.it/?lang=en. Alexey Nefedov, with Gergely Boncsér and Timea Vermes, soloists. €20/32 www.vivaticket.it. Conservatorio, Sala Ver- di, Via Conservatorio 12 • M1 San Babila 17.00: Ballet. “The sleeping beauty”; music by Tchaikov- sky; performed by the Moscow Ballet “La Classique”, with Until 8 January. 9.30-19.30, Thur. until 22.00. On the the dancers Pakhomov, Sharipov, Avetisova, Shalyapina, 1st and 6th January closes at 19.30. Like every year at Ivanova, Tarasov, Kuptsov, Smirnov, Shalin. €25/34. Te- Christmas, the City of Milan presents a masterpiece. This atro Carcano, Corso di Porta Romana 63 • M3 Porta Ro- year it is the turn of the “Madonna della Misericordia” cen- mana tral part of a large polyptych by Piero della Francesca (in the 18.00, 21.00: Acrobatic show. “Fuerza Bruta” by the Ar- photo), a famous Renaissance painting lent by the Civic Mu- gentinian Diqui James, with live music, and exceptional sce- seum of Sansepolcro. A recent and demanding restoration nic and lighting effects. €55. www.ticketone.it Teatro Linear has reconstructed the altarpiece in its original layout, as it Ciak, Viale Puglie 26 corner Via Tertulliano • M3 Corvetto + was before it was dismantled in the seventeenth century. 1km walk See in Exhibitions. Admission free. Palazzo Marino, Sala de- 16.00: Symphony music. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, gli Alessi, Piazza della Scala 2 • M1/3 Duomo Until 5/10 January. Last call for entries in the 2017 Sony Op. 125, also known as “the Choral”, by Beethoven; per- World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography formed by Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Films from London competition. Open and Youth competitions close on 5 Janu- conducted by Claus Peter Flor; with the Coro Sinfonico di On 10 and 11 January: A show broadcasted live from the ary; professional competition closes on 10 January. www. Milano Giuseppe Verdi, and Erina Gambarini, choir master. stage of the Garrick Theatre of London, with Italian subtit- worldphoto.org/press. €20/52.