Classical music lovers in Hanoi will have an opportunity to enjoy the melody and virtuosity of Italian music to be performed by one of the most popular Italian chamber orchestras, I Solisti Veneti.

The concert, which will take place at the Hanoi Opera House on March 21 night, will feature masterpieces composed in the 18 th century by Antonio Vivaldi, Tomaso Albinoni, Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Bottesini, Gaetano Braga, Jean Baptiste Arban and the legendary Giuseppe Verdi on the occasion of his 200 th birthday.

The night will be highlighted by two concertos for violin Spring and Summer taken from Vivaldi’s work Four Seasons , with soloist performances from violinists Chiara Parrini and Lucio Degani.

Verdi and Rossini are mostly known as authors of operas and instrumental works. Variations for clarinet and strings from Gioachino Rossini’s operas Mose in Egitto and La Donna del Lago will showcase a rough and fascinating instrumental virtuosity, according to the orchestra’s introduction.

Act III from one of the Verdi’s early works I Lombardi Alla Terza Crociata will be performed at the concert.

The Grand Duo Concertante by Bottesini is an opera duet parody in which a contrabass will mimic a soprano. Meanwhile, variations on the Carnival of Venice by composer Arban will close the concert.

The unique programme is designed to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Vietnam , said violinist and orchestra representative Lucio Degani at a press conference on March 20.

Fifteen musicians from I Solisti Veneti will play under the lead of Lucio Degani, who replaces the 79-year-old conductor Maestro Claudio Scimone whose health is not in a good condition.

Since it was founded in 1959, “I Solisti Veneti” has performed more than 5,000 concerts in 90 countries and territories around the world.

In 2008, Claudio Scimone and his orchestra received the “Una vita nella musica” prize, which is considered by international critics as the “Nobel Prize” in music.-VNA