Alternating between true "ballads" of the symphonic and concert seasons and new works, specially composed for a particular performer - equally brilliant, but also extremely creative in interpretation - the programpresented in Lugano on May 4th certainly attracted an audience (as proved by the number of people who booked tickets for the evening!).

Avi Avital's name is a point of interest for the general public, all the more so because the mandolin - the instrument to which he is faithful - is a rarity on symphonic season posters.The Israeli musician has brought this plucked string instrument back to the attention of the musical world, as he has wished and stressed on numerous occasions, stating that this is his calling. To achieve this, Avi Avital has arranged various scores himself, originally dedicated by composers to other instruments, but has also commissioned more than 100 works from contemporary composers to be featured in concerts, recitals, or his record albums.

The two titles featured in the first part of the program in Lugano (which will be repeated by the Orchestra della Svizzera Italianaon Saturday evening, in a trip to Friedrichshafen, and then on Sunday in Austria) illustrate these two directions pursued by Avi Avital, after launching his international career with great success: The Concerto in D major RV 93 for lute, violins and basso continuo was written by Antonio Vivaldi for lute (apparently in Bohemia, around 1730 - 1731), and Avi Avital reworked the score for mandolin; the well-known Venetian Baroque page has seen other "tonal reformulations" over the years, from guitars to. ... accordion.After Vivaldi, the Israeli performer presents a concert from 2019, performed at his request by the composer and cellist Giovanni Solima; this is not the first collaboration between the two musicians, as they are also on the same stage and on different tours, as soloists, in a performing dialogue. Wide expressive openness characterises both, and Avi Avital's mandolin has also been featured in solo pieces by Solima.

To return in such a context to Beethoven's famous Symphony No.5 in C minor may seem an unexpected choice to some, but German conductor Markus Poschner's vision of Beethoven's symphonies was described in Dresden by critics as remarkable, "breathtaking"! So, here's one more reason to watch this version that Poschner (once assistant to Roger Norrington and Colin Davies) builds at the baton of the only Swiss radio orchestra, whose artistic direction he has provided since the 2015 - 2016 season.

On Thursday, May 4th, 2023, from 9.30 pm, on the European Stage, live from Lugano, we travel across almost three centuries of music, in a celebrity setting!