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| Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala | |
|---|---|
| Name | Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala |
| Native name | Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala |
| Location | Milan, Lombardy, Italy |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Concert hall | Teatro alla Scala |
| Principal conductor | Riccardo Chailly |
Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala is an Italian symphony orchestra based in Milan, resident at the Teatro alla Scala. Founded in the early 1980s, the ensemble occupies a niche between operatic pit orchestras and international symphonic bodies, performing orchestral concerts, ballet scores, and opera overtures across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
The orchestra was established in 1982 during a period of institutional renewal associated with figures from Italy such as Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, and Carlo Felice Cillario who shaped Milanese musical life. Early seasons featured repertoire tied to Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart under guest conductors like Riccardo Chailly, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Scimone, and Edo de Waart. Collaborations with institutions including La Scala Theatre Ballet, Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi di Milano, Fondazione Teatro alla Scala, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and the Siena Summer Festival helped define its profile. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the ensemble expanded its recording activity with labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, Decca Records, and Sony Classical, often sharing programs with artists from Teatro La Fenice, Teatro di San Carlo, Royal Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera. The orchestra’s timeline intersects with European cultural initiatives like European Capital of Culture, tours tied to events in Marrakesh, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and state visits involving delegations from France, Germany, Spain, and United Kingdom.
Administrative oversight has involved Milanese civic bodies including Comune di Milano, regional agencies such as Regione Lombardia, and private patrons like the Fondazione Cariplo and the Giuseppe e Giovanna Tocci Foundation. Management structures echo models used by Teatro alla Scala and international houses like the Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic, with roles comparable to a general manager, artistic director, and board akin to those at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Financial partnerships have been negotiated with cultural ministries including Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali and sponsors from UniCredit, Assicurazioni Generali, Pirelli, and luxury brands that support touring programs similar to those of La Scala Opera House and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The orchestra’s podium has hosted conductors of the caliber of Riccardo Chailly, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Marin Alsop, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Harding, Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, Christoph von Dohnányi, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Bruno Walter, Arturo Toscanini, Leopold Stokowski, Pierre Boulez, and Seiji Ozawa. Guest leadership often includes conductors associated with specific repertory traditions such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt for early music, Riccardo Chailly for Italian repertoire, and Claudio Abbado for contemporary projects.
Programming ranges from Baroque and Classical period works by Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Romantic and 20th-century staples by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, and Dmitri Shostakovich. The orchestra has championed Italian composers such as Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Ottorino Respighi, Luigi Nono, and Luciano Berio. Recording projects include complete symphony cycles, opera overtures, and ballet suites released on Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, Decca, Sony Classical, Warner Classics, BMG, and independent labels, often collaborating with soloists like Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Itzhak Perlman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, Joshua Bell, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Fazıl Say.
International presence has included appearances at major venues and festivals: Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musikverein, Opéra Garnier, Teatro Colón, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Moscow Conservatory, Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts, Suntory Hall, Sala São Paulo, La Scala tours with outreach in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, performing at events like the Lucerne Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne Festival, Tanglewood Festival, and national celebrations in Italy and abroad.
Collaborative projects have paired the orchestra with opera companies and ensembles including La Scala Theatre Ballet, Royal Opera House, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro La Fenice, and chamber forces such as Koch String Quartet-type groups and historic-instrument ensembles directed by figures like Ton Koopman and Christopher Hogwood. Vocal partners include Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Renata Tebaldi, Montserrat Caballé, Anna Netrebko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Cecilia Bartoli. Contemporary composers who have written or premiered works with the orchestra include Luigi Nono, Luciano Berio, Giacomo Manzoni, Antonio Salieri, Gian Carlo Menotti, Paolo Olmi, Salvatore Sciarrino, and Ennio Morricone.
Educational initiatives mirror programs at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and conservatories such as Conservatorio di Musica "Giuseppe Verdi" di Milano with masterclasses by artists like Claudio Abbado, outreach concerts in schools coordinated with Ministero dell'Istruzione, and workshops for youth orchestras similar to projects run by European Union Youth Orchestra and Sistema Nacional de Orquestas y Coros Juveniles de Venezuela (\"El Sistema\"). Community engagement includes collaborations with cultural institutions such as Fondazione Cariplo, museum projects at Pinacoteca di Brera, interdisciplinary events with La Triennale di Milano, and recordings for film directors comparable to work with Bernardo Bertolucci and Franco Zeffirelli.
Category:Italian orchestras