"What Makes It Italian?" is a music listening and discussion group that meets online on the Zoom platform and is open to everyone.
Participation is free.
The group is led by Gina Crusco, who guides listening at Bard LLI and Riverdale Y, and who has been music instructor at The New School and director of Underworld Productions.
Please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and receive an invitation link.
Spring 2022 Schedule
This Spring “What Makes it Italian?” takes a look at stylistic parallels between the most ephemeral of the arts – music, which dissipates moment by moment – and the near-permanent – architecture, constructed to last many lifetimes.
Italy is the birthplace of Renaissance architecture and the homeland of Palladianism, a style which influenced design all over the world. The history of Western architecture has been shaped by such edifices as the Duomo of Milan, the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, and the Villa Capra in Vicenza. Nowadays, Italy is in the forefront of modernist architecture, with two Pritzker Architecture Prizes having gone to Italians.
Who were the composers who produced music in the regions and during the eras when these great buildings were erected? Does their music reflect then-current architecture trends? The likes of Alessandro Scarlatti, Giuseppe Verdi, and today’s young Giovanni Allevi tell the story.
Tuesday, February 15, 6:00pm
Early Renaissance - Florence
Tuesday, March 1, 6:00pm
Renaissance - Rome
Tuesday, March 8, 6:00pm
Palladian - Vicenza
Tuesday, March 15, 6:00pm
Gothic - Milan
Tuesday, March 22, 6:00pm
Baroque - Sicily
Tuesday, March 29, 6:00pm
Neoclassical - Naples
Tuesday, April 5, 6:00pm
Late Ottocento - Turin
Tuesday, April 12, 6:00pm
Modern - Bari
