There are many reasons why Italy is a popular holiday destination: its arresting landscapes, the rich history, the delicious food and the long tradition of beautiful music are only a few of the enjoyments available to people who spend time in the Mediterranean peninsula. Aiming to join all these elements under one roof is the Varignana Music Festival, taking place from the 4th to the 13th July in the stunning countryside just outside the Northern city of Bologna. (And yes, if you are thinking of Bolognese sauce, this popular pasta topping is indeed a regional specialty – although the Italian version always contains minced beef, so veggies beware).
Set at the Palazzo di Varignana, a luxury spa-resort immersed in nature, the festival takes an holistic approach to all the things you can expect from an Italian holiday by offering an immersive experience pairing music with gastronomy and wellness, aiming to get the audience to feed both their body and soul. I sat down with the festival's Artistic Director, Bruno Borsari, to learn more about this year's line-up.
The festival has been launched in 2014, but Borsari has 33 years of experience organising chamber music concerts as the Director of one of Italy's most respected concert societies, Musica Insieme. This Foundation, the largest in the country by number of subscribers – over 1300 – organises chamber music concerts for fans in the local area, even organising transport to and from concert venues, allowing those who might live in small communities dotted around the region to enjoy concerts by some top international chamber music artists. Borsari is credited with having introduced to local audiences many artists that then went on to claim worldwide success. His passion for music and his managerial knack meant that he has organised over 1000 concerts to date – yet he tells me he has only ever missed two of them.
Musica Insieme, together with the Palazzo di Varignana, are the driving forces behind the festival, and Borsari personally chooses all the artists who will perform.
“Among the artists who came to Varignana in past editions are established musicians such as Mischa Maisky, Natalia Gutman, The Janáček Quartet and more,” he explains enthusiastically. “A place so beautiful, we thought, needed to offer an equally beautiful musical experience. Every year the festival lasts longer (this year we added a day) and although we might have not yet reached the breadth of festivals such as Schloss Elmau, that's the direction we're headed in. What makes our festival unique is that our goal is to pair up wellness activities with an equally important emphasis placed on music.”
“This year's programme it is an academy of virtuosity,” he says. “We go from a German pianist of Palestinian origin Saleem Ashkar – a popular artist in Germany but still almost unknown in Italy – to the Festival Strings Lucerne Chamber Players, who have been performing around the world for over 60 years. Performing in two concerts, we will also welcome back the extraordinary Brodsky Quartet, who have been friends of the festival since the first editions. With violin virtuoso Gilles Apap we will slightly depart from traditional violin playing: after performing Mendelssohn with the Quintetto d’Archi del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, he will use his classical instrument in a less traditional way by playing a programme of folk tunes.”
“Most of all, however, this year we wanted to focus on young talents who are currently making a name for themselves all over the world,” continues Borsari. “An example is returning pianist Federico Colli, who debuted for Musica Insieme when he was very young and is now performing in concert halls all over Europe. We have invited a young and talented Italian quartet, the Quartetto Noûs, who will perform with pianist Boris Petrushansky, and we will also welcome young pianist Nikolay Khozyainov, who was, at only 18 years old, the youngest ever finalist at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.”
The festival also features its own choir and orchestra, the Coro e Orchestra del Varignana Music Festival. These are composed of musicians from local orchestras, mainly the Coro and Orchestra of the Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi (a chapel where music has been performed for centuries) plus soloists from other regional orchestras, individually chosen for that year's repertoire.