Federico Fellini, Roberto Benigni, the Taviani Brothers: four masters of Italian cinema who conquered the international scene thanks to the mastery of their movies, giving popular culture some of the most beloved soundtracks. Maestro Nicola Piovani, the composer of those soundtracks, celebrated them in a symphonic concert at the Odeon Herodes Atticus in Athens.
The concert “Great Films, Great Music,” a co-production of Megaro Moussikis Athinon (Athens Music Palace), the Embassy of Italy in Athens, and the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens, as part of the Athens-Epidaurus Festival, saw Maestro Piovani conduct the Athens State Orchestra, presenting three orchestral suites that led the audience to discover (or rediscover) the four great Italian directors mentioned above: the Taviani Suite (with music from the movies Fiorile, The Sun Also Shines at Night, The Night of the Shooting Stars, and Good Morning, Babylon), the Benigni Suite (with music from the movie Life is Beautiful, for which Nicola Piovani was awarded an Oscar), and the Fellini Suite (with music from the movies Intervista, The Voice of the Moon, and Ginger and Fred). A celebration of the deep connection between music and cinematic narration, which has always been central to Maestro Piovani’s work.
