Chigiana International Festival & Summer Academy 2018 Returns to Siena

The Chigiana International Festival & Summer Academy returns to Siena and the Tuscan countryside from July 6 to August 31, 2018. Since 2015, the festival has replaced the traditional summer concert program of the Accademia Chigiana, an institution founded in 1958 by Count Guido Chigi Saracini and Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Artistic director Nicola Sani states that the festival represents a definitive shift toward a production-focused model unique in Italy and internationally, where training, production, and performance become one. The 2018 edition, titled "Sounding Times," features 62 exclusive concerts and focuses on composer Karlheinz Stockhausen on the 90th anniversary of his birth. A highlight is a live performance on July 17 by his son Markus Stockhausen on trumpet and flugelhorn. The festival also pays homage to Florentine composer and visual artist Daniele Lombardi, who died recently. The Chigianaradioarte section, curated by Federico Fusi, is a 24/7 web radio dedicated to radio art, sound art, and sound installations, this year exploring the relationship between visual arts and music from the historical avant-garde to today, with a focus on Yves Klein and Hermann Nitsch. The festival takes place at venues including Santa Maria della Scala museum complex and Chiostro Torri.