Giacomo Manzoni Celebrates 90th Birthday with Documentary and Concert Series

Giacomo Manzoni, the Milanese composer and intellectual, turns 90 on September 26, 2022. To mark the occasion, musicologist and director Francesco Leprino has produced a documentary titled "Manzoni90" (production Al Gran Sole). The film will premiere at Cinema Arlecchino in Milan on his birthday, featuring a musical encounter with the Maestro. Subsequent screenings are scheduled in Genoa (September 29), Fiesole (October 3), and again in Milan (October 15 at Amici del Loggione del Teatro alla Scala), with additional dates in Venice, Rome, and Bologna. All screenings will be preceded by live performances of Manzoni's works. Manzoni, a former music critic for l'Unità, author of the classic "Guida all'ascolto della musica sinfonica," translator, and pianist, was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2007 Biennale Musica. His extensive catalog includes theatrical works like "La sentenza" (1960), "Atomtod" (1965), "Per Massimiliano Robespierre" (1974), and the acclaimed "Doktor Faustus" (1989) at La Scala, directed by Robert Wilson. His orchestral works include "Insiemi" (1967), "Parole da Beckett" (early 1970s), and "Masse. Omaggio a Edgar Varèse" (1977), premiered by Maurizio Pollini. Chamber works include "Trame d’ombre" (1998) and "Oltre la soglia" (2000), setting texts by seven female poets who died by suicide. The documentary features voices of his illustrious students Adriano Guarnieri, Fabio Vacchi, and Giovanni Verrando.