Orquesta del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

December 2011: the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra inaugurates the New Opera Theatre in Florence, one of the most innovative at European level. Founded in 1928 by Vittorio Gui with the name of Stabile Orchestrale Fiorentina, since the beginning it has demonstrated an intense concert activity, also during the lyrical seasons of the Florence Municipal Theatre, becoming today one of the most highly regarded by celebrated directors and the public worldwide. In 1933 it contributes to the birth of the oldest and most prestigious European music festival after the Salzburg Festival, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, that gives it its name.

As successors to Gui we find the official directors Mario Rossi (in 1937) and, in the post-war period, Bruno Bartoletti. A fundamental chapter in the history of the Orchestra is the official directorship of Riccardo Muti (1969-1981) and Zubin Mehta, Principal Director since 1985, who from then on presents, season after season, important symphonic and operatic productions, along with the renowned tours, celebrating in 2012 the fiftieth anniversary of his debut in Florence. In the 80’s and 90’s, the Orchestra forms a unique relationship with Myung-Whun Chung and Semyon Bychkov, principal guest conductors since 1987 and 1992 respectively.

Highly regarded in the international world of music, during its history it has been fortunate to have the very best conductors directing, to name a few: De Sabata, Guarnieri, Marinuzzi, Gavazzeni, Serafin, Furtwängler, Walter, Klemperer, Dobrowen, Perlea, Erich Kleiber, Rodzinski, Mitropoulos, Karajan, Bernstein, Schippers, Claudio Abbado, Maazel, Giulini, Prêtre, Sawallisch, Carlos Kleiber, Solti, Chailly, Sinopoli and Ozawa. Also, illustrious composers such as Richard Strauss, Pietro Mascagni, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Paul Hindemith, Igor Stravinskij, Goffredo Petrassi, Luigi Dallapiccola, Krzysztof Penderecki and Luciano Berio have directed great interpretations of their work.

Since the 50’s, the Orchestra has actively participated in the music industry, radio and television, receiving great recognition, including a Grammy Award. Following the success of the third tour in Japan with Zubin Mehta on the podium, honorary lifetime Director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, it performed an highly acclaimed tour of cities including Warsaw, the Musikverein of Vienna, Frankfurt and Baden-Baden.

On the 80th anniversary of its founding and for the highest artistic merits achieved, it received the Gold Florin of the city of Florence. In 2011, the President of the Republic named the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino “World Ambassador of Italian culture”, fulfilling also an important role during the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Italian Union.

In the same year of 2011, the Orchestra performed prestigious tours in twelve different countries (France, Luxembourg, Spain, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, China, India, Hungary, Russia, Austria and Switzerland). In 2012, during the 75th Maggio Musicale, they toured South America (Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil), dedicating the tour to the memory of Américo Vespucio. Recently, it has included a tour of Istanbul and Baku, with Mehta at the head, enjoying enormous success.