The Mahler Chamber Orchestra participates in the first EU conference on the topic of “Creativity and culture in times of crisis” at the University of Ferrara

On 25 and 26 October, representatives of culture, business and politics come together at the University of Ferrara to discuss questions of cultural development and European identity in times of crisis. The conference will promote an exchange about how art and culture can survive the current economic crisis for the long term.

The forum was created by the University of Ferrara and the CRUI Foundation (Conference of Italian University Rectors) with the help of Consorzio Spinner and the Italian delegates to the European Commission. Prof. Andreas Richter, General Manager of the MCO, and important partners of the MCO such as the concert promoter Ferrara Musica play an important role in the conference as speakers and in discussion.

After an opening greeting by Ferrara’s mayor, Tiziano Tagliani, and other representatives of educational, political and cultural institutions, the topic of the conference will be introduced by George Edelman, Artistic Director of Ferrara Musica, Fabio Donato of the University of Ferrara and Prof. Andreas Richter. Patrizio Bianchi, rector of the University of Ferrara, will follow with some ideas on the topics of economics, culture and European identity.

In addition to those already mentioned, other important MCO partners will also take part in the event: Karl Erik Norman, president of the “European Cultural Parliament”, will reflect on the topic of “Creativity and Cultural Heritage in Europe” in a panel discussion along with representatives of other cultural institutions. Speakers on the topic of arts management and cultural organisations will include Andreas Richter, George Edelman, and Ilona Schmiel from the Beethovenfest Bonn.

The next day, MCO Principal Conductor Daniel Harding and representatives from various European universities will consider the topic of “Cultural Networks”. A panel discussion led by Andrea Thilo, producer and manager of Boomtown Media, will focus on the topic of of “Culture for economic development: the case of Music Events.”

To close the first day and provide inspiration for the next, participants at the conference will attend the general rehearsal of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra’s concert at the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara (concert is 26 October, 8 pm). The program features a highlight of the current MCO season: Daniel Harding conducts a concert performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde with a renowned cast of singers, including Waltraud Meier as Isolde.

The MCO has been orchestra in residence in Ferrara since 1998 and collaborates closely with the concert promoter Ferrara Musica and the University of Ferrara. In its ten years of residency here, the MCO has performed approximately 80 concert programmes and seven operas at the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara.

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO), with its unusual structure, internationality and outstanding quality, is an ensemble unique to the present time. Its organisation and method of operation make it a model for the future of the European orchestral landscape. Composed of around 40 musicians from 20 different nations, and independent of external sponsorship, the MCO plays operas and concerts all over the world, in cities as well as at exclusive festivals from the North Pole to the Red Sea. The orchestra was founded in 1997 by the musicians themselves and Claudio Abbado, and the two have been reaching milestones of European musical life together ever since.

Merit Vareschi
Communications Manager
Mahler Chamber Orchestra e.V.
Hasenheide 54 / D-10967 Berlin
Phone + 49.30.41 71 79-21
Fax +49.30.41 71 79-29
Mobile +49.160.90 96 91 03
m.vareschi@mahler-chamber.de
www.mahler-chamber.eu

This release was published on openPR.