The concert season founded by Abbado in the historic northern Italian town of Ferrara dates back to 1989. Three and a half decades later, we present more than 20 concerts including orchestral, chamber and piano music. All feature leading international artists and ensembles.

As well as concerts dedicated to Abbado’s memory, Ferrara Musica presents a photography exhibition and celebrate the publication of a new children’s book illustrating the relationship between Abbado, his orchestras and concert association itself.

After the success of the summer preview, when Riccardo Muti conducted the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini, the season will open courtesy of Orchestra Mozart, Ferrara Musica’s resident orchestra and an ensemble founded by Abbado in 2004. Under Daniele Gatti, the orchestra will play Beethoven’s Second, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies on Friday, September 15 and Sunday, September 17.

Nine months later on June 12, Orchestra Mozart will return to the stage to close the season, performing Beethoven’s First and Seventh Symphonies. With these concerts, Orchestra Mozart and Maestro Gatti will be just one concert away from completing a full cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies, a project begun in 2023 as a collaboration between Ferrara Musica and the Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna.

The opening concerts set the tone for the rest of the season, which features more orchestras founded by Abbado. The programme includes a Mozart-themed concert by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Mitsuko Uchida (February 11) and a performance from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe led by Sir András Schiff (June 1). Both orchestras, founded by the late maestro, have been resident at Ferrara Musica over the years.

Another of Abbado’s former ensembles, the Filarmonica della Scala, performs for the first time in Ferrara on October 22. The evening's programme, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, is entirely dedicated to Gustav Mahler, and includes the Austrian composer’s trailblazing First Symphony.

Filarmonica della Scala and Riccardo Chailly

Mahler is again the focus on November 1, when Italy’s radio orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai, performs the composer’s Symphony No 5 under Robert Trevino. Other orchestral highlights include Handel’s Messiah, performed by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under Justin Doyle (December 14), and Vivaldi’s iconic concerto collection L’estro armonico performed by Rinaldo Alessandrini and his Concerto Italiano (April 9).

Chamber music plays an important role in the new season. The mini-series Trios to Memory, features piano trios composed by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich to commemorate the deaths of close friends (October 9 and 25,  January 11). The Schumann Marathon focuses on Robert Schumann’s best chamber works, played in the space of one evening by Isabelle Faust, Anne Katharina Schreiber, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov (November 6).

On February 5 violinist Vadim Repin and pianist Nikolai Lugansky pay homage to three great composers whose sonatas redefined the partnership between violin and piano: Franck, Debussy and Grieg. The Quartetto Prometeo, in contrast, presents a contemporary programme featuring music by Alessandro Solbiati (October 2).

Rachmaninov’s piano music is the focus of a concert by Nikolay Khozyainov (November 29), celebrating the composer’s 150th birth anniversary. Other piano recitals feature Daniil Trifonov performing compositions by Rameau, Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn (January 29), and Alexander Gadjiev playing Beethoven and Scriabin (April 29).

The season is completed by a rich educational programme dedicated to children and families, including accessible performances and learning opportunities.

An opportunity not to be missed to visit the beautiful Ferrara, a UNESCO World Heritage town, and to enjoy a season of unmatched music making in the region Claudio Abbado made his home.

Find out more at ferraramusica.it