The brainchild of harpsichord maker Bruce Kennedy, the Piccola Accademia di Montisi (PAdM) plans to devote 20 weeks of the year to masterclasses for young professional players given by leading harpsichordists. In addition a further six weeks will be devoted to performers not intending to make harpsichord playing their profession.
The Accademia has already started to acquire a range of instruments, both carefully restored historic instruments and outstanding modern copies. It is anticipated that about six harpsichords will be available when it opens, with plans for the collection to be expanded over time. PAdM will be housed in a 13th-century castello within the walls of the historic picturesque village of Montisi, which lies in the Tuscan hills south of Siena.
In association with the inception of PAdM, which opens in July with five weeks of masterclasses, the first festival will open on 18 July with a recital given by Gustav Leonhardt, who has agreed to become patron of the Accademia. The following day sees two events, a harpsichord recital by Skip Sempé and a concert given by Sempé’s ensemble, Cappriccio Stravagante.
The concert on the 20th will be given by the ensemble Cantar Lontano under the direction of Marco Mencoboni. The final day of this ambitious new festival again sees two events, the first a recital by the rising young Iranian harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani. The last event is a performance of Domenico Scarlattti’s 1711 opera Tolomeo e Alessandro, directed by Alan Curtis, whose edition will be used. When Curtis first discovered the work in a private Milanese collection, it was missing its second and third acts, which were only recently found in an English country house.
Described by Curtis as “a pastoral tragicomedy… full of wonderful, memorable tunes”, the performance of Tolomeo promises to be a major event. Further details relating to both the Piccola Accademia di Montisi and the festival can be obtained from Simon Millward at Albion Media: Tel +44 (0)20 7582 5125/8522 or simon@albion-media.co.uk