Banda Municipal de Barcelona
Franco Cesarini, Conductor

Franco Cesarini – Portrait of an Artist

If we had to name today’s four finest composers for symphonic bands, Franco would undoubtedly be one of them. He is a musician who excels on three different levels: as a conductor, composer and performer, with an acclaimed career as a flute player. His work has been extolled on all the world’s continents and, with this artist portrait , Barcelona is honoured to premiere Franco’s Symphony No. 3 “Urban Landscapes”, composed in 2020.

PROGRAM:
Franco Cesarini
The Haunter of the Dark (1995) 10’
Bulgarian Dances II, Op. 43 (2013) 15’
Symphony No. 3 “Urban Landscapes”, Op. 55 (2020). World premiere

Apart from the world premiere of Symphony No. 3 “Urban Landscapes”, this Portrait of an artist also includes The Haunter of the Dark, a programmatic piece inspired by the novel of the same name by North-American writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft; a horror story about an evil being that lives in an abandoned church and can be summoned with a magic stone. Rounding off the concert is Bulgarian Dances II, a piece evocative of traditional Bulgarian music, with fascinating frenetic rhythms and melancholic melodies typical of the country’s folklore.