It has been 20 years since Vernon artist, teacher and patron of the arts Sveva Caetani died, leaving her estate and legacy to the community.
On Wednesday, Italian pianist Alessandra Ammara performs in Vernon to remember that legacy and also raise funds for Sveva’s former home, now the Caetani Cultural Centre, which features artist residences, residencies, studios, as well as numerous community cultural activities.
This special fundraising concert will feature compositions from the late Roffredo Caetani (1871 to 1961), who was Sveva’s uncle, the Prince of Bassett and the last Duke of Sermoneta.
In 2013, Ammara released an entire album featuring some of Roffredo Caetani’s most well-known compositions.
“The opportunity presented itself to the Caetani society earlier this year to book Alessandra for a concert here in Vernon that would feature the compositions of Sveva’s uncle, Roffredo,” said Caetani centre music coordinator Andrew Mercer. “To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Sveva’s death, we wanted to do something special to celebrate Sveva and the bequest of the Caetani house to the City of Vernon.”
Ammara, who will also be performing concerts in Toronto, Calgary and Invermere, is visiting Vernon for a couple of days before her concert at the Performing Arts Centre.
Along with the concert, several pieces of Sveva’s art work will be on display in the Performing Arts Centre. Proceeds from the concert will go towards capital improvements and increased programming at the Caetani centre.
Ammara has drawn the attention of the musical world from a young age, succeeding in many major international piano competitions. In 2000, she was named laureate at the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary.
Ammara’s concert schedule is continuously growing. She has performed throughout Europe, Asia and North America.
Notable concert highlights include at Musikverein in Vienna, Festspielhaus in Salzburg, Grosses Philharmonie in Berlin, Salle Cortot in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Seoul Art Center, Gasteig in Munich, Jack Singer Hall in Calgary, Bass Hall in Fort Worth and Meridian Center in Washington.
She has entertained audiences as a soloist with orchestras such as Wiener Symphoniker, Berliner Symphoniker, Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai, Calgary Philharmonic, and the Cape Town Philharmonic, and with conductors such as Fabio Luisi, Georg Pehlivanian, Roberto Minczuk and Bernard Labadie.
Ammara has also collaborated with many great interpreters, including Alban Gerhardt, Leonard Elschenbroich, Roberto Fabbriciani, Anton Kuerti, the Takacs Quartet and the Sine Nomine Quartet.
Since 1999, she has toured in a piano duo with her husband Roberto Prosseda.
Ammara’s discography begun in 2001 with a CD for the Canadian label Arktos, which included music by Debussy, Scriabin and Chopin. Together, with some of the greatest pianists in the world, she recorded the new complete Chopin edition produced by Brilliant Classics.
Since 2008, Ammara has recorded for the German label, Arts. Her five Arts recordings include Chopin Ballades, two Schumann albums (Carnaval, Davidsbundlertanze, Album for the Young), the world premiere recording of Scelsi Preludes and a Ravel album (Miroirs, Gaspard de la Nuit).
In 2013, Brilliant Classics released Ammara’s first commercial recording of Roffredo Caetani’s piano music.
Ammara takes the stage at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the show can be purchased at the Ticket Seller box office by calling 250-549-7469 or online at www.ticketseller.ca.
