May 20, 21 and 22 see the return of PIANO CITY MILANO 2022, with the eleventh edition of the most eagerly awaited piano festival of the year. Promoted and organized by Associazione Pianocity Milano and the Municipality of Milan, the event is recognized as one of Italy’s most prestigious music festivals.
216 unmissable concerts across the whole city of Milan with more than 300 artists performing in 100 magnificent locations will carry the audience with their pianos on a wonderful emotional musical journey. Piano City Milano is a unique event that brings institutions, associations and partners to collaborate in making Milan ever more dynamic, through an incredible number of concerts all over the city. Curated by Ponderosa Music & Art and Accapiù, the project boasts artistic direction from Ricciarda Belgiojoso and Titti Santini.
“There are events that can speak about the city to the city: Piano City Milano is one of them” states the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala. “During this extraordinary three-day festival, the universal language of music will truly echo throughout Milan. Over 300 highly talented artists will perform and bring to life historical sites, remarkable new locations and emerging spaces that are under development. Unique, emotion-fuelled piano concerts allow the audience to discover how the city is changing”.
“How many places in the last ten years have we discovered by following the sound of a piano? How much music have we listened to and how many musicians have we discovered by attending a Piano City Milano event since the first edition in 2012? How many pianists and spectators have been able to share the joy of a live concert performance? These questions cannot be answered in numerical terms, but I am certain that the overall value of the interactions between music and the city is very high, and that this is the deepest sense of the event,” explains Tommaso Sacchi from the Milan Department for Culture. “This is why I am certain that this eleventh edition will once again be a great celebration for the whole city.”
“With Piano City Milano, a lively and dynamic city joins forces with music from all over the world. Pianos take their place in every neighborhood, from the gardens of Galleria d’Arte Moderna to beyond the edges of the city, in Milan’s new places and in other spaces that are under transformation and are being opened up for the first time for the festival. We offer new perspectives on Milan and on music, starting with the opening concert by the great Abdullah Ibrahim. This will be followed by an array of other remarkable Italian and international names with music created for the occasion, plus amazing six-piano and eight-hand events. The festival captivates the city with the sound of the piano and a huge thank you goes to the partners that make this extraordinary event possible,” concludes Ricciarda Belgiojoso, Artistic Director of Piano City Milano.
Piano City Milano is the result of an extraordinary collaboration between public institutions and private companies that allow free entrance to all concerts. It is an example of a remarkable synergy which this year brings together the Municipality of Milan, its Department of Culture and main partners Intesa Sanpaolo and Corriere della Sera, along with Volvo, Hermès for talent-support, institutional partners Regione Lombardia and Fondazione Cariplo, charging partner Be Charge, Snai San Siro Racetrack, Università Bocconi, Conad as well as technical partners AIARP, Steinway & Sons, Fazioli, Griffa & Figli, Passadori Pianoforti, Tarantino Pianoforti, Tagliabue, Schimmel Pianos, Shigeru Kawai, Scorticati Pianoforti, Fabbrini and Barletta Pianoforti. The event’s media partners are Radio Monte Carlo, ViviMilano, Classica HD Sky, Wired, Zero, Lampoon, Pianosolo, Club Milano and Mi-Tomorrow.
There are also collaborations with a number of prestigious musical institutions such as Teatro alla Scala, Milan Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi, the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado, the Bergamo Conservatorio Gaetano Donizetti, Premio Venezia and Festival Milano Musica.
The festival returns to enhance Milan, inviting the public to discover new perspectives on one-of-a-kind contexts, old and new neighborhoods, the city’s symbolic locations, and places undergoing redevelopment, spaces that have been opened up especially for this occasion. Each concert has been created for its location, with musical genres that range from classical to pop and from jazz to electronic.
In addition to historic venues such as the GAM Gardens, Volvo Studio Milano, the Rotonda della Besana (home of the Milan Children’s Museum MUBA), Triennale Milano Teatro, the Museo Teatrale alla Scala, and the Snai San Siro Racetrack, the event will also be held in important new spaces such as the Bocconi Campus park, the ADI Design Museum, the Passeggiata Boris Pasternak at the Feltrinelli Foundation, Piazza Olivetti in the Symbiosis business district, and the garden of Via Ludovico di Breme in the Certosa District. There is a special focus on the outskirts of the city too, with concerts in the MM courtyards, in the fields of Vaiano Valle, in the Adriano district, in barn conversions turned cultural centers, and at Casa Enzo Jannacci, Europe’s largest social support center. Plus, there will also be music in the parks of Villa Finzi, Chiesa Rossa, Parco delle Cave and Parco Lambro.
The complete program of events for Piano City Milano 2022 is available on the festival’s official website HERE. All concerts are free of charge and booking is not required unless stated otherwise on the printed and digital program for events where places are to be reserved.
