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Harpsichord & Baroque Flute Masterclass

with Francesco Corti & Anna Besson

montecastelli (italy) SEPTEMBER 21-25, 2024

An immersive Masterclass

with Francesco Corti

and Anna Besson

in the suggestive setting

of Montecastelli,

a medieval village

in the heart of the Tuscany.

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@ IL POGGIO "SCIENCE & MUSIC"

Montecastelli Pisano (Tuscany, Italy)

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Harpsichordist and conductor Francesco Corti was born in Arezzo, Italy, in a musical family in 1984. He studied organ in Perugia, then harpsichord in Geneva and in Amsterdam.

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He was awarded at the International "Johann Sebastian Bach" Competition in Leipzig (2006) and at the Bruges Harpsichord Competition (2007).

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As a soloist and conductor, he has appeared in recitals and concerts all over Europe, in the USA and Canada, in Latin America, in Asia and in New Zealand. He has performed in halls such as Thêatre des Champs Elysées (Paris), Bozar (Bruxelles), Konzerthaus (Vienna), Philharmonie (Berlin and Hamburg), Mozarteum and Haus für Mozart (Salzburg) and Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Teatro Real (Madrid), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barecelona). 

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Since 2018 he is principal guest conductor of il Pomo d’Oro. Among other projects with this ensemble, he has conducted European tours of Händel’s Orlando, Radamisto and Tolomeo. His collaboration with Pomo d’Oro include numerous recordings. He is invited to lead Les Musiciens du Louvre, Tafelmusik, Freiburger Barockorchester, Kammerorchester Basel, B’Rock and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. 

Starting January 2023, he is be musical director at the Drottningholm Royal Court Theater, where he has conducted a new production of Purcell’s Fairy Queen in August 2023. 

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The 2023-2024 season includes Messiah with Kammerorchester Basel and the Tölzer Knabenchor, Matthäus-Passion with Freiburger Barockorchester, Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Händel’s Berenice with Pomo d’Oro and Lully’s Armide at Drottningholm.

His solo recordings have been awarded some of the most prestigious prizes worldwide (Diapason d’or de l’Année, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Grammophon’s Editor’s Choice, Choc de Classica…). His latest solo recording (Arcana) is dedicated to Frescobaldi.


Since September 2016, he is professor of harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Francesco Corti

harpsichord

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Winner of the Cziffra Foundation's annual auditions, Anna Besson studied modern and early flutes at the Conservatoires Supérieurs de Musique de Paris and Geneva.
As an active and versatile performer, Anna has spent several years developing her experience as a and orchestral musician within ensembles such as orchestre of Opéra de Paris, La Chambre Philharmonique, Le Concert Spirituel, Insula Orchestra, Le Concert d'Astrée, Orfeo 55, La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roi, Insula Orchestra and as a founding member of quartet nevermind.


She has also played in such prestigious concert halls and festivals as Boston Early Music Festival, Utrecht Early Music Festival, MA Festival Bruges, Salzburger Festspiele, Royaumont, Via Staelle, Festival Mezzo, Barbican Center, Melbourne Recital Center, Hamburg Philharmony, Opera de Paris, etc.


As a founding member of a nocte temporis (dir. Reinoud Van Mechelen), Anna searches for ways to use her music to transcend the 18th- and 19th-century chamber music repertoire with flute. "Erbarme dich", their début CD on the Alpha Classics label, has been released to critical acclaim (CHOC de Classica, five Diapasons, Price Caecilia) and features JS Bach works for tenor and
traverso.


As a soloist, her discography includes for Alpha Classics her last solo album with works of Corelli and Quentin (Diapason d'Or) as well as a solo album for romantic flute with fortepianist Olga Pashchenko featuring works by Beethoven, Kuhlau, Doppler and Walckiers (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik), Telemann's « Concerto for traverso and recorder » with Erik Bosgraaf (Brilliant classics), Molter's « Concerto for traverso in D major » with Die Kölner Akademie (CPO), « The Dubhlinn Gardens » -18th Century Irish music with a nocte temporis (Alpha) and CPE Bach and Telemann's Quartets with (Alpha Classics).
In addition, passionate about traditional music and dance, the intense focus on the Irish flute leads her to make researches about Irish repertoire of the 18th- and 19th-century.
Equally at home on the traverso, modern flute and romantic flute, Anna is regularly invited to give masterclasses in France and abroad and teaches historical flutes at the prestigious Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel.

Anna Besson

baroqueflute

TIMELINE

Saturday 21

Sunday 22

Monday 23

Tuesday 24

Wednesday 25

Arrival in Montecastelli in the afternoon.

Afternoon-evening LESSONS

Dinner

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Breakfast

Morning LESSONS

Lunch

Afternoon LESSONS

Concert   Francesco Corti and Anna Besson

Dinner

Breakfast

Morning LESSONS

Lunch

Afternoon LESSONS

Dinner

Breakfast

Morning LESSONS

Lunch

Afternoon LESSONS

Dinner

Breakfast

Morning LESSONS

Lunch

 

Departure from Montecastelli (time to be defined).

COSTS

€650 / person

includes:

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  • FULL BOARD accommodation in shared or single room (due to availability)

  • ALL THE SCHEDULED LESSONS

  • Instrument: double German Harpsichord after C. Vater built by Andrea Restelli

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A deposit of  €200 will be required upon confirmation of registration.

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Max. number of students for any class: 10  ( Total: 20 ) â€‹

Deadline: July 31 2024

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Find out the location at scienceandmusic.com

 

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Transfers available on request
Florence/Pisa 150 euros one way - Colle di val d'elsa 60 euros one way

(for minivan up to 8 people) the price can be divided among those who request it.

Request the transfer to  info@ilpoggiomontecastelli.com

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Associazione IL POGGIO "Science & Music"

Via Maggio 9, 56041 Montecastelli Pisano (PI) Italy

© 2024 FCAB Masterclass designed by alexsrain

Double German Harpsichord
after C. Vater built by
Andrea Restelli.

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