The title of LacMus Festival 2025, “Giochi d’acqua”, is a double tribute—to Lake Como, which has been securing its flowing, shimmering background for nine years, and to a master composer, born 150 years ago in a small village from Southern France facing Spain, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, that is, Maurice Ravel, author of the piano piece thus entitled.
Ravel is the guiding spirit of this edition; its program, running from July 9 to 20, features many of his major works. His multifaceted piano music will be performed by Louis Lortie, one of our two artistic directors, at the opening and closing concerts. It displays Ravel’s kaleidoscopic inspiration, his love of harpsichord music and jazz, his Basque folklore memories, and his being a leading figure of an era when each composer forged his or her musical language. Then there is Ravel’s chamber music, either for strings, with the Wanderer Trio, or for voice, entrusted to a soprano, Christiane Karg, who is almost a staple of our Festival. Both piano Concertos are also included; the one for the left hand, written for a pianist who had lost an arm in the First World War, will be performed by Vyacheslav Gryaznov alongside the G-Phil Virtual Orchestra, a flexible Web application allowing performers to customize their interpretation. Also, this year an orchestra is hosted again. It is the Sinfonia Smith Square Orchestra from London, performing one program featuring Ravel’s other Concerto with Louis Lortie and another program with Christiane Karg. Some orchestra members also take part in the Musical Greenway.
Another highlight of the 2025 edition is Spanish music, which nourished Ravel’s musical imagination. Turina, Albeniz, Granados, De Falla, and Rodrigo will be interpreted by such young charismatic artists as mezzo Teresa Iervolino and guitarist Carlotta Dalia. A special guest will be flamenco dancer Sara Jiménez. One more lady to perform is cellist Lucia Swarts, a leading figure in historically informed performance, who will climb up to the San Benedetto in Val Perlana Abbey, its Romanesque architecture offering a worthy counterpoint to the mastery of Bach’s Suites.
Summing up, the 2025 LacMus Festival is expected to be both diverse and cohesive, with ample room for early 20th-century music, of which Ravel was a leading figure, and several rare and unusual musical items.
