MILAN, ITALY — Thursday 5 June 2025 saw La Scala’s Philharmonic Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly in Piazza Duomo for a grand event featuring Milhaud’s Brazilian rhythms and the most cherished pieces across the repertoire John Williams, Nino Rota and John Adams.
It was a tribute to music in its deepest essence, with a programme conducted by Riccardo Chailly alongside the participation of violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian. With an aim to bring symphonic music to the heart of Milan in a barrier-free allyship like a big rock concert, the partnership between the city and its many musical aficionados becomes even more brazen.
La Scala’s Philharmonic Orchestra, Milan Open Air
Emmanuel Tjeknavorian is the soloist for the suite from Darius Milhaud’s ballet Le boeuf sur le toit op. 58, a triumph of carnival rhythms and colours based on popular Brazilian themes, which bears the subtitle “Cinematic fantasy on South American motifs” and which Milhaud wanted as the soundtrack for a Charlie Chaplin film.
After the extraordinary concert in December 2022, the pages of John Williams return to the Philharmonic’s music stands, from the famed violin theme from Schindler’s List, once again entrusted to Tjeknavorian’s lyricism, to Adventures on Earth, from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra from Indiana Jones.
Nino Rota is undoubtedly a figure who represents history from a broad cultural ground, and a selection of dance pieces from Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo will also be performed. The concert will open with the creative energy of John Adams’ Lollapalooza, a musical romp based on the word that gives the piece its title: “something phenomenal, extraordinary” in American slang.
As an internationally acclaimed violinist, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian has been devoting himself exclusively to conducting since 2022. In recent years, his career has propelled him to orchestras such as the Wiener Symphoniker and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Since 2024, he has been Music Director of the Milan Symphony Orchestra.
This year, the concert collaborated with the Milano Film Fest directed by Claudio Santamaria, which presents a rich programme dedicated to cinema this weekend made of talks, screenings, retrospectives and exhibitions for all demographics.
by Chidozie Obasi