IT HAPPENED TODAY

«Once upon a time there was… – A king! – my young readers will immediately shout». No, a group of composers, and the readers aren't young. «But what do they have to do with Peace?». They are relevant, first of all because they were particularly good, and good artists always work for dialogue, tolerance, and understanding between different cultures, and secondly because they formed the jury for a competition entitled « Instruments of Peace ». It was May 22, 2010, it was almost hot, many scores arrived, and seated around a table were the president, Ennio Morricone, the vice president Salvatore Sciarrino, Jesús Rueda Azcuaga, Michel Tabachnik, a composer who is also a great conductor, and Marcello Filotei who writes music, organizes competitions and directs this publication. A few months later, on July 9, there was the final concert at the Colle in which the winning piece was performed: Tre Forme dell'infinito informe by Andrea Portera. But the format of the Competition also demanded something else: the president of the jury was commissioned a piece with the same ensemble and with the same text offered to the participants, large orchestra, baritone and verses of Peace taken from the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Koran. Thus, it was that Ennio Morricone, a composer for whom any presentation would be reductive, decided to make Maria Dolens a gift by writing Jerusalem, and the word "gift" must be understood in the literal sense. The world premiere performance was entrusted to the Rai National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Kawka featuring the voice of Christian Miedl. Radio3Rai enthusiasts were given the chance to listen to the concert live. The program also included Brahms' Tragic Overture and Symphony n. 4 “Tragic” by Schubert. In the end, it was enough for the radio listeners to switch off their device while for the 5,000 who crowded the open-air theatre and the Memorial Garden on the Colle, it took some time to get home. Sometimes the roads aren’t as wide as the passion for music and for peace.

The work of the jury: Ennio Morricone in the foreground, Marcello Filotei in the centre, Jesús Rueda Azcuaga in the background

The jury under the Bell, from left: Michel Tabachnik, Ennio Morricone, Salvatore Sciarrino, Marcello Filotei, Jesús Rueda Azcuaga