New year in music: guide to New Year’s concerts

New Year’s Eve is celebrated earlier in the Upper Town: Sunday December 28that 5pm in the Sala Piatti, the “End of Year Concert” organized by the Bergamo Quartet Society will be held. The splendid room will be the protagonist of an event dedicated to Strauss family – of which, this year, marks the bicentenary of the birth of one of its most illustrious representatives, Johann Strauss – who for decades made the whole of Europe “dance” with their waltzes, their Polka becoming a cultural symbol of the Central European nineteenth century.

The concert will propose a musical journey that will combine contemporary perspectives linked to the universe of the waltz together with chamber music reinterpretations, designed to enhance the stylistic richness and surprising versatility of one of the most iconic forms that became the emblem of the 19th century. The protagonist will be the Adorno Quartet (Edoardo Zosi, Liù Pelliciari, violins; Benedetta Bucci, viola; Maria Salvatori, cello) together with the pianists Maria Grazia Bellocchio and Giorgio Lazzari.

The pianist Giorgio Lazzari

(Photo Gian Vittorio Frau)

The music will propose an intertwining of the sound world of contemporary composer Wolfgang Rihm and that of Johann Strauss, through the alternating performance of « Several short waltzes op. 314» by Rihm, in which the Viennese tradition is reread through a contemporary sensitivity, played on fragments, suspensions and expressive shifts, becoming an ideal bridge between tradition and modernity. The sound universe of Johann Strauss will instead be proposed in the historic transcriptions of Arnold Schonbergwith the aim of offering a more rigorous, intimate and analytical listening to the symphonic repertoires, returning to the essentials of Straussian music, revealing its clarity and freshness.

At the end of the appointment, a proposal will be made world premiere composition by Stefano Gervasoni from Bergamo«Abyss Waltz», written specifically for this appointment. The appointment will be preceded by a conference, in preparation for listening on the same day, at 3.30 pm again in the Sala Piatti (free entry) edited by Roberto Iovino, author of the volume «Strauss – A dynasty in time of waltz», and Nicole Olivieri, to fully understand the historical and cultural context of the family in the nineteenth century and the transcriptions proposed in concert. Entrance to the conference is free. The ticket for the concert costs 30 euros, for young people 5 euros.

Bergamo will open 2026 with one of the most anticipated and consolidated events. The “New Year’s concert», hosted at the Teatro Sociale, has for years represented a point of reference for the public in the city and beyond. The atmosphere will be that of great occasions: the theater that will slowly fill, the buzz before the start, the orchestra ready to give the first musical signal of the year that has just begun. The program of the concert on January 1st at 11 will watch and pay homage to the Strauss family and to that waltz repertoire, Polka and marches which will immediately recall the elegance of Viennese concerts and an important tradition which, for decades now, has represented the symbol of the new year.

The Italian Philharmonic Orchestra

The protagonist will beItalian Philharmonic Orchestraactive for more than forty years and present in the major opera festivals, in the programming of national theaters and in many musical events broadcast by RAI, the Vatican Network but also worldwide. The orchestra is directed by Davide Catinagraduated in trombone and, later, specialized in orchestral conducting at the School of Higher Musical Specialization in Saluzzo. That of the Strauss family is one music that speaks to everyonecapable of being refined without being distant, festive without losing depth: a solemn but at the same time light start to the year, ideal for those who want to indulge in a high-level cultural moment after the previous night’s celebrations.

Leaving the city center and moving to the province, the musical New Year takes on different but equally fascinating nuances. In Zanica for example, the concert will take place in a cozy and evocative context such as the splendid Parish Church of S. Nicolò, on January 1st at 4pm. Entrance is free. Here music will also become an opportunity for meeting and sharing: the protagonists will be the duo formed by Marco Ruggeri (organ) e Lina Uinskyte (violin), among the most successful ensembles for this group at an Italian level thanks to a very broad repertoire, which ranges from the Baroque to the twentieth century, both with original pieces and transcriptions from the piano and orchestra.

Lina Uinskyte and Marco Ruggeri

Il dialogue between violin and organ will accompany the public on a musical journey through Europe, with a repertoire designed to enhance the acoustics of the sacred space and create an intimate and meditative climate, exploring authors of the seventeenth and eighteenth century French (such as Louis Daquin or Jean-Jaques Charpentier), to arrive at the lively Romanticism of Niccolo Paganini («Cantabile op. 17» and the famous «Campanella») and to the nineteenth-century Austro-German Franz Schubert (“Konzertstuck D. 345”), without forgetting however also Zanica’s “favorite son”, the organist and composer Father Davide from Bergamo (1791-1863) whose «Prayer» for solo organ will be performed.

It will not just be a concert, but an afternoon that will invite deep listening and reflection, without giving up the convivial dimension: the traditional final toast at the Don Milani Socio-Cultural Center will transform the appointment into a moment of collective good wishes.

The traditional «New Year’s Concert» of the Alpine Fanfare of Scanzorosciate will open the new year with an evening of great music and conviviality. The appointment is scheduled for Monday 5 Januaryat 8.45pm in the setting of the Rosciate Theatre. The evening, presented by Francesco Brighenti, will see the Alpine Fanfare perform under the direction of the Maestro Francesco Acerbiswho will guide the musicians in a rich, varied and exciting program, capable of combining tradition, classical music and soundtracks loved by all generations.

The musical program will in fact accompany listeners in a itinerary between styles and eras: we will start with «The Exodus Song» (arrangement by Johan de Meij), and then pay homage to the great Italian opera with «Ricordanze» by Gaetano Donizetti and the famous «Largo al Factotum» by Gioachino Rossini. There will be no shortage of traditional English band repertoire with the «First Suite» by the British Gustav Holst, alongside the colors of the Alpine tradition with «La Bella del Cadore». The program will continue with the cinematic emotions of «How to Train the Dragon» by John Powell, the Italian progressive rock of medley «New Trolls in concerto» and the overwhelming energy of «Bid Spencer Medley». Grand finale, as per tradition for every self-respecting “New Year’s Concert”, with the festive “Radetzky March” by Johann Strauss, to greet the new year with enthusiasm and applause.

The New Year’s concert of the Alpine Fanfare of Scanzorosciate

(Photo Tiziano Piazza)

These events, although different in size, location and artistic proposals, will clearly illustrate the spirit with which Bergamo and its province will welcome the new year. On the one hand there will be the great tradition of the city, on the other the more intimate and community initiatives of the centers of the province: together they will compose a cultural mosaic not to be missed. However, the scheduled events are not just these. We leave you other proposals which you can find in the agenda Just now.