Atalanta Fugiens

Atalanta Fugiens cultural association was formed in 2005 by a group of musicians enthusiastic about performing the baroque, classical and romantic repertoires on original instruments with philological study of the scores, musical notation and history. An association was needed to manage the activity of the classical orchestra Atalanta Fugiens and to coordinate the project “Archive of Milanese Symphony”. Former Ensemble in residence at the exhibition "Musica Antica a Villa Reale" in Monza. Former Member of the Circuito Lombardo di Musica Antica. The name Atalanta Fugiens was inspired by the myth of Atlantis as described in the text of the Rosicrucian Michael Maier, and underlines the ineffable and mysterious spirit of art and music. The aims of the association include the rediscovery, reappraisal, revision, first modern performance, recording and public promotion of the Milanese and Lombard symphonic repertoire, historical and biographic research of the pioneers of musical classicism and the definition of pertinent performance techniques for this repertoire. The repertoire of Atalanta Fugiens covers the first half of the 18th and all of the 19th century and includes unpublished works, new discoveries and transcriptions by known composers, and music by famous composers who had contact with the classical Lombard style, such as Mozart (father and son), Michael Haydn and Johann Christian Bach. The musicians of Atalanta Fugiens have played with major European concert associations, such as Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, Philarmonie Koln, Munich Philharmonic, Musikhalle Hamburg, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Auditorium di Roma, Lingotto di Torino and those of Lubjana, Brussels and Feldkirch. The orchestra has also taken part in many festivals, including Musica e Poesia (San Maurizio), MITO, Dias da Musica (Lisbon), Bremen Festival, Lucerne Festival, Osterfestival Tirol, Grandezze e Meraviglie (Modena), Festival Esta (Cremona), Musica Antiqua (Martinengo), Musica a Villa Palestro (Milan), Settimane Musicali (Stresa) and Concerti delle Camelie (Locarno). It recently played in the Basilica di San Simpliciano in Milan, the Argenti Synagogue in Casale Monferrato and the Cathedral of Alessandria. Five years ago, the association began a fruitful collaboration with Sony BMG/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi for a series of recordings, which now includes five volumes, on the Milanese composers who created and spread the classical style. Two years ago, the association began work with Casa Ricordi and the State University of Milan on a series of critical editions of musical scores of the same works, which now includes three volumes. For this project, a permanent study group, directed by Cesare Fertonani and Davide Daolmi, was set up at the same university. In 2009, the documentary “AB, l’illustre dilettante”, based on an idea by Vanni Moretto, directed by Emanuele Garofalo and produced by Fromwinter, was released. The footage was filmed in Milan, Casale Monferrato and Stockholm and involved the collaboration of world experts in Lombard classicism. The film tells about three years of study and research on the mysterious Milanese composer Antonio Brioschi. A new project is an “Archive of Milanese Symphony” containing microfilm copies of all the manuscripts of symphonic works written in Milan between 1720 and 1800. The association is also concerned with teaching, sharing all knowledge acquired in the field of performance technique and musicological research by means of conferences and courses for music students and specialists. An example is the seminar and conference “The New Style of the 18th Century of Lombardy” held at Palazzo Cuttica in Alessandria in September 2008, when a youth orchestra was formed. The orchestra performed the Jewish cantata Dio, Clemenza e Rigore in the setting of its original performance, the Argenti Synagogue in Casale Monferrato. To share knowledge of all aspects of Milanese classicism, it was decided to record in the presence of the public whenever possible. Examples are the albums of Antonio Brioschi and Fortunato Chelleri (Sony Music), recorded in Mirasole Abbey with the collaboration of the Municipality of Opera in 2005 and 2007, and the album of Pasquale Ricci, recorded in the Municipality of Eupilio in 2010.