It was the most important moment for the young man. Corfu International Festival and Dionysius Grammenos until the next. The partnership of our international soloist, principal musician and artistic director of the new institution with the Camerata Chamber Orchestra of Milan’s Scala Theater was counted as the biggest in the program with the first events of the festival, which started only in September last year and is already taking root in the demanding audience of Corfu. Not only because thanks to the recognition of Grammenos and his connections with famous colleagues and influential musical organizations abroad, he succeeds and brings great shows to his hometown, such as his fellow citizens had the opportunity to enjoy in the imposing Throne Room, in the Atmospheric Palace of Saints Michael and George. But also why did Grammen have the wit to organize a festival that “runs” throughout the year, greatly enriching the cultural life of his place, that is, a festival whose originality lies in the fact that it is addressed mainly to the natives, and not to the Athenians, who they are on vacation.

On Friday, the 33-year-old Greek chief musician conducted the Cameristi della Scala at an evening dedicated to the Italian Baroque, with works by Vivaldi, Durante, Geminiani and Corelli, with mezzo-soprano Rosa Bove at his side. The Scala Camerata of Milan was founded in 1982 and is made up of musicians from the orchestra of the historic theater of the same name, whose main task is to present the great works of chamber music, as well as the works of lesser known Italian composers.

Grammenos and Scala from Milan are relatively old acquaintances. “In recent years, I have had the particular pleasure of collaborating with Milan’s La Scala Theater Camerata and conducting two concerts in Switzerland. The pianist Katya Buniatishvili participated in one as a soloist, and the violinist Renaud Cappuchon participated in the second. With the orchestra, we quickly developed a direct way of communicating and good chemistry. Considering Corfu’s special connection with Italy over the centuries and the great influence of its culture on our island, I thought from the very beginning that the appearance of this particular ensemble would be ideal for the start of the Corfu International Festival.”

The power of baroque

Indeed, how did Friday’s experience turn out for him? “Baroque music works like a time machine and is able to take you to another era, creating a different sense of time and space around you. I personally liked this wonderful atmosphere that we created with the musicians on stage, as well as the experienced musical audience of Corfu, who watched the concert with attention, absolute silence and enthusiasm. I will not hide from you that I was very happy to conduct for the first time at the Municipal Theater of Corfu, where I performed for the first time as a soloist at the age of 14.” The recall of the form with the stamp of Milan’s Scala Theater gave a measure of the ambition of the artistic director of the new festival, which was included in the operational program “Ionian Islands 2014-2020”. Do his fellow citizens live up to what he imagined? “Absolutely, and this is also our biggest reward,” emphasizes Dionisis Grammenos.