Orchestra della Toscana – Emmanuel Tjeknavorian & Valerie Eickhoff

About the Event

Experience classical music like never before in this astonishing performance of masterworks by Mozart, Mahler and Schubert at Florence's remarkable Teatro Verdi.

“I think nowadays people need music that can bring forth reactions like tears or laughter. Strong emotions, in any case”. This is the thought of Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, not yet thirty years old and already into his second life. That of orchestra conductor. Because instead, he is gradually putting aside the first, that of concert violinist. As if he had already achieved the maximum possible from it: his success in the prestigious “Sibelius” Competition eight years ago, the records that have been sold, and the fact that he has had a Stradivarius under his chin for a long time. Today he is performing from the podium, having received his first lessons from his conductor‐father, of Persian‐Armenian origin. And he, who was born in Austria, finds his natural habitat precisely in the Viennese repertoire. The ORT programme is one example. The soloist is the voice of Valerie Eickhoff, mezzo‐soprano, the same age as Tjeknavorian, who established herself in 2021 at the prestigious ARD Competition as the interpreter of Mahler’s four Lieder on texts taken from the Knaben Wunderhorn, the “The Boy’s Magic Horn”, a collection of ancient German folk poems.

Teatro Verdi

Teatro Verdi is a theatre established in Florence in 1854, in the street 'Via Giuseppe Verdi'. Originally known as Teatro Pagliano, the theatre became one of the most popular theatres in Tuscany, welcoming all kinds of shows, as well as classical performances with the arrival of the Orchestra della Toscana. The largest Italian‐style theatre in the region, the building was inaugurated with a performance of Verdi´s masterpiece, 'Rigoletto', and was renamed in 1901 to honour the composer. Home to the Orchestra della Toscana, the theatre now combines a vivid classical program with theatre seasons, as well as rock and pop performances..