2011 FESTIVAL KEYNOTES | Torino Milano - Festival internazionale della Musica

See you at next year's edition of MITO SettembreMusica

To the notes of the Haitian street carnival, a grand finale bash at Milano’s Bicocca Hangar wrapped up the fifth edition of MITO SettembreMusica. In Torino the festival wound up its proposals to a delighted audience the evening before, with a performance by Pierre Boulez and his Ensemble Intercontemporain. MITO SettembreMusica once again fired up the musical passions of the cities of Torino and Milano throughout the month of September with concerts, performances, presentations, debates and film screenings in a program that ran September 3 – 22. Audiences’ bond to MITO SettembreMusica strengthens, the public is ever more highly focused and bubbling with enthusiasm.

This year’s festival featured 218 events in 20 days and the participation of over 3,500 artists from 48 countries. Performances were held at 94 different venues in Milano and Torino. For the third consecutive year MITO SettembreMusica also included the off- program series MITOFringe and MITO About Town, with an additional 380 artists and 146 performances. In Milano throughout the months of May, June and July, MITOFringe paved the way for the regular festival program with street concerts and performances in city squares, outlying districts, parks, plus subway and train stations. September in Torino featured MITO About Town performances in the suburbs, as well as in sensitive and often neglected city locations that included hospitals, prisons, rest homes, psychiatric centers, museums and libraries – continuing a MITO SettembreMusica tradition.

Turnout confirmed audiences’ belief in MITO SettembreMusica, with a total of 155,526 admitted to the fifth edition of the festival – proof indeed of the great demand for high- profile music and cultural events. Such an attendance figure once again shows that even during an economic downturn, it is culture that provides a driving force in society – because this is a music festival that catalyzes a range of cultural offerings in the cities of Milano and Torino, attracting a numerous and broad range of attendees.
The “need” for culture, along with growing audience loyalty, was also seen timewise, when 18.6% of the tickets for the 126 for-pay concerts were purchased on the first day the box office opened. Online sales also shot up to 25.5% of total ticket sales, from last year’s 19.5%.

A total of 71 shows were sold out, with an overall saturation rate of 97% tallyng free admission and for-pay events. A total of 1,482 pass holders attended this year’s MITO SettembreMusica.
MITO SettembreMusica has become known for its variegated and easily accessible program – the key to its success. Confirmation of that? Take the three grand classical concerts featured – two at Torino’s Palasport Olimpico Isozaki and one at Mediolanum Forum in Milano, which for the very first time in its history hosted a symphonic music performance. The performance was top level, ticket prices dirt cheap – more than 20,000 people were in attendance.

“The MITO festival has earned a place that grows bigger every year in the hearts of the people of Torino and Milano”, so agree MITO SettembreMusica directors, president

Francesco Micheli and vice president Angelo Chianale. “It’s very accessible, easy to follow online. There’s music via streaming, lots of different genres, very high quality. The fifth edition features all-new cultural projects, including celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Italian Republic. And 13 world premiere pieces by some of today’s greatest composers worldwide, commissioned especially for MITO SettembreMusica.”

MITO SettembreMusica has placed great focus on multimedia promotion. The use of social media and our website are definitely geared to a younger public, and this year’s edition of the festival featured even more children’s and young people’s events than in past years.
MITO Educational’s schools project saw the participation of over 4,200 students who attended concerts that headed the official program. Unforgettable was the sight of the audience at the Teatro alla Scala, filled with young people under-26 for the rehearsal of the Milano section’s inaugural concert, featuring La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Just as numerous was the participation of young people at the MITO Educational seminars in Torino and Milano, where kids got to meet some of the great masters featured at the festival, like Barenboim, Noseda, Bollani, Enrico Rava and Alfred Brendel. All 12 of the children’s shows, held Saturdays and Sunday’s throughout the duration of the festival, were sold out.

The MITO SettembreMusica festival and its audiences express heartfelt thanks to the Cities of Milano and Torino, as well as to the Regions of Lombardia and Piemonte, the Province of Milano, and to our partners, the Milano Chamber of Commerce (Institutional Partner), the Torino Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture (Institutional Partner), Intesa Sanpaolo, Allianz, Enel, Eni, Compagnia di San Paolo, and sponsors Pirelli, Trenord, Milano Serravalle – Milano Tangenziali S.p.A., ASTM, as well as to media partners Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, Rai Radio 3, Radio Number One, Telelombardia, and technical sponsors Acqua Panna – San Pellegrino, ATM, FAI Fondo Ambiente Italiano, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., Gruppo FNM, GTT, Mansutti S.p.A., Telecom Italia, and single-event sponsors Mediaset, Saipem, Moncler, Accretion Corporate Consulting SpA, Webasto, and to companies that provided support, Guido Gobino Cioccolato, ICAM Cioccolato, Loison Pasticceri dal 1938, Riso Scotti Snack, BikeMi, Bike sharing Milano, and to companies that worked with us on special projects, AMSA, Esselunga, Giardini Colombari, Unione del Commercio, and to the entire MITO SettembreMusica team, dedicated and passionate professionals one and all, along with all the young people who made their contribution as interns and volunteers to help make each and every performance a great one!

We look forward to seeing you at next year’s edition of MITO SettembreMusica.

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