Italians give concert at Tokyo Italian Cultural Institute

(AGI) Tokyo, Oct 16 - Italian artists have conquered the musicscene in Tokyo with concerts ranging from baroque music tocontemporary classical and pop songs in jazz version. The firstto take the stage at the Italian Cultural Institute in theJapanese capital was flautist Rita D'Arcangelo, who in 2008joined Japan's Hyogo Performing Arts Centre Orchestra after aninternational competition. The artist, accompanied by Japanesepianist Noriyuki Hamano, offered a varied programme. Itincluded a sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel UrbainFaure's Fantasie and Carnivale di Venezia by Leonardo DeLorenzo. She closed the performance with folk music from thecollections of Studio Ghibli. A few days later it was theturn of Italian jazz pianist Danilo Rea. His concert dedicatedto the Beatles and Rolling Stones was a big success. In an hourand a half of improvisations he mixed the melodies of theBritish groups in original and complex ways. Motifs from theoperas of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini or Americanmusicians such as George Gershwin and Cole Porter even surfacedat times. The event ended with an unscheduled performance, inwhich Rea and a singer performed a Japanese version of theItalian duet "Parole, parole" to the rapturous audience. AGI) . .