“Chiara’s music, and the players’ performances capture the heart”★★★★★BBC Music Magazine Explore the hidden gems of Venetian music Music | Italy Few artists capture the beauty and refinement of baroque music like Italian period instrument ensemble Europa Galante. Founded in 1990 by violinist, Fabio Biondi, the ensemble has become one of Italy’s most celebrated exponents of this glorious repertoire, honoured with an impressive list of awards including Choc de la Musique, five Diapason d’Or and Diapason d’Or of the Year. In Chiara’s Diary, Biondi has devised a programme drawing on the diary of a foundling child, abandoned in 1718 on the steps of the Venetian orphanage, Ospedale della Pietà, at the age of two months. The Pièta was renowned for giving its children music education, taught at the time by none other than Antonio Vivaldi. One especially talented violinist called Chiara left a diary, filled with notes about her music life, and centuries later rediscovered in the Pièta’s library archives. In a programme reaching back to this 18th century prodigy, Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante play works by Venetian composers written expressly for Chiara, and which she herself performed. The short film Chiara’s Diary will also feature as part of the concert. PROGRAMME Pre-concert screening of Chiara’s Diary (A film by Lucrezia Le Moli) Porta: Sinfonia for strings in D Vivaldi: Sinfonia for strings in G, RV 149, il Coro delle muse Violin Concerto in B-flat, RV 222 Martinelli: Violin Concerto in E, dedicato alla S.ra Chiara Concerto for viola d’amore and strings in D, Per la S.ra Chiaretta - Meet-the-artist (Post-performance): 7 Mar 2015 ​