The Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, in collaboration with Cinema St. Louis, is pleased to present the film concert of Tigre Reale (1916), with a live performance by Italian musicians Stefano Maccagno (piano) and Furio Di Castri (double bass).
Tigre Reale, a silent film made by Giovanni Pastrone in 1916, is a poem about the power of love and the destructiveness of memory, the cliché of the femme fatale, and the obsession with guilt. Over the troubled love story between the Russian countess Natka and the young diplomat Giorgio La Ferlita, weighs the tragic past of the woman. In the sweetened and rarefied world of a fictional aristocracy, unattainable Dannunzian characters are driven by extreme passions. The film becomes a luxurious stage for the divine Pina Menichelli, who offers here a symbolic interpretation of the excessive and artificial acting that marks and distinguishes some of Italy’s silent cinema.
The music score harmoniously combines jazz and a classical-inspired musical language offering the audience a musical experience distant but at the same time perfectly matching the film’s flow. Stefano Maccagno’s piano echoes late romantic and impressionistic influences in combination with an always balanced contemporary touch emphasizing the film’s dramatic tension. Furio Di Castri’s jazz scores wonderfully match all interior sequences while his solo improvisations give the film narration an intriguing atmosphere.
Furio Di Castri. Born in Milano 1955, self-taught double bassist, he records his first album in 1973 (Dedalus – Trident rec.) at the age of 17. After living in Tunisia, he moves to Rome in 1978 where he plays with Maurizio Giammarco and Massimo Urbani bands. From 1979 to 1981 he plays as sideman with Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Walter Davis jr, Jimmy Knepper, Freddie Hubbard, Al Grey, Franco d’Andrea, Tete Montoliu, Sal Nistico, Enrico Pieranunzi, Dave Samuels. Throughout the 80s’ he is part of Enrico Rava quartet and Michel Petrucciani trio and takes part to international tours and concerts with Dino Saluzzi, Joe Henderson, Chet Baker, John Taylor, Steve Lacy, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Joe Lovano, Pharoah Sanders, Charles Lloyd, Ray Anderson, Daniel Humair, John Abercrombie, Cristian Escoudè, Philip Catherine, Aldo Romano, Franco d’Andrea. In the 90s’ he plays with Richard Galliano, Paul Bley, John Surman, John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Andy Sheppard, Paul Motian, John Scofield, Nguyen Le, Franco Ambrosetti, Antonello Salis, Stefano Bollani, Uri Caine. He has collaborated with Paolo Fresu for over 20 years. Since 2000, he dedicates himself to his own projects and to composition for orchestras, dance, theatre and contemporary art performances. Since 2001 he is professor in double bass at the Jazz Department of Turin Music Conservatory. He has held double bass masterclasses in Dublin, Den Haag, Paris, Rome, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Lousanne, Chambery. From 2012 to 2016 he has been the artistic director of Torino Fringe Jazz Festival (TJF Fringe) and in 2017 he directed the first edition of Firenze Jazz Fringe Festival. Furio Di Castri has recorded over 200 albums – 20 as band leader - and has performed in Europe, Canada, USA, Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Russia, Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey, Yemen, China, Indonesia, Malaesia, Philippines, Singapore, Japan and Korea.
Stefano Maccagno. Pianist, composer, conductor, professor of improvisation, orchestration, composition and orchestration of music for images. He is the official composer of the National Cinema Museum of Turin, for which he has composed and orchestrated the music for numerous silent cinema masterpieces including Cabiria, Royal Tiger, Maciste, The Whispering Chorus, Blood and Sand. He has collaborated as soundtrack composer with the "Italian National Film Archive" in Milan. He has been pianist accompanist of the biggest masterpieces of silent cinema at Cannes Film Festival, Bologna international film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato, Lumiere Festival in Lyon Pordenone Silent Film Days, Cinémathèque Française and Tokyo National Film Center. On commission of the Teatro dell'Opera di Florence he wrote a composition for a large symphony orchestra on music by Led Zeppelin performed by the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, which he directed himself at the Teatro dell'Opera in Florence. He has composed the music score for Susanna Nicchiarelli’s "Nico, 1988", recording with actress Trine Dirholm (best actress award at Berlinale 2017). He is the official pianist of the Cabiria restoration project, which has accompanied at Cannes and Berlin film festivals as well as in Belgrade, Budapest, Lyon, Luxembourg, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo, Vancouver.
