Christmas at the AuditoriumWith this successful annual Christmas festival, Rome's main audi-

torium opens its doors to the city with a wide-ranging program-me of events. Concerts, performances, workshops and games are orga-nised throughout: in the open-air arena and along the pedestrian side-walk, within the concert halls, theatres and in the foyer. A kaleidosco-pe of activities aims to entertain children and adults alike. Outdoorsthe central ice-skating rink is open until late in the evenings, aChristmas fair offers ideas for gifts and decorations, and an old fashio-ned merry-go-round provides a touch of festive magic. Indoors thereare concerts galore with the top class Rome Gospel Festival featuringsome of the best protagonists of spiritual and gospel music from theUnited States. The main concert hall hosts popular Italian singers andmusicians, whilst Ambrogio Sparagna's successful project “LaChiarastella” presents traditional Christmas music from different Italian regions. Mimmo Cuticchio's beautifulSicilian puppets celebrate Garibaldi, and a New Year's Eve Gala features the festive music of Johann Strauss. Anintense calendar of events for children aims to involve and entertain the young and the young at heart. From 8thDecember to 8th January at Parco della Musica, Viale P. de Coubertin. Tel. 0680241281, www.auditorium.com

Ute Lemper sings PiazzollaAcclaimed as the world's greatest cabaret artist working today, the

German born singer and performer Ute Lemper joins forces withthe Piazzolla Sextet giving life to a new project entitled “Lost Tango”.It's an extraordinary tribute to the music of Astor Piazzolla, theArgentinean musician and composer who revolutionized the use of thebandoneon and the music of tango. In “Lost Tango” Ute performs a se-lection of well-known pieces but also some previously unpublishedscores especially dedicated to voice. The show takes the public on ajourney through the many nuances and moods of tango which is histo-rically the expression and the voice of love, life, death, passion, fateand survival in Buenos Ai-res. The Piazzolla Sextet in-cludes violinist and musicaldirector Fernando SuarezPaz who was involved withPiazzolla’s original NuevoTango Quintet since 1978.The rest of the formation ismade up of Esteban Fala-bella on guitar, NicolasGuerschberg on piano, Ho-racio Cabarcos double bass,and Marcelo Nisinman onbandoneon. On Wednesday14th at Parco della Musica,Viale P. de Coubertin. Forinformation tel. 068082058,www.santacecilia.com

Bob BrozmanRome's House of Jazz concertsdedicated to “Guitar Legends”presents an evening with BobBrozman who is acclaimed as theKing of National (or resophonic)Guitar. The National line ofmetal-bodied resonator instru-ments are the most uniquelyAmerican guitars ever made,representing America's culturalmelting pot, as well as the transi-tion from acoustic to electric gui-tars. Brozman's skill and artistryhas earned him a royal title.Concert on Friday 9th at Casa delJazz, Viale di Porta Ardeatina 55.Info tel. 06704731.

FOLK

FESTIVAL

TANGO

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Ute Lemper; left Bob Brozman

From Thursday 8th at Parco della Musica

Wednesday 14th at Parco della Musica

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Two violin virtuoso musicians bring extra lustre to the excellentseason offered by the city's Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti.

They are Stefan Milenkovich and Gidon Kremer in Rome, just a fewdays apart. Milenkovich, internationally recognized both for hisexceptional artistry and his commitment to humanitarian causes,was a child prodigy in his native Serbia, and today, only 34-years-old,is an acclaimed performer and professor of music at the JulliardSchool. In Rome he accompanies the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bel-grade conducted by Charles Olivieri Munroe. Multi-award winningviolinist Gidon Kremer, is a household name thanks to his extensiverepertoire that encompasses all of the standard classical and roman-tic violin works, as well as music by 20th century masters and to hismission to bring their music to audiences in a way that respects tra-dition yet remains contemporary. On Saturday 10th and Tuesday13th at Aula Magna, Università la Sapienza, P.le A. Moro 5, tel.063610051/2, www.concertiiuc.it

CLASSICAL MUSICMilenkovich-Kremer: great violins

Violinist Gidon Kremer

On 10th and 13th at La Sapienza University

EXHIBITIONSI BOGHESE E L’ANTICOT anks to an exceptional col-laborative effor t of the Lou-vre, the Borghese Galler ypresents the exhibition “IBorghese e l’Antico” whichgathers 60 masterpieces cur-rently belonging to the ParisMuseum. The works in que-stion were collected by theBorghese family and espe-cially by Cardinal ScipioneBorghese from the 17th cen-tury on, and although most ofthe precious collection re-mains intact and on displayin Rome, a significant sale ofclassical sculpture was madeunder duress to the Louvre in

1807. Until April 2012 atthe Borghese Gallery, Piazza-le Scipione Borghese 5. Boo-king is necessar y tel.0632810, www.ticketeria.itDAYS OF THE DINOSAURA touring interactive exhibi-tion that aims to provide vi-sitors with a first-hand expe-rience of the world of the gi-gantic animals that ownedEar th tens of millions of ye-ars ago. The exhibition fea-tures over fifty life sized di-nosaur robots, completewith moving eyes, tongueand claws, as well as skele-ton replicas and an interacti-ve area where children getto become palaeontologistsfor one day. In addition to

the great thrill of watchingdinosaurs in motion, theexhibit provides related in-formation throughout the en-tire tour. Until 18th Januarydaily from 10am at NuovaFiera di Roma, Via Por tuen-se 1645/1647. Reduced fa-mily tickets available. Tel.0665074200. For informa-t ion www.daysofthedino-saur.itROME IN CARAVAGGIO’STIMET his exhibition explores thelife and ar t of the Eternal Ci-ty during a par ticularly criti-cal time following the politi-th

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Maroon 5

ROCK

Maroon 5 is in Rome andback on the music scene

with a new album entitled“Hands All Over”. The three-time Grammy-award winningband led by Adam Levine wor-ked with acclaimed and legen-dary producer Robert "Mutt"Lange to record the albumwhich is described as very dif-ferent from Maroon 5's pre-vious albums. Here the bandreally experiments with theirsound with the result of a fan-tastic pop album. Concert onSaturday 10th at AtlanticoLive, Viale dell'Oceano Atlan-tico 271, tel. 0654220870,www.the-base.it

Thurston MooreAs the main singer and gui-

tarist for Sonic Youth, Moo-re is considered one of the pre-mier song writers of the lastfew decades of American indie.In Rome he presents his newestalbum entitled “DemolishedThoughts” produced by Beckand realised with the collabora-tion of two of his band: BramInscore and Joey Waronker asbacking musicians. Thurston’sinspirations are described as’70s-flavoured: Nick Drake,Richard Thompson and TimBuckley. Concert on Thursday8th at Parco della Musica. Tel.0680241281, www.audito-rium.comThurston Moore

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142cal and social upheavals ofthe Protestant Reformationand the effor ts of the popesto restore the power andprestige of the Cathol ic

Church. By bringing togethersome 140 paintings frommuseums and gal ler iesaround the world, the showtraces the influence of thetwo great ar tists at the turnof the XVII century, the clas-sical painter Annibale Car-racci from Bologna and the

revolutionary Ca-ravaggio fromMilan. Until Fe-bruary 5th, open10am to 7pm,closed on Mon-days, detai lsand bookings on06-32810.PIET MONDRIANThis is a majorr e t r o s p e c t i v ethat aims to co-ver the over 30years of PietMondrian’s acti-vity. More thanseventy oil pain-

tings and drawings by theDutch ar tist who is conside-red to be one of the foun-ders of abstractionism, aswell as an impor tant repre-sentative of neo-plasticism,highlight the overall coheren-ce of an ar tist whose capaci-ty for renewal and ar tisticgrowth remained constantthroughout his career. Until29th January 2012 at Com-plesso del Vittoriano, ViaSan Pietro in Carcere. For in-formation tel. 066780664.Open Monday to Thursday9.30am - 7.30pm; Fr iday

and Saturday 9.30am -11.30pm; Sunday 9.30am -8.30pm.MICHELANGELO ANDLEONARDO This exhibition at the Capitoli-ne Museums offers, for thefirst time, a chance to compa-re and contrast drawings andsketches by the two great ma-sters of the Italian Renaissan-ce, Leonardo and Michelange-lo, through some sixty of theirworks on display until Februa-ry 19th 2012. Opening hoursfrom 9am to 8pm, closed onMondays, tickets euro 6 oreuro 12 for joint entrance tothe exhibition and museums,details on 06-0608.FILIPPINO LIPPI ANDSANDRO BOTTICELLI IN15TH CENTURY FLOREN-CEThis exhibition aims to shinethe light on the approximately34 years of Lippi's career. Lip-pi was an extremely prolific ar-tist and his work ranged frompanels, to frescoes, from dra-wings on coloured paper topaintings. The works on showare from leading internationalmuseums and private collec-tions. A selection of works byBotticelli also provides the pu-blic with an oppor tunity forstylistic comparison with hismaster, his friend, and ultima-tely his rival. Until 15th Janua-ry at Scuderie del Quirinale,Via XXIV Maggio, tel.0639967500.

con la collaborazione di Linda Bordoni

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Four days of good food and wine in the beautiful ancient town ofOrvieto offer food lovers an impressive programme of promotions,

events and eno-gastronomical happenings. At its second edition,“Off” - the Orvieto Food Festival comes to life with the theme “Orvie-to nourishes the mind” in which cultural initiatives go hand in handwith good food and good wine, aiming to create a happy marriagebetween nourishment of the body and food for the brain. Thus theprogramme foresees gastronomic itineraries that touch on a selectionof restaurants, as well as concerts, workshops, tastings, recipes andinspiration. One of the off-shoots of the festival is called “Talk Off”and features lectures and encounters with a number of well-knownpersonalities such as the Chilean author Luis Sepulveda who presentshis new book, mathematician, historian and author Piergiorgio Oddiwho talks about the concept of beauty, and politician Fausto Berti-notti who answers questions by journalists. Speciality food stalls, aChristmas fair and the participation of wine producers provide a hugearray of opportunities for visitors. Festival from Thursday 8th to Sun-day 11th. Booking and information tel. 39298135127/3474442158,www.orvietofoodfestival.it

FESTIVALOrvieto Food, gastronomy and culture

Luis Sepulveda

The second edition from 8th to 11th

Helene GrimaudCelebrated as one of the

most exciting young pia-nists around, Helene Grimaud'sbiography reveals that she ise n d o w e dwith therare gift ofsynaesthe-sia, whichfor hermeans hea-ring incolour. Gri-maud reve-als that shewas a teena-ge rebelwho tamedher innerdemons bydefying herprofessorsand startinga recording career despitethem. Her Cds tend to be ‘con-cept’ albums rather than theusual conventional recipes, andcritics agree she brings a scintil-lating intelligence to every-thing she plays. Her Rome reci-tal features Mozart, Berg, Lisztand Bartok. On Friday 9th atParco della Musica. Tel.068082058, www.santacecilia.it

CLASSICAL MUSIC

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