The Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali (literally, the Musical Afternoon Orchestra) is an Italian orchestra resident in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, at the Teatro Dal Verme. It was founded in the period immediately after the Second World War by the theatre promoter

Remigio Paone Remigio Paone (1899–1977) was an Italian journalist, theatre producer and director. During the 1920s he was an associate of Luigi Pirandello, and took over the management of Sem Benelli's acting company when it was close to financial collapse. ...

and the music critic Fredinando Ballo, and its debut performance was on 27 November at the Teatro Nuovo di Milano. In its early days it made a substantial contribution to popularising works by 20th century composers who had been banned under the Italian fascist regime, including

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

and Copland. Composers such as Honegger and Hindemith have conducted the orchestra as guests, as have some of the most famous conductors of the later 20th century, such as

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

and

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

. The orchestra performs primarily in Milan and other cities in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, though it has also toured more widely. It has made a wide variety of recordings, many of them of works by Italian composers of a wide range of periods. The orchestra is governed through a foundation of the same name, which has representation of the Lombardy Region and the city and province of Milan as well as private bodies.

Sources

Programme notes from a concert in the Festival di Bellagio e del Lago di Como, 26 July 2014

References

External links

Official website of the orchestra
Italian orchestras Chamber orchestras Musical groups from Milan Musical groups established in 1945 1945 establishments in Italy {{Orchestra-stub