On 27 October (17.30) the IUC, Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti dell'Università La Sapienza di Roma, opens its 80th season with Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony, a masterpiece that this year celebrates the 200th anniversary from its first performance.

The young tenor Paolo Mascari, fresh from his personal summer success as Quint in The Turn of the Screw (listen here), in the contemporary Bettinelli/Chailly diptych and in Verdi's Macbeth (Macduff's debut), will be part of the vocal quartet formed by Elisa Balbo, Benedetta Mazzetto and Giacomo Nanni.

Maestro Enrico Saverio Pagano, who recently made a successful debut at Rome's Teatro dell'Opera conducting Silvia Colasanti's L'ultimo viaggio di Sindbad, will conduct his Orchestra Canova.

The ensemble will be completed by the Choir of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma conducted by Mº Ciro Visco.

The Bonn composer's masterpiece will be repeated the following day, 28 October at 11.00 and 29 October at 12.00 in the Aula Magna of La Sapienza.

Beethoven's tour continues on 22nd and 23rd November at the Teatro dei Rinnovati in Siena (20.30) for the opening of the Micat in vertice season of the Accademia Chigiana di Siena and at the Auditorium San Domenico in Foligno (20.30) for the season of the Amici della Musica di Foligno.

For these two concerts, the Canova Orchestra will be joined by the Siena Cathedral Choir conducted by Mº Lorenzo Donati.