A University in Music

Music took centre stage at the event held on 19 May in the Aula Magna of Politecnico di Torino—music that brings people together, inspires, and blends seamlessly with the youthful energy of the University community. Bringing to a close the rich Spring 2024/2025 Programme of Polincontri Musica, promoted by Fortissimo PoliTO, the event welcomed all music lovers, from classical and pop to rock enthusiasts. It was a celebration without boundaries, bringing together in a single venue every genre, style and expression of that universal language we call music.

Students from across the University took to the Aula Magna stage to share their musical talents.Piano performances included Pietro Viero, who played Back to Life by Giovanni Allevi; Mattia Di Campli, performing Mendelssohn’s Venetian Boat Songs Op. 30 No. 6 and Op. 19 No. 6; Akin Aydemir, with the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata; Chgan Tolga Afadjan, performing Scarlatti’s Sonata K.466 and Chopin’s Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1; Dario Di Gregorio, with his own composition Fantasia; Lorenzo Giammarini, performing selections from Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24; Serena Ficili, with Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 and Schubert’s Serenade, S.560 No. 7; Alessandro Navone, performing excerpts from Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque; Lorenzo Lattore, with Brahms’ Rhapsody No. 2 in G Minor and Schumann’s Träumerei; Pierfrancesco Maria Settimi, performing Rachmaninoff’s Étude-Tableaux Op. 33 No. 8 alongside Morricone’s Playing Love; Ionut Ovidiu Vrabie, with Chopin’s Valse brillante Op. 34 No. 1 and Nocturne No. 20; Edoardo Villari, performing Brahms’ Rhapsody in G Minor Op. 79 No. 2 and Mendelssohn’s Prelude in B Minor Op. 104a No. 2; Lorenzo Maria Aronne, with his own composition Urbes Cordis – II. Torino and Schumann’s Waldszenen – Vogel als Prophet; and Anna Giulia Alvandi, who performed Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G Minor and Kapustin’s Concert Etude Op. 40 No. 2 “Reverie”.

Voice and instrument came together in performances by Negar Varshochi, who accompanied herself on guitar in Rises the Moon and I Wish You Love, and by Mattia Monaco and Carmelo Pennisi, who combined piano and voice in performances of a pop medley and Noemi’s Se ti innamori muori. The audience was also captivated by Ali Rahmatpour, whose performance on the setar, a traditional Iranian string instrument similar to a lute, offered a fascinating glimpse into Persian musical traditions through Improvisation in Iranian.

The human voice took centre stage once again with the PoliEtnico Choir. Virgilio Savona performed Il cammello e il dromedario, arranged by Benedetta Nofri, while Hans Christian Jochimsen sang Lord Hold Me. The choir also performed An Irish Blessing, arranged by James E. Moore Jr., and Amezaliwa, arranged by Edwardi Kabuka.

The evening concluded with performances by the student bands Still Settling, Team PoliTek, and Yellow Sweet Little Robots. Still Settling—featuring Matteo Silvatici (keyboard), Martina Canfora (vocals), Sergio Princivalle (drums), Lorenzo Russo (electric guitar), and Pasquale Prencipe (guitar)—performed House of the Rising Sun and All-American Bitch. Team PoliTek, made up of Angelo Tedesco (drum machine), Filippo Vignoli (electric guitar), Leonardo Donvito (synthesizers and sampler), and Federica Spataro (vocals), presented a set of electronic music. Yellow Sweet Little Robots—featuring Emanuela Pecorella (vocals), Mauro Martini (guitar), Alessandro Navone (piano), Luigi Mazzara (bass), and Simone Angarano (drums)—closed the event with Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers and La mia banda suona il rock by Ivano Fossati.