Roberto Cappello piano recital in Oppido Mamertina, 19 December 2026: Schubert and Chopin

Teatro Comunale di Oppido Mamertina · Oppido Mamertina, Costa Viola, Calabria

19 December 2026

On Saturday 19 December 2026 at 6:30 pm pianist Roberto Cappello plays the Teatro Comunale of Oppido Mamertina, on Via Cavour, as part of Synergia 51, the season of the Amici della Musica «Nicola Antonio Manfroce» association of Palmi with AMA Calabria. The programme pairs two sonatas in B flat: Franz Schubert's Sonata in B flat major D. 960, the last he wrote, in September 1828, and Fryderyk Chopin's Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor op. 35, the one with the Funeral March. Born in Campi Salentina in 1951, Cappello won first prize at the Busoni Competition in 1976. Tickets cost €5, or €15 including the return shuttle from Palmi; buy them on diyticket.it or on 060406, or book via WhatsApp on +39 379 154 4782.

The recital: Schubert and Chopin, Saturday 19 December at 6:30 pm

The concert on Saturday 19 December 2026 starts at 6:30 pm at the Teatro Comunale of Oppido Mamertina, on Via Cavour, and is a solo piano recital devoted entirely to two 19th-century composers. In the first half Roberto Cappello plays Franz Schubert's Sonata in B flat major D. 960, the Viennese composer's last piano sonata, in four movements. After it comes Fryderyk Chopin's Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor op. 35, famous for its Funeral March.

The Amici della Musica programme sums the evening up in one line: «Festeggiamo 50 anni di concerti insieme!», let's celebrate 50 years of concerts together. The AMA Calabria listing on the regional portal Calabria Straordinaria presents it as Cappello's return to Calabria, with two sonatas of great expressive intensity and interpretive difficulty.

Roberto Cappello, from the 1976 Busoni prize to the Amici della Musica's fiftieth

Roberto Cappello was born in 1951 in Campi Salentina, in the province of Lecce. He began studying piano and violin with his father and made his public debut at six at the Konzerthaus in Vienna; in 1974 he graduated from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome under Rodolfo Caporali. After the «Città di Senigallia» and Barcelona's «Maria Canals» competitions in 1974 and the national competition in Treviso in 1975, in 1976 he won first prize at the «Ferruccio Busoni» Piano Competition in Bolzano, a prize no Italian pianist had taken in twenty-five years.

He has played at the Besançon, Spoleto, Stresa, Bergamo and Husum festivals and toured Australia, Britain, the United States and Japan; his recordings include the complete Schubert songs transcribed by Liszt. He taught principal piano at the «Arrigo Boito» Conservatory in Parma.

Two sonatas in B flat: late Schubert and Chopin's Funeral March

Schubert finished the Sonata D. 960 in September 1828, about six weeks before he died on 19 November, aged 31. It is the last of three sonatas (D. 958, 959 and 960) written that year and published only about ten years later by the Viennese publisher Diabelli, who dedicated it to Robert Schumann because Hummel, Schubert's intended dedicatee, had died. Of the four movements (Molto moderato, Andante sostenuto, Scherzo and Allegro ma non troppo) the first sets the tone, with a dark trill in the bass that unsettles a calm theme.

Chopin completed the Sonata op. 35 in summer 1839 at Nohant, around a Funeral March written around 1837; it came out in 1840. The finale is a very short Presto in hushed octaves. Schumann called the work «four of his maddest children under the same roof». The March was played at Chopin's burial in 1849 and at the state funerals of Kennedy, Churchill and Elizabeth II.

The evening within Synergia 51 and the Amici della Musica's fifty years

The recital is the sixth of the seven shows of Synergia 51, the season of the Amici della Musica «Nicola Antonio Manfroce» association of Palmi with AMA Calabria, the A.I.D.A. project and the Municipality of Oppido Mamertina. In autumn 2025 the association celebrated fifty years since its founding, «October 1975 – October 2025», with a line-up that included Roberto Cappello: on 18 October 2025 he played music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and Gershwin. For his return the 2026 programme writes «Let's celebrate 50 years of concerts together!».

The full calendar is on the page of the Synergia 51 season in Oppido Mamertina. Two weeks earlier, on Saturday 5 December, come the guitars of Locura de Guitarras; on Monday 28 December the season closes with the gospel and soul of The Soul of Christmas.

Tickets, bookings and the shuttle from Palmi

A ticket for the recital costs €5, or €15 including the return transfer from Palmi. The season price list also includes a pass for all seven shows (€25, or €50 with transfer), but it is valid for the whole season, which began on 24 October. Tickets can be bought online on diyticket.it or by phone on 060406, by credit card or through the Money circuit.

If you prefer to book, message +39 379 154 4782 on WhatsApp or email prenotazioni@amicimusicapalmi.it; teachers using the Carta del docente attach a copy of the request they submitted. Requests are handled every day by 8 pm and seats are assigned only once paid, by bank transfer or in cash at the box office on the evening of the concert. For the shuttle from Palmi, ask the same number for times and departure point.

Palmi and Oppido: one diocese, a closed theatre, a shuttle

Palmi and Oppido Mamertina belong to the same diocese, Oppido Mamertina-Palmi, whose seat is in Oppido: the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is its mother church, and Maria Santissima Annunziata is patron of both the town and the diocese. The bishopric of Oppido is very old: the earliest document recording it is a deed from 1044.

In Palmi the season used to be held between the Casa della Cultura «Leonida Repaci» and the municipal theatre named after Nicola Antonio Manfroce, the composer the association is also named after; in November 2025 the orchestra of the Vibo Valentia Conservatory performed some of his rediscovered and revised works. After part of the Manfroce's false ceiling gave way on 1 February 2026, the concerts moved to Oppido with a shuttle: the transfer from Palmi is included in the €15 ticket and the €50 pass; times and departure point on +39 379 154 4782.

Frequently asked questions

When does Roberto Cappello play in Oppido Mamertina?

On Saturday 19 December 2026 at 6:30 pm, at the Teatro Comunale of Oppido Mamertina on Via Cavour.

What is on the programme?

Franz Schubert's Sonata in B flat major D. 960 and Fryderyk Chopin's Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor op. 35, the one with the Funeral March.

Who is Roberto Cappello?

A pianist born in Campi Salentina in 1951 who won first prize at the Busoni Competition in Bolzano in 1976. He taught principal piano at the «Arrigo Boito» Conservatory in Parma.

What is the link with the Amici della Musica's 50 years?

Cappello was in the line-up with which the Palmi association celebrated fifty years since its founding in 2025, with a concert on 18 October. The 2026 programme introduces his recital with «Let's celebrate 50 years of concerts together!».

How much is a ticket?

€5, or €15 including the return transfer from Palmi.

How do I book?

Via WhatsApp on +39 379 154 4782 or at prenotazioni@amicimusicapalmi.it, then pay by bank transfer or in cash at the box office. Tickets are also sold online on diyticket.it or on 060406.

Is there a shuttle from Palmi to Oppido Mamertina?

Yes, the return transfer is included in the €15 ticket. Ask for the departure point and time on +39 379 154 4782.

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