Paolo Ehrenheim: Sursum Corda! - Gregorian Echoes from Romanticism to the present day

How can a chant born over a thousand years ago span the centuries and continue to inspire composers of every era?

This event presents Sursum Corda! – Gregorian Echoes from Romanticism to the Present Day, a new national piano tour conceived by Paolo Ehrenheim in collaboration with the Bartolomeo Cristofori International Piano Festival, supported by the MiC (Ministry of Culture) and SIAE under the “Per Chi Crea” program.

It is a musical journey that—through works by Liszt, Respighi, Satie, Brahms, and Crumb, alongside two new compositions by Carmen Fizzarotti and Francesco Mariotti—explores how Gregorian chant has traversed the history of music, transforming into an inexhaustible source of creative inspiration.

The event will offer the audience a behind-the-scenes look at the project and include the world premiere of a new composition commissioned for Sursum Corda!, previewing the tour that will bring this artistic journey to major Italian concert institutions.

Program:

Part I

• Erik Satie — Ogive No. 1
• Ottorino Respighi — Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies
• Carmen Fizzarotti — O frondens virga – sicut aurora procedit (2026, commissioned by the

Sursum Corda! project)

• Franz Liszt — “Vision” from Études d’exécution transcendante, S. 139

Part II

• Erik Satie — Ogive No. 4
• Franz Liszt — “Sursum Corda” from Années de pèlerinage: Troisième Année, S. 163
• Francesco Mariotti — Sequentia (2026, commissioned by the

Sursum Corda! project)

• Johannes Brahms — Intermezzo Op. 118 No. 6
• George Crumb — A Prophecy of Nostradamus from Makrokosmos
• Franz Liszt — Totentanz, S. 525

Event organized with the support of MiC and SIAE, as part of the “Per Chi Crea” program.

Paolo Ehrenheim is an Italian pianist whose artistic work is distinguished by recitals conceived as cohesive journeys; in these performances, the works engage in a dialogue through historical, symbolic, and expressive connections, guiding the listener into a shared musical universe. He began his piano studies with Lisa Vergani and trained at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Milan under Luca Schieppati, completing both his undergraduate and master’s-level studies with top marks, honors, and a special mention. He is currently pursuing a Level II Master’s degree (“Play & Rec”) at the “F. Venezze” Conservatory in Rovigo and is refining his skills with Elisso Virsaladze at the Fiesole School of Music and with Maurizio Baglini. He has performed as a soloist at major festivals and concert halls in Italy and abroad, including Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Teatro Palladium in Rome (with the Roma Tre Orchestra), the Quirinale Palace (for Rai Radio 3 concerts), Teatro Sociale in Como, Teatro Verdi in Pisa, the La Scala Theatre Museum in Milan, and the Sala Maffeiana at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona. He has collaborated with numerous orchestras, including the Roma Tre Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonia Veneta, Orchestra Sinfonica dei Colli Morenici, and I Solisti di Milano Classica. In 2026, he released his debut CD, Schumann-Haus, 1853, on the Aulicus Classics label; the album is dedicated to the artistic dialogue between Robert Schumann, Clara Wieck-Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. A winner of numerous national and international piano competitions, he has received awards at the Premio Venezia (2024), the Premio Brunelli (2026), and the “Giuseppe Martucci” International Competition (2021), among others. Alongside his solo career, he devotes significant attention to chamber music, collaborating with various ensembles and regularly participating in festivals and concert series.