Musician, conductor and composer Giovanni Allevi charmed the public at the Festival Station of Expo 2025 Osaka presenting the world premiere of Nostalgia, an adagio from his new Mm22 concerto for cello and orchestra.
    The performance is part of events dedicated to Allevi's native Marche region, the Italy Pavilion's protagonist this week.
    'Nostalgia' was released on Monday, June 2, exactly three years after a concert in Vienna during which the artist was unable to get up from a stool to thank the cheering public.
    Two weeks later, he discovered he had multiple myeloma, a disease that forced him to stop performing in public for a long time.
    However, it did not prevent him from returning Monday to a land he loves and with which he has a deep connection - a country where he has returned after his first concert in Tokyo in 2008, before he was sidelined by illness.
    "I was 17 and I was into classical music, into Beethoven and Chopin", recalled Allevi.
    "One day, the notes of my first ever composition got into my mind and I called it Japan", he explained, noting the reason behind the name remains a "mystery" although it was probably due to a "fate that had already been sealed".
    And it is "no coincidence" that Allevi was born in the Marche region, specifically in Ascoli Piceno, "where there is a territory, an environment, a familiar context designed by a tradition present in our territory", said Marche's Economic Development Councillor Andrea Maria Antonini.
    In addition to Allevi, the event was also attended by Iginio Straffi, the founder and president of Rainbow Spa and the creator of Winx, Marche's world-renowned animated television series.
    Indeed Antonini said the region is "a vehicle through which our creators also want to become known here in Japan".
    And the fact that Allevi isn't only an artist but also a philosopher, a writer and an intellectual "is similar to what we are describing at the Italy Pavilion", stressed Ambassador Mario Vattani, the Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka, "this comprehensive vision which we are bringing to Japan".
    "We are proud of the choice to involve regions in our presentation of Italy, of our nation - showcasing this variety, this cultural richness that comes from our territories", added Vattani.
    Regions "enliven our pavilion each week and bring new topics", stressed the commissioner general.
    During the meeting, participants were deeply moved when Allevi completed the drawing of the Daruma doll, which represented his desire to return to Japan.
    "It embodies a desire that has finally come true", explained the Marche native: "An eye had already been designed.
    "When a desire comes true, it is necessary to draw the other eye to close the circle.
    "With the greatest happiness in my heart, I will now draw the second", concluded an emotional Allevi.
    The Marche-born composer will once again be the protagonist of four concerts.
    The events will be held in Rome on June 20, Taormina on July 4, Venice on July 8 and Florence on July 19.

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