Italy is marking the 80th anniversary of one of the most horrific World War II massacres in German-occupied Italy
Italy on Sunday marked the 80th anniversary of one of the most horrific World War II massacres in German-occupied Italy with solemn commemorations and a performance of a symphony honoring the dead.
Riccardo Muti was conducting the Italian premiere of William Schuman’s Ninth Symphony, subtitled “Le Fosse Ardeatine,” which the New York-born Jewish composer wrote in 1968 after visiting the Ardeatine Caves in Rome.
There, on March 24, 1944, 335 people were shot to death as a reprisal for an attack by partisans that killed 33 Nazi soldiers on a street in Rome.
In an interview ahead of the performance, Muti said Schuman was completely overwhelmed by the experience of visiting the caves and said it was particularly appropriate now to finally bring the symphony to Italy.
