The Marranzano World Fest (MWF) reaches its 10th edition in 2019 and confirms itself as a reference point for a broad and diverse cultural context where ethnomusicological research intersects with musical practice, and the dissemination and preservation of the oral musical heritage. The project, conceived and directed by the Catania-based musician and ethnomusicologist Luca Recupero in collaboration with the MoMu Mondo di Musica Association, is produced by the Associazione Musicale Etnea (AME), a historic concert institution in Catania, in collaboration with the University of Catania, which will host the next edition from June 20 to 23 in the splendid setting of the Benedictine Monastery.
The festival was born in 2005 with the need to rediscover and enhance the traditional musical heritage of the Sicilian territory through a fruitful comparison with musical cultures from around the world. After investigating the various vocal and instrumental traditions in previous editions, for the 10th edition, it allows itself a small and partial retrospective by inviting again to Catania some of the guests who have characterized the history of the festival, including the extraordinary and virtuoso musicians Glen Velez (USA), Tran Quang Hai (Vietnam), and Aron Szilagyi (Hungary). It also dedicates a specific focus to the musical cultures of nomadic populations, with the participation of representatives from Tuareg cultures of the Sahara, Kalbeliya of Rajasthan, and Roma from Campania.

The enhancement of traditional Sicilian music remains strongly at the center of attention thanks to the participation of renowned musicians and researchers such as Fabio Tricomi, Matilde Politi, Simona Di Gregorio, Maura Guerrera and the presentation of Jacarànda, an ensemble of young musicians directed by Puccio Castrogiovanni, which well represents the spirit of MWF, traceable to Gustav Mahler’s famous statement that “tradition is the custodian of the fire and not the worship of ashes.”
This year, the festival provides another opportunity for the meeting of diverse cultures through the premiere of the collaboration between the Tuareg desert blues band Terakaft and Sicilian blues artist Cesare Basile.
In addition to concerts, MWF offers the chance to deepen knowledge of musical cultures through the traditional opening lecture-concert and a rich workshop program that has always characterized the festival, providing the local and international audience with unique opportunities to connect with extraordinary virtuosos and bearers of musical traditions from Sicily and around the world.
The study and enhancement of oral tradition music in Sicily are inseparable from our commitment to multicultural integration and environmental conservation. We believe that music, singing, and dancing provide an ideal ground for fostering a new human ecology in which the appreciation of diversity and equal dignity of all cultures is combined with the protection of the natural environment. Thanks to the collaboration of numerous partners, MWF has finally become a PLASTIC-FREE event, incorporating the promotion of eco-friendly practices to be adopted at an individual and collective level among its goals.

Artists

Opening

Festival

Contacts

Infos about Festival
and parallel activities:
info@marranzanoworldfest.org

Artistic production e direction
MoMu Mondo di Musica
info@mondodimusica.it
www.mondodimusica.it

Esecutive production and administration
Associazione Musicale Etnea
info@ame.ct.it
www.ame.ct.it