I Concerti di Gesualdo

A chamber music festival in the village of Carlo Gesualdo

I Concerti di Gesualdo is a classical and chamber music festival held in the town of Gesualdo, in the province of Avellino, in the heart of Irpinia and inland Campania. The village's musical connection is no coincidence: this is where Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa (1566-1613), lived and composed. He was the author of some of the most daring and restless madrigals of the European Renaissance, still studied and cherished by musicians worldwide today. Bringing art music back within these walls is, first and foremost, a gesture of continuity with the town's identity.

From the 2024 debut to the 2025 second edition

The festival was born in the autumn of 2024, when three Sunday concerts at 6:00 PM brought the Church of San Nicola di Bari in Piazza Umberto I to life: guitarist Nino D'Amico, violinist Niccolò Laiso, and the Quartetto Gene inaugurated a project designed to offer the Irpinian public professional-level concerts, free of charge.

The success of that first edition led to the 2nd edition in 2025, which moved to early autumn and was hosted in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie: three Thursday appointments on September 18th, September 25th, and October 2nd, all with free admission. The common thread, as stated by the organizers, was a journey through five centuries—from the 15th to the 20th—entrusted to three different instrumental families: recorders, violins, and guitar.

Prestigious artistic direction

The value of the event lies primarily in its collaboration with the Alessandro Scarlatti Association of Naples, one of Italy's oldest and most authoritative musical institutions, active since 1919 in promoting chamber, symphonic, and contemporary music. The Neapolitan association handles the artistic direction, bringing selected performers to Gesualdo, often young musicians already established on the national circuit.

The Pro Loco of Gesualdo, the C. Gesualdo Musical High School of the Aeclanum Institute, the parish hosting the concerts, and local institutions providing patronage and support also contribute to the realization of the event. The first edition also saw collaboration from the Domenico Cimarosa Conservatory of Avellino and various local cultural associations.

Churches as concert halls

One of the most evocative aspects of the festival is the choice of venues. The historic churches of Gesualdo—San Nicola di Bari and Santa Maria delle Grazie—offer natural acoustics and an intimate atmosphere, ideal for the chamber repertoire: a violin duo or a solo guitarist finds a resonance here that no modern hall can replicate. The audience listens just a few meters from the performers, in a direct connection that is the hallmark of chamber music.

Why visit Gesualdo

• Free admission to all concerts in the editions held so far.
• Curated programs featuring Bach, Leclair, Wieniawski, Villa-Lobos, Bartók, Berio, and Renaissance composers like Ciconia, Tinctoris, and Ruffo.
• The opportunity to visit the Castle of Gesualdo, the residence of the madrigalist prince that overlooks the village, and the medieval historic center.
• An Irpinian context rich in food and wine: this is the land of Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino, and Greco di Tufo wines.

A project of cultural decentralization

I Concerti di Gesualdo are part of a valuable trend for inland Campania: bringing excellent musical programming out of the large theaters of Naples and returning it to the villages. For a town of a few thousand inhabitants, hosting performers managed by the Scarlatti Association means building an audience, involving music students, and giving visitors one more reason to head up into Irpinia on a Sunday or an autumn evening.

2026 Edition

Official dates for the 2026 edition have not yet been released: the available information refers to the 2nd edition of 2025. Those wishing to attend can follow the channels of the Pro Loco of Gesualdo and the Alessandro Scarlatti Association, where the calendar is usually announced a few weeks before the start of the festival.