On the occasion of the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, on Friday, August 1st, the ensemble Ichos Percussion will perform the world premiere of a new composition by Arnaldo De Felice: Il suono del calore – Fire, Water, Earth, Air, su testo di Antonello Mordeglia. The performance will take place at the Italian Pavilion.
This chamber opera in concert form is scored for soprano, oboe, Q-ONE (a digitally controlled electric furnace for steel fusion, developed by Danieli Automation), piano, and percussion ensemble. The work originates from a broader artistic and conceptual reflection on the relationship between elements and matter. A visit to the Shinkansai steelworks in Osaka provided De Felice with the initial spark for shaping the dramatic structure of the composition. Fire as light and transformation, water as memory, earth as body, and air as freedom: these are the four thematic pillars around which the work unfolds, weaving together poetic images and soundscapes.
The performance brings together musicians with longstanding experience in contemporary music. Soprano Sabine von Walther regularly appears at venues such as Teatro alla Scala, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and the Bayerische Staatsoper. She will be joined by Giulio Garbin, a pianist with an extensive chamber music background, and by Arnaldo De Felice himself, in the dual role of composer and oboist, already awarded at the Munich State Opera and frequently invited to perform at international institutions.
The performance will be conducted by Gianmaria Romanenghi, percussionist, educator, and a long-time advocate for ensemble music.
Among the featured performers is Ichos Percussion, represented by Mimesis Artist Management. Active in major festivals across Italy and abroad, the group typically consists of five members but will appear on this occasion in an extended seven-player formation: Luca Vanoli, Francesco Marciano, Giorgio Calvo, Fabio Zuliani, Francesco Bodini, Luca Cassini, and Max Calanducci — a setup that reflects the rich structural and timbral complexity of the work.
The participation in Expo 2025 is part of a wider cultural program that emphasizes the interdisciplinary and international dimensions of the arts. Il suono del calore is included in the official Expo calendar as a contribution that merges music with contemporary thought, offering an artistic perspective on the transformations of our time.
