Today began with an outing to Trieste for about 2/3 of IMFA. Last week, Stefano took us to the outside of the Risiera di San Sabba, a former rice processing complex south of the city center that was later used by the Nazis as Italy’s sole concentration camp. This was my first visit to such a place, and of course, it was haunting and deeply sorrowful to visit. It feels a little strange to share lots of photos of this place, so I’ll just post a photo of the main entrance and a wall of remembrance on the inside (the concrete walls are the work of an architect that helped convert the site to a museum; the brick structures are part of the original risiera).

The entrance to the Risiera di San Sabba.

The wall of remembrance.

After our visit, we spent a little time in central Trieste to have lunch and explore a little, then we headed back to Duino for rehearsals. This evening, we added a concert to the festival schedule, as we have two ambitious chamber ensembles that learned complete works: the Brahms string sextet in Bb and Dvorak’s piano quartet in Eb. It was thrilling to hear such impassioned and polished performances that have evolved in just three weeks. Below is one movement from the Dvorak. More pictures and musical moments from our final concerts will be coming soon!