In the Artists Rooms, formerly a concert hall dedicated to Prospero Gianferrari, a notable figure in Trento’s history as a “podestà” (chief magistrate), three magnificent oil paintings grace the space. The largest painting measures 143 x 380 cm, while the two smaller ones measure 143 x 163 cm each. These remarkable artworks depict enchanting landscapes.

In 2009, the Filarmonica generously funded a complete restoration of these paintings, which had remained unsigned. Created by the renowned Emilian painter Luigi Casalis (1805-1887) in 1857, they were initially intended to adorn the “Caffè Scuro sotto Broletto,” a historic coffee bar known as the “Swiss” in Reggio Emilia. However, they were later removed from their original location, as evidenced by contemporaneous photographs.

These remarkable artworks resurfaced in 1959 during an exhibition on 19th-century mural paintings in Reggio. At the time, they belonged to an anonymous art collector from Milan. In 1979, thanks to the generosity of Maestro Vincenzo Gianferrari’s daughter, Professor Luisa Gianferrari, who held the distinction of being the first professor of human genetics in Italy, the paintings were donated to the Filarmonica. However, the condition of the donation stipulated that the room where they would be exhibited must bear the name of her brother, Prospero Gianferrari.

The management of this donation in Trento was entrusted to Engineer Dolzani, who had always been closely associated with the Filarmonica.

Together with Casalis’ three landscapes, the Gianferrari family donated 5 medallions in “chiaroscuro”, not signed and attributed to either Antonio Fontanesi or Casali Bassi. Valuable and refined, waiting for a closer examination of their origin, they are exhibited in the upper Artists Room. 

Eugenio Prati, Portrait of Mozart, approx. 1900. Exhibited in the upper Artists Room.

The illustrious painter Eugenio Prati from di Caldonazzo (1842-1907) particularly loved music which he practiced with friends like the composer and philharmonic Raffaello Lazzari. During his life he met with artists like Giacomo Puccini or singers like Enrico Caruso. When the Filarmonica decided, in 1905, to build its Palazzo in via Verdi, Prati donated his Portrait of Mozart painted in early 1900.
Eugenio Prati died suddenly in Caldonazzo on the 8th of March 1907. Struck by his unexpected departure and as a sign of a profound friendship, the President of the Filarmonica Carlo Chiappani immediately promoted the institution of a committee to honor the maestro and organized a first posthumous exhibition.

The painting has recently been exhibited at the Mozart Exhibition “Notes of a travel in treble clef” in Riva del Garda in 2006.

Dario Wolf, Saint Cecily. Original etching in steel, 24/100. In the Filarmonica thanks to a donation of the artist. Dario Wolf  (Trento 1901 – 1971) is considered as one of the most important Italian etchers of the 20th century.

Mario Pevarello (Trento 1910 – 2005) was a versatile artistic figure, a prominent presence in the city’s cultural life throughout the 20th century. As a painter, poet, and violinist, he used art to view life with a touch of irony, even during the challenging moments of World War II when he was held captive by the Germans. He strolled through the city with an always elegant gait, sporting an artist’s beret and bowtie. Born to a barber, he began attending the Music Lyceum of the Filarmonica at the age of twelve, studying the violin and playing in the orchestra under the direction of Antonio Pedrotti. Alongside Remo Wolf and Bruno Colorio, he wielded a paintbrush, creating small watercolors and graphics displayed in various exhibitions.

In the 1950s, following the terrible ordeal of the Second World War, he embarked on his renowned voyages: 73 journeys on the great ocean liners, playing the violin and pursuing his passion for painting. These journeys served as a window to the world, chronicled in poems and represented in his figurative artworks, vibrant watercolors brimming with crowds and cities! Upon his return to Trento, he worked as a critic for newspapers, reviewing the concert seasons of the Filarmonica and preparing his own exhibitions, which were also showcased in Paris, New York, and Tokyo.

After his death, as a tribute to his enduring connection with the Trento Philharmonic Society and his love for music, his family decided to donate a large painting (90 x 120 cm) titled “Enchantment of the Grand Orchestras.” Among the depicted musicians, Mario Pevarello is seated at the violin stand.

Framed watercolors dedicated to the various section of an orchestra, arrived in Filarmonica through a donation by the music professor and singer Giovanna Bolner – a Beccara, a member and season ticketholder of the Filarmonica.

Vittorio Lucchi (Roncone, 1905 – 1980?) was an Italian painter, set- and costume designer, cartoonist and illustrator active in various prose and lyrical music theatres. He was rewarded for his artistic activities in 1967 with the “Isola d’Oro” premium in the city of Vico Equense.

Born in Roncone (Trentino) on November, 23 1905 he worked throughout Italy, mainly in the field of theater music. Amongst his works to be remembered is the collaboration in 1952/53 with the “Piccolo” Theatre in Milan where he produced a series of sketches that are still kept in the theatre’s archives. In 1970 he signed the design of set and costumes of: LSD, Lesi, Scusi, Divorzierebbe a piece of Carlo Maria Pensa with music by Mario Nascimbene, and the C.I.S. theater company directed by Anton Giulio Majano with Alida Valli (Florence, Teatro Della Pergola, 28 gennaio 1970). Other watercolors show his professional commitment to theatre shows for children.

Orchestra in Murano glass

Engineer Luigi Pagnacco from Venice, but a long-time resident of Trento, was an avid collector of records and CDs and a regular attendee of the concert hall at the Filarmonica di Trento. On the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of the Society’s Foundation (1795-1995), he generously donated to the Filarmonica a valuable miniature reproduction of a symphony orchestra made of pure Murano glass.