The Arts - Venice and the Veneto - page 591

(1671-1750), especially the exquisite Sinfonie e Concerti a 5 . For a more avant-garde
take on classical music, look for works by Bruno Maderna (1920-73) or Luigi Nono
(1924-90).
Leggera & Jazz
Most of the music you'll hear booming out of water taxis and bacari (bars) is musica leg-
gera ('light' or pop music). This term covers Italian rock, jazz, folk and hip-hop talents,
plus perniciously catchy dance tunes and pop ballads. The San Remo Music Festival (tele-
vised on RAI 1) annually honours Italy's best songs and mercifully weeds out the worst
early on, unlike the wildly popular Italian version of X Factor . In summer, beach-front
battles of the bands on the Lido and free concerts on Lido di Jesolo by the likes of Franz
Ferdinand will keep you guessing what's next.
Besides Italian and international radio-ready fare and the odd reality-show winner,
Venice has an indie music scene performing jazz, reggae and ska. Venice Jazz Club fea-
tures tribute nights year-round, and during July's Venice Jazz Festival, you may luck into
a performance by Venetian saxophonist and composer Giannantonio De Vincenzo or
Venetian trumpeter-musicologist Massimo Donà. With a natural affinity for island music,
Venice grooves to Italian-accented reggae and ska - especially at free summer beach con-
certs on the Lido, and retro reggae-on-vinyl DJ nights at Torino@Notte.