Paolo Penko creates the first “orchestra set” for Beatrice Venezi

The jewel is inspired by the Dome of the Florence Cathedral

The work will go to Beatrice Venezi and was created for the launch event of “Musica in Giro”.

It is the first jewelled conductor’s baton to be custom-made by a master goldsmith. It was made for the conductor Beatrice Venezi by the Florentine Paolo Penko on the occasion of the launch event of “Musica in Giro”, scheduled for Saturday 1 August behind closed doors at the Teatro Verdi (8.15 pm).

Classical music will be the protagonist, thanks to the artistic direction and conducting of Beatrice Venezi, one of the few women in the world to conduct orchestras at an international level.

Beatrice Venezi has distinguished herself for her professionalism and innovative capacity, from Italy to Japan, from Belarus to Portugal, from Lebanon to Canada and Argentina. During the event, the conductor will perform her first album ‘My journey – Puccini’s Symphonic Works’ and will conduct the Orchestra della Toscana, the same orchestra with which she made her album.

The notes from the Teatro Verdi will be transmitted, in audio streaming, on two Cricket PE30s, electric vehicles with a professional audio broadcasting set-up on board, which will make two separate journeys in some streets of Florence.

The wand (weighing 35 grams and 35 centimetres long) has a handmade silver handle, the surface of which is embellished with the penkato technique. The handle is made up of two parts, the lower one recalling Brunelleschi’s dome with its eight segments.

 The presbytery of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the dome above it repeat the octagonal plan of the Baptistery, a symbol of resurrection and eternity according to Christian tradition.

This symbolism is further emphasised by the dome’s thrust towards the sky. The number eight is also repeated in the bezel that closes the segments and holds a Moonstone, with reflections that recall the light of the night star.

The upper part of the handle is inspired by the night sky, whose stars are represented with fourteen sapphires from Siam. The sapphire is the precious stone par excellence, a symbol of the sky, of the spirit, of trust and friendship,” says Paolo Penko. “Dante Alighieri himself mentions the sapphire in the Divine Comedy (first canto of the Purgatory), comparing the colour of the sky to the precious stone. Moreover, the number of sapphires, fourteen, which in numerology means harmony and balance, here takes on the particular meaning of “two times seven”, thus representing the musical notes that harmonise to compose music. This “jewelled baton” is completed with its parure in the earrings and the pendant that repeat the octagonal moonstone bezel,” continues the master goldsmith.

This particular combination of bezel and moonstone and the penkato workmanship are a further reference to the city of Florence and its Cathedral, since they also embellish “Il Fiorentino”, a chalice I made in 2018 and which has become part of the liturgical furnishings of the Cathedral”.

Over the years, Maestro Paolo Penko has made awards and recognitions for famous conductors and musicians. Among them: Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Bruno Bartoletti, Riccardo Muti, Carlo Ponti Jr, James Conlon, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Baremboim, Andrea Bocelli, Roberto Bolle, Lang Lang, Umberto Clerici, Uto Ughi, Placido Domingo.