Italian patron of the arts, patron of academic music. He graduated from the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence. Having inherited the family fortune in 1906, he took up the organization of musical life in his hometown. Already in 1907, the Siena Quintet was established, performing charity concerts. After the First World War, in which Count Chigi participated as a volunteer, he undertook the reconstruction of his palace, as a result of which a concert hall was built on the site of the ballroom. On November 22, 1923, the first concert in the cycle of concerts, which is still held annually, took place in this hall. In 1932, the annual master classes of outstanding musicians began to be held at the Kigi Palace. Among the world-class masters who taught at Chigi were Pablo Casals, Arrigo Serato, Sergiu Celibidake, George Enescu, Andres Segovia, Alfred Cortot, Jacques Thibault, Nathan Milstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Herman Scherchen, Andre Navarra, Guido Agosti and many others. In 1961, Count Chigi completely placed the palace at the disposal of musicians, thanks to which regular master classes were transformed into a permanent Chigi Music Academy.
-1932-br-405-av_70x70_45b.png)
