PRACTICE. HAVE FUN. PLAY.

Francesco Negroni

Viola

Biography

Roberto Laneri

Overtone Singing

Biography

Jazz and free-music. Plays in various groups with Bruno Tommaso, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Mario Schiano, Marcello Melis, Franco Tonani (’65 – ’68). Plays with Frederic Rzewski e Cornelius Cardew at the Metamusik-Berlin ‘ 72

In the U.S.: Founds the JAZZ IN PROGRESS ORCHESTRA – Creative Associate with the Center for the Creative e Performing Arts (a group of young musicians highly specialized in contenporary music directed by Lejaren Hiller and Lucas Foss). Evenings for New Music (’70 – ’72), in New York, Carnegie Recital Hall and all over NY State. Member of the SEM Ensemble directed by Petr Kotick, participates in various European tours (European première of John Cage’s SONGBOOKS in Cologne and Berlin, for Cage’s 60th birthday (’71 – ’72). Composer in residence with the Company of Man, directed by Graham Smith e Cristyne Lawson: production of Black Ivory, a ballet inspired by Genet, for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s 10th anniversary (’72). Plays for the Monday Evening Concerts series, Los Angeles (’72). Premières of several works dedicated to him by contemporary composers (George Perle dedicates to him the Sonata Quasi una Fantasia for clarinet and piano). His compositions are published by Media Press (Entropic Islands, L’Arte del Violino) and Seesaw Corporation (Esorcismi n. 1). In ’72 starts working on the musics of extra-european musical cultures and specifically vocal tecniques: founding member of EVT (Extended Vocal Techniques), a project within the Center for Music Experiment, UCSD, in ’73 founds PRIMA MATERIA, a vocal improvisation group (see voice/Overtone singing) active until 1980, which makes use of vocal techniques from central Asia and e Tibet, in long fascinating and intense improvisations. The group’s debut takes place at the Autunno Musicale di Como (‘73), and for 7 years partecipates in prestigious events, to great public and critic recognition. A parallel activity of lectures, articles and workshops in overtone singing over the world starts at the same time. Now Roberto Laneri performs in solo recitals and a great variety of musical situations, mostly playing his own music.

Georgy Gusev

Cello

Biography

“Amazed by his talent, musicality and technique! Georgy is a rare example of a musician who manages to connect knowledge and respect for musical tradition with his own creativity and gorgeous talent.”

– Mstislav Rostropovich

Georgy Gusev is a graduate of the famed Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He performs at major music festivals and events worldwide with other musicians, singers, dancers, and performers including but not limited to Yo-Yo Ma, Natalia Gutman, Giovanni Sollima, Enrico Dindo, Rocco Filippini, Monika Leskovar, Andrey Gavrilov, Boris Andrianov, Eliso Virsaladze, Pavel Vernikov, Sonig Tchakerian, Elsa Lila, Simona Filippone, and Dilnaz Akhmadieva. Georgy has worked with several multi-Grammy Award & Academy Award winning composers, producers, and performers such as Randy Jackson, Mark Mancina, Walter Afanasieff, Kenny G, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Luis Prieto, Andreas Wisniewski and others.

During 2011, Georgy founded in Moscow, GOSH Projects – a nonprofit group of young artists committed to actively promoting the cultural exchange between artists of different countries while supporting new projects for young and extraordinarily talented artists from Russia. He is also a founder of the International Music Festival Masters of Music held annually in Moscow since 2013. In 2018 Georgy launched a new branch of GOSH Project in California. Since then most of the year he spend in the United States playing concerts and teaching at the Big Sur Music Academy.

As a composer, Georgy began his career with a series of compositions for solo cello entitled, Traveler’s Diary that has been incorporated onto the music track for various shows produced by Russian television and Italian RAI as well as several films. His first solo project as a cellist and composer is the album Cello Drive, sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld Vienna and released by the UK label North2North in July 2016. Georgy’s Carnegie Hall debut in NYC as a cellist and composer took place on February 2, 2018. His new cycle of songs for lyric soprano and cello will be premiered at Carnegie Hall on May 30th of this year.

Georgy plays cellos made by both Ernst Liebich III (Breslau, 1880) and Nicolas Geisser (St. Petersburg, 1901).

Matteo Liuzzi

Double-Bass

Biography

Graduated in Double-bass with full marks in 1993 at the Conservatoy of Venice under the mentorship of Gianni Amadio, in the same year he follow the Masterclass with Prof. Klaus Stoll in Salzburg. Between 1994 and 1996 he studies Chamber Music with Rony Rogoff in Vicenza and Baroque praxis with Nicola Reniero and Giovanni Gugliemo at the same time. Since 1997 he studies in Munchen with prof. Dorin Marc, who teaches him to the technique of German bow.

Since 1998 he’s student at the Höchschule in Nuremberg untill his Diploma, got in 2001. He’s winner of numerous auditions as first double-bass at: Teatro Olimpico Vicenza, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Orchestra Sinfonica “Giuseppe Verdi” Milan and Orchestra Giovanile Europea, he win in 1998 the selection at “Gran Teatro La Fenice” in Venice where, from that year, plays the role of first double-bass.

Since 2000 an international career starts: he wins at the International Competition “Lionswettbewerb für Streicher” in Nuremberg and, in the same year, he got prize at the International Competition “M. Sperger” in Berlin; he has been invitated as first double-bass from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Claudio Abbado. In 2002 he starts his collaboration with the Radio Suisse Symphony Orchestra, where he will record several concerts. He teached at Tel Aviv University and he was first double-bass at Qatar Philarmonic Orchestra for two years.

Currently he plays a “Geisendorf” viennese instrument crafted in 1773.

Adrian Pinzaru

Violin

Biography

Born in 1974 in Romania, Adrian Pinzaru started studying violin in Iaşi at the Music School “O. Băncila “with Calistrat Catargiu and Natalia Epure continuing his studies in Bucharest at the” G. Enescu ” Music High School. In 1993, thanks to a scholarship, he moved to Italy where, after studying at the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale in Saluzzo, he obtained a diploma in violin and viola at the “G. Verdi “in Turin under the guidance of M. Christine Anderson and M. Davide Zaltron. Over the years he studied with Stefan Gheoghiu, Mariana Sirbu, Dora Schwarzberg, Sadao Harada (Tokyo String Quartet), Franco Rossi (The Italian Quartet), Valentin Berlinsky (Borodin Quartet) and Milan Skampa (Quartetto Smetana). From 1997 to 2006 he has been the first violin of the Quartetto Casorati. Since 2006 he is the first violin of the Xenia Ensemble, a group dedicated to the performance of contemporary music.
Since 2007 he is the first violin of the Delian Quartett with which he has an intense international concert activity.

Biography

Mariangela Vacatello

Piano

Biography

“… and even when Ginastera gives you one piece with a close family likeness to another, you listen with a sense of renewal thanks to performances by Mariangela Vacatello of a superb zest, brio and imaginative scope… she has technique in spades, making her a front-runner with Argerich’s legendary live Three Argentinian Dances… no praise could be high enough for Vacatello’s achievement.” (Gramophone 2016)

In the two decades since her professional debut, pianist Mariangela Vacatello has brought her virtuosity, passionate interpretations, and magnificent musicality to diverse global audiences. She is recognized worldwide as an exceptionally gifted artist, reflected in the numerous awards and effusive reviews she has received for both her live performances and recordings for Brilliant Classics. Her performances are regularly broadcasted by prestigious Radio Stations worldwide.

The Second Prize at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in 1999 at the age of 17 catapulted her towards an international career as a soloist, performing at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Walt Disney Hall, Montpellier Festival, Carnegie Weill Hall in NYC, Oriental Centre in Shanghaj.

She has since appeared regularly with such prominent orchestras as the Teatro alla Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome, RAI in Turin, Lithuanian Symphony, Stuttgarter Philharmonics, Nordwestdeutsche Orchestra, Johannesburg Philarmonic, “Haydn” in Trento and Bolzano, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Zagreb Philarmonia, Pannon Philharmonic, Moldavian Radio Television, RSI Orchestra, Belgrade Philarmonic Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, Colorado Spring Symphony Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra.

She has performed with renowned conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Krystof Penderecky, Gustav Kuhn, Andrès Orozco-Estrada, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Alexander Shelley, Xian Zhang, Roland Boer, Aleksander Slatkovky, Gerard Korsten, Daniel Kawka, Martin Haselboeck, Bernard Gueller, David Itkin, Zsolt Hamar, Christopher Franklin, Anton Nanut, Donato Renzetti, Alain Lombard, Charles Olivieri-Munroe, Daniel Meyer, Carolyn Kuan, Michael Tabachnik. With Orchestra della Magna Grecia she has performed the Five Piano Concertos by S. Rachmaninov.

In her Awards: The Solti Foundation Award, Nino Carloni Prize, XVII Venice Prize, Finalist and Worldwide Audience Award at the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, 1st Prize Top of the World International Piano Competition 2009, Laureate Prize Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in 2007, Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in 2005, I.Yun in memoriam Korea 2008; she has been Rising Star TheGilmore in 2010/2011.

Mariangela Vacatello was born in Naples, Italy, from a family of musicians that started her to music lessons at the age of four; her talent has been accelerated by studies at Imola Piano Academy, Milan Conservatory and Royal Academy of Music in London, besides several mastercalsses around the world.

Her musical curiosity in the contemporary repertoire has brought her to collaborate with IRCAM in Paris in a world premiere Piano Quintet for SmartInstruments, a new technology that will permit to join both classical and digital sounds and to work with the composer Georges Aperghis.

Acutally Mariangela is living in Umbria and is a sought-after teacher as Piano Professor at the Conservatoire “A. Boito” in Parma and in Pinerolo International Music Academy.

In the 2019 season Mariangela Vacatello will debut in the prestigiuos Teatro San Carlo in Naples, a tour in South Africa, a project with IRCAM – La Scala Paris “Skrijabin and the contemporary”, a debut in La Biennale – Venice.