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Claudio Fontana – piano
Anna Schivazappa – mandolin
A sensible and curious personality, attracted from an early age by music and mathematics, Claudio Fontana obtained a Master’s degree with distinction in Piano Performance from the Conservatory of Music of Padua (Italy), under the guidance of Daniele Roi. A versatile pianist, he loves to travel through the vast romantic piano repertoire, which he perfected in a series of masterclasses, with a special attention to the works of Chopin. He has performed in Italy and abroad, giving many concerts and lectures in schools and universities, notably on Schubert’s chamber music. Claudio is also an accomplished chamber musician and performs regularly in duo with the mandolinist Anna Schivazappa, aiming at the rediscovery of the romantic and classical repertoire for mandolin and piano.
Anna Schivazappa is one of the few mandolinists to carry out an in-depth reflection on baroque and classical repertoires. She holds a Master’s degree in Performance Pratice of Baroque Music from the Sorbonne University, where she graduated with highest honours in 2015. She is regularly invited to major festivals and concert seasons all over Europe and abroad (Asia, Australia and Central America). Besides her concert activity, she is also interested in musicological research, and she is currently pursuing a PhD in musicology at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She is an associate musician-researcher at the Bibliothèque nationale de France and she gives masterclasses, conferences and seminars in important European institutions such as the Philharmonie de Paris, the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and the Milan Conservatory. Anna Schivazappa is co-founder of the ensemble Pizzicar Galante, one of the most dynamic period ensembles specializing in gallant music for mandolin and basso continuo. Pizzicar Galante’s first album has been nominated for the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2017 and has been broadcast by international radio stations such as RAI Radio 3, Radiotelevisión Española and the BBC. A second CD dedicated to Domenico Scarlatti’s sonatas for mandolin and continuo will be published in 2018 by Belgian label Muso.
PROGRAMME
THE PAGANINI OF THE MANDOLIN – HOMAGE TO RAFFAELE CALACE
About 150 years ago, the city of Naples, cradle of the mandolin, saw the birth of Raffaele Calace (1863 – 1934), one of the key figures in the history of this instrument. A polyhedric personality, luthier, editor and composer among the most important and prolific ones, Calace also embodies the figure of the composer – virtuoso of the romantic period, like Paganini for the violin and Liszt for the piano. With a catalogue of almost 200 works, Calace brought about a profound revolution in the mandolin repertoire, exploring all the technical possibilities of the instrument and reaching an unparalleled virtuosity. Due to their devilish technical challenges, Calace’s preludes for mandolin solo have been often compared to the 24 Capricci by Paganini. During his many travels abroad, Raffaele Calace significantly contributed to the diffusion of the concert music for mandolin in the world, receiving a number of honours and awards and giving back to the instrument the glory of its past.
Danza spagnola, Op. 105 – Raffaele Calace
Murmure d’amour – Vittorio Monti
Mazurka da concerto, Op. 126 – Raffaele Calace
Serenata romantica, Op. 94 – Raffaele Calace
Polonese, Op. 36 – Raffaele Calace
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Frammento – Gennaro Napoli
Andante e polonese – Eduardo Mezzacapo
Leggenda, Op. 22 – Raffaele Calace
Fantasia poetica, Op. 56 – Raffaele Calace