Il GranDuo Italiano består av fiolinist Mauro Tortorelli og pianist Angela Meluso. I 2011 ble de tildelt prisen Premio Mediterraneo for deres innsats i å få frem i lyset den italienske musikkarven. I kveld på IIC vil de fermføre musikk av den florentinske komponisten Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
Program:
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco:
Canto all’aria aperta n.1
Ritmi
Notturno Adriatico
«La Figlia del Reggimento»parafrasi su Arie d’Opera di Donizetti
Capitan Fracassa
«Figaro»parafrasi su Arie d’Opera dal Barbiere di Siviglia di Rossini
Flere av stykkene i konserten får sin urfremførelse her på IIC.
Om Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco:
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco var en italiensk-amerikansk jødisk komponist født i Firenze og bosatt i USA fra 1939. Studerte bl.a. med Pizzetti og ved konservatoriet i Los Angeles. Skrev hovedsakelig i moderat modernistisk stil. Oppførte sin 2. klaverkonsert i New York i 1939 og fikk straks et ben innenfor amerikansk musikkliv. I årene som fulgte laget han mye film- og ballettmusikk, der elementer fra jazzen er merkbare. Hans verker omfatter ellers et stort antall sanger (bl.a. til Shakespeare-tekster) og operaene La Mandragola, Kjøpmannen i Venedig m.fl.
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Il Gran Duo Italiano, formed by Mauro Tortorelli (violin) and Angela Meluso (piano), boasts a discography that includes world-premiere recordings of music by Gaetano Fusella, Camillo Sivori (Paganini’s only pupil) and Rosario Scalerio (himself a pupil of Sivori) with Tactus Recording. Radio broadcasts of their music on Italy’s Rai Radio 3 were enthusiastically received by audience and critics alike, and the releases were well reviewed in specialized music magazines such as Musica, Amadeus, Fanfare, Harmonia Mundi and Gramophone.
In 2011 the Duo was awarded one of the European Union’s highest accolades, the «Premio Mediterraneo», in recognition of their research, rediscovery and promotion of Italy’s artistic and musical heritage.
In 2012 the Duo gave a lecture-recital at the 40th International Conference of the European String Teachers Association (ESTA) in Porec (Croatia). This was followed by a conference-recital in 2013 on the music by Camillo Sivori at the Emirates International Festival of Dubai and a masterclass-recital on Paganini and his musical contemporaries at the University of Aichi (Nagoya) in Japan.
In 2014 the Duo debuted in Germany with unanimous applause at the Stilwerk-Bechstein Centrum in Berlin, Festsaal of the Coselpalais in Dresden, Harmoniesaal in Bamberg, and at the Philarmonie Gasteig in Munich.
In 2015 the Duo had an important tour in Japan: at Munetsugu Hall in Nagoya, at Gakuin University in Osaka, at the University Concert Hall in Fukuoka and at Kagoshima Concert Hall.
In 2016 the Gran Duo Italiano performed in Timisoara (Philarmonie), Malta (Gaulitana Festival), Tenerife (Conservatorio Superior de Musica, Real Casino), Firenze (Lyceum-Amici della Musica), Ravello Festival etc.
In February 2017 they made their debut at Carnegie Hall of New York and at the Music School of Kazan (Tatarstan-Russia). Their last recordings for Brilliant Classics Label are: Camille Saint-Saens (Violin Sonatas) and Darius Milhaud (works for violin and piano – viola and piano).
Mauro Tortorelli is considered by critics to be a virtuoso violinist of rare musical instinct and great interpretative skill. He studied violin with J.J.Kantorow, B.Belkin, F.Gulli and G.Mönch. In 1990, while still very young, he made his debut at Teatro alla Scala in Milan playing a piece for two violins composed by Luigi Nono alongside his teacher G.Mönch.
He works closely with artists of international standing such as F. Maggio Ormezowski, Rohan De Saram, Francois Joel Thioller, Alexandra Gutu, Franco Petracchi, Alfonso Ghedin, Daishin Kashimoto.
He held master classes at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, at Aichi University (Japan) and at the Dubai Conservatoire. He recorded for Tactus Label, Naxos, Brilliant, Camerata Tokyo, Nuova Era, Stradivarius.
Angela Meluso began studying piano at the age of five and graduated with honours at the Conservatory of Music “A.Vivaldi” of Alessandria under Giacomo Fuga. She won the eleventh edition of the “Premio Ghislieri” coming first in the piano section.
She attended specialization studies at the Accademia in Florence with Lazar Berman, at the Accademia Hipponiana of Reggio Calabria with Vincenzo Balzani and for chamber music with Mauro Tortorelli, Giacomo Fuga, E. Bagnoli, Trio di Trieste and Trio di Parma (Duino Academy). She works closely with musicians such as Guido Arbonelli, Loris Antiga (horn player with the London Symphony Orchestra), and with the lead players of Teatro San Carlo in Naples and “Santa Cecilia” in Rome.
Considered by critics to be a pianist of great character, interpretative sensitivity and communicative skill, she is also the author of Solfeggianimando, a method for teaching music, published in 2008 by Edizioni Zaccara.