Maria Grazia Bellocchio

Maria Grazia Bellocchio graduated with highest honors from the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan where she studied under Antonio Beltrami and Chiaralberta Pastorelli. She went on to study under Karl Engel at the Hochschule in Bern, and in Milan with Franco Gei. In her first public appearances, she performed the Scriabin concerto with the RAI Orchestra of Milan, Beethoven’s Concerto #1 with the Conservatory Orchestra of Milan and the Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. She later soloed with the Pesaro Chamber Orchestra, Milano Classica, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Toscanini Orchestra in Parma, the Padua Chamber Orchestra, and the G. Verdi Symphonic Orchestra in Milan. She was invited to take part in the Orchestra Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, directed by Leonard Bernstein. She performs regularly with many major music groups in both Italy and elsewhere, including the “Amici della Musica” organizations of Padua, Perugia, Florence, Palermo, Syracuse, Pescara, Campobasso, Sulmona, Mestre, Messina and Vicenza, MITO “SettembreMusica” in Turin and Milan, “Autunno Musicale” in Como, the Teatro Comunale of Bologna and Ferrara, Parma Regional Theater, The L’ Aquila Baratelli Society, Brescia’s Teatro Grande, the Bibbiena Theater of Mantua, The University of Bologna and Ferrara, Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, The Milan Concerto Society, “Music of Our Time”, Milano Musica, Rec Festival, New Music of Middelburg, Vienna’s Klangforum, Valparaiso University in Chile, The Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon, The Strasburg Music Festival, The Paris Festival Presences, The Venice Biennale, and the Monte-Carlo Printemps des Arts. She has performed several piano duets with Stefania Redaelli, and has collaborated with musicians like Ingo Goritzki, Han de Vries, Renate Greis, Wolfgang Mayer, William Bennet, Sergio Azzolini, Rocco Filippini, Franco Petracchi, Elizabeth Norberg Schulz, Salvatore Accardo and Bruno Giuranna. In 2011, on the occasion of the celebrations for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Unification of Italy, she conceived the project Viaggio in Italia – Nuovo canzoniere popolare – 20 popular songs transcribed by 20 composers, premiered at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and replicated at the Mito, Musica Insieme Festival in Bologna and in several other Italian cities.
Her repertoire ranges from Bach to young contemporary composers. She collaborates permanently with Divertimento Ensemble directed by Sandro Gorli, regularly present at major festivals and joined the European Ulysses Network in 2012, which brings together 13 of the major European institutions dedicated to promoting and disseminating contemporary music. She has recorded CDs for Ricordi and Stradivarius with works by Bruno Maderna, Sandro Gorli, Franco Donatoni, Stefano Gervasoni, Federico Gardella, Stefano Bulfon, Marco Momi, Claudio Ambrosini and Ivan Fedele. She is a piano teacher at Conservatorio G. Donizetti of Bergamo. She regularly holds piano and chamber music master classes for several Italian institutions. She collaborates with Salvatore Accardo as part of the string instrument courses organized by the Walter Stauffer Academy in Cremona. In 2012 she conceived the Call for Young Performers project within IDEA, the Divertimento Ensemble academy: a monographic course dedicated to contemporary literature for piano. The course over the several years has dealt with the production of K. Stockhausen, G. Kurtág, L. Berio, M. Kagel, G. Ligeti, S. Gervasoni and A. Solbiati.

Sara Costa

“Sara Costa serve perfettamente sia i passaggi dolci che quelli più agili e convince con una musica meravigliosamente ponderata e sottilmente sfumata.” (Remy Franck – Pizzicato Magazine)
Con eleganza e passione, Sara Costa si esibisce su palcoscenici internazionali, suonando come solista e in formazioni cameristiche.
Il suo vasto repertorio spazia da Bach a Kurtag.
Il suo primo disco solistico “Correspondences: Clara&Robert Schumann”, uscito nel 2020 per l’etichetta Da Vinci Classics, ha ottenuto la Medaglia d’argento ai Global Music Awards e ha ricevuto 4 Stelle sul mensile Musica accompagnate da una recensione del musicologo e critico musicale italiano Piero Rattalino. Ha inoltre ricevuto apprezzamenti su riviste specializzate come Pizzicato Magazine e MusicWeb International. E’ stato presentato anche da Luca Ciammarughi nella trasmissione “Classicomania” su Radio Classica.
In Italia è regolarmente ospite dei principali Festival e Istituzioni concertistiche del Paese. Ha suonato a Roma per i “Concerti del Quirinale” in diretta su Radio3 e all’Auditorium Parco della Musica, a Milano per la “Società dei concerti”, alla Fazioli Concert Hall di Sacile, al Teatro Donizetti e in Sala Piatti a Bergamo, solo per citarne alcuni.
All’estero, ha suonato in Europa, Cina, Giappone e Israele.
Tra gli altri, in Europa si è esibita alla Royal Albert Hall e a Saint Martin-in-the-fields a Londra, alla Sala della Radio Tedesca di Francoforte, alla Grunewaldsalen di Stoccolma, al Festival di Huqvaldy in Repubblica Ceca, nella Concert Hall di Zagabria e al Festival di Ptuj in Slovenia. Fuori dai confini europei è stata protagonista di una tournée in Cina (Biblioteca Nazionale di Pechino, Grand Theatre di Tianjin, Concert Hall di Chengdu, Grand Theatre di Yangzhou e Concert Hall di Harbin), in Giappone (Phoenix Hall e Opus Hall di Osaka) e Israele (Festival di Eilat).
Come solista, ha suonato con l’Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, Roma Tre Orchestra, l’Orchestra Sinfonica di Chioggia, Orchestra “Il Clavicembalo verde”, “Musica Festival Donizetti” di Bergamo, con direttori quali Stefano Ligoratti, Pietro Perini, Giovanni Pelliccia e Paolo Belloli.
Grazie ad una musicalità carismatica e alla sua devozione per la musica da camera, Sara ha creato numerose collaborazioni umane e artistiche con musicisti del calibro di Pavel Vernikov, Igor Volochine, Alexander Zemtsov, solisti dei Berliner Philarmoniker e in Italia con il violinista Christian Saccon.
La sua predilezione per la musica da camera ha portato Sara a fondare un duo pianistico stabile con il pianista Fabiano Casanova, vincitore dei Global Music Awards in California come “Best Duo” e “Best Album” per il disco “Russian Music for piano four hands” edito da Da Vinci Classics nel 2019. Anche altre collaborazioni cameristiche hanno dato vita a progetti discografici di rilievo: Un CD-DVD per la Wide Classique nel 2011 con il violinista Cristian Saccon, un disco per la Da Vinci Classics nel 2018 con la violinista Germana Porcu e un disco nel 2018 con il Trio Carducci per la Brilliant Classics.

Born in Bergamo in 1984, she graduated with full marks and honors at the “G. Donizetti” Conservatory of Bergamo as a pupil of Maria Grazia Bellocchio and from 2007 she moved to the Russian piano school following the teachings of the pianist and teacher Konstantin Bogino at Santa Cecilia Academy of Bergamo and the Perosi Academy of Biella. In 2011 she obtained the Diploma in Chamber Music with full marks and mention at the Piano Academy “Incontri col maestro” in Imola, in the class of the Tchaikovsky Trio. Sara has also been selected to participate in many prestigious masterclasses at important institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris and the Royal College in Stockolm with Norma Fisher, Martin Roscoe, Sergei Dorensky, Vasilly Lobanov, Pavel Gililov, Mats Widlund, Alexei Kornienko, Marian Rybicki and Andrzej Jasinski. Her concerts are often broadcast by Italian radio stations such as Rai, Classic Radio and Vatican Radio. Since 2013 he has been Professor at “J.Tomadini” Conservatory in Udine and regularly teaches piano and chamber music masterclasses at Perosi Academy in Biella. Sara’s interest in synaesthetic experiences in music led her to create an association with other friends and fellow musicians, with the aim of promoting music and projects of contamination between the arts. The Cluster Association also aims to promote young talents, giving them the opportunity to perform in concert. Together with her partner Fabiano Casanova, she is the Artistic Director of the Festival “Il Castello Armonico”, which takes place in prestigious historic buildings in Bergamo area.

Pietro Giorgini

Pietro Giorgini, born in Carrara, began studying piano at the age of 7. In 1990 he passed the entrance exam to the Experimental Music High School attached to the Conservatory “A. Boito” of Parma becoming part of Maestro Francesco Guideri’s piano class. After graduating in Piano in 1999, he enrolled at the University of Trieste, where in 2005 he obtained a degree in musicology with a speaker Prof. Quirino Prince. Simultaneously with his university studies, Pietro Giorgini embarked on the path of chamber vocal music, always at the Conservatory of Parma in the class of Prof. Reiko Sanada. From the vocal experience comes a close collaboration with soprano Yuko Murakami. In 2010 he also obtained the two-year upper second level in chamber music at the Conservatory of Parma in the class of Maestro Pierpaolo Maurizzi. Maestro Giorgini’s concert activity is heading towards the chamber music field with several awards in national and international competitions: First prize at the “Rospigliosi” competitions in Lamporecchio and “Riviera Etrusca” in Piombino; first prize at the “Togni” Competition in viareggio; Second place at the “Città di Asti” Competition, first prize at the “Musical De France – Ginette Gaubert” Competition. During his training Pietro Giorgini perfected himself at a chamber and solo level with important names in the international concert scene: the Russian pianist Oxana Yablonskaya (teacher at the Julliard School in New York), Maestro Giovanni Carmassi, Maestro Luigi Mostacci, Duo dei Fratelli Paratore (At the Mozarteum in Salzburg), the duo Ralph Neiweem & Claire Abersold (At the Music Institute in Chicago), with the duo Varshavsky-Shapiro (At the Music Institute in Chicago), with Prof. Liselotte Malina for the chamber vocal field.
Maestro Giorgini’s concert activity is mainly aimed at the chamber music field with particular attention to the formation of the piano duo. Since 2009 he has been collaborating with pianist Sena Fini, with whom he founded the Duo Fini- Giorgini. Pietro Giorgini, currently teaches History of Music at the Massa Music High School and is President of the “Clara Wieck Schumann” Association. In addition to concert activity, he is artistic director of two Chamber Music Seasons “Concerti d’estate” and “Concerti d’inverno” and takes care of the artistic direction of the International Music Performance Competition “Clara Wieck Schumann” of the city of Massa.

Luciano Girardengo

Luciano Girardengo studied Cello at the “N. Paganini” Genoa Conservatory with A. Musenich. Later eh complete già studies at the International Academy of Music “L. Perosi” in Biella, durino the international seminars in Macerata and Venice with Adriano Vendramelli, at the Accademia Musicale Umbra in Perugia and during the international courses in Andria, Lugano and Salzburg with Dankwart Gahl. He has given concerts throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, India, the Middle East, Japan, Russia. He collaborated with important Symphony and Chamber Orchestras: RAI Symphony Orchestra of Turin, Teatro Comunale dell’Opera di Genova, Orchestra di Musica Leggera della RAI in Rome, Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, Sinfonica dell’Umbria, Simphonia Perusina, Orchestra Stabile di Bergamo, Orchestra “G. Cantelli” of Milan, Orchestra dell’Accademia della Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra Sinfonica d’Italia, UECO (United Europe Chamber Orchestra), Orkestra Akademik Baskent (Ankara-Turkey), Filarmonia Veneta, Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino. In 1984 he won the 1st prize in the National Competition for String Instruments “Città di Genova”. He also serves as first cello for recordings, radio and television recordings (Rai, Reti Mediaset, All Jazeera). In the field of film music he collaborated in the recording room as an instrumentalist on several soundtracks: among others, The Return of the Little Lord (G. Captains), The Unscrewed (Mel Brooks), I love you Eugenio (G. Giannini, G. De Sio), The Secret of Fatima, The Blue Arrow, The White One, Riding the Tiger, Johan Padan a la descoverta de le Americas (Dario Fo), Rocco Schiavone (Rai 2), Centovetrine, Sacrifice of Love, Sicilian Novel, Welcome to the table, Let’s roll up our sleeves, The woods, Anti-mafia team . In the field of pop music he has collaborated in recording rooms, tours and television broadcasts with almost all the Italian artists of today and yesterday. To remember: a long European tour with singer-songwriter Paolo Conte, which led him to play in the most prestigious European theaters (Paris, London, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Berlin, Lyon, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Brussels, Montecarlo, Rome, Milan, Naples, Montreaux Jazz Festival, Zurich, Geneva, Vienna, etc.) and to record 6 albums. Tournèe in Europe and Lebanon with Andrea Bocelli, concerts with Solomon Burke at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London and at the Bridge Water in Manchester. He has also worked with the best TV arrangers/directors: Pippo Caruso, Renato Serio, Peppe Vessicchio, Roberto Pregadio, Augusto Martelli, Demo Morselli, Massimiliano Pani, Natale Massara, Adriano Pennino, Lucio Fabbri, Maurizio Fabrizio.
In the classical field concerts and recording (Victor JVC) at the Philia Hall in Tokyo; in 2003 he played at Lincoln Center in New York with the Orchestra Sinfonica d’Italia. In addition, in 1990 with the Marangolo Quartetto Orizzontale he performed at the Montreal-Canada Jazz Festival (the only Italian formation) and with the same he recorded the music for the program “Cammin leggendo” by Vittorio Gassman. He has worked with: Severino Gazzelloni, Luciano Pavarotti, Katia Ricciarelli, Josè Carreras, Cecilia Gasdia, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Alirio Diaz, Richard Galliano, Luis Bacalov, Franco Piersanti, Carlo Crivelli, Andrea Morricone, Lando Buzzanca, Ugo Pagliai, Enrico Beruschi and hundreds of Italian and foreign artists. With New Art Ensemble he recorded for the PolyGram “Rhapsody in blue” with Bruno Canino on piano and “Live in Paris”, recorded live in a concert at the Salle Gaveau in Paris. Active in the music field in the organizational sector, he founded the A.F. International Festival in 2001 Lavagnino “Music and Cinema”, of which he is Artistic Director, as well as the adjoining International Competition for the composition of music for images. He is President of the Alexandria Classical Association / Classical Orchestra of Alessandria and Vice President of the Music Association “Alfredo Casella” of Novi Ligure. He is the first cello of the famous group Rondò Veneziano, with whom he performs in the most prestigious European theaters under the direction of its creator Gian Piero Reverberi. Receives the “Torre D’oro 2005” Award from the “In Novitate” Study Center in Novi Ligure and is a member of the Rotary Club Gavi Libarna.

Alberto Chines

A solid education and the merging of many diversified learning and professional experiences have contributed to make Alberto Chines a smart and many sided artist.
He studied at the Imola Academy with Franco Scala and Piero Rattalino, and at the Bolzano Conservatory with Davide Cabassi.
At the age of 15 he made his debut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo and in 2011 he won the first prize at the “Palma d’Oro” International Piano Competition. In 2013 he won the Sony Classical Talent Scout in Madesimo and, in 2014, the second prize at the Euregio Piano Award (Geilenkirchen, Germany).
He performed in prestigious venues such as the Mozart Hall of Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Politeama Garibaldi in Palermo, Van Cliburn Recital Hall in Fort Worth (Texas), and in Spain, Portugal, UK, France and Germany.
He has recently appeared at Tiroler Festspiele Erl (Austria) and he made his London debut for the Keyboard Charitable Trust. His first CD with music by Bach, Schumann, Ravel and Bartók has been recently released on BAM International.

Alberto Chines is a very passionate chamber musician, he collaborates with violist Anna Serova, with Guitarist Eugenio Della Chiara, with Quartetto Nôus, with pianist Emanuele Delucchi and, over the years, he followed several projects in trio (Trio Casa Bernardini), quartet and quintet.
He is also the creator and artistic director of Musica Manent Festival in Ustica (Sicily) and he collaborates with international concert series Primavera di Baggio in Milan.
Alberto Chines is Steinway Artist since 2020.