Franco Mezzena born 4 November 1953 in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, northern Italy, is an Italian violin virtuoso. He studied ten years with

Salvatore Accardo Salvatore Accardo (; Knight Grand Cross born 26 September 1941 in Turin, northern Italy) is an Italian violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini. Accardo owns one Stradivarius violin, the "Ha ...

Activities

* Guest soloist at concert halls and festivals in Europe, Japan, Africa, Martinique, South America, U.S.A and Mexico. * Played Mendelssohn Op.64 at Carnegie Hall in New York. * Toured with "I Musici" and "I Virtuosi di Roma". * Performed with

Bruno Battisti D'Amario Bruno Battisti D'Amario (born 1937) is an Italian classical guitarist, teacher and composer. D'Amario is known for his performances on film scores by Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota, and became Professor of Classical Guitar at the Santa Cecilia Con ...

, Julius Berger,

Bruno Canino Bruno Canino (born 30 December 1935) is an Italian classical pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Early life Bruno Canino was born in Naples, Italy in 1935, where he studied piano with Vincenzo Vitale. He continued his musical education in ...

, Roberto Fabbriciani,

Rocco Filippini Rocco Filippini (7 September 1943 – 13 April 2021) was a Swiss classical cellist. Biography and musical career The son of Felice Filippini, a painter, writer and broadcaster, and Dafne Salati, a pianist, Rocco Filippini began his musical ...

Severino Gazzelloni Severino Gazzelloni, born Severino Gazzellone (5 January 1919 – 21 November 1992) was an Italian flutist. Biography He was born in Roccasecca and died in Cassino. Gazzelloni was the principal flautist with the RAI National Symphony Orchestr ...

, Stefano Giavazzi, Bruno Giuranna, Johannes Goritzki,

Jacques Klein Jacques Klein (10 July 1930 – 24 October 1982) was a Brazilian composer and pianist. Born to a Jewish family in Aracati, he grew up in the nearby city of Fortaleza, where he began to study piano at the Conservatorio Alberto Nepomuceno, which wa ...

Alain Meunier 2014 Alain Meunier (born 22 June 1942 in Paris) is a French cellist. Meunier was born in Paris, the third child among four siblings. Starting the cello at the age of 13 and received premier prix in chamber music at 15 and in cello at 16. He sud ...

, Bruno Mezzena, Andrea Noferini,

Antony Pay Antony Pay (born 21 February 1945 in London) is a classical clarinettist. After gaining a place with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, with whom he performed the Mozart clarinet concerto at the age of 16, he studied at the Royal Acad ...

, Franco Petracchi, Claudio Piastra,

Ruggiero Ricci Ruggiero Ricci (24 July 1918 – 5 August 2012) was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Niccolò Paganini, Paganini. Biography He was born in San Bruno, California, the son of Italian immigrants who first ...

, Eros Roselli, Massimo Scattolin, Hariolf Schlichtig,

Rohan de Saram Deshamanya Rohan de Saram (born 9 March 1939) is a British-born Sri Lankan cellist. Until his 30s, he made his name as a classical artist, but has since become renowned for his involvement in and advocacy of contemporary music. He travels widely an ...

. * Concerts for RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Radio Vaticana, BBC, ABC, NBC, WSKG, WGBH Boston, NHK Television Japan, KBS Corea, etc. * Gives Master Classes in Italy (Conservatory of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

and

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

, S. Antioco-Sardinia, "Musica Riva Festival", Alghero-Sardinia, Naples and abroad (Royal College and Trinity College-London, Hertford College-Oxford, Chetham's School of Music-Manchester, Conservatory of Rotterdam, Académié d'été d'Andé, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyushu, Sapporo, Barcelona, Ticino Musica Festival-Switzerland, University of Mexico City etc.). He teaches at "Ariadimusica" in Rome - Italy.

Recordings

* He recorded more than 80 CD for

Dynamic (record label) Dynamic is an Italian independent record label located in Genoa. Founded in 1978, it specialises in classical music and opera, especially rarely performed works and has produced several world premiere recordings. The Dynamic catalogue contains over ...

Odradek Records Odradek Records is a cooperative, non-profit record label that releases recordings of classical music. History Odradek Records, based in the United States, was founded by John Anderson in 2012 as an artist-controlled label for performers wishin ...

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also sp ...

, Newton Classics, Luna Rossa Classic, Wide Classique, Symposium, Rivo Alto, Ricordi, Nuova Era, E.M.S. Arcobaleno. * Recorded for Dynamic the 29 concertos for violin and orchestra by

Giovanni Battista Viotti Giovanni Battista Viotti (12 May 1755 – 3 March 1824) was an Italian violinist whose virtuosity was famed and whose work as a composer featured a prominent violin and an appealing lyrical tunefulness. He was also a director of French and Italia ...

(world premiere recording - 10 CDs), where he appears as soloist and conductor of the "Symphonia Perusina" and the Chamber Orchestra “Milano Classica”. * Recorded for Luna Rossa Records label the complete Sonatas for violin and piano by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

with the pianist Alberto Nones. * Recorded for Wide Classique label the complete works for violin and piano by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

with the pianist Stefano Giavazzi (4 CDs). * Recorded for Wide Classique label the complete works for violin and guitar by

Mauro Giuliani Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani (27 July 1781 – 8 May 1829) was an Italian guitarist, cellist, singer, and composer. He was a leading guitar virtuoso of the early 19th century. Biography Although born in Bisceglie, Giuliani's cent ...

with the guitarist Umberto Cafagna (Vol.1). * Recorded for Luna Rossa Records label the complete works for violin and guitar by

with the guitarist Umberto Cafagna (world premiere recording) (Vol.2). * Recorded for Brilliant Classics the complete string quartets by

with Quartetto Viotti (world premiere recording - 4 CDs). * Recorded for Brilliant Classics the complete piano trios by

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as '' Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by ...

with Trio Mezzena-Patria-Ballario (world premiere recording). * Recorded for Dynamic the works for violin and piano by

Germaine Tailleferre Germaine Tailleferre (; born Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse; 19 April 18927 November 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as ''Les Six''. Biography Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse was born at Sai ...

with the pianist Bruno Mezzena. * Recorded for

the Piano Trios by Franz Schubert with Mezzena-Patria-Ballario Piano Trio. * Recorded for Odradek Records the Violin Sonatas by César Franck, Claude Debussy and the Four Pieces Op. 25 by Florent Schmitt with Elena Ballario.

Conducting

* Has conducted the Lublijana Symphony Orchestra, the Pescara Symphony Orchestra, the “Teatro Regio of Turin” Symphony Orchestra, the “Milano Classica” Chamber Orchestra, the “Interpreti Italiani” Chamber Orchestra, the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra etc.

Positions

* Teacher and Vicepresident for Ariadimusica Academy of Rome. * Soloist and conductor of the Orchestra da Camera di Lecce e del Salento and member of the Jury of Italian EUYO (European Union Youth Orchestra) Auditions (2005-2010). * He is Artistic Director for Orchestra da Camera di Lecce e del Salento. * Founder of Trio Mezzena-Patria-Ballario with Sergio Patria and Elena Ballario. * Owner with Gianni Maria Ferrini of Ariarecords.

Other

* Interviewed on

The Strad ''The Strad'' is a UK-based monthly classical music magazine about string instrumentsprincipally the violin, viola, cello and double bassfor amateur and professional musicians. Founded in 1889, the magazine provides information, photographs and re ...

, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, New York Times, Gramophone, Diapason, FonoForum, MUSICA etc. *He plays a 1695

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

, an instrument by Roberto Regazzi (

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, 1998), two instruments by Giovanni Osvaldo Fiori (

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

, 1989-2020) and one instrument made by Giuseppe Leone (

Ceglie Messapica Ceglie Messapica (; scn, label= Brindisino, Cégghie) is a town, and ''comune'', located in the province of Brindisi and region of Apulia, in southern Italy, in the traditional area called Salento. Geography The area of Ceglie Messapica is loc ...

, 2016). *Franco Mezzena plays on strings DOGAL Capriccio Soloist.

External links

www.mezzena.comwww.dynamic.it
Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Italian violinists Male violinists Italian male conductors (music) 21st-century Italian conductors (music) 21st-century Italian male musicians 21st-century violinists {{Italy-music-bio-stub