Salvatore Accardo (;
Knight Grand Cross
Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...
born 26 September 1941 in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
) is an Italian
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist and
conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...
.
Accardo owns one
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 ...
violin, the "Hart ex Francescatti" (1727) and had the "Firebird ex
Saint-Exupéry" (1718).
Biography
Accardo studied violin in the southern Italian city of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
in the 1950s. He gave his first professional recital at the age of 13 performing Paganini's ''Capricci''. In 1958 Accardo became the first prize winner of the
Paganini Competition
The Paganini Competition (aka Premio Paganini or Paganini Concore) is an international violin competition named after the famed virtuoso and founder of contemporary violin technique Niccolò Paganini. Created in 1954 it has been carried out ever s ...
in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
.
In the 1970s he was a leader of the celebrated Italian chamber orchestra "
I Musici" (1972-1977).
After he was a student in
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...
in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
, he taught there from 1973 to 1980.
Accardo founded the Accardo Quartet in 1992 and he was one of the founders of the Walter Stauffer Academy in 1986.
He founded the Settimane Musicali Internazionali in Naples and the Cremona String Festival in 1971, and in 1996, he re-founded the Orchestra da Camera Italiana (O.C.I.), whose members are the best pupils of the Walter Stauffer Academy. The most famous pupils are
Alessio Bidoli,
Franco Mezzena and
Anastasiya Petryshak.
He performed the music of
Paganini for the soundtrack of the 1989 film ''
Kinski Paganini''.
In 2004, he came back to
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
, and now he teaches in
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...
.
Honours
* : Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine al merito della Repubblica italiana (June 1965)
* : Cavaliere di Gran Croce dell'Ordine al merito della Repubblica italiana (Oct 1982)
* : Commander of the
Order of Cultural Merit (November 1999)
Discography
He has recorded Paganini's ''24 Caprices'' (re-recorded in 1999) for solo violin and was the first violinist to record all six of the violin concerti by Paganini. He has an extensive discography of almost 50 recordings on Philips, DG, EMI, Sony Classical, Foné, Dynamic, and Warner-Fonit. He recorded Rossini String Sonatas, a cherished 1981 issue 6769 024,
and an album of classical and contemporary works in 1995 on Paganini's
Guarneri del Gesù 1742 violin, ''Il Cannone''. He also recorded with the pianist
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 ...
the complete sonatas for violin and piano of Mozart.
*
Diabolus in Musica, Accardo interpreta Paganini 1996
References
External links
Additional biographical informationDiscography at SonyBMG Masterworks* Salvatore Accardo
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Accardo, Salvatore
1941 births
Living people
Italian classical violinists
Male classical violinists
Italian male conductors (music)
Musicians from Turin
Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music
Paganini Competition prize-winners
People from Torre del Greco
Commanders of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco)
21st-century Italian conductors (music)
21st-century Italian male musicians
21st-century classical violinists
20th-century Italian conductors (music)
20th-century Italian male musicians
20th-century classical violinists
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic