DF Artists welcomes the Italian flutist Tommaso Benciolini and L’Appassionata Orchestra on its roster.

TOMMASO BENCIOLINI

Winner of the 2017 New York Respighi Prize, Tommaso made his debut as a featured soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York on the prestigious world stage of Carnegie Hall in 2018. 

His concert carrer as flute soloist brought him to perform in many of the main world stages such as Tokyo Suntory Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zurich, Mozarteum Salzburg, Smetana Hall Prague, Carnegie Hall New York, Seoul Arts Center, Herkulessaal Munich, Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Beijing University Hall and Guangzhou Opera House in Cina, Salle Cortot in Paris; appearing as guest soloists with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of New York, Berliner Symphoniker, Nürnberg Symphoniker, Munchener Kammerphilharmonie, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, North Czech Philarmonic, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Euro Sinfonietta Wien, St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Thueringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach.

Many contemporary works are dedicated to Tommaso, among them “The Garden of Delights. A Flute Concerto after Bosch” by Andrea Battistoni, which he premiered on the occasion of his debut at the Berlin Phiharmonie in 2020. As a chamber musician, he has performed in many important Italian festivals including Trame Sonore in Mantua, Io Sono Musica in Mestre, Musikamera in Venice, Amici della Musica in Padua, Amici della Musica and Accademia Filarmonica in Verona, Festival Toscanini in Parma, Yamaha Piano Discovery in Milan, Serate Musicali in Milan, Festival “le Vie del Barocco” in Genoa, MantovaMusica, GAM in Turin.

The main italian music magazine “Suonare News” dedicated Tommaso an article as member of the new generation of italian musicians, and his recordings for Velut Luna (chamber music for flute, cello and piano) and Concerto Classics (music for flute and piano by Alfredo Casella) were enthusiastically reviewed by main Italian radios such as Rai Radio 3 and Radio Classica and by specialized magazines.

In 2021 his debut CD was released for the prestigious SONY Classical label: a world premiere monograph dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi together with the chamber orchestra L’Appassionata (which he founded) which was unanimously acclaimed by journalists, critics and radio. His recordings have been broadcast by RAI Italian National Radio, Swiss National Radio, Japanese National Radio NHK, Radio Classica, Venice Classic Radio and many others.

In 2012 he became the youngest lecturer at the “E. F. Dall’Abaco” Conservatory in Verona, and is currently holding the position of flute professore at the “F.A. Bonporti” Conservatory in Trento. He’s also been invited to give masterclasses in Cuba (International Contemporary Music Festival), Finland (Tampere Music Academy and Suomitaly Music Festival) and Estonia (Tartu Eller Music Academy), Malta (Malta Music University).

Also very active as a researcher, he is the author together with pianist Leonora Armellini and cellist Ludovico Armellini of the world premiere recording of Mendelssohn’s Trio in D minor Op. 49 in the version for flute, cello and piano edited by the same composer; and he was the author of the rediscovery of the trio for the same ensemble by Nino Rota and its first performance in modern times at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 2015. He also unearthed some of Antonio Vivaldi’s pages for flute by recording them for the first time, and he also edited some world premieres by the same composer on modern instruments.

Born in Bologna (Italy) in 1991, began studing flute at twelve and graduated at eighteen at Conservatory “E. F. Dall’Abaco” in Verona achieveing the highest honors. After his diploma he won competition for the year’s best graduated music students in Italy. Winner of scholarship from french foundation “Zygmunt Zaleski” he later studied at Ecole Normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris with Pierre-Yves Artaud and after that he grauated form the Lugano University of Music (Switzerland) and got the “Master in Advanced Studies” with the internationally renowned soloist Mario Caroli. Following his two masters, he perfected his skills under the guidance of Giampaolo Pretto and Nicola Campitelli.

Gli impegni della stagione 2023-24 vedranno il ritorno come solista alla Carnegie Hall di New York e alla Tonhalle di Zurigo, oltre a tournée in Cina e Corea del Sud. Tommaso suona un flauto giapponese d’oro a 14k fatto a mano da Yamaha e un flauto in legno realizzato dall’artigiano italiano Andrea Dainese.

L’APPASSIONATA

L’ Appassionata was born in 2019 around the activities of the Gaspari Foundation as a group of young excellence dedicated to the deepening of the repertoire for chamber orchestra. Its members include some of the best young music professionals in Italy, who have perfected themselves in the most important musical institutions in Europe and have already acquired concert experience in the most important Italian orchestras, including the Italian Radio Symphony Orchestra, La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano, Orchestra of the Teatro Regio of Turin, Orchestra of the Arena di Verona Foundation, Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipal Theater of Bologna. The orchestra already has concerts and tours to its credit in some of the greatest Italian halls including Sala Verdi in Milan, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Accademia Filarmonica in Verona, Bibiena Theater in Mantua.
L’ Appassionata is also the protagonist of two recording projects released in 2021 – a monograph on Antonio Vivaldi published by SONY Classical with soloist Tommaso Benciolini and a monograph on Johann Sebastian Bach with violinist Jaroslaw Nadrzycki published by Hänssler Classics – both received with great public and critical success and broadcast by broadcasters such as Rai Radio 3, BBC Radio, Radio Classica, Radio24, Venice Classic Radio. The concert master of L’Appassionata is Lorenzo Gugole, a Veronese violinist active throughout Europe, the United States, China, the United Arab Emirates.

More info: https://www.tommasobenciolini.net/