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About Carlo Aonzo
Carlo Aonzo, mandolinist, is a native of Savona,
Italy where he grew up immersed in music. His initial teacher, his
father Giuseppe (Director of the "Circolo Mandolinistico G.
Verdi di Savona"), instilled in him a love and respect for
the mandolin that has remained with him all his life. As a teenager
Carlo went on to study with Ugo Orlandi, the current patriarch of
the Italian mandolin, at the Cesare Pollini Conservatory in Padua
where he graduated with honours (summa cum laude) in 1993. His playing
has been recognized with awards at prestigious competitions including
winning the "Vivaldi" prize of the 6th annual Vittorio
Pitzianti National Mandolin Competition in Venice and first prize
at the 27th annual Walnut Valley National Mandolin Contest in Winfield,
Kansas.
Carlo has toured throughout Europe, Italy, Japan, the USA and Canada
as a soloist and with chamber ensembles and orchestras (both professional
and amateur). He has worked with many musical institutions including
La Scala Philharmonic in Milan, Emilia-Romagna Symphony Orchestra,
Savona Symphony Orchestra, Cannes Symphony Orchestra, Nashville
Chamber Orchestra and as director of the Ligurian Plectrum Orchestra
(Orchestra a Pizzico Ligure) who were called to play in the presence
of Pope John Paul II. In 1998 he inaugurated the annual winter International
Mandolin Festival in Varazze, Italy, and directed many editions
of the festival over the years, calling on some of the most respected
names in mandolin and guitar to perform there.
He has been a regular faculty member at the mandolin-oriented Kaufman
Kamp in Tennessee since 1999 and since 2000 he has offered a popular
annual workshop in New York City. He has also taught workshops and
appeared as soloist with mandolin organizations in many of the major
cities of North America: New York Mandolin Orchestra, Providence
Mandolin Orchestra, Pittsburgh Mandolin Orchestra, Baltimore Mandolin
Orchestra, Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra (NJ), Montreal Mandolin
Orchestra, Vancouver Italian Cultural Centre, Carlo Munier Mandolin
Orchestra (Philadelphia), Denver, Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra,
Kalamazoo Mandolin Orchestra (premiering Elizabeth Start's Mandolin
Concerto in June 2010), Atlanta Mandolins. In Japan he has collaborated
with mandolin groups in Kochi, Nagoya and Sendai. He held a hugely
successful First Annual Vancouver Mandolin Workshop in June 2010.
In 2006, Carlo conceived and founded the International Mandolin
Academy (L'Accademia Internazionale del Mandolino), an association
that promotes mandolin culture. That same year he inaugurated the
week-long workshop of the same name whose purpose is to promote
the art of Italian classical mandolin playing, attracting the attention
of international fans of the sector. The Academy takes place annually
in Italy or Switzerland and participants come from all over the
world to attend this event (USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Israel,
Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Scotland, Switzerland and
Italy).
The Classical Mandolin Society of America has invited him numerous
times to their annual conventions. He was guest artist in 2004 in
Philadelphia, in 2007 in Sarasota (Florida) and in 2008 he led the
convention in Montreal (Canada) directing the En Masse Orchestra
and leading teacher orientation workshops and conferences on the
history and repertoire of the instrument.
Carlo is also an active scholar of historic mandolins, mandolinists
and mandolin repertoire and has contributed to The New Grove Dictionary
of Music and Musicians while also editing books on music for Bèrben
and Armelin publishers. He has given presentations on the iconography
of the mandolin at prestigious institutions around the world including
Boston University (Massachusetts), Wisconsin Conservatory of Music,
Milwaukee University, Vanderbilt College (Nashville), Maryville
College (Tennessee), New England Music College (Massachusetts),
the Italian Institute of Culture in Vancouver (Canada), the Italian
Institute of Culture in Philadelphia, Hofstra University (NY), the
National Instrument Museum in Rome and the Berio Library (Genoa).
Carlo’s recordings reflect his scholarship and passion to
both champion the mandolin’s forgotten past and to develop
its classical tradition into the future. He has recorded Paganini’s
complete works for mandolin on period mandolino genovese with the
octave-guitar tuning (Integrale per Amandorlino & Chitarra Francese).
His recordings have also featured the works of early 20th century
Italian virtuosi with guitarist Beppe Gambetta (Serenata) and Italian
immigrants to America with Gambetta and mandolinist David Grisman
(Traversata). He featured on David Grisman's cd Crossing (American
mandolin). For Mel Bay, he has recorded an in-studio video concert
of solo mandolin repertoire (Carlo Aonzo: Classical Mandolin Virtuoso),
was featured in the book Mandolin 2000 and in 2010 released the
book & cd collection Northern Italian & Ticino Region Folk
Songs for Mandolin. His Orchestra a Pizzico Ligure's recording of
arrangements of Vivaldi concerti (Antonio Vivaldi: Concerti per
Mandolino e Concerti per Orchestra) is a rare demonstration of the
rich sonority of a modern, active mandolin orchestra.
His recent collaborations with guitarists Rene Izquierdo in the
US and Katsumi Nagaoka in Europe have resulted in successful concert
tours and an exciting new CD, Kaze, with guitarist Katsumi Nagaoka
which offers both a respectful nod to historic repertoire and premiers
lively, sophisticated new compositions. His most recent recordings
have featured him partnered with keyboardist Elena Buttiero (on
spinet and piano): Il mandolino italiano nel Settecento (2008) and
a cd of Romantic works, Fantasia Poetica (2010). Carlo's duo with
Elena Buttiero has recently completed two successful tours of the
USA (in 2009 and 2010) and were invited to perform at the Europfestival
Zupfmusik 2010 in Bruchsal, Germany. They will embark on their third
North American tour in March-April 2011.
Edited by Eugene Braig and Linda Bull
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