Program 2021
CastelCello is one of the rare festivals worldwide dedicated exclusively to the cello and its music. Once a year outstanding international artists of this instrument perform programs that range from the classic to jazz and improvisation in castle Brunnenburg’s romantic courtyard.
The 8th edition of our CastelCello festival will take place from August 20th - 23th and is dedicated to the violoncello.
This year's festival will feature the virtuoso and eclectic cellist Alessio Pianelli, winner 2018 of the prestigious Borletti Buitoni Trust, the second evening will see an encounter of masters of their instruments, the gambist Liam Byrne and the famous avantgarde percussionists Robyn Schulkowsky and Joey Baron. Finally we will hear Paolo Bonomini, winner of the Leipzig Bach Competition, soloist, Chamber musician and enthusiastic pedagogue.The festival will conclude on August 23 with a final concert by the participants in the Master Class.
22.08.2021 - 20:30: SOLO CELLO
23.08.2021 - 20:30: FINAL CONCERT
Info & reservation
In order to comply with Covid19-security measures, there will be reduced seating. We therefore ask you to kindly make binding
reservations via email: info@castelcello.info or by phone beginning August 6th Monday through Friday from 2-5 PM
TEL: +39-0473-234141 or +39 335 8305941
Tickets
Access and parking
From Merano to Tirolo/Dorf Tirol, parking in the village, 10 minutes walking distance to the castle
20.08.2021
Musica : Insieme
Arthur Honegger - Sonatina per vl. e vc.
Alfredo Piatti - Capriccio sulla “Niobe” per violoncello solo
Alessio Pianelli - da BACo a FaRFalLa
Anton Arensky - Quartetto n.2 op.35 in La minore
Allessio Pianelli
“Alessio Pianelli, with his exceptional talent, belongs to the best italian cellists of the new generation. With his phenomenal technique, fantasy, musical intelligence and full mastery of the stage and of his own art, he is able to bring a new fascinating emotion to his listeners.” (Thomas Demenga)
Recently awarded a Borletti Buitoni Trust
fellowship, Sicilian cellist and composer Alessio Pianelli brings to the stage
the distinctive characteristics of his homeland, where one can still live and
breathe the diverse cultures of Sicily, a unique region that was dominated
throughout the centuries by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans,
Germanics, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans and Spanish.
Curiosity, research and a love for traveling, arts and culture, all came easily
and were befitting to his character, naturally broadening his emotional
personality and crystalline talent.
Prizewinner of several international
competitions, such as Antonio Janigro International Cello
Competition, and, with his piece Tanzen Wir!, the first prize at the
International Composition Competition In Clausura organized by Ravenna Festival
and 100cellos in 2016, Alessio has regularly performed as a soloist with
symphony and chamber orchestras such as, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Kazakh State
Orchestra, Lviv Philarmonic Orchestra, Philarmonie Baden-Baden and Orchestra
Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino.
An avid chamber musician, Alessio is frequently invited to international festivals such as Marlboro Festival, Piatigorsky Festival, Davos Festival, bringing his music into prominent halls in Europe, Asia and North America (Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Hajuko Hall Tokyo and Tonhalle Zurich among others).
Since 2014 Alessio has been realising several
albums issued by Almendra Music, a Palermo-based think tank, record label and
art collective specializing in instigating collaborations among musicians and
artists from different backgrounds, which Alessio has contributed to found and
grow to stir up the creative environment of his birthland.
His piece for two cellos “Sulla Quarta” eventually became also the title track
of the second volume of an ongoing series of albums, in which Alessio turns his
exploration of the six solo cello Suites by J.S.Bach into a voyage of discovery
and self-discovery, coupling them with less-explored works composed in 20th and
21st century and with his own compositional reactions to the emotional and
intellectual challenges which Bach’s writing poses to musicians and listeners
alike.
Some of his compositions are published by Casa
Musicale Sonzogno and Mueller&Schade.
In 2017 he was invited by Marianne Piketty as a composer in residence at
Musique aux 4
Horizons in Ronchamp, France, where he performed in venues surrounded by the
architecture of Le Corbusier, Jean Prouvè and Renzo Piano.Born in 1989 into a
family of musicians, Alessio Pianelli studied in Palermo with Giovanni Sollima
and in Basel with Thomas Demenga. His training and development have also been
influenced by renowned artists such as M. Brunello and W. Boettcher.
Alessio plays a 1921 Evasio Emilio Guerra cello.
Matteo Introna
Matteo Introna was born in Naples in the year 2000.
He enrolled in the first level academic viola course at the Naples Conservartory San Pietro a
Majella, where he studied with maestro Andrea Maini and maestro Alessandro
Santucci.
There followed an advanced course taught by maestro Riccardo
Savinelli and various masterclasses with Luca Ranieri and Danusha Wakievicz at
the International Music School Avos Project in Rome.
He then took a two year refinement course in chamber music
at the Avos Project with teachers of national and international renown such as Mario Montore, Mirei Yamada, David
Romano, Diego Romano, Alessio Pianelli, Andrea Obisio and chamber ensembles
such as the Quartetto Prometeo and the Quartetto Werther.
He participated in various editions of the Villa Pennisi in
Musica Festival in Arcireale (CT) following the high refinement course taught
by maestro Raffaele Mallozzi and in the Livorno Music Festival, where he
followed the advanced course with maestro Anna Serova.
He was first viola of the Scarlatti Joung Orchestra , before
that first viola of the Scarlatti Junior Orchestra under the artistic direction
of maestro Gaetano Russo, in 2020 he was first viola of the Orchestra Giovanile
Italiana.
In these orchestras he continued to perfect himself under famous directors such as
Daniele Moles, Beatrice Venezi, Federico Odlig, Kolja Blacher, Gianna Fratta,
Roberto Abbado, Daniele Gatti.
Since autumn 2018 he performs as viola player with the Nuova Orchestra Scarlatti in various
concert seasons and during the two editions of the UniMusic Festival ,
organized in partnership with the University Federico II in Naples, where
famous musicians such as Salvatore Quaranta, Daniela Cammarano and Nello Salza
appeared on stage.
Mirei Yamada
Mirei Yamada was born in Tottori (Japan) and began studying the violin at age 3 with her father and then continued with Takeaki Sumi. She proceeded with violin studies and Chamber Music studies in Italy, and has followed some of the most renowned musicians including M. Pradella , P. N. Masi, G. Guglielmo, F. Ayo, R. Bonucci, D. Nordio, R. Filippini, A. Ghedin, M. Jones and the Trio di
Trieste. She graduated in Violin at the “Toho- Gakuen University of Music” in Tokyo. She also graduated in Violin and Chamber Music at the “Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia” in Rome. She continued the studies at the “International Chamber Music School of the Trio di Trieste” (Duino) and the “Hochschule für Musik und Tanz” of Cologne (Germany) with the “Alban Berg Quartet. In 2010, the Chigiana Academy of Siena gave her two prizes: the "Premio Monte Dei Paschi" and the prestigious "Diploma of Honor".
She is the winner of numerous national and international competitions. With the “Quartetto Avos” (now Avos Piano Quartet) she won the two most important chamber music competitions in Italy: the Premio Vittorio Gui in Florence and the International Competition Premio Trio di Trieste, where she also received two other prizes: the Amedeo Baldovino Prize for her interpretation of J.Brahms (Quartet op. 25) and the Public Prize given by the Italian newspaper "Il Piccolo di Trieste".
She has performed in the most important theatres in Italy and abroad: Parco della Musica (Rome), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Teatro Coccia (Novara), Teatro Verdi (Trieste), Sala Gaveau (Paris), Flagey (Brüssel), Nationales Auditorium (Madrid), Grand Theatre (Shanghai), Poly Theatre (Peking), Phoenix Hall (Osaka), Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo Opera City).
She performs with famous artists such as Felix Ayo, Guy Braunstein, Natalia Gutman, Eliso Virsaladze, Enrico Dindo, I solisti di Pavia, Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, Ebène Quartet, Belcea Quartet and Alban Berg Quartet.
Since 1998, she collaborates with the Opera Project of “Seiji Ozawa Ongaku - juku Orchestra” conducted by Seiji Ozawa.
Since 2012 she is second violin in the Hulencourt Soloists Chamber Orchestra (Belgium) conducted by M° Guy Braunstein, former first Violin at the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Francesco Dillon
1
Francesco Dillon (b.Turin, 1973) already has a brilliant international
career to his credit, characterised by the originality and variety of the
repertoire that he has embraced. As a soloist he has performed on such
prestigious concert stages as the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Muziekgebouw in
Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Herkulessaal of Munich, the Laeiszhalle
in Hamburg, the Jordan Hall in Boston and the Colon Theatre of Buenos Aires,
with such orchestras as Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale
Fiorentino, the Italian National Radio Orchestra (RAI), the SWR Symphony
Orchestra of Stuttgart, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna, the Oulu
Sinfonia Finland, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and the Tuscany
Regional Orchestra (ORT). Most recently he made an acclaimed debut with the
Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala, Milan, conducted by Susanna Mallki.
Having graduated in Florence under the guidance of Andrea Nannoni, he continued
his studies with Anner Bijlsma, Mario Brunello, David Geringas and Mstislav
Rostropovich, thereafter studying composition with Salvatore Sciarrino.
In 1993 he was one of the founders of the Quartetto Prometeo, a chamber group
of international acclaim and winner of numerous prizes (Prague Spring, ARD
Munich, Bordeaux) and recently honoured with the Leone d’Argento award of the
Biennale Musica of Venice. Dillon is also a stable member of the Alter Ego
ensemble which is regularly invited to the major contemporary music festivals
around the world. Dillon's performances have been transmitted by such important
broadcasters as the BBC, RAI, ARD, Radio France, ORF, the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation and WDR.
He has recorded for the ECM label, as well as Sony, Kairos, Ricordi,
Stradivarius, Die Schachtel, Mode and Touch. He recently recorded for the first
time, Variations by Salvatore Sciarrino which received the Diapason d’Or prize,
and Ballata by Giacinto Scelsi, both with the Italian National Radio Orchestra
(RAI). As a duo with the pianist Emanuele Torquati, he has brought out three
CDs of rare music of Schumann and the complete works for cello by Franz Liszt
for Brilliant Classics.
Along with his concert activity there have been teaching experiences in
institutions such as the Royal College of London, the Scuola di musica di
Fiesole, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Moscow, the Pacific University in
California, Untref-Buenos Aires, Manchester University.
From 2010 he has been artistic director of the season of contemporary music
Music@villaromana in Florence and from 2019 artistic director of CastelCello in
Brunnenburg
Liam Byrne - viola da gamba
Robyn Schulkowsky - percussion
Joey Baron - percussion
LIAM BYRNE
Liam took his BMus and Performer’s Diploma in viola da gamba with Wendy Gillespie at Indiana University and holds an MPhil in Musicology and Performance from Magdalen College Oxford, where he studied viol with Laurence Dreyfus and counterpoint and early notation with Margaret Bent. Liam is professor of viola da gamba at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he also teaches Medieval and Renaissance Performance Practice.
Liam Byrne spends most of his time playing either very old or very new music on the viola da gamba. An obsession with the instrument’s most obscure 16th and 17th century repertoire is a recurring theme in his work, whether in devising baroque performance installations for the Victoria & Albert museum, or in collaboration with the Appalachian fiddler Cleek Schrey, or creating new electronic works with Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurðsson.
Over the years, Liam has worked closely with a wide variety of musicians, from Damon Albarn to Emma Kirkby, and is a frequent guest of new music ensembles Stargaze, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and Crash Ensemble. With a background in Historical Performance and degrees from Indiana and Oxford Universities, Liam has played and recorded with many of Europe’s leading Early Music ensembles, including the Huelgas Ensemble, Dunedin Consort, The Sixteen, i Fagiolini, and the viol consorts Phantasm, Concordia, and most notably Fretwork, with whom he toured and recorded extensively for several years.
ROBYN SCHULKOWSKY
Robyn Schulkowsky moved to Germany during a heyday of experimental and adventurous classical composition. As a soloist, she has premiered and recorded some of the most important percussion works of the 20th and 21st centuries Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mauricio Kagel, Walter Zimmermann, Rebecca Saunders, Sofia Gubaidulina and Wolfgang Rihm, among others`.
Since 1998, as founder of Rhythm Lab, Schulkowsky has taken rhythm
workshops to countless cities, incorporating indigenous drumming music from
around the globe, and involving students, professionals and aficionados alike
in workshops, study, and concerts.In 2005 Space And Frequency Rhythm Lab
premiered for 10 days in the Vanderbilt Hall of New York City’s Grand Central
Station.
Robyn Schulkowsky has also made a name in improvisation, and has realised multimedia projects with such diverse artists as Günther Uecker, Sasha Waltz and Ghanaian percussionist Kofi Ghanaba. Robyn Schulkowsky has written her own compositions for theatre productions and films as well as concert works for solo drums and percussion ensemble. In 1998 she founded Rhythm Lab, a mobile percussion studio offering drumming workshops around the world to amateurs and professionals alike.
In 2009, working with 100 students of mixed social backgrounds, she created a new music theatre project based on the story of Antigone.
Last year she took her “rhythmlab” to Greece and England, and directed new interpretations of “Life Pulse Prelude” based on sketches by the composer Charles Ives in Berlin and Bonn.
New World Records released her own composition for percussion trio,
Armadillo (with Joey Baron and Fredy Studer). She also released the cd 8
Duos-music by Christian Wolff. Most of these duos were written for her and her
duo partners over the past years. Wolff’s latest work for solo percussion and
string orchestra, Encouragement, commissioned by the Münchener Kammerorchester
was premiered in Munich in October.
JOEY BARON
Drummer Joey Baron was born into a Jewish working class family in Richmond,
Virginia. |
22.08.2021 SOLO CELLO - Paolo Bonomini
Johann Sebastian Bach - Suite n.4
Luigi Dallapiccola - Ciaccona Intermezzo e Adagio
Peter Scultorphe - Requiem
PAOLO BONOMINI
Paolo Bonomini’s debut with orchestra was at the age of 15 performing Camille Saint-Sæns’ cello concerto. Numerous engagements as soloist followed in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Ukraine, Brazil, Greece and Australia.
He has played as a soloist with numerous orchestras including: Orchestra del Festival Pianistico di Brescia e Bergamo, Virtuosi di Praga, Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza, Odessa Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonie Orchester Biel, Camerata Bern, Pauliner Kammerorchester.
He has worked in the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and was invited as guest principal cello in the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Camerata Bern and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
These and other orchestral collaborations led him to play under the baton of Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Harding, Herbert Blomstedt, Sir Roger Norrington and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Being part of the project “Tenebrae, il principe dei Musici”, Paolo has toured some of the most important Italian theatres alongside Giovanni Sollima. They include A. Ponchielli in Cremona, Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza, San Carlo in Napoli and numerous other venues.
He has played in chamber music ensembles alongside Sonig Tchakerian, Mario Brunello, Salvatore Accardo, Bruno Giuranna, Franco Petracchi.
Paolo is also the founder of the Boccherini Trio, that had its debut concert in the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London in 2016. The trio, formed by violinist Suyeon Kang and violist Vicki Powell, regularly performs in Italy and Europe. The trio is coached by Rainer Schmidt from Hagen Quartet and Hatto Beyerle, founder of the Alban Berg Quartet.
Paolo has performed many times live on Italy’s Radio RAI 3, both as soloist as in chamber music ensembles. Together with cellist Amedeo Cicchese, he forms the Duo Janigro.
In 2016, following the first prize at the XX International J.S.
Bach Competition in Leipzig, he was invited to produce the recording
project Violoncello Italiano with the label Genuin Classics.
23.08.2021 FINAL CONCERT - students of the Masterclass with Francesco Dillon
First performance
of the new piece by Emanuele Casale for violoncello solo (commissioned by of CastelCello 2021)
The closing concert will be the traditional appointment with students of Francesco Dillon’s Cello Masterclass, which will offer the opportunity to discover and enjoy young Italian and international talents performing in various combinations, from solo to ensemble.23.08.2021 FINAL CONCERT - students of the Masterclass with Francesco Dillon
First performance
Info & reservation
In order to comply with Covid19-security measures, there will be reduced seating. We therefore ask you to kindly make binding reservations via email: info@castelcello.info or by phone beginning August 6th Monday through Friday from 2-5 PM
TEL: +39-0473-234141