Duo Gazzana
The Gazzana sisters, violinist Natascia and pianist Raffaella, are so close in both art and life they could pass for twins. Italian by birth, the Duo received an international musical education with world-class musicians such a Bruno Canino and the Trio di Milano, Ruggiero Ricci, Yehudi Menuhin, Corrado Romano, Piero Farulli, Uto Ughi, Pavel Gililov, Pierre Amoyal. The sisters shared passion for arts and culture also led to graduations with extra-musical degrees from the “La Sapienza” University of Rome; Natascia in visual arts, Raffaella in Italian literature and musicology.
Wherever they performed, from Rome to Seoul, from New York to Hong Kong, Paris to Singapore or Tokyo to Moscow, Duo Gazzana has been praised for versatility in performing music from diverse periods in ravishing interpretations.
The Duo performed for King Charles the III during [...]
The Gazzana sisters, violinist Natascia and pianist Raffaella, are so close in both art and life they could pass for twins. Italian by birth, the Duo received an international musical education with world-class musicians such a Bruno Canino and the Trio di Milano, Ruggiero Ricci, Yehudi Menuhin, Corrado Romano, Piero Farulli, Uto Ughi, Pavel Gililov, Pierre Amoyal. The sisters shared passion for arts and culture also led to graduations with extra-musical degrees from the “La Sapienza” University of Rome; Natascia in visual arts, Raffaella in Italian literature and musicology.
Wherever they performed, from Rome to Seoul, from New York to Hong Kong, Paris to Singapore or Tokyo to Moscow, Duo Gazzana has been praised for versatility in performing music from diverse periods in ravishing interpretations.
The Duo performed for King Charles the III during his official visit to Italy for the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Sir William Walton. The have been named “Ambassadors of the City of Florence” and “Government guest” of Japan for important celebrations in international relations between Italy and Japan and have furthermore performed a gala concert in the capital of Myanmar, for State Counsellor and Nobel Peace Prize Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The duo have a passion for exploring uncharted musical territories and often seek out areas which are disparate culturally and historically. While their programs contain a common thread linking the works of different composers, they maintain a deeply rooted connection to finest and original aspects of the Italian musical identity: a sense of ‘cantabilità’, of melody, and of beauty. With exceptionally rigorous and faithful interpretation, Duo Gazzana highlights the enchantment of the music and the pleasure of listening, and strives to bring their audiences closer to works that might appear difficult or esoteric” (RaiRadio3’s Stefano Catucci”)
Duo Gazzana’s wide repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary music. Works have been dedicated to the duo by Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine), Đặng Hữu Phuc (Vietnam), Fabio Maffei (Switzerland), Tonu Korvits (Estonia) and Bruno Canino (Italy).
Five Pieces, their debut recording for ECM’s New Series, includes works by Takemitsu, Hindemith, Janáček and Silvestrov, and was released in 2011. A second album, presenting music of Poulenc, Walton, Dallapiccola, Schnittke and Silvestrov followed in 2014. Their subsequent recording, with music by Ravel, Franck, Ligeti and Messiaen, released in 2018, was nominated by both the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) and Opus Klassik in Berlin.
The duo’s fourth New Series recording, released in 2022, finds them venturing back to the 19. century for impassioned interpretations of Schumann and Grieg, while premiere recordings of works by the Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits make up the contemporary part of the programme –composed explicitly for the Gazzanas. In a rave-review of the album, Die Zeit and SWR’s Christine Lemke-Matwey noted that “one can hear how intimately the duo identifies with the music” and that with them “it’s not just about virtuosity or euphony, but about intuition, penetrating the score and becoming one with the music.”
A new album is in preparation, planned for a future release on the New Series.
Read moreRead less
