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The Italian cellist, Mario Brunello, studied with Adriano Vendramelli at the Venice Conservatorio of music and with Antonio Janigro. In 1986 he was awarded the 1st Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in the cello section. ex equo with Kirill Rodin (Russia then USSR).
Mario Brunello was the first Italian ever to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, which launched him into a stunning international career. He has played with some of the most prestigious orchestras in the world: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, only to name a few. He has also collaborated with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Yuri Temirkanov, Riccardo Chailly, Ton Koopman, Seiji Ozawa, Daniele Gatti, Myung-Whun Chung and Claudio Abbado. Claudio Abbado has, over the years, invited Brunello several times to play with him and the Orchestra of the Lucerne Festival and the Orchestra Mozart. With both orchestras Brunello has appeared as a soloist and also as a conductor.
Chamber music plays an important role in Mario Brunello's artistic life. As a chamber musician he has collaborates with artists such as Gidon Kremer, Martha Argerich, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Yuri Bashmet, Maurizio Pollini, Andrea Lucchesini, Valery Afanassiev and the Borodin and Alban Berg Quartets.
Mario Brunello often takes on the dual roles of conductor and soloist, In 1994, he founded the Orchestra d'Archi Italiana (Italian String Orchestra) starting a double performing activities as a conductor in addition to that of soloist and touring in many European countries.
In his artistic life Mario Brunello reserves ample time for projects involving diverse art forms (literature, philosophy, science, theatre). Through new ways of communication he tries to attract new audiences, creating interactive performances of music, images and words. A large number of these activities take place in Antiruggine, a remodelled workshop that is ideal for these experiments. He is Artistic Director of the International String Quartet Competition Premio Paolo Borciani and of the Reggio Emilia String Quartet Festival.
The diverse artistic genres that Brunello experiments are reflected in a wide ranging collection of recordings which include the J.S. Bach's Cello Suites and Sonatas by Johannes Brahms, L.v. Beethoven and Frédéric Chopin, as well as many other recordings dedicated to contemporary works for solo cello. In 2008 Deutsche Grammophon published a CD with the L.v. Beethoven's Triple Concerto conducted by Claudio Abbado. EGEA Records Company has produced a record series articulated into five releases dedicated to Mario Brunello: “Odusia”, a musical Odyssey through Mediterranean culture, “Brunello and Vivaldi”, dedicated to the cello Concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, “Violoncello and” for solo cello, “Schubert e Lekeu” with the pianist Andrea Lucchesini and a double CD with the J.S. Bach's Cello Suites. This last one has been awarded with the prestigious Italian Critic Award 2010.
The major engagements of the season 2011-2012 included concerts with London Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan with Valery Gergiev, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra with Ton Koopman, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Antonio Pappano as well as recitals for solo cello and with piano in Vienna, Bregenz, Tokyo, Milan, Klavier Festival Ruhr. In October 2010 he has performed the European premiere of Rautavaara’s Cello Concerto No. 2 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam conducted by John Storgards.
Mario Brunello plays a Maggini cello (17th century) which, in the 20th century, belonged to Benedetto Mazzacurati and then to Franco Rossi, cellist of the "Quartetto Italiano". |
