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The Italian baritone, Alfredo Grandini, studied at the conservatory L. Cherubini in Florence, the conservatory G. Rossini in Pesaro, graduating with the highest mark in the class of Andreina Desderi. Afterwards he graduated with honour from the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the Università of Bologna.
For many years, Alfredo Grandini has been active on the concert platform, appearing mostly in oratorios. He has regularly collaborated with various professional vocal ensembles, such as I Solisti del Madrigale, Nova ars Cantandi, Odhecaton, Coro della Radio Svizzera, L’Homme armé, La Stagione Armonica, The Harp Consort, and Cantar Lonano. He has also appeared at important and prestigious festivals of early music in his homeland and abroad, under the direction of conductors as Roberto Abbado, Giovanni Acciai, Sergio Balestracci, Filippo Maria Bressan, René Clemencic, Fosco Corti, Ottavio Dantone, Diego Fasolis, Roberto Gabbiani, Andrew Lawrence-King, Robert King, Fabio Lombardo, Andrea Marcon, Marco Mencoboni, Peter Neumann, Fulvio Rampi, and Giorgio Bernasconi.
His significant engagements abroad included: Berlin (Bach Tage), Stuttgart (Europäisches Musikfest and Internationale Festtage Altes Musik), Köln (Concerti del Conservatorio di Musica), Duisburg (Alte Musik Festival), Erfurt, Jena (Concerti dell’Università, Bielefeld (Kirchenmusik St. Jodokus), Münster (Barock-Fest), Almagro - Spain (Festival Internazionale di Musica Antica), Bordeuax (Festival di Musica Antica in Acquitania), St. Jean de Luz (Festival dei Paesi Baschi), Parigi (Opéra Comique), Fécamp (Festival Italien en Normandie), Ljubljana (Accademia di Musica - Gallus year 1991), Lugano (Festival Ticinese), Ascona (Settimane Musicali), Bruges (Festival delle Fiandre), Madrid (V Ciclo de Mũsica Espańola), Granada (Festival Internacional de Mũsica y Danza), Toledo e Santiago de Compostela (Centenario de Carlos V), Bilbao (Musika-Musica), Vancouver (Festival of Early Music), Melk – Austria (Internazionale Barocktage Stift Melk), Lisbon (La Folle Journée), London (Queen Elisabeth Hall), and Vaanta - Finland (Vaantan Barokki Festival).
Between his many engagements, Alfredo Grandini collaborates regularly, often as a soloist, with the musical productions of the RETE2 of the Switzerland Radio. He has recorded programmes for RAI and other broadcast companies in Italy and abroad. He took part in numerous recordings for labels as Nuova Era, Stradivarius, Concerto, Ares, Dynamic, Bongiovanni, Arts Music, and Naxos.
Recently Alfredo Grandini participated as a soloist two recordings (sacred vocal works of Antonio Caldara and A. Steffani), under the direction of René Clemencic. He sang the role of Pilatus in Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) by J.S. Bach produced by the Switzerland Television and transmitted to many Europeans countries. He sung, always as a soloist, with the King's Consort of London, under the direction of Robert King, in a concert dedicated to H. Purcell and broadcast from the Festival di Ascona. He performed the solo parts in the recordings of the Vespro by Monteverdi in CD and DVD, and of the Israel in Egypt by George Frideric Handel, under the direction of Diego Fasolis.
Alfredo Grandini took part in tours to Canada and Finland with the prestigious English instrumental ensemble The Harp Consort directed by Andrew Lawrence-King. His recent recordings included Orfeo by Monteverdi (the role of Apollo), with Christoph Prégardien, directed by Diego Fasolis and in other various productions, including the same role of Apollo and Pastore (Bilbao, Lisbon, Bielefeld) with the Collegium Cartusianum of Köln, under the direction of Peter Neumann. He has to his credit numerous CD recordings for labels Nuova Era, Stradivarius, Concerto, Ares, Dynamic, Bongiovanni, Arts Music, and Naxos.
For more than ten years Alfredo Grandini has been a part of the artistic committee of the Fondazione “Guido d'Arezzo”, organisation of the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale “Guido d’Arezzo”, of which he is also executive director, and participated in the jury of important national competitions of choral singing. He has devised and directed, in years 2000, 2001 and 2002, for Comune di Arezzo, the Festival of Early music “Settembre Musicale Aretino”.
Alfredo Grandini dedicates himself also to historical-musicological research. He has published in the prestigious publication Historiae Musicae Cultores of the publisher "Leo S. Olschki" of Florence an important study on the musical activity of the Petrarch Theatre of Arezzo in the past century. His activity of teaching in institutes and master-classes is also much appreciated.
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