FABIO BIONDI Driven by a deep cultural curiosity, Fabio Biondi is a musician ceaselessly in pursuit of a style free from constraints. From his early development, guided by pioneers of period performance, Biondi’s work has incorporated a repertoire spanning three centuries. His infectious enthusiasm and determination to put music first mark him out in his quest for an ‘original language’, both in globally known works and in his commitment to researching and illuminating lesser-known masterpieces. In 1990, following extensive work with specialist ensembles including Les Musiciens du Louvre and The English Concert, Biondi founded Europa Galante, which quickly became the foremost Italian period ensemble. Biondi and his ensemble have forged a reputation for “fresh, vibrant performances” (New York Times) and breathe new life into Baroque, Classical and early Romantic repertoire, performing at leading international festivals and stages with recent highlights including the Berlin Pierre Boulez Saal, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Enescu Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival. This season they bring staged performances of Handel Silla to China and Japan. Biondi brings this authentic and engaging approach to modern symphony and chamber orchestras, which he both conducts and directs from the violin. Recent and future highlights include the Chicago Symphony, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, RAI Torino, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Mahler Chamber orchestras and the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg. He was Artistic Director for Baroque Music at the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra for eleven years until 2016. Biondi’s experience in and passion for opera takes him to major houses including this season to the Grand Théâtre de Genève for Luk Perceval's new production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. He also conducts Scarlatti’s La Vergine Addolorata at the Barocktage of Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden. As Music Director from 2015 till 2018 he conducted productions of Donizetti, Rossini, Haydn and, most recently, Verdi’s Il Corsaro. As a violinist, he is consistently respected as a virtuoso “beyond reproach” (The Guardian), performing in renowned concert halls across the world, including the Carnegie Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Auditorio Nacional de Música Madrid and the Cité de la Musique. His broad discography on Warner Classics, Virgin and Glossa has earned Biondi numerous awards, including the Diapason d'Or de l’Année and Choc de Musique; his widely acclaimed recording with Europa Galante of Vivaldi Four Seasons was named Disc of the Year by organizations in over five countries. Biondi has also recorded with opera stars such as Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Philippe Jaroussky, Vivica Genaux and Rolando Villazón. His recent recording of Paganini: Sonatas for Violin and Guitar was named Editor's Choice by the Gramophone Magazine and the BBC Music Magazine. Biondi has been an academician of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia since 2011, he was named in 2015 an Officer of the National Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture, and in 2019 was awarded the medal of Courage and Veracity by the Polish Government, in recognition of outstanding cultural achievements. He plays a 1766 Gennaro Gagliano, owned by his teacher Maestro Salvatore Cicero and kindly lent to him by the Salvatore Cicero Foundation in Palermo, where he was born. March 2020 .