Fabio Biondi joins Maestro Arts roster
Fabio Biondi has joined the Maestro Arts roster for general management. Biondi came to worldwide attention as a violinist, with virtuosic performances of Baroque and Classical music. He founded Europa Galante in 1989, bringing his original and thrilling approach to Baroque and Classical repertoire. As Italy’s leading period ensemble, the group has made many landmark recordings, including of Vivaldi Four Seasons, selling more than a million copies, as well as Handel and Scarlatti.
As a conductor, he has brought his insight to modern symphony and chamber orchestras around the world, often programming well-known classics alongside lesser-known discoveries.
His passion for conducting opera has taken him to major houses, including Opernhaus Zürich, Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden and Geneva’s Grand Théâtre. From 2015 to 2018 he was Music Director of Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, where he conducted productions of works by Donizetti, Rossini, Haydn and Verdi. He continues to serve as Artistic Director of Europa Galante, as well as of Farnese Festival.
In our exclusive interview, Biondi explains how his understanding of Baroque music has affected all the music he conducts: ‘Working with Baroque music is a lesson in being attentive to details – understanding where the phrase goes, what the articulation is, bar by bar. This has been a very effective school for learning more modern repertoire. These details are part of Romantic music, too, but sometimes we forget this and don’t consider that everything in the score was put there by the composer for an important reason.’
He also discusses his approach to historical authenticity: ‘I am not interested in reproducing Debussy, Wagner or Mozart like they were played the first time. I don’t believe in the ‘authenticity’ of a piece of music. It’s important to make our own interpretations. We are modern interpreters and everything comes through the filter of our own times. We must respect the music, and be modest, but after that, we have to place it within our own reality – where we live, our society, and how the audience expects to listen to music today.’
Upcoming conducting highlights include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Wiener Symphoniker (23 Dec) and Orfeo ed Euridice at Teatro Regio di Parma (23 to 31 Jan).
