Music has always been part of my life and my family: most of them are musicians. Seeing a violin, a cello, a piano or a harp at home was normal for me. However, I only got involved directly when I was about 10 years old, when, driven by curiosity, I decided to take up the violin under the guidance of my father Angelo, a violinist and teacher. It wasn’t love at first sight, but a love and sense of belonging that grew in me over time and became increasingly intense, to the point that during my teenage years I felt the need to sleep with my violin so as not to be separated from it. Thanks to my stubbornness, I have always loved challenges, so I soon wanted to tackle increasingly complex pieces of music to test my abilities and overcome my limits. This is where my passion and veneration for composers such as Tchaikovsky, Wienawski and Paganini comes from. At the age of 18, I graduated with honours from the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory in Bari, but this was only the beginning. I then attended advanced courses with many maestros, including Felice Cusano, Ulrike Danhofer, Cristiano Rossi, Massimo Quarta and Ilya Grubert. I am grateful to each of them for giving me something important in terms of violin playing and technical training, but the person who played an irreplaceable and substantial role in my personal and musical development was undoubtedly my father, my mentor. I have gained a wealth of experience working in orchestras, performing as a soloist and collaborating with chamber ensembles, but my fortunate encounter with the ensemble I Solisti Aquilani represented a prestigious and unparalleled opportunity for me from an artistic point of view. The artistic, musical and personal richness of all the members has taught me a great deal and further strengthened certain aspects of my being a musician. My recent artistic experience with pianist Carmine Chiarelli embodies a renewed desire to tackle important musical pieces with ever-increasing maturity and depth. Music has always offered me a way to channel, transform and express my torments and joys. The violin has been a faithful companion walking by my side for more than 20 years: it is reassuring to know that whatever happens, I can always open the case, pick it up and rediscover that unchanged feeling of familiarity and serenity.
