Duo Pepicelli

Biography

DUO PEPICELLI

Francesco Pepicelli, violoncello - Angelo Pepicelli, pianoforte

The Duo Pepicelli represent  the synthesis of an innate spiritual affinity and a constant musical research by the two brothers Angelo (piano) and Francesco (cello)

After their formation with the Trio di Trieste, and further specialization with Filippini, Canino, Palm and Geringas, the Duo Pepicelli established themselves as distinguished performers winning awards in several international competitions including the Gui Competition organised in Florence.

The increasing appreciation they have received from both critics and audience, brought the duo to perform in some of the most renown concert halls and theatres over the world, including recitals at the Salle Gaveau in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, and in various venues in Japan during their four tournées there.

The Duo also performed chamber music with other established musicians in the most prestigious Italian Festivals. Their collaboration with violinist Mauro Loguercio eventually gave rise to the formation of the Trio Modigliani.

Another important chapter in the Duo’s history includes the various performances at the Quirinale Palace in Rome which were broadcasted live on RaiRadio3.

Their supreme musicianship is further completed with their several releases for record labels Dynamic, Bongiovanni, Naxos, Bottega Discantica and Amadeus as well as with the teaching roles they currently hold for solo instrument and chamber music within Italian Institutions and in international master classes.

DUO’S CURRICULUM

The duo’s formation and their artistic maturity.  The musicians who have contributed to the formation and the artistic maturity of the duo include the Trio di Trieste (Chamber Music International School of Music in Duino, Trieste), Jones, De Rosa and Baldovino (Fiesole School of Music), Filippini (Stauffer Academy in Cremona) Canino, Palm and Geringas: these acknowledged musicians helped the two brothers develop ‘their musical talent, their mature and refined musical education, their excellence in playing and the integrity with which they serve Music’  thus placing the duo ‘among the most prominent Italian chamber music groups’.

Competitions and awards. The duo received awards in several national and international music competitions, among which the ‘Gui’ competition in Florence and Caltanissetta.

An international duo. Their concerts have brought the two musicians to perform in important national and international venues, both as soloists and in duo formation. They performed in France (at the Salle Gaveau, Paris and for the Reims-Festival Les flaneries musicales d’été), Germany (Leipzig, Berlin, Cologne, Bremen and Hamburg), Japan (Casals Hall, Tokyo and Suntory), Spain (Barcelona and Seville), Austria (Vienna and Salsburg), Denmark, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria (Settimane internazionali, Sophia), Portugal, Poland, the United States (Carnegie Hall, New York and Washington), in Brazil as well as in other countries.

Chamber music, duo and trio formation. The two musicians have collaborated with several musicians for chamber music concerts, amongst which the Festival Settimane Internazionali organised in Naples, the Brescia and Bergamo Festival, the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto, the Settimane al Teatro Olimpico  in Vicenza and La Biennale Festival in Venice. As solo performers the two musicians worked with acknowledged conductors such as Gatti, Panni, Sutey, Reck and Acs. Their recent successful collaboration with violinist Mauro Loguercio led to the formation of the Trio Modigliani which debuted in London in May 2006. The trio toured Brazil and was invited to perform in South America, Austria and Switzerland (for the prestigious series entitled The Great Interpreters, Geneva). Recently the trio has also been invited to perform for Italian concert associations namely the Società dei Concerti in Milano and Piacenza, Concerti del Quirinale live performances for Rai Radio3, Scuola Normale in Pisa, Amici della Musica in Vicenza, Novara and Modena, the Udine theatre, Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, Società L. Barbara in Pescara, Unione Musicale in Torino and Fazioli Hall in Sacile.

Discography. The Pepicelli brothers recorded several works for which they received extensive appreciation by major national and international music magazines. They undertook a project to record the complete works for violoncello and piano of Casella and Martucci with Dynamic, and works by Busoni, Cilea, Petrassi, Margola and Nielsen with Bongiovanni. They also recorded Casella’s Triple concerto (with violinist Marco Rizzi), the cello concerto and the concerto for piano and strings performing with the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali conducted by Panni (Dynamic). The duo also recorded the complete works of Busoni and Respighi for violoncello and pianoforte, a CD launched by Naxos in May 2004 and considered as CD of the month. In December 2002, on the occasion of the duo’s 20 years of activity, a CD ‘Encore’ was released by Velut Luna comprising all the pieces performed as encores during their concerts: for this occasion they also performed at the Quirinale Palace in Rome which was broadcasted live for Radio Rai3. The duo’s latest recordings include Messiaen’s chamber music together with violinist Marco Rizzi and clarinettist Alessandro Carbonare, a CD which was distributed together with the June 2009 issue of the magazine ‘Amadeus’. In Autumn 2009, Trio Modigliani recorded a CD dedicated to Beethoven’s Op. 70 No. 1 and Brahms’ op. 101 with Bottega Discantica.

19^th and 20^th century repertoire and contemporary music: renown performers. Since the nineties, the duo Pepicelli have established themselves as acclaimed interpreters of nineteenth and twentieth century Italian repertoire. In these last years they have enriched their contemporary repertoire with first performances of works by contemporary composers Carlo Boccadoro, Nicola Campogrande, Fabrizio de Rossi Re, Fabrizio Festa, Claudio Rastelli, Eddy Serafini and Nicola Straffelini. Particularly noteworthy is the performance of the Concerto di Festa for violoncello, pianoforte and string orchestra performed in Torino in April 2009 together with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Torino.

Academic roles. Both musicians currently hold teaching roles, at the Conservatoire of Perugia (chamber music and violoncello) and at the Musical Institution of Terni (pianoforte) respectively. Besides, they regularly hold master classes in Italy, Japan and Poland.

(updated on 14.01.2010)

 

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