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 and Classical repertoire, performing at leading international festivals and stages including this season the Berlin Pierre Boulez Saal, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Wiener Konzerthaus. This season Biondi's residency at the Auditorio Nacional de Música Madrid includes four projects ranging from sold out solo and duo violin recitals, to concerts with Europa Galante and Ian Bostridge.
He brings this all-encompassing approach to modern symphony and chamber orchestras, which he both conducts and directs from the violin, bringing a new perspective and revealing “lively musical conversations across the centuries” (Chicago Tribune). He was Artistic Director for Baroque Music at the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra for eleven years until 2016, and has conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Danish National and Chicago Symphony orchestras, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Further future highlights include returns to the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, RAI Torino, Bergen Philharmonic and Finnish Radio Symphony orchestras, Akademie für Alte Musik and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.
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; and he has recorded with opera stars including Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Philippe Jaroussky, Vivica Genaux and Rolando Villazón. His latest recording of Paganini Sonatas for Violin and Guitar was named Editor's Choice by Gramophone Magazine and BBC Music Magazine's Chamber Choice.
Biondi’s passion for Classical opera, bel canto and early Verdi takes him to major houses including the Staatsoper Berlin, La Fenice, Teatro Regio di Torino and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, where he was Music Director 2015-18 and conducted productions of Donizetti, Rossini, Haydn and most recently Verdi Il Corsaro. As violinist, he is consistently respected as a virtuoso “beyond reproach” (Guardian), performing across the world with piano, harpsichord and forte-piano, including at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and Cité de la Musique.
Fabio 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 an Andrea Guarneri and a 1766 Carlo Ferdinando Gagliano, owned by his teacher Maestro Salvatore Cicero and kindly lent to him by the Salvatore Cicero Foundation in Palermo, where he was born.
2018-19 season / 551 words. Not to be altered without permission.