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The Italian pianist, Sandro Ivo Bartoli, began his musical studies at the age of 12; at 15 he gave his first public recital. He studied at the Boccherini Musical Institute in Lucca and at the Florence State Conservatory with Giancarlo Cardini, receiving his Professorship in 1991. Subsequently, he moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music (where he won numerous prizes and scholarships), and collaborated privately with the late Ukrainian pianist Shura Cherkassky.
Since the early 1990’s, with Shura Cherkassky’s support and encouragement, Sandro Ivo Bartoli revisited the Italian literature from the early 20th century, establishing a trend and rapidly becoming its leading interpreter. His rediscovery of the concertos of Ottorino Respighi (Bedford, 1991), Gian-Francesco Malipiero (London, 1994) and Alfredo Casella (1995), was followed by the first modern performance in the USA of O. Respighi’s Toccata for piano and orchestra, with the Johnson City Symphony under Lewis Dalvitt; the concert was broadcast live by PBS and subsequently included in the station’s Great Performances series. As a result, Bartoli signed his first recording contract, with ASV, for an album dedicated to the piano works of Gian-Francesco Malipiero, to which followed one year later another recording with music by Alfredo Casella (performed by "a fantastic pianist", wrote Der Spiegel Kultur). His international career developed rapidly: in 1997 he appeared in Sweden, where Svenska Dagbladet heralded him as "an outwordly virtuoso”; Norway followed, with concerts at the Bergen festival and the Grieg Museum. Meanwhile, he began his collaboration with Italian author Antonio Tabucchi, performing Italian music at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence to rapturous success. In 2000 he appeared in Germany, where his interpretation of L.v. Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto received significant acclaim ("such a performance of the Emperor concerto had not been heard for more than a decade" wrote the Thüringer Allgemeine), then in the UK, where his rendition of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody with the Hallé Orchestra under Nicolae Moldoveanu received a standing ovation.
In 2002 Sandro Ivo Bartoli produced the scene music for Fernando Pessoa’s Book of disquiet, performed at the Festival d'Avignon in the adaptation of Antonio Tabucchi, and appeared in the triple capacity of pianist, arranger and composer. The same year, he founded in London Opera Etcetera, a series of concerts devoted to the non-vocal music of opera composers, and the Lyric Club Renato Bruson of Turin awarded him the Gina Rosso Prize for his work in the arts. More significant engagements followed: Dmitri Shostakovich’s First Concerto in Stockholm, S. Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto in London, L.v. Beethoven’s Third Concerto in Bedford, and a cycle of live concerts for the Spanish National Radio where he performed various works by Gian-Francesco Malipiero, Alfredo Casella, Ottorino Respighi, Pizzetti, the new Sonata of Luciano Berio and the Fantasia contrappuntistica of Ferruccio Busoni. In 2005 Bartoli took part in a grand benefit concert at Munich’s Philharmonie with Martha Argerich and Rodion Shchedrin, and completed the world premiere recording of Gian-Francesco Malipiero’s piano concertos with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken under Michele Carulli for CPO. The important event was the subject for a documentary film by French director Miroslav Sebestik. The double CD was received with enthusiasm by the international press in France, USA, Germany, the Uk and Austria.
More recently, Sandro Ivo Bartoli has been involved in a project to bring back to public attention the historic opera houses of Italy. His 2008 tour In Tuscany with Frédéric Chopin met with unanimous praise from public and critic alike, and earned him a public commendation from the Tuscan Minister of Culture. In 2010 he has performed O. Respighi’s Concerto in the myxolydian mode with the Orchestra of the Landesbhünen Sachsen in Dresden to rave reviews, L.v. Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Teschenphilharmonie in Munich and F. Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto in Grosseto.
Sandro Ivo Bartoli has recorded O. Respighi’s Concerto in modo misolidio and Toccata for piano and orchestra with the Landesbünene Sachsen under Michele Carulli for the Dutch label Brilliant Classics. Future projects include the performance and recording of Pjot’r Il’ich Tchajkovskij’s complete piano music and two albums of F. Busoni piano works, as well as performances of Ferruccio Busoni’s Second Concerto, Franz Liszt’s First Concerto, and numerous recitals throughout Europe. His discography is available on ASV, NEOS, Timbre, Opera Etcetera, Fenice DM, CPO and Brilliant Classics. |
