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Giampaolo
Pretto is principal flute of the Italian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Turin.
“Pretto’s
playing is superb. His beautiful tone in all registers of the flute, perfect
intonation and flawless technique is evident throughout performance. I
impressed with his charm and warmth of personality on the stage”.
Sir James Galway. Born in Verona in 1965, graduated at the age of seventeen with full marks. Throughout the following years he attended several master classes under some of the most celebrated soloists among the international scene, such as Alain Marion, James Galway, Auréle Nicolet, raising from all of them great admiration for his playing. At the Ècole Nationale d'Aulnay of Paris he obtained in 1994 the Premier Prix under Patrick Gallois and in more recent years he also obtained the degree in Composition at the Turin Conservatory. From 1986 Pretto is principal flute at the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai in Torino. Moreover he has been often invited to play as solo flute by the major italian orchestras, in particular Maggio Fiorentino, Filarmonica della Scala, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra Mozart, conducted by Mehta, Muti, Chung, Temirkanov, Abbado and many others. Equally at home in front of the orchestra as in its midst, he began performing as concerto soloist from a very young age, being the interpretation of the widest possible repertoire in any historic period his principal target. Among his early recordings: the complete Mozart Flute Concertos with European Union Chamber Orchestra conducted by Eivin Aadland and the G major Concerto with the SüdWestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim conducted by Alexandros Myrat. In those years he performed Bach’s Suite and Brandeburg Concertos with Daniele Gatti, the Concertanti by Mozart with Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli, and the concertos of Boccherini, Salieri, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, with several other important chamber orchestras and groups, recording finally for Amadeus label all the Brandeburg Concertos. In the contemporary side his début was in1987 Pietro su Pietra by Sylvano Bussotti for the italian public radio (RAI) of Milan. In 1999 played for the Biennale di Venezia the Concerto for flute and orchestra by Goffredo Petrassi conducted by Arturo Tamayo. The recording of Petrassi's concerto produced by Stradivarius label obtained five Diapason from the french magazine Diapason. In 2000 he took part as a soloist at the first performance in Città di Castello of the Studi per l'intonazione del mare by Salvatore Sciarrino. In March 2002 RAI included in its season a new Concerto for flute and orchestra written by Ivan Fedele titled Ruah: the piece was written for - and dedicated to - Giampaolo Pretto, who has been the first performer. In 2002 he performed again the Petrassi Concerto, in several european cities, including Aosta and Konzerthaus Berlin. In the same year he recorded for Stradivarius the Ruah concerto by Fedele under Pascal Rophè obtaining for the second time the five Diapason. In 2003 he presented in Konzerthaus Wien the Concerto in D major of Boccherini. In 2004 he recorded German Romantic Flute Sonatas and in the same year was invited to give a Masterclass in South Corea, concluded with a flute recital in Seoul. In 2005 and 2006 he has been invited as a soloist by some of the best italian chamber orchestras, such as the Solisti di Pavia under Enrico Dindo for the Brandeburg Concerts, I Filarmonici conducted by Corrado Rovaris, the Camerata strumentale di Prato for the flute and harp concert by Mozart and of Bach Suite. In 2007, he made his dèbut of Concierto Pastoral by Rodrigo - considered as the most diffucult flute concerto ever written - in Florence under N. Paszkowski, and played again, for the Nice Festival in Montecarlo, the Ruah Concerto by Fedele under P.A.Vàlade. In 2009 he recorded the Concierto Pastoral by Rodrigo and the Concerto da Camera by Honegger with the Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino. In 2010 he performed again Mozart k 299 for the italian Radio conducted by Jeffrey Tate. In recent times, many other concerts in Istrael playing Mozart and Saint-Saens’ Odelette, other Mozart concertos in Milan and Aosta, and the creation of Triplo Concerto for two flutes harp and orchestra by Fabio Vacchi in Bari at the Teatro Petruzzelli in 2013. As a chamber musician, he has been playing for two decades in Quintetto Bibiena, his woodwind quintet winner of the highest prize in 1993 Munich ARD competition. As a conductor, he attended masterclasses with Piero Bellugi and specialized in instructing and conducting young talents’ orchestras. In 2009 he conducted an european tour of Georgian Youth Orchestra Zakaria Paliashvili publishing on DVD the Serenade op. 11 by Brahms. Official teacher and conductor for the italian youth orchestra (OGI) from 2012, he already gave many concerts in this new role, from Schubert Mass to Pergolesi Stabat Mater, from Moussorgsky Pictures to Stravinsky ‘s Dumbarton Oaks and Octet, from Britten cantata Misericordium to Berg kammerkonzert. As a solist-conductor he performed in many occasions classic and baroque concertos. In 2008 Classica Sky channel broadcasted a portrait of Giampaolo Pretto’s career where he describes his artistic vision and life. |