PROJECTS
Telemann 12+12 Project
The boundless imaginative possibilities of Georg Philipp Telemann’s challenging and hugely significant 12 Fantasias for Solo Flute are the heart of renowned flutist Marina Piccinini’s Telemann 12+12 Project. The virtuosic short Baroque masterpieces of the flute repertoire are paired with 12 newly-commissioned multi-genre fantasias written by legendary and fiercely-original compositional voices of today in a new recording that examines their inherently reflective nature. Telemann’s Fantasias, written around 1730 with no rules other than following the whim of fantasy, marry technical difficulty with a free-spirited improvisational essence. They are the jumping off point for a dozen composers, ranging from contemporary classical to cinematic, jazz, rock, and indigenous, to explore and respond to the creative paths the Telemann pieces offer. The Project aims to view one of the most inventive, musically original staples of the flute repertoire though a 21st-century lens, and cast a new light on the enduring impact and relevance of these works, with hope that it will further resonate with forthcoming generations.
Bach Transcriptions
Marina Piccinini’s unique transcriptions of Bach’s evergreen Flute Sonatas eschew the typical piano or harpsichord accompaniment. Marina’s recording, with a pair of guitars, is the first of its kind, and she continues to tour these live in concert with the Beijing and Brasil Guitar Duos.
Paganini Caprices
Paganini surprised the world with his dedication in the score to the fiendishly difficult 24 Caprices for violin: “Alli Artisti” (“To the Artists”). For nearly two centuries since, masters of other musical instruments have extracted their musical essence and refracted it through their own instrumental prisms. And Marina has done this for the flute with her acclaimed dazzling arrangements and performances, which remain true to Paganini's uncompromising artistic vision, showcasing an array of challenging techniques that idiomatically exploit the unique tone and expressive range of the flute.
New Zealand’s Music and Vision said it best: “I was 'blown away' hearing phenomenally gifted Italian/Brazilian flautist in Paganini's breath-defying Twenty-Four Caprices, arranged for flute by Piccinini herself. [She’s] blessed with hypnotic interpretative gifts and flawless, unexcelled technical skills. I doubt if we'll encounter a greater gift of recorded, instrumental artistry. Her astonishing pursuit takes one's breathe away… flute skills of such an order seem barely possible. A solo musical experience to treasure.”
Hear it on her recording on Avie Records (Avie AV 2284).
Her arrangements are published by Schott Music.
Coração Americano: Marina Piccinini, Sergio Assad, and Clarice Assad
Embark on a journey from Lebanon to Italy and Portugal, stopping in Brazil, and landing in the U.S. in this collaboration between Marina Piccinini, guitarist Sergio Assad, and composer-performer Clarice Assad.
Coração Americano traces these multi-national, multi-lingual artists and takes a global-perspective to intertwine their ancestry and artistic lineage in an exuberant genre-bending evening of music echoing their dynamic varied musical interests. Brazilian folk melodies, the Latin American songbook, and both traditional and new music come together to weave a tapestry in an unforgettable evening.
Includes music by Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, Jobim, original music by the Assads, and more.
Recent performances include The Schubert Club and University of Chicago Presents.
Marina Piccinini and Vienna Philharmonic Principal Harpist Anneleen Lenaerts
Longtime musical collaborators Piccinini and Lenaerts come together to tour as a duo with flute/harp works including those by women composers who worked in the shadow of their male relatives, and programs with works by Schubert, Nino Rota, and much more. The duo also regularly performs double concerti for flute and harp, and in a trio program with mandolinist Avi Avital.
TRE VOCI
TRE VOCI unites three fearless, visionary artists who are each internationally celebrated as masters of their instruments. Discovering an unusually powerful commonality when they first met at the 2010 Marlboro Music Festival, they bring a distinctly global perspective, musical adventurousness, and transfixing beauty to the ensemble’s performances of “glittering sensuality” (The New York Times).
Italian-Canadian-American Marina Piccinini is widely hailed as “the Heifetz of the flute” (Gramophone). American violist Kim Kashkashian “combines a probing, restless intellect with enormous beauty of tone” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Israeli harpist Sivan Magen is “a budding superstar whose dazzlingly virtuosic performances shatter any stereotype of this instrument” (The New York Times).
Tre Voci has appeared in music new and old on major stages across the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, including recent appearances in Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, London’s Wigmore Hall, Carnegie’s Weill hall, and Italy’s Accademia Chigiana featuring a new work written especially for the ensemble by the celebrated Toshio Hosokawa.
Tre Voci’s critically acclaimed first recording for fabled ECM Records features works by Debussy, Takemitsu, and Gubaidulina.
