Edition: V

Orazio Sciortino

Orazio Sciortino

Country: Italy

Festival: www.erfestival.org

The Artist's Music

Bio/Studies

Born in Siracusa, he carried out in his native city his first piano studies. Afterwards he got his diploma at the International Piano Academy of Imola with the highest grades, studying with Boris Petrushansky, Michel Dalberto and Louis Lortie. Orazio has also completed his composition studies at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan with the composer Fabio Vacchi, graduating with top scores.

Career

His “Cadenzas for Mozart piano concertos” were published by Universal-Ricordi in 2007. Some of his compositions have been played in Italy and abroad during major festivals and venues such as: Portogruaro International Festival, Cantelli Orchestra (Serate Musicali di Milano in Teatro Dal Verme), Bonn Beethoven Festival, Barge Music Festival of New York, I Cameristi della Scala, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Geneva Conservatory, Cantiere Internazionale d’arte di Montepulciano, Teatro alla Scala, Ensemble Musagète, “Giuseppe Verdi” Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Turin Philarmonic Orchestra etc.

His concert performer pianist activity, both as a soloist and with orchestras, has led him to perform in internationally reputed contexts: the Milan Sala Verdi (promoted by Società dei Concerti), Ancona Teatro delle Muse, Ferrara Musica, Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, Teatro Rossini di Pesaro, Teatro Politeama in Palermo, Teatro Dal Verme (Serate Musicali), Parma Teatro Regio (Verdi Festival), Greek Theatre in Syracuse (Sicily), Reate Festival, MiTo Settembremusica 2012 and 2013, I Concerti del Quirinale Rai 3 broadcast, Perugia Classica, Orchestra Sinfonica “Giuseppe Verdi” di Milano (season 2012/2013 and 2013/2014) Sagra Malatestiana of Rimini, Festival Pergolesi-Spontini of Jesi, Scarlatti Society, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino etc.. He also performed concerts in Poland, Germany (Berlin Konzerthaus, Braunschweig and Wolfsburg Festival etc.. ), Austria, Canada (Orford Festival and Ottawa Chamber Music Festival by invitation of Louis Lortie), Switzerland (Semaines Musicales de Crans Montana, Montreux Jazz Festival), as well as in Kenya, Malta, France (Salle Molière in Lyon, Rencontres artistiques de Bel Air etc..) , Spain, Serbia, Scotland, Lebanon, Jordan, Lithuania, Saudi Arabia etc..

He has recorded for RAI Tre, Radio Tre, Radio Classica, the Italian Swiss Radio and for record labels such as Dynamic (“Franz Liszt, An orchestra on the piano”), Bottega Discantica (Adolfo Fumagalli 1828-1856, “piano works”), Limen Music (Ciurlionis european artist) and Sony Classical (“The Italian Wagner). Recently the double CD “Wagner&Verdi (1813-2013) – Complete Piano Transcriptions by Tausig and Liszt”, is released by Sony Classical.

He has collaborated with the publishing houses Mazzotta and Skira on projects related to the relationships between music and visual arts. He has been dealing with the disclosure of Music as a lecturer and pianist, offering listening guide courses and lecture-concerts.

Notes on the Musma Composition

A song to sing on the water” (Auf dem Wasser zu singen) for wind quintet

In the flow of time that passes by, the ghost of Schubert is only the recollection of the last dream; In the flow of time that passes by, the soul seeks a Lied’s reflection in the river of disillusionment; In the flow of time that passes by, the Night reassembles the broken chant. Soft polyphony. The rhythmic element of Schubert’s lied “auf dem Wasser zu singen” is the key to the whole composition. Decomposed, fragmented and reassembled, the flow dictated by the inexorable rhythmic slide called a melody line that -when overlaping itself through rhythmic canons and isoritmie- generates a polyphonic texture at the end of the piece.