Ex Novo Ensemble & Valentina Coladonato

http://www.exnovoensemble.it & http://www.valentinacoladonato.eu

The Ex Novo Ensemble, of whom flutist Daniele Ruggieri, viola player Mario Paladin and harpist Nicoletta Sanzin are members, was founded in Venice in 1979 by the composer Claudio Ambrosini and seven young musicians, who have remained with the Ensemble ever since. The Ex Novo Ensemble now represents a point of reference on the international panorama of new music. The continuity obtained by working together, its artistic and professional coherence, have bequeathed a certain character, a “sound”, which both public and critics of the major European festivals have recognised to be unique of this Ensemble; among them: Festival Acanthes, Avignon; Music, Strasbourg; HCMF Huddersfield; Concerts Ville de Genève; Biennale, Venice; Tage für neue Musik, Zürich; Time of Music, Vitasaari; Elektron Musik Festival, Skinnskatteberg, Sweden; Susa Festival, Denmark, Roma Europa, Rome; Warsaw Autumn; Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Gaudeamus Foundation, Amsterdam; Musica nel nostro tempo, Milan; IGNM, Basel; Ars Musica, Bruxelles; Münchener Philarmoniker; Mozarteum, Aspekte Salzburg; Eco & Narciso; Festival delle Nazioni, Città di Castello; Mittelfest, Cividale; RAI, Rome and Milan; Tish Center, New York; Chicago Center of Arts.

Many celebrated composers have dedicated new important pieces to the Ensemble: Claudio Ambrosini, Stefano Bellon, Carlo Boccadoro, Sylvano Bussotti, Curt Cacioppo, Gilberto Cappelli, Carmine Emanuele Cella, John Celona, Aldo Clementi, Silvia Colasanti, Azio Corghi, Michele Dall’Ongaro, Xavier Dayer, Matteo D’Amico, Luis de Pablo, Lorenzo Ferrero, Luca Francesconi, Beat Furrer, Giorgio Gaslini, Adriano Guarnieri, Alvin Lucier, Giacomo Manzoni, Vittorio Montalti, Luca Mosca, Fabio Nieder, Francesco Pennisi, Filippo Perocco, Horatiu Radulescu, Michéle Reverdy, Nicola Sani, Valerio Sannicandro, Salvatore Sciarrino, Alessandro Solbiati, Ivan Vandor, Gèrard Zinnstag.

The Ensemble’s commitment to exploring the language of contemporary music later became the basis for re-interpreting classical repertory, particulary those scores composed for rare instrumental sets that, although very beautiful, remain little known.

Many world premieres and works dedicated to the Ex Novo Ensemble have also been recorded and transmitted by the major European broadcasting corporations: BBC, Radio France, RAI, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR), Schweizer Radio (DRS and RSI), Belgian (RBFT) and Swedish Radio Networks.

Of particular significance in the Ensemble’s work is its contribution to the promotion of Italian chamber music, as demonstrated by its long association with recording companies such as Arts, ASV, Black Box, Brilliant Classics, Dynamic, Naxos, Stradivarius, Ricordi, and others, is significant.

Since 2004 organizes at La Fenice Theatre in Venice the Festival Ex Novo Musica, and since 2013 presents the Maratona Contemporanea,  a concert featuring 42 short world premières.

For this MusMA edition Daniele, Mario and Nicoletta are accompanied by soprano Valentina Coladonato. Valentina earned a Master in Foreign Languages Degree and graduated in voice with top marks. She won various international singing competitions: “Valentino Bucchi”; “G. Di Stefano”, “Città di Alcamo”, “Toti Dal Monte”, “Maria Caniglia”, and several critics, audience and jury prizes.

She sings leading roles in operas by Monteverdi, Cavalli, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Gluck, Mozart, Jommelli, Spontini, Bellini, Verdi. Her concert activity and repertoire range today from Baroque to contemporary sacred and secular music with specialized groups, such as La Venexiana, Accademia Bizantina, La Stagione Armonica, Sentieri Selvaggi, Algoritmo, Confluenze, Fontanamix, Musikfabrik.

Moreover, Valentina has sung many compositions in world première: several composers write for her voice. She’s a favorite singer of Corghi, Sciarrino, Fedele.

She has sung at major musical institutions such as Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Opéra National de Paris; Salzburg Festival; Vienna Musikverein; Concertgebouw Amsterdam; Flanders Festival; St. Petersburg Philharmonia; Southbank Centre, London; Frick Collection, New York; DeSingel, Antwerp; Kölner Philharmonie; WDR Radio; Ravenna Festival; Festival Pergolesi-Spontini; RAI, Turin, Biennale of Venice and many other venues throughout the world.

Her collaboration with stage directors includes main stage directors such as D. Abbado, M. Scaparro, C. Lievi, M. Znaniecki, C. Graham, and among conductors R. Muti, D. Robertson, L. Shambadal, P. Eötvos, J. Axelrod, M. Caldi, M. Panni, C. Scimone, C. Desderi, O. Dantone.

Next November she will make her debut as leading role in the italian première of Sciarrino’s Superflumina in Teatro Massimo in Palermo, conducted by Tito Ceccherini.