Program

TBA

About This Performance

Marino Formenti introduced us to the magical sounds of ordinary objects and imaginary worlds when he last visited San Francisco. This time, he brings the natural world indoors through the music of the French composer Olivier Messiaen, famous for writing music inspired by bird songs.

Links/Downloads

artist biography

Italian-born pianist and conductor Marino Formenti has established himself as one of the most interesting performers of our time, both by virtue of his interpretations of modern and contemporary music and through his creative, daring programming. He is celebrated by audiences and press alike for his “exciting playing” and “dreamy concentration”. As the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of Kurtág’s Ghosts: “He is a wizard, with a wealth of tone colors at his disposal, a huge dynamic range and the ability to get around the keyboard with terrifying accuracy and stamina.” The Los Angeles Times wrote “What astonishes is the mercurial speed with which he can change emotions, the lighting shifts from brutual violence to unworldly calm.” The L.A. Weekly wrote of a “state of exhilaration beyond any experience.”

Important appearances include: Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Ravenna Festival, Aspen, Ravinia, Berliner Festspiele, Wien Mondern, IRCAM Paris, the Berliner Philharmonie and Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Cologne’s Kölner Philharmonie, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Suntory, Casals and Oji halls in Tokyo, Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow, et al.

In 2004 Formenti made his New York debut at Lincoln Center with a special series of recitals (PIANO TRIPS) as part of the “Great Performers Series.”He has presented similar series in cities including Vienna, Los Angeles and San Francisco. As a soloist, he has performed with ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, DSO and BSO in Berlin, the RSO in Vienna and with conductors including Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sylvain Cambreling, Ingo Metzmacher, Hans Zender and others. He has collaborated on projects with figures such as Gidon Kremer (as a conductor), Ulrich Matthes, Matthias Goerne, Lars Vogt and Maurizio Pollini (as a conductor).

Formenti’s conducting career, which he began as an assistant to figures such as Kent Nagano and Sylvain Cambreling (including at the Vienna State Opera, the LA Opera, the Opera de Paris, etc.) has seen him lead numerous productions and concerts at venues and events including Vienna’s Konzerthaus, the Vienna Festival, Wien Modern, the Ravenna Festival and MEC Los Angeles, as well as with Klangforum Wien. He conducted the Austrian territorial première of Kurt Weill’s opera Der Protagonist.In 2008 he made his debut at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia at the invitation of Maurizio Pollini, with whom he works with as a conductor once again in 2009 at Milan’s Teatro La Scala and at Paris’ Cité de la Musique. This year he also follows Maxim Vengerov as Guest Conductor of the MIAGI Festival Orchestra in South Africa.

Marino Formenti has recorded for several labels including KAIROS, col legno and BIS, and his recordings have been the recipients of numerous awards. Kurtag’s Ghosts is now available on Kairos.

Marino Formenti works together regularly with several of the greatest living composers, figures such as Helmut Lachenmann, György Kurtág, Salvatore Sciarrino, Olga Neuwirth and Beat Furrer. Marino Formenti was a member of Klangforum Wien (1993-2009).He is the recipient of the 2009 BELMONT Award for Contemporary Music.