CLAUDIO MARCOTULLI
Considered one of the most interesting guitarist of his generation, Claudio Marcotulli has a profile of highly artistic relevance that captures both audiences and critics worldwide.
During the formative years, studying under M. Ialenti and M. Severi, he showed brilliant technique and strong musical qualities, winning the favour of audiences and juries in many national young musician competitions.
He obtained his Diploma with Highest Honours from the L. Cherubini Conservatory in Florence under the guidance of Alfonso Borghese; further studies included the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris with Alberto Ponce, where in 1983 he was given the “Licence Superieure d’Execution Musicale” and the following year the “Diplome Superieure de Concertiste” with special mention from the President of the jury, Alexandre Lagoya.
Along with the “Ecole Normale”, Claudio Marcotulli has followed intensive courses with artists of international calibre such as A. Diaz, A. Lauro, J. Williams and has taken part in important international competitions, winning in 1981 the “Concorso Città di Lecce”, Italy, devoted to contemporary music, the “ Ville de Carpentras” competition in 1983 and the “R. Bratoli” in Salon de Provence in 1984, both of which in France. Of utmost importance for his professional career was the First Prize in the “F. Tarrega” competition in Benicasim, Spain, one of the most important guitar competitions in the world, including the special prize for “ Best performance of Tarrega’s music”. Thanks to this award he has been engaged in worldwide tours and recordings that launched his career to the highest level.
Claudio Marcotulli travels regularly to France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, Israel, China, Mexico and Cuba performing repertoire for solo guitar, chamber music and the guitar Concertos; his appearances with orchestras as a soloist include the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia, the Avignone Chamber Orchestra, the Iashi and Timisoara orchestras in Romania, and the GMI Orchestra del Veneto with conductors such as Donato Renzetti, Ennio Morricone, Ignacio Yepes, Christian Mandeal, Ion Baciu, Alessio Vlad, Carmine Carrisi and Riccardo Serenelli: on more than one occasion he has also accompanied M° Luciano Pavarotti with the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia. In 1995 he performed in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe production of Rossini’s Barber of Seville and in 1999 in the Mahler Chamber Orchestra production of Verdi’s Falstaff, on both occasions under the baton of Claudio Abbado.
info@claudiomarcotulli.it - www.claudiomarcotulli.it

STEFANO PALAMIDESSI
Stefano Palamidessi was born in Rome in 1960; he got the guitar diploma at “S.Cecilia” Conservatory, studying at the same time composition and Musical Disciplines at the Bologna University .
While winning a plenty national and international guitar contests (among them the "Mauro Giuliani", "Fernando Sor", "Emilio Pujol", "Nicola Fago", "Lagonergo" for contemporary music, "Città di Mondovì", "Città di Ancona" contests), at 20 he starts the concert career as soloist, with orchestra and in ensembles, playing through Europe, Africa and Asia. He collaborates with prestigious soloists, like Aldo Redditi, Renato Bruson , Camillo Grasso, Claudia Antonelli, Raffaele Mallozzi, Marco Fornaciari, Giuseppe Nova, Massimiliano Pitocco and many others.
He regularly gives concerts in prestigious halls and Festivals: Como Music Autumn, Rendano Theatre of Cosenza, Ghione Theatre of Rome, Teatro delle Erbe of Milan, Piccinni Theatre of Bari, Fermo Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Lublijana Festival, Belgrado University, Zagabria Conservatory, Palais Wittgenstein of Dusseldorf, Cordoba Guitar Festival, Tychy Guitar Festival, Bath Festival, Santo Tirso Festival, Israel Guitar Festival, Tsavta Hall of Tel Aviv, Rebecca Crown Auditorium of Jerusalem, Guitar Festivals of Rome, Milan, Torino, Berlin, Stockholm, Siracusa, Parma.
Recordings and live performances by him have been broadcast by the three TV and radio networks of the RAI, by TeleMontecarlo, Vatican Radio and the national radio and TV broadcasting stations in Yugoslavia, Germany, France, Poland, Holland and Israel. As a member of Concentus Guitar Trio, he has recorded six CD’s for Nuova Era, Ribot Classic, EdiPan and Rivo Alto.
Member of the jury in national and international competitions, he teaches in master classes in Italy and Europe and he is full professor of guitar at “Niccolò Piccinni” Conservatory in Bari. He is actually the Didactic Director of the Fondazione Arts Academy in Rome, where he is also teacher of the Three Years Concert Training Course. He also take part in the Artistic Direction of the Fondazione Arts Academy, working on Symphonic and Chamber Music Seasons, Summer Festivals and other events.
He has written “Study Methodology and Technical Exercises for Guitar”, published in 1999 by Santabarbara Musical Edition.
In January 2000 he has opened the guitar didactic collection for "Guitart" review, with the publication of the Studies by Fernando Sor, including analysis and scores with phrasing, articulations and fingering
palamidessi@tiscalinet.it

MAURIZIO NORRITO
Born in Palermo, Italy, in 1959, he began his guitar studies at an early age with Maestro Nuccio D’Angelo and took his Diploma in Guitar at the “Vincenzo Bellini” Conservatoire of Music in his native town, obtaining the highest marks and being awarded a distinction for his studies.At a later date he attended various international Specialisation Courses in Italy, Switserland and France, held by Spanish Maestro Alberto Ponce, under whose tutorship he also gained the “Advanced Performance Diploma” (“Diplome Superieur d’execution”) at the “Alfred Cortot Ecole Normale de Musique” in Paris.At the Ninth International “R.Bartoli” Guitar Competition held in Arles (France), he won the Jury’s Special Mention.
He has given distinguished concert-performances both in Italy and abroad at important musical centres, both as solo performer and as part of chamber-music groups, and he participated in International Festivals such as Spoleto’s “Festival of the Two Worlds”, Roma’s “Festival of the Two Towns” and the International Guitar Meeting in Linares (Spain), Segovia’s Museum.
In past he worked with a lot of great artists such as the conductor Spiros Argiris, the german bariton Franz Ferdinand Nentwig, the oboist Hans Jorg Schoellenberger, the russian cellist Vadim Pavlov, the violinist Gidon Kremer and the italian famous singer Milva, in Kurt Weill’s operas.
He often plays chamber music in various kinds: guitar duo and trio, quartets and quintets with strings
Recently, he has published un CD titled “Guitar Tangos Works” that has obtained very good articles in specialized rewiews (“Fronimo”, Guitart”, “Classical guitar”), un CD live in which he has played the “Romancero Gitano” for guitar and mixed choir (with “Euphonia Choir” in Palermo) and has parteciped, with other european guitarists, to the international production of a CD dedicated to Emilio Pujol’s opera omnia.
Winner of the National Competition for teaching-posts at Music Conservatoires, he holds the Chair of Professor of Guitar at the “Vincenzo Bellini” Conservatoire in Palermo from 1994 and he is teacher in masterclasses long all Italy, too.
In his town he was Artistic Director in various musical festivals such as “Infinite corde” in 2000; from 2002 he is in the artistic council of the Association “Amici della Musica” in Palermo for the International Guitar Festival “Le sei corde” and from ’98 he organizes the “International Stage of guitar”, in Sicily, with the teacher Alberto Ponce, whose he is assistent.
maurizio.norrito@libero.it

GUIDO FICHTNER
Guido Fichtner, Professor of classical guitar at the Conservatory of Novara (Italy), was born in Milan. He studied with Mauro Storti and he obtained his diploma with full marks and first-class honours at the Conservatory of Piacenza.
Later he studied with Alberto Ponce in Paris at the "Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot", getting the "Diplôme Superieur de Execution" and the prestigious "Diplôme Superieur de Concertiste".
“Tarrega” prize at the International Competition of Benicasim (Spain). First prize at the "Renè Bartoli" Competition of Arles (France). First prize at the "G.B. Ansaldi" Competition, based on chamber music with guitar, and a number of other important prizes.
His activity both as solo player and in chamber music ensembles is very intensive. He is a permanent component of "Guitalian Quartet" with the guitarists Claudio Marcotulli, Stefano Palamidessi e Maurizio Norrito, "I Solisti di Milano" (violin, viola, guitar and accordion) with Fernando Antonelli, Emilio Poggioni and Sergio Scappini. In this ensamble he plays also mandolin.
He has played more than 350 concerts in 30 countries of the world, including Milano, Roma, Palermo, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Estoril, Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Marseille, Bruxelles, Luxembourg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Berna, Luzern, Innsbruck, Dublin, München, Bucarest, Budapest, Lima, Buenos Aires, Rosario, Caracas, Marrakesh, Alger, Il Cairo, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beirut, Tashkent.
He has made a CD, edited by "Antes Concerto", of unpublished works by Mauro Giuliani and a CD, edited by “Casa Musicale Eco”, of works of Francisco Tarrega.
burifichtner@alice.it