MARTINA SANTARONE
Martina Santarone is an Italian violist born in Rome. Winner of the First Prize in the Francesco Geminiani Competition and of a Special Prize in the Oscar Nedbal International Viola Competition in Prague, she is an Accademia Chigiana scholarship holder. In 2013 she played as a soloist with the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese as winner of the Progetto IMC Prize, and in June 2022 she made her debut as a soloist playing the Walton Viola Concerto with the Berne Symphony Orchestra.
As a passionate chamber musician, she has performed with Salvatore Accardo, Antonio Meneses, Robert McDuffie and Enrico Bronzi in venues such as the Gran Teatro la Fenice in Venice, the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, the Teatro Eliseo in Rome, the Auditorium Fondazione Cariplo in Milan, and the Andermatt Concert Hall. Many of these performances have been broadcast by various radio and television stations such as RaiRadio3, RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera, Sky Classica HD.
She is a founder member of the Werther Piano Quartet, which has been awarded the XXXIX Abbiati Prize by the National Association of Music Critics in Italy.
The Quartet has an intense concert activity, playing for prestigious musical institutions such as the Moscow International House of Music, the Accademia Filarmonica Romana, the Unione Musicale in Turin, the Teatro Ristori in Verona. In 2019 the Quartet recorded their debut CD for the label Brilliant Classics with the complete piano quartets by Gabriel Fauré. The ensemble has recently graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome with top scores, honours and special mention.
Martina collaborates regularly as Solo Viola with La Filarmonica di Milano, FORM Filarmonica Marchigiana and ORT Orchestra della Toscana, playing in venues such as the Teatro Verdi in Florence, the Teatro Carcano and the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan.
Her orchestral career started very early, when in 2016 she won the audition for the Orchestra Leonore Pistoia. In 2019 she won the audition for the Basel Symphony Orchestra, playing tours all over Europe in halls such as the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg, the Philarmonie Essen and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden.
She graduated with top scores and laude at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory with Luca Sanzò and attended the prestigious Accademia Stauffer in Cremona with Bruno Giuranna. She pursued further training at the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Parma, where she completed her Chamber Music Master with top scores, laude and honours with the Trio di Parma and Pierpaolo Maurizzi. She recently received her diploma as Master Specialised Soloist at the Berne University of the Arts with Professor Patrick Jüdt, after a Master Performance with honours at the same University. Martina has attended masterclasses with Tabea Zimmermann.
Martina plays a viola by Alessandro Tossani (Cremona, 1994).