Federico Gardella
Federico Gardella was born in Milan in 1979.
His music has featured in many important festivals and concert seasons in Tokyo (Tokyo Opera City), Milan (Festival Milano Musica), Royaumont (Voix Nouvelles), New York (Columbia University), Florence (Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), Riga (Festival Arena/Great Guild Concert Hall), Erl (Tiroler Festspiele/Festspielhaus), Turin (Rai NuovaMusica), Lodz (Lodz Philharmonic Hall), Bologna (Festival Bologna Modern/Teatro Manzoni), Guanajuato (Festival Internacional Cervantino), Boston (Harvard University), Parma (Festival Traiettorie), Takefu (Takefu International Music Festival), Venice (La Biennale di Venezia), Lausanne (Société de Musique Contemporaine), Latina (Festival Pontino), Bruxelles (Flagey), Rome (Auditorium Parco della Musica), Ljubljana (Slovenian Philharmonic) and Madrid (Auditorio Nacional de Música).
He has received commissions from numerous institutions including the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Takefu International Music Festival, the Fondazione Spinola Banna per l’Arte, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto (the with support of SIAE – Classici di Oggi) and the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia. He has been composer in residence at the Divertimento Ensemble and the Fondation Royaumont and Marcello Lotti Italian Fellow in Music at the American Academy in Rome.
He has won prizes in various international composition competitions including the Tansman International Competition of Musical Personalities in Lodz and in 2009 he was assigned the Takefu International Composition Award.
In 2012 he was awarded the First Prize of the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award in Tokyo and in 2014 he was assigned the Special Prize “Una Vita nella Musica – Giovani” at the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia.
His compositions, conducted among others by Marco Angius, Zsolt Nagy, Tito Ceccherini, Wolfram Christ, Carlo Boccadoro, Etienne Siebens, Naohiro Totsuka, Sandro Gorli and Jonathan Webb, have been performed by orchestras such as the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, the Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra della Toscana, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Another important aspect is his collaboration with chamber groups and ensembles specializing in the contemporary repertoire, such as the Trio di Parma, the Quatuor Diotima, Slowind, the Hilliard Ensemble, the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, the Israel Contemporary Players, the Divertimento Ensemble and the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berliner Philharmoniker.
In 2013 the label Stradivarius produced, for the Times Future series, a monographic CD dedicated to his music.
In 2014 Mano d’erba (for orchestra) has been chosen as “recommended work” at the International Rostrum of Composers in Helsinki.
In 2021 his first Opera, Else (based on Fräulein Else by Arthur Schnitzler), was premiered at the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte of Montepulciano with the direction by Cecilia Ligorio, set and costumes design by Domenico Franchi.
In the same year it opened the Opera Season of the Fondazione I Teatri of Reggio Emilia (Festival Aperto/Teatro Ariosto).
His works have been broadcast on the radio in Italy (Radio Tre), Australia (ABC Radio), Sweden (Sveriges Radio), Netherlands (NPO), Hong Kong (RTHK), France (Radio France), Japan (NHK), Iceland (RÚV) and Austria (ORF).
Federico Gardella studied the piano with Piero Rattalino and Riccardo Risaliti at the Milan Conservatory where he graduated with distinction. He furthered his studies with Klaus Hellwig at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.
He studied composition at the Milan Conservatory with Sonia Bo and then took advanced courses with Azio Corghi at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. He furthered his studies with Alessandro Solbiati at the Corsi di Perfezionamento in Sermoneta and at the Milan Conservatory, where he graduated summa cum laude. Moreover, his acquaintance with Brian Ferneyhough and Toshio Hosokawa has been of significant importance to his artistic development.
He teaches composition at the Milan Conservatory and is Faculty Member at the Takefu International Composition Workshop in Japan.
Since 2016 he is one of the artistic advisors of the Fondazione Campus Internazionale di Musica of Latina. His music is published by Sz Sugar – SugarMusic S.p.A. in Milan.
www.federicogardella.it
Lorenzo Commisso began studying the flute under the guidance of Maestro Francesco Passarelli. He continued his studies at the F. Cilea Conservatory in Reggio Calabria studying with Maestros Davide Chiesa, Giulia Baracani, Viola Brambilla. Attending the annual advanced training course with Maestro Michele Marasco for several years. Perfecting himself at the summer courses in Sermoneta with Maestro Mario Caroli and attending lessons with Maestro Giampaolo Pretto. Currently enrolled in the two-year course at the Pietro Mascagni Institute in Livorno under the guidance of Maestro Davide Chiesa.
Francesco Bertoli (1998) is a Tuscan percussionist. He trained at the State Conservatory of Music “Pietro Mascagni” in Livorno under the guidance of Maestro Jonathan Faralli, directing his musical interests towards both the opera-symphonic repertoire and contemporary and late 20th-century music. In 2020, he graduated in Percussion Instruments with top marks, honors, and special mention. In 2024, he obtained a second-level diploma, achieving a score of 110 with honors and special mention. Francesco frequently collaborates with the Puccini Festival Orchestra in Torre del Lago, participating in numerous operatic and symphonic productions. He has also worked with orchestras such as the Regional Orchestra of Tuscany, the Excellence Orchestra of the Lerici Festival, and the Goldoni Theater Orchestra in Livorno. As principal timpanist, he has collaborated with the Tuscan Conservatories Orchestra. His training has been enriched by participating in masterclasses with renowned international percussionists, including Leigh Howard Stevens, Andrea Santarsiere (Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia), Christian Hamouy (Les Percussions de Strasbourg), and Claudio Romano (RAI National Symphony Orchestra).
Lavinia Golfarini, who graduated with top marks, honors, and special mention from the P. Mascagni Conservatory in Livorno, studied with important cellists and has won numerous awards and recognitions in national and international competitions. Alongside her passion for a solo career, she is actively involved in chamber music. She is a member of the cello duo “Duo Nami” and the “Trio Soleríni,” with which she regularly performs in prestigious theaters and festivals throughout Italy. Currently, in addition to her musical activities, she is dedicated to the study of opera singing and melodramatic art under the guidance of Maestro Luca D’Annunzio. At the same time, she is deepening her knowledge of painting methodologies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, thus expanding her artistic education. “Specializing in different forms of art is the result of a vision that does not consider art as an end, but as a means to fully express myself” – Lavinia Golfarini
Cosimo Profita began studying the clarinet at the age of 11 at the Don Lorenzo Milani Middle School in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, with clarinet professor Giacomo Salonia. He later enrolled at the E.S. Piccolomini Musical High School in Siena with teacher Massimo Piccini. During his high school years, in 2021, he won the “Pieri-De Bernardi” scholarship, awarded to some high school students for academic merits. He graduated in the 2021-2022 school year with top marks and honors. In the 2022-2023 academic year, he enrolled at the Pietro Mascagni Conservatory in Livorno, where he is currently in his second year of the three-year clarinet program under the guidance of Maestro Carlo Failli. He has also attended two masterclasses held by Kevin Spagnolo and Lorenzo Iosco.
COMPOSITION MASTER CLASS WITH ENSEMBLE IN RESIDENCE
17 August – 23 August
PROJECT AND METHODS OF PARTICIPATION
Application deadline May 31, 2025
IMPORTANT DATES
- May 31: deadline for submission of the project proposal
- June 05: notification of acceptance and project validation
- June 10: deadline for online subscription and payment of the participation fees
- June 30: deadline for submission of the first draft of the score
- July 1 / 31: 1 online lesson (+ 1 eventual online meeting with the interpreters)
- August 17 – 23: composition master class
- August 23: concert in the program of the Livorno Music Festival
The master class will take place in the evocative setting of the Fortezza Vecchia of Livorno, from 17 to 23 August 2025, and is aimed at creating a concert in the program of the Livorno Music Festival.
The teaching program is divided into individual composition lessons and collective analysis courses. The final concert will be dedicated to the figure of Pier Paolo Pasolini: each of the compositions presented must, in fact, be freely inspired by a work him.
The available interpreters include:
- FLUTE, 1 player. Available instruments: C flute, piccolo, alto flute, bass flute;
- CLARINET, 1 player. Available instruments: Bb clarinet, A clarinet and bass clarinet;
- CELLO, 1 player;
- PERCUSSION, 1 player. Available instruments: 1 Vibraphone (F4 – F6. Equipped with a motor. Bows are available.), 1 Xylophone (F4 – C8), 1 Snare drum (Wooden shell. Depth: 5 inches), 4 Tom-Toms (Range: from low to high), 1 Charleston, 2 Crash cymbals, 1 Tambourine, 2 Steel triangles (The available models produce sounds of similar timbre but different pitch), 1 Brass triangle (Harmonically rich timbre, noticeably different from steel), 1 Guiro, 1 Whip (slapstick), Shock absorber springs (various).
The compositions must have a maximum of three performers. The projects will be selected on the basis of the quality and originality of the musical idea
SELECTION OF CANDIDATES, METHODS OF PARTICIPATION
Admission to the course will take place after selection. To participate, candidates must send an application to the Festival secretariat at infolivornomusicfestival@gmail.com by May 31, 2025, attaching:
- 2 scores of your choice via google drive link or dropbox (with recordings if available);
- a brief text explaining the project one intends to carry out, indicating in order of preference three instrumental composition possibilities (one for solo instrument, one for duo and one for trio) and a reference to a work by Pier Paolo Pasolini.
- the following form (click to download) for the processing of personal data, completed and signed.
The results of the selection will be communicated via email by June 05, 2025.
The first ten candidates in the rank are selected and will carry out the project for the concert which will be part of the program of the Livorno Music Festival. Other participants form a waiting list on the basis of their rank, and may replace selected candidates who may withdraw on June 10, 2025 at the latest. Auditors will not be subjected to selection, but will not be entitled to lectures or to participate in the concert.
Candidates admitted to the course must confirm their participation by filling the online registration form (click to go to the form) complete with the payment of the registration and attendance fees by June 10, 2025.
There is a maximum of 10 students.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS
- the organization reserves the right to make one or more scholarships available to the most deserving students, to be awarded at the end of the course and at the teacher’s unquestionable judgment.
- a student of the composition masterclass will be awarded the Peter Maxwell Davies Award, which provides for the presentation of a composition in world premiere with the ContempoArtEnsemble in the 2026 season.
- a student of the composition masterclass will be selected to have direct access to the final round of the Veretti Competition 2026, organized by the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.
For all information regarding registration methods and fees click HERE.