Cristiano Contadin & Simone Vallerotonda

Cristiano Contadin, one of the most famous gambists of the baroque scene, and Simone Vallerotonda, among the best Italian lutenists, will present “La Nuit – Musique du Roi”, a refined and fascinating program, which allows the audience to take a journey inside the court of Louis XIV, where the two instruments enjoyed the highest esteem and consideration. Music by Marais, Lully, Corbetta and Visée. Cristiano Contadin viola da gamba Cristiano Contadin is a viola da gamba player and founder of Opera Prima, an ensemble of internationally renowned musicians and soloists dedicated to the Baroque repertoire. As a soloist and continuist, he has collaborated and still collaborates with ensembles in Italy and abroad, including I Barocchisti, Accademia Bizantina, Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin, La Venexiana, BEMF, Orchestra Sinfonica “G. Verdi” (Milan), Cantar Lontano, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala (Milan), Il Suonar Parlante, Ensemble Elyma, and the Accademia strumentale italiana.

Cristiano Contadin has recorded for Sony, EMI Classical, Universal (Deutsche Grammophon), Arte, Brilliant, Hyperion, Stradivarius, Winter & Winter, CPO, and Naxos, among others. In 2015, he released the recording of the Complete Telemann Trio Sonatas and Concertos with his Opera Prima ensemble. With the Italian Viola da Gamba Quartet, “Il Suonar Parlante”, and as a soloist, he aims to cultivate a repertoire spanning ancient and contemporary music. He has performed works by contemporary composers and jazz artists such as Kenny Wheeler, Uri Caine, Don Byron, Ernst Reijseger, Vanni Moretto, Markus Stockhausen, Francesco Hoch, Henry Bartholomée and Lucio Garau, and performed in 2017 in the Italian premiere of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano. Cristiano Contadin graduated in piano and later in viola da gamba. He holds the chair of Viola da Gamba at the B. Marcello Conservatory in Venice, having also held teaching positions at the Music Academy in Esbjerg (Denmark), the Conservatory of Cosenza and the Conservatory of Palermo. Since 2020, he has also been head of the Early Music Department at the Conservatory of Venice. He plays an anonymous bass viola da gamba of the 18th century Venetian school.

Simone Vallerotonda theorbo/baroque guitar Born in Rome in 1983, he began his musical studies on the classical guitar and later on the lute with Andrea Damiani at the “Santa Cecilia” Conservatory in Rome, where he graduated with top marks. He subsequently obtained a Master’s degree on the theorbo and Baroque guitar with top marks at the “Staatliche Hochschule für Musik” in Trossingen, under the guidance of Rolf Lislevand.

He graduated in Philosophy with top marks at the Tor Vergata University in Rome and specialised in Aesthetics. In 2011, he was ranked at the top of the soloist section at the “Maurizio Pratola” International Lute Competition and winner of the REMA (Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne) competition in the chamber music section. He has performed in the most prestigious theatres and halls in the USA, Australia, South America, South Africa, China, and throughout Europe, including: Carnegie Hall in New York, Sydney Conservatorium, Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City, Teatro Municipal in Santiago de Chile, Singapore Lyric Opera, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London, Theater an der Wien, Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris, Casa da Musica in Oporto, Liszt Academy in Budapest, and Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has recorded for major radio and television broadcasters such as: RAI, ABC, BBC, Sky-Arte, Mezzo, France Musique, Radio 4, Arte, Polskie Radio, Kulturradio, RSI, Radio Classica, Radio Vaticana and has recorded for Naïve, Sony, Erato, EMI, Decca, Amadeus, Brilliant, Aparté, E Lucevan Le Stelle Records, and Arcana. In addition to his work as a soloist, he collaborates as a continuist with various ensembles including: Modo Antiquo, Rinaldo Alessandrini & Concerto Italiano, Imaginarium Ensemble, Cantar Lontano, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Ottavio Dantone, and Accademia Bizantina.

At the age of 38, he won tenure as a lute teacher at the “A. Pedrollo” Conservatory in Vicenza. He is the founder of “I Bassifondi”, his ensemble with which he performs the repertoire for guitar, theorbo and lute of the 17th and 18th centuries with basso continuo.