6 August, 2015 - The first cellist of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, Luigi Piovano, has embarked on an international tour: after gigs in the United States and Ottawa, the musician will be on August 8 in Montreal, thanks to the support of the Italian Cultural Institute. Piovano will make his debut at the Festival "Virée Classique" of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the invitation of Maestro Kent Nagano. The Italian talent will enrich the Virée program in three occasions, sharing the stage with other internationally renowned artists. He will pay tribute to the great names of classical music, from Schubert to Franck, with pieces such as "Pini di Roma", a symphonic poem written by Ottorino Respighi in 1924, and two of the famous Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. On Saturday, Piovano will also perform with two quintets for strings and piano composed by musicians of the Symphony Orchestra of Montreal. At 2.15pm, Piovano goes on stage with the Franck Quintet, with James Ehnes and Andrew Wan on violin, Neal Gripp on viola, and Nikolai Louganski on piano. At 5.45pm, another group formed by Shunske Sato, Rosemary Shaw, Ali Yazdanfar, Benjamin Grosvenor, and Luigi Piovano, will play Schubert's La Truite. Finally, the Bach Cello Suites concert will start at 8.15pm. 

LUIGI PIOVANO

Luigi Piovano, born in Pescara, is the principal cellist of the National Academy Orchestra of Santa Cecilia in Rome. He graduated in cello under the guidance of Radu Aldulescu at the age of 17, and in cello and chamber music at the European Conservatory in Paris. Piovano was a Fellow of the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad and is a member of the Camerata Lysy. Since 2013, he has been with the Arches section of Santa Cecilia. In 2012, he was appointed music director of the Taranto Magna Grecia, while in 2013 Piovano became the new musical director of the Roma Tre Orchestra.