ANDREA CICALESE
Clearly a star in the making
Pianist Magazin, London
Andrea Cicalese is a quickly rising presence in the musical world in Europe and in the United States. The violinist Andrea Cicalese was born in Naples, Italy, in 2005.
Upcoming appearances as soloist take him to the Prague Royal Philharmonic in Munich’s well known ‚Brunnenhof der Residenz‘ open-air concerts with conductor Heiko Mathias Förster, to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra with Grammy-winning music director JoAnn Falletta. Andrea Cicalese has a duo performance with Antonio Del Castillo in the Berlin Philharmonie and performances as soloist and chamber musician in the Prinzregententheater with members of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
Recital Debuts in the united states
Andrea made his professional recital debut in the United States with pianist Alexander Malofeev in October 2022. The Pianist Magazine reviewed: „The creative energy of the duo was more than the sum of its formidable parts“.
In 2023 Andrea debuted with the Sibelius Violin Concerto together with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic and maestro Förster. He often plays in some of the most renowned concert halls in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Lebanon and the United States of America, such as the Berliner Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zürich, Kleinhans Music Hall of Buffalo, Auditorium RAI di Torino and Munich’s Gasteig, Herkulessaal and Prinzregententheater among others.
He is quickly establishing himself as a passionate chamber musician, working with star pianists Beatrice Rana, Alexander Malofeev, Yekwon Sunwoo, Eric Lu, Filippo Gorini and Julien Quentin or with cellist Jan Vogler, harpist Xavier de Maistre and accordionists Martynas and Antonio Del Castillo.
Andrea Cicalese is the youngest guest in the history of the film series “Living the Classical Life”, with two appearances on the program in 2021 and in 2022 for forthcoming release.
Andrea Cicalese began violin studies at age seven with Rudens Turku in Munich, Germany. At age eleven he was the youngest student ever admitted to the Perosi Music Academy in Biella, Italy, where he attended masterclasses with Ana Chumachenco.
German Young Musician Competition
In 2019 he won first prize at the “German Young Musician Competition” in Halle, and shortly after made his debut in Carl-Orff Saal of Munich’s Gasteig with the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
Since 2020 he studies with Josef Rissin at the University of Music and Performing Arts of Karlsruhe.
Currently he is performing on a violin built by Guarneri ‚Del Gesú‘ (Cremona, 1731), the loan of which was made possible thanks to Music Masterpieces SA – Lugano (CH).
Press Reviews
„Clearly a star in the making“ – Pianist Magazine (GB)
„The emerging young musician expressed great astonishment among the audience. Violinist Andrea Cicalese took on a lot of virtuosity and technical refinements and was able to brilliantly transform them into passion“. – Süddeutsche Zeitung (D)
„Andrea Cicalese brought an effortless command of communicative possibilities and natural charisma to the programme of Beethoven, Schubert and Grieg.“ – Pianist Magazine (GB)
„Incredibly fascinating and most amazing was the Neapolitan Andrea Cicalese, who chose for his performance nothing less than the Devil’s Trill Sonata by Tartini. He interpreted it brilliantly, both technically and musically. It was not only about effective finger acrobatics. Especially in the lyrical passages, which Cicalese played with a wonderfully soulful tone, he demonstrated a great feeling for the sensitive sides of the sometimes furious work. Cicalese did not make a show of the devil’s trills, but rather played it out carefully with airy lightness.“ – Süddeutsche Zeitung (D)
„The voice of the future“ – Living the Classical Life (USA)
„Not only was I amazed by the technical mastery, but also the depth of his musicianship. At a certain point, my wife whispered in my ear that he was 17 years old, and I almost fell out of my seat!“ – Living Pianos (USA)