September 10 7.30 PM - Shanghai Oriental Art Center *

Classical music is back with flutist Andrea Griminelli, who accompanied on many occasions the unforgettable maestro Luciano Pavarotti in his successful tour in the United States

Acclaimed by critics and audiences for his sensitive interpretations and astonishing technique, The New York Times called Andrea Griminelli “one of the eight top emerging artists of the nineties”.

He began playing the flute at the age of ten and studied with legendary flutists Jean-Pierre Rampal and Sir James Galway. Sir James has described him as “the greatest flute player who has come to the forefront of the musical scene for many years”.

During his studies with Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatory he won music competitions in Stresa and Alessandria, Italy. In 1983 and 1984 he was awarded the prestigious Prix de Paris.

In 1984, at the age of 25 he was invited by Luciano Pavarotti to perform in Pavarotti’s now famous concert in New York’s Madison Square Garden. This was the beginning of a longstanding collaboration with the great tenor that led to unforgettable performance at London’s Hyde Park in 1990, New York’s Central Park in 1993, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Red Square, Moscow.

Throughout his career Griminelli has travelled extensively, performing tours in Europe, Japan, South America and United States. He has played most of the prestigious theatres and concert halls including La Scala and Carnegie Hall, together with artists such as Pretre, Giulini, Mehta, Norrington, Krivine, Bashmet, Luisada, Sutherland, Bonynge, Rampal, Rojdestvenski, Levine, Lu-Ja, Ughi, Sado and Semkov. He has worked with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony, the Munchner Rundfunkorchester, the London Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Turin Rai Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In 1991 Griminelli received a knighthood from the President of the Italian Republic and in 2003 was made Officer of Merit of the Italian Republic.

A champion of new work, he has given the world premieres of compositions for flute and orchestra by many composers including Carlo Boccadoro, Fabrizio Festa, Ennio Morricone and Shigeaki Saegusa.

His work on behalf of charitable causes has led to frequent collaborations with artists from popular culture including Elton John, James Taylor, Sting, Branford Marsalis and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.
Andrea Griminelli has recorded extensively. His work includes flute concertos by Vivaldi and Mercadante on the Decca label with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Rampal and the Rossini wind quartets (Decca). Decca has also released a disc entitled Andrea Griminelli’s Cinema Italiano featuring sound tracks from the world of Italian cinema arranged by Bacalov and Morricone and interpreted by Sting, Luciano Pavarotti, Lucio Dalla, Deborah Harry and Filippa Giordano.

During the 2005 – 2006 concert season, Griminelli was very active in creating new recordings with Decca. Work from this time includes Mozart’s complete concerti for flute with the Camerata Salzburg conducted by Sir Roger Norrington, a selection of early 19th century Italian music together with guitarist Filomena Moretti and music for flute and piano by Beethoven and Schubert with pianist Gianluca Cascioli.

Highlights of 2006, included a Decca release of the Mozart quartets for flute and strings with the Keller Quartet, tours of Latin America with Italian guitarist, Emanuele Segre and performances in Caracas with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

In September 2007 he was appointed President of the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali “A. Peri” of Reggio Emilia, Italy and in January 2008 President of the Istituto Musicale “C. Merulo” of Castelnovo ne’ Monti (R.E.), Italy.

In 2008 Griminelli appeared with the Orchestre Symphonique du Nancy; with the harpist Luisa Prandina; at the Hanoi Opera Hause in the Hennessy Concert Series; with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Savona; in a Pavarotti Tribute concert in Petra broadcast by Retequattro and in an Andrea Bocelli Concert in the Plebiscito Square, Naples. He also recorded Boccherini Quintetts with the Quartetto di Cremona for Decca.

Next concert season includes tours of Latin America, the United States, recitals with the Virtuosi Italiani, performances in Japan with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and a world tour with Andrea Bocelli. In recital, he will appear with Emanuele Segre in Europe, with the Quartetto di Cremona and as soloist with a number of European orchestras.