FRANCESCA VICARI

Francesca Vicari studied violin with Luciano Vicari and Corrado Romano, obtaining her diploma with distinction when only 17 years old. She then went on to gain diplomas from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia (in Chamber Music) and from the Conservatoire Superieur of Gèneve, once again acheiving full marks. The Accademia Chigiana of Siena awarded her the Diploma of Merit, and she also won first prize in the “Ennio Porrino” Violin Competition. For more than 10 years she occupied the position of Leader-Soloist in the ensemble Concerto Italiano, regularly invited by the most important music societies and festivals of Italy, Europe, North and South America and Japan; as a member of this ensemble, she matured her experience in the rules of execution and performance on original instruments. Since 1986 she has been a member of the Quartetto Michelangelo.
She records for Chandos and Naïve, various recordings being assigned the Gramophone Award, Diapason d’Or and Choc de la Musique. In April 2007 she has been invited by Malcolm Bilson to partecipate as guest artist to the Schumann Festival organized by the Musical Department of the Cornell University. She is regularly invited to lead the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, the ensemble Divino Sospiro, the Orchestra Sinfonica de Galicia and the Roma Sinfonietta. She teaches at the “Biennio Sperimentale” Post-Diploma Course in Chamber Music at the Conservatoire of Frosinone, Italy. She plays a Tommaso Balestrieri violin (Mantova, 1750).