FRANCESCA DEGO, violinist

FRANCESCA DEGO

BIOGRAPHY

“The exciting young violinist Francesca Dego rose to the challenge miraculously. She unflinchingly climbed the stratospheres into which the composer repeatedly sent her, her intonation had a steely accuracy tempered by gorgeous tone from her full-throated violin, and her virtuosity encompassed all that Wolf-Ferrari wrung from his soloist… Fabulous performance.”

Birmingham Post: CBSO/Daniele Rustioni/Francesca Dego/ Wolf-Ferrari Violin

Celebrated as both a recitalist and concerto performer of notable distinction, Francesca Dego is one of the most sought-after violinists on the international scene.

Her 22/23 season includes debuts with Orchestre de Champs Elysées with Mo. Herreweghe (Mendelssohn), Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (Busoni), National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (Mozart 5), North Carolina (Prokofiev 2), Sofia Philharmonic and Foroese Symphony Orchestras. She also returns to Indianapolis (Mozart 5) and Washington National Symphony Orchestras, Ulster Orchestra and Orchestra della Toscana with conductor Daniele Rustioni. She will perform in a special project at Dubai Opera House as well as making her much-anticipated debut in recital at the Wigmore Hall alongside pianist Alessio Bax. She will perform at the prestigious Ascona Festival alongside Francesco Piemontesi and Daniel Muller-Schott in an all-Brahms chamber programme.

Highlights of recent seasons include concerts across Japan with NHK Symphony conducted by Mo. Luisi, Bernstein’s Serenade at La Fenice, Orchestre Chambre de Lausanne, BBC Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra and La Verdi, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestras, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova at St Petersburg’s renowned Stars of the White Nights festival, Teatro Regio di Torino, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and all the major Italian orchestras, Orquestra de Sevilla and de la Comunitat Valenciana at Palau de les Arts, Auckland Philharmonia, Oviedo Philharmonic, Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Santa Barbara Symphony, Het Gelders Orkest, and the Orkest van het Oosten. Recitals at the Louvre in Paris, Lincoln Center New York and Washington DC.

She regularly collaborates with esteemed conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Fabio Luisi, Lionel Bringuier, Dalia Stasevska, Christopher Hogwood, Yoel Levi, Donato Renzetti, Jonathon Heyward, Wayne Marshall, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Diego Matheuz, Shlomo Mintz, Gemma New, Jader Bignamini, Alpesh Chauhan and Xian Zhang, to name a few.

Francesca is signed exclusively to CHANDOS Records and her recent release of Mozart Violin Concerti 3&4 conducted by Sir Roger Norrington with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra was received to unanimous critical acclaim including BBC Music Magazine 5* ‘Record of the month’, with the next volume due to launch at the beginning of the 22/23 season. Other releases include concertos by Paganini and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari alongside the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Daniele Rustioni, the recital disc Il Cannone, as well as a complete survey of the violin sonatas by Beethoven and of Paganini’s Caprices, for Deutsche Grammophon.

A keen chamber musician, Francesca enjoys performing with artists such as Laura van der Heijden, Salvatore Accardo, Alessandro Carbonare, Mahan Esfahani, Bruno Giuranna, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Piers Lane, Jan Lisiecki, Mischa Maisky, Antonio Meneses, Martin Owen, Alessandro Taverna, Roman Simovic and Kathryn Stott, Francesca Leonardi.

Francesca also has a passion for contemporary music and counts herself a dedicatee of the works of, amongst others, Michael Nyman, Carlo Boccadoro, Cristian Carrara, Nicola Campogrande and Marco Taralli. She is a frequent contributor to specialist music magazines, penning a monthly column for Suonare News among others, and has written articles and opinion pieces for the BBC and Classical Music Magazines, The Strad, Musical Opinion and Strings Magazine. Francesca has also recently published her first book, Tra le Note. Classica: 24 chiavi di lettura, with Mondadori in which she explores how classical music can be listened to and better understood today.

Francesca is based in London and plays on a rare Francesco Ruggeri violin (Cremona 1697).

BAM 2023