“With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft.” - Henri Matisse

We are an Italian string quartet with a French name: “Fauves”, literally means “The wild beasts”. This name was given to a group of French painters that, at the beginning of the 20th century, intended to overcome the traditional way of painting through an innovative use of colors. The most  celebrated  “Fauve”,  Henri  Matisse, pushed to the limits the use of pure, vibrant colors in order to define a new painterly technique. Inspired by this idea, the Quartetto Fauves wants to share with the listeners, through musical colors, the most intense emotional experience.

The Quartetto Fauves took part in Festivals of international relevance, and gave concerts for eminent musical Institutions, such as Ravenna Festival, Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds), International String Quartet Festival “Paolo Borciani”, International Music Festival Viana do Castelo, Festival Piceno, Ravenna Musica, Hannover Chamber Festival “Think Big”, Fondazione Musica Insieme Bologna, Verdi Festival Parma, Dino Ciani Piano Festival, Amici della Musica Palermo - Politeama Theater, Fondazione Etruria Mater, Pelion Festival, Festival “Sesto Rocchi”, Holdenstedter Schlosswochen Uelzen, Johannes Brahms Kammermusik Festival Hannover, Imola Summer Piano Festival (with Antonello Farulli), Festival Dino Ciani (with Jeffrey Swann), IUC - Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti all’Aula Magna dell’Università La Sapienza (with Gilad Harel and Avi Avital).

The Quartetto Fauves has performed at the Pauline Chapel of the Quirinal Palace for the series “I Concerti del Quirinale”, broadcasted live by RAI Radio3, at the presence of the President of the Italian Republic. On this occasion the Quartetto Fauves gave the Italian Premiere of JagdQuartett by Jörg Widmann.

The Quartetto Fauves has also performed at the German Ministry of Culture, as a representative of the foreign musical excellences operating in Germany. On the occasion of the celebrations for the bicentenary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-2013), it has been invited at the Embassy of Egypt in Rome, to perform the Quartet in E minor by Giuseppe Verdi, in the Hall of the “Sapienza” University in Rome.

The Quartetto Fauves is currently attending a Master in String Quartet Performance, held by the Quartetto di Cremona, at the Accademia “Walter Stauffer” in Cremona.

The Quartetto Fauves holds a Master in String Quartet Performance from Hochschule für Musik, Theater  und Medien Hannover (Prof. Oliver Wille - Kuss Quartett). Its academic background also includes a Master in Chamber Music Performance from Musik Akademie Basel (Walter Levine - LaSalle Quartet), as well as a Diploma in String Quartet Performance from Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, Italy. It attended string quartet masterclasses with Marco Decimo, Eberhard Feltz, Antonello Farulli, as well as the ECMA - European Chamber Music Academy teachers.

The Quartetto Fauves has been awarded the prestigious three-year scholarship granted by the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation that operates internationally to spread the culture of music and for the promotion of the young talents, and, recently, the Special Prize “Radio Classica” during the Sony Classical Talent Scout 2015 competition.

The Quartetto Fauves, in cooperation with The University of Bologna, created the “Cirri Project”, that aims to rediscover works for string quartet by the Italian composer and cello virtuoso Giovanni Battista Cirri (1724-1808). His 6 String Quartets Op. XIII will be released in 2015, as a Quartetto Fauves’ world premiere recording.

In 2015, the Quartetto Fauves commissioned the eminent Italian composer Carmine-Emanuele Cella (composer in residence at IRCAM, Paris; composer in residence at Casa de Velazquez, Madrid; “Una vita per la musica” Prize winner 2014) a series of Compositions for century-old tree and string quartet. Thanks to a dedicated technology, able to grasp every physical signal coming from the tree and turn it into sound, the Quartetto Fauves will play under - and together with - the most beautiful monumental trees. The project is called “Playing the monumental trees of Europe”.

Leonardo Cella, first violin

Leonardo Cella began studying violin with Fiorenza Rosi; at the age of ten he played his solo debut with the orchestra “G. Rossini” in Pesaro. He continued his studies with V. De Felice and A. Perpich, graduating with honors and getting a scholarship from the Foundation "Rossini", as the Best Graduate of the Year.

In 2006 he was admitted to the violin class of Prof. K.Wegrzyn at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover where he graduated with honors in 2011.

First prize winner at national competitions of Ravenna, Brindisi, Foggia and Rieti, in 2005 he won first prize at the International Violin Competition “Città di Schio” and in 2009 the violin competition “U. Bernabó” of Livorno.

In April 2010 he has been chosen by Giuliano Carmignola as solo-concertmaster of the chamber orchestra “Accademia Mozart”. This allows him to play in many festivals including the Mozart Festival in Augsburg, under the baton of Claudio Abbado.

In 2012, with Leon Spierer as chairman (former concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic), Leonardo was awarded the “Fatima Terzo Bernardi” Prize.

Since May 2012, he is the first violin of the Quartetto Fauves.

In January 2013 he performed for the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano for the series “I Concerti del Quirinale”, broadcasted live on RAI Radio 3.

He also played for the Minister of German culture, for the Spanish Embassy in Hannover and for the Egyptian Embassy in Rome (playing in Aula Magna of Università La Sapienza).

As a member of the Quartetto Fauves, he won the three-year scholarship granted by the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, and has recently achieved, with honors, the Master's degree in Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover in the class of Prof. Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartet).

Leonardo plays a 1930 Italian violin by Antonio Fabiani.

Pietro Fabris, second violin

Pietro Fabris received his first violin lessons from Dancila Elena Sirbu, From 1992 to 1995 he continued his studies with Giancarlo Monterosso in Lugano. After moving to the German part of Switzerland in Zug, he attended the music school of the city and took lessons from Albor Rosenfeld.

He won second prize in the regional selection of the youth competition in Lucerne in Switzerland (1996) and Sarnen (1999). In 2000, after finishing high school, he began studying at the Zurich Conservatory with Robert Zimansky, with whom he graduated, in 2006, as Master in Musical Performance.

At the same time he appeared for the first time as a soloist with the Youth Orchestra of Zug. In 2002, he joined the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 2004 he joined in the European Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra.

Pietro Fabris has attended various masterclasses at with Robert Zimansky, Thomas Christian, Zakhar Bron, Salvatore Accardo, Detlef Hahn, György Pauk and Pavel Vernikov, as well as baroque music courses with John Holloway, Stefano Montanari, and Enrico Onofri in Zurich.

He is currently enrolled in the Music Disciplines Master’s degree program in Bologna.

Pietro is the second violin of the Quartetto Fauves.

As a member of the Quartetto Fauves, he won the three-year scholarship granted by the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, and has recently achieved, with honors, the Master's degree in Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover in the class of Prof. Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartet).

Elisa Floridia, viola

Elisa Floridia begun studying viola under the guidance of Luciano Bertoni, at the Conservatorio di Musica “G. Verdi” in Ravenna, where she graduated in 2006.

In 2006 she was admitted to the viola class of Prof. Wilhelmus Janssen at the Consrvatorio di Musica “G. Nicolini” in Piacenza, where, in 2009, she graduated with honors as Master of the Arts in Music Performance.

She attended the triennial viola Master at the Accademia Musicale di Pinerolo, held by Danilo Rossi (principal viola at Teatro La Scala, Milan), and masterclasses given by Nobuko Imai and Sergey Girshenko.

Her passion for chamber music led her to study with some of he most influential chamber music teachers, such as Antonello Farulli, Andera Nannoni, Claus-Christian Schuster (Altenberg Trio), Christophe Giovaninetti, Luc-Marie Aguera (Quatuor Ysaÿe), Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartett), Simone Gramaglia (Quartetto di Cremona), Walter Levine (LaSalle Quartett), Eberhard Feltz.

Elisa holds Master Degrees in String Quartet Performance from eminent European musical Institutions, such as Musik Akademie Basel, and Scuola di musica di Fiesole.

As the violist of the Quartetto Fauves she performed, in January 2013, for the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano for the series “I Concerti del Quirinale”, broadcasted live on RAI Radio 3.

She also played for the Minister of German Culture, for the Spanish Embassy in Hannover and for the Egyptian Embassy in Rome (playing in Aula Magna of Università La Sapienza).

As a member of the Quartetto Fauves, she won the three-year scholarship granted by the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, and has recently achieved, with honors, the Master's degree in Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover in the class of Prof. Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartet).

Giacomo Gaudenzi, cello

Giacomo Gaudenzi began studying cello under the guidance of Tiziano Berardi, at the Conservatorio di Musica “Giuseppe Verdi” in Ravenna; he continued his studies with Gustavo Bruni, graduating at the Conservatorio “Bruno Maderna” in Cesena.

In 2007 he was admitted to the cello class of Prof. Marianne Chen at the Istituto Musicale “Orazio Vecchi” in Modena, where he graduated with honors as Master of the Arts in Music Performance in 2010.

He attended Masterclasses with cellist Alfredo Persichilli (Principal Cello at Teatro La Scala, Milan), and cellist Alain Meunier.

His passion for chamber music led him to study with some of he most influential chamber music teachers, such as Antonello Farulli, Claus-Christian Schuster (Altenberg Trio), Christophe Giovaninetti, Luc-Marie Aguera (Quatuor Ysaÿe), Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartett), Simone Gramaglia (Quartetto di Cremona), Walter Levine (LaSalle Quartett), Eberhard Feltz.

Giacomo Gaudenzi holds Master Degrees in String Quartet Performance from eminent European musical Institutions, such as Musik Akademie Basel, and Scuola di musica di Fiesole.

As the cellist of the Quartetto Fauves he performed, in January 2013, for the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano for the series “I Concerti del Quirinale”, broadcasted live on RAI Radio 3.

He also played for the Minister of German culture, for the Spanish Embassy in Hannover and for the Egyptian Embassy in Rome (playing in Aula Magna of Università La Sapienza).

As a member of the Quartetto Fauves, he won the three-year scholarship granted by the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, and has recently achieved, with honors, the Master's degree in Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover in the class of Prof. Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartet).

Review

"One of the most deserving candidates to represent the value of the Italian musical culture throughout the world"

- Antonello Farulli, Violist, Director of the European Chamber Music Academy

"The Quartetto Fauves turned into an ensemble of the highest musical qualities and technical command"

- Oliver Wille, Violinist of the Kuss Quartett