Walter Zanetti & Monica Paolini
Biography Walter Zanetti & Monica Paolini
Walter Zanetti
graduated from the Conservatory of Bologna, obtained a Master degree as concert performer from the Ecole Normale de Musique A. Cortot in Paris under the guidance of Alberto Ponce.
An excellent performer and winner of some of the most important international competitions for classic guitar, he is known as an experimenter and improviser who explores the combination of classical, electrical and ethnic sounds.
The eclecticism of Zanetti’s artistic work is illustrated by his CD Cantos Yoruba de Cuba, dedicated to afro-cuban music for solo guitar inspired by the Sacred Rhythms of Cuban Santería, the concert-installation Boîte à Musique and his collaboration with the composer and violinist Eyvind Kang. He regularly performs with the FontanaMIX Ensemble playing a vasto repertoire of contemporary music.
His latest CD, dedicated to original lute works by Johann Sebastian Bach, was recorded after a study period of baroque performance practice with Norwegian lutenist and theorboist Rolf Lisveland.
Walter Zanetti is currently Professor of guitar at the G. B. Martini Conservatory of Bologna.
Monica Paolini
began studying classical guitar at the age of 10 with maestro Armando Marrosu who she graduated with at the Conservatory of Sassari in 1985.
The following year she got a scholarship with the Region of Sardinia which allowed her to settle in Paris and to attend the guitar courses at the Master Spaniard Alberto PONCE Ecole Normale de Musique "Alfred CORTOT". Here she was given the "Diplome Superieur d'Exécution" and the prestigious "Diplome Superieur de Concertisme". At the same time she attended courses in ancient music with Mastro Javier HINOJOSA to deepen her knowledge of the Renaissance and Baroque repertoire.
In 1990 she was awarded the first prize at the International Competition "Ville de Carpentras" and the first prize at the "Certamen International Francisco Tarrega" in Benicassim, Spain; then, in 1992, she was awarded the 2nd prize at the International Competition "City of Alexandria"; which are three of the most important guitar competitions at an international level.
She also wrote and directed a radio program for the RAI Italian Television to spread the knowledge of the guitar repertoire, its features and issues. She performed several concerts in European countries (such as Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland), both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, gaining considerable critical acclaim.
She recorded a compact disc containing the works of twentieth century Spanish composers (Turina, Ruiz-Pipo', Pujol, Llobet, Tarrega, Salvador). From 2007 to 2009 she studied baroque guitar with Rolf Lislevand at the Musik Hochschule in Trossingen in Germany and began her collaborations with several early music groups.
She is also professor at the Conservatory of Music "Francesco Venezze" of Rovigo.
