Fabio Biondi

Fabio Biondi is an Italian violinist and conductor. Born in Palermo, Sicily, Biondi began his international career at the age of 12 playing a concerto with the RAI Symphony Orchestra. When he was 16, he performed Bach's violin concertos at the Musikverein in Vienna. Since then, he has performed with a number of baroque ensembles including La Capella Reial, Musica Antiqua Wien, Seminario Musicale, La Chapelle Royale and Les Musiciens du Louvre. In 1990 Biondi founded Europa Galante, an Italian ensemble specializing in baroque music, that he directs. Biondi's recordings include Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and the opera Bajazet, Arcangelo Corelli's concerti grossi, the works of Alessandro Scarlatti and George Frideric Handel, the 18th-century Italian violin repertoire (Vivaldi, Francesco Maria Veracini, Pietro Locatelli, Giuseppe Tartini) and sonatas by Bach, Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. Biondi also performs in duos with keyboard (piano, harpsichord or fortepiano). In 2005 Biondi became artistic director for baroque music of the Stravanger Symphony Orchestra. He plays a 1766 Carlo Ferdinando Gagliano violin lent him by the Salvatore Cicero Foundation in Palermo.