Roberto Gini

Roberto Gini studied cello at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan with Attilio Ranzato. He later specialized in the technique of historical instruments, studying viola da gamba at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basel) with Jordi Savall, with whom he graduated in 1980, as well as attending chamber music courses held in Salzburg by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Violist, cellist and conductor, Roberto Gini has carried out an important concert and recording activity as an instrumentalist: with Laura Alvini, Wieland Kuijken, Anner Bijlsma and other concert performers and as a member of ensembles, among which is the long collaboration with Hesperion XX, from 1977 to 1986.

Roberto Gini founded, in 1985, the ensemble CONCERTO with which he realized several productions related to his research activity.

Among these are the first complete recordings of the VII libro di madrigali (Tactus 1989) and of Selva Morale & Spirituale (Amadeus 1993) by Claudio Monteverdi, a composer to whom Gini has dedicated a large part of his career; the rediscovery and first recording of the collection Affetti Musici by Giulio Cesare Monteverdi (Astrae-Auvidis 1996); La Maddalena a' piedi di Cristo by Giovanni Bononcini (Universal 1998, winner of the Premio Internazionale del Disco of the G. Cini foundation in Venice in 1999), as well as the first recording that collects the sacred music of Monteverdi not included in the three printed collections of 1610, 1640 and 1651, for the first time reunited in a double CD (Dynamic 2004) in which two unpublished compositions stand out, recorded for the first time ever.

On the occasion of the fourth centenary of the printed edition (Venice 1610) Gini has published the complete recording of Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine and Messa In illo tempore (Dynamic 2010), the result of twenty years of study and research.

Recent are the latest instrumental recordings of the ensemble CONCERTO: one dedicated to John Jenkins and William Lawes and another monographic on Carlo Farina, which is published by AULICUS CLASSICS

He made his debut as a conductor in 1991.

Roberto Gini was entrusted with the musical direction, on February 24th, 2007 in Mantova, of ORFEO by Claudio Monteverdi, on the occasion of the anniversary of the first performance which took place on the same day in 1607 at the Ducal Court.

He was artistic director of the Cremona Festival from 1993, on the occasion of the Monteverdian celebrations, until 1996 as well as artistic director of the Celebrazioni Estensi di Modena Capitale in 1998/99.

Roberto Gini's teaching activity has accompanied and completed his concert activity:

  • founder (together with Laura Alvini) of the music department of the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano, where he taught viola da gamba and baroque cello and where he created the first "Laboratorio permanente di ricerca sulla musica italiana del XVI e XVII secolo" ("Permanent laboratory of research on Italian music of the 16th and 17th centuries") from 1979 to 2000;
  • Professor of viola da gamba at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève from 1992 to 2007, where he created an innovative atelier for research and study on historical ornamentation;
  • - Holder of the chair of viola da gamba and teacher of historical ornamentation, treatises and methods and ensemble music at the Conservatorio di Musica "Arrigo Boito" in Parma from 2002 to 2020;
  • - created in 2020 and coordinates the “Laboratorio annuale di studio sulla musica del xvi e xvii secolo e sulla didattica del repertorio antico” ("Annual laboratory of study on the music of the xvi and xvii century and on the teaching of the ancient repertoire") within the Scuola di Musica "Antonia Pozzi" of Corsico, born from the experience accumulated in many years of concert activity and teaching, characterized by a broad and experimental teaching vision.

Roberto Gini is Honorary Professor at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv and holds courses and masterclasses in Italy and around the world.

He has recorded for labels such as Tactus, Astrée-Auvidis, Accord, Stradivarius, Nuova Era, Glossa, Dynamic, Olive-music, Et-Cetera. With the label Aulicus Roberto Gini has undertaken a collaboration projected into the future and that has already seen the publication of several recordings.

On viola da gamba he has released interesting and award-winning recordings of music for Viola Bastarda, for Division-Viol (the first ever recording of Henry Butler's compositions), a CD dedicated to John Jenkins in duo with Wieland Kuijken and a disc of music for solo viola of the Anglo-French 17th century.

With his quartet, IL CONCERTO DELLE VIOLE, he recorded instrumental music and Consort-Songs by William Byrd and his contemporaries as well as a monographic collection of compositions by Carlo Farina.

He collaborated for a long time with the actress Valentina Cortese, with whom he brought on tour a successful show on a text by Alda Merini and realized a project on the Lamento di Arianna by Claudio Monteverdi.

He continues his concert and recording activities as a soloist on viola da gamba and as a conductor.

Jordi Savall said about him: "I taught Christophe Coin, Paolo Pandolfo, Roberto Gini. I've had about thirty pupils, but only a few of them really made a great career. It is one thing to be a good musician, another to live music like a missionary" (Avvenire, February 13, 2018).

 

Albums

Alc 0058 Il Violoncello galante

Alc 0058 Il Violoncello galante

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ALC 0047  Viola da gamba - Le Jeu d'Harmonie

ALC 0047 Viola da gamba - Le Jeu d'Harmonie

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ALC 0043 Carlo Farina Mantovano

ALC 0043 Carlo Farina Mantovano

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ALC 0087 John Jenkins and his ‘most esteemed friend’ William Lawes

ALC 0087 John Jenkins and his ‘most esteemed friend’ William Lawes

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FAB 0001 Vivaldi: L'Estro Armonico

FAB 0001 Vivaldi: L'Estro Armonico

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ALC 0101 The Division Violist (Volume I) Daniel Norcome

ALC 0101 The Division Violist (Volume I) Daniel Norcome

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Alc 0062  Bach - Telemann

Alc 0062 Bach - Telemann

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ALC 0108 Monteverdi Lamento di Arianna e altre musiche a voce sola vol.1

ALC 0108 Monteverdi Lamento di Arianna e altre musiche a voce sola vol.1

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ALC 0117 The Division Violist (Volume 2) Balthazar-Coleman-Facy-Jenkins-Polewheele-Simpson-Webster

ALC 0117 The Division Violist (Volume 2) Balthazar-Coleman-Facy-Jenkins-Polewheele-Simpson-Webster

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