Biography
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Born
1965 (age 59)
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Born In
Milano, Milano, Lombardia, Italy
Italian-born pianist and conductor Marino Formenti has established himself as one of the most interesting performers of his generation, both by virtue of his interpretations of modern and contemporary music and through his creative, daring programming. He has been celebrated by audiences and the press alike for his “exciting playing” and “dreamy concentration," as the Los Angeles Times wrote in the wake of a LACMA concert series: "a Glenn Gould for the 21. Century … mesmeric, shamanistic, unforgettable… he is in short a phenomenon." The Viennese daily Der Standard commented: “grandiose … uncannily penetrating … fulminant.” The L.A. Weekly wrote of a “state of exhilaration beyond any experience.”
Most important projects to date: PIANO TRIPS, NOTHING IS REAL, THE PARTY, EPICYCLE, PIANO INTEGRAL, DIALOGOS, KURTAG'S GHOSTS.
Most important appearances to date: Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Ravenna Festival, Aspen Festival, Ravinia Festival, Berliner Festspiele, Wien Modern, IRCAM Paris, the Berliner Philharmonie and Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Cologne’s Kölner Philharmonie, the Tonhalle in Zurich, Suntory Hall, Casals Hall und Oji Hall in Tokyo, Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow, etc.
In 2004, he made his debut performance at New York’s Lincoln Center with his own series of recitals (PIANO TRIPS) as part of the “Great Performers Series.” He has presented similar series in cities including Vienna, Los Angeles and San Francisco. As a soloist, he has performed with ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, DSO and BSO in Berlin, the RSO in Vienna and with conductors including Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Esa Pekka Salonen, Sylvain Cambreling, Ingo Metzmacher, Hans Zender and others. Furthermore, he has collaborated on projects with figures such as Gidon Kremer (as a conductor), Ulrich Matthes, Matthias Goerne, Lars Vogt and Maurizio Pollini (as a conductor). Formenti's conducting career, which he began as an assistant to figures such as Kent Nagano and Sylvain Cambreling (including at the Vienna State Opera, the LA Opera, the Opera de Paris, etc.), has seen him lead numerous productions and concerts at venues and events including Vienna's Konzerthaus, the Vienna Festival, Wien Modern, the Ravenna Festival and MEC Los Angels, as well as with Klangforum Wien. He also conducted the Austrian territorial première of Kurt Weill’s opera “Der Protagonist.” In 2008 he made his debut at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome at the invitation of Maurizio Pollini, with whom he will work as a conductor once again in 2009 at Milan’s Teatro La Scala and at Paris’ Cité de la Musique. In 2009 he will follow Maxim Vengerov as Guest Conductor of the MIAGI Festival Orchestra in South Africa.
He has recorded for several labels including Kairos, col legno and BIS, and his recordings have been the recipients of numerous awards.
Marino Formenti works together regularly with several of the greatest living composers, figures such as Helmut Lachenmann, György Kurtág, Salvatore Sciarrino, Olga Neuwirth and Beat Furrer.
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