Local Concerts: Marcello Defant
Although Marcello Defant, internationally famous violinist, was born in Fermo and not in Montefiore, he is passionate about the place and has chosen to make his home in a converted 14th century tower in the town. He has also been the artistic director of the Chamber Music Festival ‘Musical Passages’ in Montefiore since 2009.
Marcello has had a busy and extremely successful career as a violinist and viola player in a wide range of solo, chamber music and orchestral genres. He is also a master-class level teacher and holds a prestigious role as professor of violin at the conservatoire in Milan. He is particularly keen on early music, but plays music from all periods, even including contemporary music.
His career started at the age of 15 with his first public performance as a solo violinist. He studied under Salvatore Accardo, Franco Mezzena and Ruggiero Ricci, who described his playing as ‘Really first class…in all respects.’. He is fortunate to own a prestigious Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin dating from 1776, and a viola made by Ferdinando Gagliano in 1785.
He is equally brilliant on both violin and viola, which he studied under Dino Asciolla at the University of Bologna, where he also studied composition under Renato Dionisi.
Over the last twenty years he has never stopped performing, teaching and travelling from one world-class concert hall to the next. He has literally performed everywhere, from London to Buenos Aires to Tokyo, and was even a huge hit in China, performing and teaching master classes at the University of Kunmin.
As a soloist he has performed under the batons of many great conductors, including Piero Garbarino, Hector Guzman, and Tony Cipriani, and he has played in orchestras under such greats as Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel and Carlo Maria Giulini.
In 2011 he formed his own trio, L’arTre, with the pianist Giacomo Battarino (with whom he also performs as an established duo) and the cellist Sebastiano Severi. He also often takes the role of concert master and musical director, for example with orchestras such as the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Haydn Orchester in Bolzano, Milano Classica, Orchestra da Camera di Padova e del Veneto, and he is currently musical director of the Officina de li Affetti as well as of the Concord chamber music ensemble.
Between 1998 and 2000 he also found time to be the artistic director of the record company, Symposion, and he has recorded many solo albums for companies from Italy, Germany and Spain.
