Biography

Winner of the 2017 New York Respighi Prize, Tommaso Benciolini made his debut as a featured soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York on the prestigious stage of Carnegie Hall in 2018, and today pursues an intense and passionate career.

His career as a flute soloist has taken him to many of the world's leading stages — including Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Philharmonie Berlin, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Mozarteum Salzburg, Smetana Hall in Prague, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Seoul Arts Center, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Beijing University Hall and Guangzhou Opera House in China, and Salle Cortot in Paris. He has appeared as a guest soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of New York, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Nürnberg Symphoniker, the Münchener Kammerphilharmonie, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the North Czech Philharmonic, the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Euro Sinfonietta Wien, the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra and the Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach.

Many contemporary works are dedicated to Tommaso, among them «The Garden of Delights. A Flute Concerto after Bosch» by Andrea Battistoni, which he premiered in 2020 on the occasion of his debut at the Berlin Philharmonie. As a chamber musician he has performed at many important Italian festivals, including Trame Sonore in Mantua, Io Sono Musica in Mestre, Musikamera in Venice, Amici della Musica in Padua, Amici della Musica and Accademia Filarmonica in Verona, Festival Toscanini in Parma, Serate Musicali in Milan, «Le Vie del Barocco» in Genoa, MantovaMusica and GAM in Turin.

In 2021 his debut album was released on the prestigious SONY Classical label: a world-premiere monograph dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi together with the chamber orchestra L'Appassionata, which he founded, unanimously acclaimed by journalists, critics and radio. His recordings have been broadcast by RAI, Swiss National Radio, Japanese National Radio NHK, Radio Classica, Venice Classic Radio and many others.

In 2012 he became the youngest lecturer at the «E. F. Dall'Abaco» Conservatory in Verona, and currently holds the position of flute professor at the «F. A. Bonporti» Conservatory in Trento. He has been invited to give masterclasses in Cuba (International Contemporary Music Festival), Finland (Tampere Music Academy and Suomitaly Music Festival), Estonia (Tartu Eller Music Academy) and Malta (Malta Music University).

Also very active as a researcher, he is the author — together with pianist Leonora Armellini and cellist Ludovico Armellini — of the world-premiere recording of Mendelssohn's Trio in D minor Op. 49 in the version for flute, cello and piano edited by the composer himself; he also rediscovered the trio for the same ensemble by Nino Rota, performing it in modern times at Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 2015. He has brought to light several of Antonio Vivaldi's flute pages, recording them for the first time.

Born in Bologna in 1991, he graduated at eighteen from the «E. F. Dall'Abaco» Conservatory in Verona with the highest honours and a scholarship, later winning the 15th «Best Graduates of Italy» competition in Castrocaro with the SIAE Special Prize. Awarded a scholarship by the French «Zygmunt Zaleski» Foundation, he continued his studies at the École Normale de Musique «Alfred Cortot» in Paris in the class of Pierre-Yves Artaud, and earned the «Master of Advanced Studies in Music Interpretation» at the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland in Lugano under Mario Caroli. He further perfected his artistry with Giampaolo Pretto and Nicola Campitelli.