Carlo Aonzo

Carlo Aonzo is a worldwide known Italian mandolin performer native of Savona, Italy, where he grew up immersed in music, since his home itself hosted the music school of the "Circolo Mandolinistico G. Verdi”.

Graduating with honors from the conservatory in Padua (1993), he has played for several prestigious institutions like the Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala in Milan (Italy), the Nashville Chamber Orchestra (USA), the McGill Chamber Orchestra in Montreal (Canada), the Philharmonia of San Petersburg (Russia), the Minsk Chamber Soloist (Belarus), Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (Germany).

Among his several awards are the "Vivaldi" first prize in Venice, and first prize at the Walnut Valley National Mandolin Contest in Winfield Kansas.

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Carlo’s deep interest in outreach activities focused on his instrument is witnessed by his countless collaborations with mandolin organizations around the world, namely New York, Seattle, Portland, Providence, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Montreal, Philadelphia, Denver, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Milan, Genoa, Kochi, Nagoya, Osaka, Sendai, Wuppertal, Berlin, London, San Petersburg, Lugano. He is regularly invited as visiting faculty at the annual convention of the Classical Mandolin Society of America and called to judge in international music contests: Osaka International Mandolin Competition (Japan), Yasuo-Kuwahara Competition Schweinfurt (Germany), Concorso Internazionale per Mandolino Solo in Modena (Italy).

He teaches seminars and workshops worldwide; since 2000 he has been leading the annual Manhattan Mandolin Workshop in New York and in 2006 he founded the International Italian Mandolin Accademia that he is still successfully directing and constantly expanding with new activities and camps.

In 2001 with his “Orchestra a Pizzico Ligure” he performed in Vatican City for the Pope Johannes Paul II. He later formed the plucked string instrument International Accademia’s Orchestra with which he toured USA for the releasing of the album “Mandolin Images” in 2011.

His recordings reflect his interests and skills relating to all different aspects of the mandolin repertoire: from the Paganini’s original works for mandolin (“Integrale per Amandorlino e Chitarra Francese”), to the Italian strings virtuosos of the turn of the century (“Serenata” with Beppe Gambetta and “Traversata” with the American Mandolin guru David Grisman). In duo with classical guitarists, Carlo produced the albums “Paganini” (Rene Izquierdo) and “Kaze” (Katsumi Nagaoka).

In 2016 with the Carlo Aonzo Trio he released the album “A Mandolin Journey” on the international mandolin repertoire. With the baroque Ensemble “Il Falcone”, he recorded the complete Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons concertos for the first time ever performed on the mandolin. For Mel Bay he has published the concert video “Carlo Aonzo: Classical Mandolin Virtuoso” and the book & cd collection “Northern Italian & Ticino Region Folk Songs for Mandolin”; while for Hal Leonard he has released the “Bach Two-Parts Inventions” and the “Classical Mandolin Solos”.

As a researcher, he has been working on the history of his instrument and collaborated with the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Furthermore he has given presentations on the iconography of the mandolin, in renowned institutions, including St. John’s University in New York, Boston University, Vancouver Italian Cultural Centre, New England Conservatory, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Vanderbilt College of Nashville, Berio Library in Genoa and National Instrument Museum in Rome.

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Carlo’s musical projects are nowadays focusing on further experimentation of the mandolin’s potentials and repertoire.