Simonide Braconi
viola
Born in Rome in 1971, the Italian violist Simonide Braconi graduated from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome and the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, studying with S. Esposito and Kim Kashkashian respectively. Additionally he studied with Bruno Giuranna at the Walter Stauffer Academy in Cremona and Yuri Bashmet at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. He won prizes in several international competitions including Cologne and Lionel Tertis Competition. In the early stage of his musical career, Simonide Braconi served as the Principal viola of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, a member of the European Community Youth Orchestra, and the Principal viola of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra. In 1994, at the age of 22, Simonide Braconi was appointed by Riccardo Muti as the Principal viola of the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He also played as a guest with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Simonide Braconi recorded for the labels Vigiesse, Thymallus, Rhona, Stradivarius, Agora, Tudor, DAD, Velut Luna, Dynamic and Decca. His performances were broadcasted on Radio 3, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Rete 4, Sky Classica and had CD albums published in the magazines Classica, Amadeus (complete Brahms Sonatas). In chamber music, he collaborated with eminent artists such as Salvatore Accardo, Massimo Quarta, Julian Rachlin, Thomas Brandis, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Uto Ughi, Isabelle Faust, Martha Argerich, Bruno Canino, Rocco Filippini, Enrico Dindo, Giovanni Sollima, Natalia Gutman, Franco Petracchi, Emmanuel Pahud, Sonia Ganassi, Jose Carreras and as a soloist with prominent conductors Wolfgang Sawallisch and Riccardo Muti.
With the other principals of the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Simonide Braconi formed the Quartetto d’archi della Scala, touring the USA, South America, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. A member of the juries at various international competitions, he is regularly invited to give master classes at major institutions (Academy of Arts in Rome, Festival delle città in Portogruaro, Gubbio Festival, Tibor Varga Academy in Sion). Among the various orchestras with which he has collaborated as a soloist were the Gran Canaria Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Padua and Veneto, Filarmonica della Scala (with whom he performed Paul Hindemith’s Kammermusik No. 5 under Wolfgang Sawallisch), and Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra (with whom he performed Mozart Sinfonia Concertante under Riccardo Muti). Simonide Braconi currently teaches the viola at the Milano Music Master. He is also a viola d’amore soloist, and as a composer he has published several works for MAP and SONZOGNO publishing houses. Several of his compositions have been performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Unione Musicale di Torino and Amici della Musica in Perugia. He plays a Giuseppe Gagliano viola (1800).
