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Paolo Schianchi
On the 20th July 2002 in Vigo,
David Russell, currently regarded as
one of the world’s most important classical guitarists, wrote: «I heard Paolo Schianchi play in Italy and he showed both technical
security and a high degree of artistry in his interpretation. He is
a talented young player who has a bright musical future».
Paolo Schianchi is now considered by many to be one of the best
Italian musicians of his generation. He plays all existing
variations of the guitar. He is a
musician, composer, researcher and
inventor. He has more than one degree with honours and has received
numerous national and international awards both as guitarist and
composer, gaining experience with several of the world’s most
renowned guitarists. He graduated with honours from the University
of Modena and Reggio Emilia with his first degree and also a
ten-year Diploma in guitar, to which he then added a second
post-diploma Master with honours at Level II in Music and
Guitar and
a third Master in Instrumental Teaching. He has been a teacher on
instrumental courses and experimental ones at various European
schools and academies, such as the department of the Conservatorio
Statale di Musica F. Venezze in Rovigo, and he has been invited to
hold
master classes at prestigious overseas universities and schools,
like the Duke Ellington School Of The Arts in Washington D.C.
He has dedicated himself full-time in the fields of teaching and
concert performance, teaching in public and private schools, and
performing at prestigious festivals in Italy and abroad both as a
soloist and with various Italian and foreign line-ups. He has also
made recordings as a solo artist and in
collaboration with renowned
professional artists, such as the Parisian band Five O’Clock Jazz
Group, the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra, Parma’s Regio Theatre
Orchestra, Alberto Radius (legendary Italian guitarist and arranger
for Lucio Battisti), Bernardo Lanzetti (PFM), Jim Donovan (Rusted
Root, Carlos Santana, Led Zeppelin, Sting), Bill Burke, Michele
Pertusi, Alessandro Haber, Maddalena Crippa, Umberto Fabi, Adriana
Asti, etc.
He has been awarded first prize at several prestigious national and
international competitions (Giovani Talenti,
Rovere D'Oro, with 350
participants from all over the world, Ermo Colle) both as solo
guitarist and composer.
In 2006 he published a research thesis entitled “Santino Garsi da
Parma – Un Musicista da riscoprire” (Santino Garsi da Parma - A
Musician to be rediscovered). With this work, virtuosic and
counterpoint compositions by this Parmesan Renaissance composer (which
those in the musicological sphere believed were lost) are brought to
light, recovered and restored
for the first time in modern history.
His solo concert, entitled
Instrumental Metamorphosis, for which he
worked on the music, script, direction, technical equipment,
quadraphonic and hexaphonic spatialisation, has attracted the
attention and critical acclaim of experts and enthusiasts the world
over, and have brought thousands of online visits on the celebrated
YouTube site, together with a unanimously enthusiastic response from
both critics and the public, and the recognition of Peter Stein, one
of the world’s leading theatre directors.
From 2003 to 2007 working alongside a number of Italian engineers
and luthiers, he designed, created and lastly patented
Octopus®, a
complex electro-acoustic system that is currently unique worldwide,
which he has recently performed with at several important concert
venues including the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. This
instrument enables him to play several guitars contemporaneously
using both hands and feet, mixing their sounds (with over 200
controls) in real time exclusively live and without the help of
pre-recorded sounds.
Paolo Schianchi was recently selected by a panel of television
judges amidst thousands of contenders for the
RAI New Talents
Project (Progetto RAI Nuovi Talenti) and was presented live on
national television on the RaiUno channel by Pippo Baudo, performing
on live TV as a soloist and live yet again on several occasions on
the two major television networks (RaiUno and RaiDue).
It has been said of him that...
«Paolo Schianchi is one of those rare musicians who forces me to
reconsider what is possible in music. Calling Schianchi a virtuoso
is like calling Pavarotti a good singer. He is the rare mix of
tremendous talent and humble spirit. He makes me want to learn how
to say "wow" in Italian. It's rare to meet someone who is setting
the bar for other musicians. Paolo is one of these people» - Jim
Donovan, multi-platinum recording artist from Rusted Root (collaborations:
Carlos Santana, Led Zeppelin, ...), Friday 13rd February, 2009
«Paolo Schianchi is one of the finer guitarists to emerge from his
generation. His virtuosic technique, combined with his absolutely
unique musical personality, will prove to distinguish him as an
artist of considerable significance.» - Andrew Zohn, composer,
professor of guitar at the faculty of the Schwob School of Music
(Columbus State University), Georgia, USA, Sunday 4th January, 2009
«For Paolo there’s just one word. It's got four syllables:
SEN-SA-TION-AL! […] If Le Corbusier defined the city a machine to
live in, then he is a machine for making music. He enjoys this form
of art and he himself becomes an instrument. There’s nothing better
than being part of a passion. Paolo Schianchi is music.» -
Alessandro Rostagno, critic and journalist, RaiDue, live on national
TV, Friday 2nd October, 2009
«He possesses amazing talents» - Bill Burke, Tuesday 19th May, 2009
«A remarkable talent [...]. Excellent technique and sound - and in
my view the most important thing is always inventiveness, because
you can study for a lifetime, but if you haven't got the head and
the creativity for it, it will always be good, but never as good as
this. Congratulations, my sincere congratulations!» - Alberto Radius,
RaiUno, live national TV, Monday 12th January, 2009
«Excellent. His interpretative rigour never sacrifices the intrinsic
efficacy of communicative power that every musician should possess.»
- Giovanni Puddu, Tuesday 20th May, 2008
«He is a great musician. Few have the gift of being able to
communicate through music like him.» - Matteo Mela, Monday 22nd
September, 2003
«[...] The guitar! I love the guitar because, as you can see, it has
feminine curves [...], in fact to play it, one draws it to oneself,
embraces it, touches it, at times plucks it, caresses it, but with a
learned caress, I’d say intellectual, knowledgeable in the wisdom of
the intellect and in this case music. I don’t know what Paolo
Schianchi – the great guitar virtuoso [...] – is like as a caresser
of women [...], but what’s certain is that as caresser of guitars
Paolo Schianchi is absolutely extraordinary, I can assure you.
Amazing! [...] I have the highest regard for him.» - Mario Lanfranchi, director, Sunday 15th October, 2006
«Paolo Schianchi, with whom I have had the pleasure to collaborate
with research on Santino Garsi da Parma, the Renaissance lute
player, is a highly talented and versatile musician, a virtuoso able
to skilfully interpret numerous instrumentalist roles by following
the metamorphoses that the guitar has undergone over time and within
diverse cultures.» - Massimo Lonardi, Monday 15th December, 2008
«I feel he is the greatest guitarist in the world! […] He's
brilliant! […] He's out of this world! […] I love it!» - Alberto Radius interviewed by Red Ronnie for the Roxy Bar channel, Monday
1st June, 2009
Press Reviews
«A revelation in contemporary music, a young man that has both the
necessary qualities and passion needed to continue to revolutionise
the history of 21st century music.» - Irene Accorsini, ParmaOk,
Saturday 5th July, 2008
«[...] I have seen some pretty fair guitar players perform live -
Clapton, Santana, Olson - but I don't think I've ever been this
impressed. Paolo's virtuosity is breathtaking.» - Brent Ottaway,
associate professor of Marketing at Saint Francis University,
Trobadour, Loretto, Pennsylvania, vol.XVI - No.5 March, 2009
«[...] among the greatest guitarists, and also able to discover new
sonorities with his research [...]» - Valeria Ottolenghi,
Vice-President of the National Critics Association, Gazzetta di
Parma, Thursday 30th August, 2007
«A performance within a performance – these are Paolo Schianchi’s
musical compositions. The first piece, as the curtain is raised, is
alienating, the sounds produced by the two guitars, classical and
electric, blend, but it is not a union between present day and past,
nor between past and future, it is just indefinable and so
incredibly fascinating and unsettling. Disorientating. The
musician’s bare feet skip across the pedals, manipulating the sounds
produced by the guitars or combining more sounds, echoes, resonance,
thanks to Octopus®, an electro-acoustic system which he designed
himself. […] I have never before heard anyone play the guitar like
that. Extraordinary. […] Packed theatre, great audience, endless
applause: an unmissable performance.» - Francesco Rapaccioni,
Teatro.org & Culturama, Saturday 13th March, 2010
«Talent, versatility, extensive research [...] ingenious insights,
[...] deriving from an artistic streak, the kind that one is born
with and that can't be acquired, and this is what Paolo simply oozes.
Good luck, Paolo, we'll be hearing a lot about you in the future.» -
La Repubblica, online version, Music section, Celebrities category,
Friday 16th January, 2009
«I’ve seen the future of rock [...] Paolo Schianchi isn’t an
emerging musician: he is a great guitarist who still hasn’t had the
opportunity to make a name for himself the way he deserves to. [...]
Compositions for double-neck acoustic guitars will stop you mourning
Jimmy Page at his best, followed by a demonstration of the potential
of Octopus®, a complicated instrument that he patented himself which
enables him to play with Pink Floyd’s magnificence, but by himself.
Paolo Schianchi is a prodigy of inventiveness, technique and passion
entirely dedicated to music and not to becoming a celebrity […]. As
Radius said to the audience "don’t wait for sensational foreigners;
you have a great musician back home here".» - Pierangelo Pettenati,
Music&Theatre - Gazzetta di Parma, Sunday 26th July, 2009
«"Tentacular" music, but much more than this, Paolo Schianchi [...]
musician [...], young composer [...] also possesses an unusual
passion and inventiveness.» - Polis Quotidiano newspaper, Sunday
18th January, 2009
«Today is the last day of the talent show hosted by Lucilla Agosti
and Alessandro Rostagno. But who was the best out of the many
promising youngsters who performed on stage? Alessandro Rostagno
replies: “The guitarist Paolo Schianchi: he’s the only one who makes
me shout out “sensational!” and I’m absolutely convinced he’ll go a
long way”.» - TV, Sorrisi e Canzoni, RaiDue, Sunday 20th December,
2009
«The Italian Paolo Schianchi [...] demonstrates his passion for the
guitar. For a number of years he has taken part in several
internships in various music academies that [...] have enabled him
to perform all over Italy. [...]». - La Stampa, Wednesday 5th June,
2002
«[...] a young, extraordinary musician, who has won numerous awards
both as performer and composer [...]. A complex research project.
[...] Great commitment. And a strong passion. [...]» - Valeria Ottolenghi, Vice-President of the National Critics Association,
Gazzetta di Parma, Sunday 9th September, 2007
«[...] This young Parmesan guitarist [...] demonstrates an ability
to combine great musicality with guitar technique (any kind of
guitar) and incredible versatility.» - Giulio Bocchi, Gazzetta di
Parma, Sunday 13th April, 2008
«Paolo Schianchi [...] has shown proof of his solid technical
grounding and his extraordinary interpretative ability: a truly new
world opens forth from his guitars.» - Giulia Coruzzi, Gazzetta di
Parma, Monday 28th July, 2008
«[...] I feel it is my duty, a desire that I believe is not merely a
personal one: that in our city, the home of music, those who really
know how to make music are recognised and given a voice that others
can hear, even though they are young [...]» - anonymous letter,
Gazzetta di Parma, Tuesday 20th May, 2003
«Thanks to [...] diverse musical interests, his studies have enabled
him to gain remarkable technical skills as well as a great
versatility with his instrument, gifts that are brought to the fore
in his concerts [...]» - Francesco Maggi, Gazzetta di Parma, Monday
11th August, 2003
«Schianchi is a concert performer who combines a solid and thorough
musical and virtuosic education with study and research into all the
variants of the guitar, and meets with widespread approval in both
fields.» - Gazzetta di Parma, Wednesday 9th April, 2008
«[...] young yet extraordinary [...]» - Valeria Ottolenghi,
Vice-President of the National Critics Association, Gazzetta di
Parma, Sunday 15th October, 2006 |
