VIRTUOSO Artists Management

Violin virtuoso Franco Mezzena regularly thrills audiences throughout the world with his ineluctable musical expressivity.

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Franco Mezzena is a guest solo violinist in the most important concert halls and music festivals in Europe, Japan, South America and the United States. He was born in Trento, Italy and studied with Salvatore Accardo. In addition to being a virtuoso concert musician, he is also a conductor and a music professor.

He has repeatedly been on tour with "I Musici" and "I Virtuosi di Roma." Mr. Mezzena has performed with many celebrated artists such as Salvatore Accardo, Bruno Battisti D’Amario, Julius Berger, Bruno Canino, Roberto Fabbriciani, Rocco Filippini, Severino Gazzelloni, Bruno Giuranna, Johannes Goritzki, Jacques Klein, Alain Meunier, Bruno Mezzena, Andrea Noferini, Anthony Pay, Franco Petracchi, Ruggiero Ricci, Hariolf Schlichtig, Rohan de Saram, Romeo Tudorache, etc.

Franco Mezzena is world famous for his presence through print and broadcast media for radio and television, on albums and in periodicals. His solo appearances include: RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Radio Vaticana, BBC in England, ABC, NBC, WSKG, WGBH Boston in the United States, NHK Television in Japan, KBS in Korea, and more.

Mr. Mezzena’s recordings exceed 40 CDs and DVDs. They are available from diverse companies such as Dynamic, Symposium, Rivo Alto, Nuova Era, E.M.S. and Arcobaleno.

Dynamic chose Franco Mezzena to play the complete concertos for violin and orchestra by G.B. Viotti. These studio recordings are published as a series of 10 CDs where he appears as both soloist and conductor for the "Symphonia Perusina" and the Chamber Orchestra “Milano Classica.”

Franco is a remarkably accomplished and generous mentor and teacher. He holds the position of Professor of Music at the Conservatory "N. Piccinni" in Bari, Italy. He is the Artistic Director and founder of the Advanced Academy CMT, "The City of Music and Theatre" in Penne (Pescara) Italy and is Artistic Director of the Italian “Music & Theatre” Festival. In Italy, Mr. Mezzena also gives Master Classes at the Conservatory of Mantua, in S. Antioco, "Musica Riva" and in Alghero, Naples. Elsewhere in Europe, he teaches at the Rotterdam Académié d'été d'Andé, in the Netherlands; in Barcelona, Spain; at Oxford University, England; and for the Ticino Musica Festival in Lugano, Switzerland etc. In Japan, he has given classes in the cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyushu.

Franco Mezzena’s career as a conductor has placed him on the dais for “Interpreti Italiani,” the Lublijana Symphony Orchestra, the Milano Classica Chamber Orchestra, the Pescara Symphony Orchestra, the Teatro Regio of Turin Symphony Orchestra, etc.

Expert with young musicians, Franco is the principal conductor of OGP – the Youth Orchestra of Puglia and has been a member of the Jury of Italian EUYO (European Union Youth Orchestra) Auditions since 2005.

Franco receives consistently brilliant reviews. Interviews with Mr. Mezzena have been published by periodicals such as The Strad, Fanfare, American Record Guide, New York Times, Gramophone, Diapason and FonoForum.

Franco Mezzena plays a 1695 Antonio Stradivari, a copy of it by violin maker, Giovanni Osvaldo Fiori (Treviso 1996), and also a beautiful Bruno Costardi (Bergamo, Italy, 2006).