SHORT BIO
Eclectic flutist, already defined in 2015 by Fabio Francione of Il Manifesto as “one of the most promising Italian flutists”, emerged on the international scene in 2019 when she was awarded with the Stockhausen Prize 2019 – a recognition never achieved before by an Italian flutist – by the Stockhausen Foundation for her interpretation of KATHINKAs GESANG from SAMSTAG aus LICHT in the rare version with electronics; Laura has been the first Italian flutist to perform integrally this arduous masterpiece by heart and in scenic form, with a wide appreciation by audiences and critics.
She wins for the second time the Stockhausen Prize in the immediately following 2022 edition of the Kurse und Konzerte – Kürten of the Stockhausen Foundation, for the interpretation of AVE for flute in G and basset horn in duo with the clarinetist Roberta Gottardi.
She has been performing in Italy and Europe since 2014 with an intense solo concert schedule: Teatro Lirico, Milan; soloist for MA/IN Matera Intermedia Festival 2021; guest performer with her own electronics for RAI national italian radio television channel, during the Celebration Conference 2021 of the international event “Stem in the City”, Milan; Festival Novecento 2021 with A. Corti (orgue) and Virgo Vox Ensemble; soloist for Milano Musica Festival 2019 in PARADIES by Stockhausen and Tracce by L. Francesconi; soloist in KATHINKAs GESANG by Stockhausen at Festival Aperto 2019 (Teatro Valli) and for Padua Art Centre, season 2019; soloist for Serate Musicali since 2018; leading musician and actress at Piccolo Teatro of Milan in the 2016 season (pièce “The Merry Wives of William”); soloist at LAC in Lugano with her “Blue Tube” project in 2016; soloist in the 2nd Concerto for flute by A. Jolivet at RSI in Lugano, 2015; selected by GAI Young Italian Artists and Italian Ministry of Culture for a concert tour in Belgium in 2016; invited by the Italian Cultural Institutes of Stuttgart and Strasbourg and Melbourne since 2015.
She has a rich chamber music activity, both in the classic and with electronics repertoire: she collaborates with AGON, Tempo Reale, MMT, Walter Prati, Syntax Ensemble, mdi ensemble, SIMC Italian Society of Contemporary Music, Jeunesse Musicale, Morphosis Ensemble (ES), Der Blaue Ritter Ensemble (DE), Ensemble Horizonte (DE); she also steadely plays with many italian versatile musicians such as R. Gottardi, S. Cignoli, M. Mariotti, Trio Broz.
A musician with a multidisciplinary background she graduated in flute at Verdi Conservatory in Milan while obtaining a degree in Archaeology at Catholic University of Milan both cum laude, winning as a student various awards and scholarships, including the Bruno Martinotti Scholarship; The Assami Prize of the G. Verdi Conservatory; the 2nd Prize at the Melzo Giovani flute competition; the III Prize at the International Flute Competition Città di Ovada; the 2nd Prize at the Syrinx Rome national competition. After her Master Degree Laura studied with Davide Formisano, Jean Claude Gerard and Michele Marasco and she specialized at the CSI of Lugano in contemporary repertoire both as soloist (cum laude) and as a chamber musician with Mario Caroli, Arturo Tamayo and Omar Zoboli and later with Annamaria Morini.
In the last 8 years she has strongly focused on the creation of multimedia shows, as an author and / or performer in various projects aimed at enhancing the contemporary musical language combined with other artistic forms. In parallel, she dedicated herself to deepening her skills as a musician and – together – as an actress, mime artist, performer and interpreter in electronics, with courses and masterclasses with K. Pasveer (Stockhausen Foundation), L. Pasetti (Piccolo Teatro di Milano), E. Barba (Odin Teatret), M. Consagra (Paolo Grassi), G. Rossi (Sosta Palmizi), W. Prati (MMT).
Since 2014 she has created several projects aimed to enhance contemporary musical language combining it with other artistic forms: the home-video performance COMFORT ZONE, created during COVID19 following a commission from Padua Art Centre, also selected as a video installation among the best Italian works produced during lockdown 2020, for Festival Aperto / I Teatri grand opening 2020 at Teatro Valli (RE); the site-specific installation sound project “Profumo di suoni al sapone”, winner of the Artistic Director’s Mention at the 1st Edition of the International Call for Proposals “Festival del Tempo” 2020 in Sermoneta, to be carried out in 2021; the site specific installation BlueTube, defined by scholar V. Valentini as an “intermedia concert” (World Water Day 2016; Lugano, LAC 2016 and Serate Musicali 2018); the sound dramatization “Arianna: il suono de’ bei lamenti” (PACTA dei Teatri 2021; Monteverdi 450 Festival 2017; Villa Ghirlanda 2019); the musical theater piece The Merry Wives of William as musician and actress (directed by L. Pasetti; music by R. Andreoni; prod. Piccolo Teatro di Milano 2016; Rome Sala Umberto 2018; Bari Shakespearean Month 2016; Bonacina Award 2016); the theatrical concert Alice: 88 tasti nella storia (with Note di Quinta, PACTA 2014, musician and actress; Fersen Award 2013).
Since 2015 she has also worked on her own soundscapes for flute and electronics (Milan, Stem in the city event 2021; Festival Vapore d’Estate 2020 and Change of Season 2020, for Padua Art Centre and Arcella Bella Festival in duo with W. Prati; Flute 2.0, 2019, seminar/concert for Contemporary Music Hub with K. de Fleyt and C. Rees; Teatro Arsenale, Parade Electronique 2018, for MMT; Festival Subsculture 2018 Treviso; Suoni in cammino 2019).
In November 2021 she released her first CD for flute and electronics for Stradivarius label, entitled “Ceci n’est pas une flûte“, in collaboration with AGON with Massimo Marchi as sound director.The CD has received several awards from the specialized press, from Blow Up magazine to the Anglo-Dutch flute magazine Flute colors, to Radio 3 Suite, reviewed with 5 stars by Amadeus, 5 stars by Classic Voice and winner of 5 stars and disc of the month of the magazine MUSICA.
Reviewing it, E. Garzia of Percorsi Musicali says: “Faoro’s interpretations are always very effective, perfect vehicles for transposing the authors’ thoughts but also demonstrations of incredible timing. Laura makes damn difficult things for a flutist sound easy and she is able to explore any situation while maintaining natural control over the instrument. Ceci n’est pas une flûte is inevitably a candidate to be one of the best ratings of 2021 ″.
“The flutist Laura Faoro, a pupil of Mario Caroli and Annamaria Morini, is one of the most talented and reckless, because without fear she immediately tried her hand at very difficult pieces, immediately perceiving the changes that the interdisciplinary nature of the arts has also imposed on flutists. Proof of this is the Stockhausen prize won in 2019 for the interpretation of KATHINKAs GESANG, performances related to installations, theater or video, without forgetting even a degree in Archaeology with full marks.”
She has also recorded for Amirani Records, Da Vinci Classics, RAI, Radio 3, ORF, RTSI, Radio Popolare, ECO music label, New Focus Recordings and Radio Festival Gwenstival (music/poetry project “Liturgia Horarum” with Eufonè Trio) produced by Radio Gwendalyn (CH).
In 2006 she graduated in Scienze dei Beni Culturali at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (110/110 cum laude) discussing the thesis “Musical instruments in high-medieval society”.
She is currently flute professor at Civica Scuola di Musica “Licitra” in Cinisello Balsamo, at Civico Istituto “Sammartini” in San Donato at Liceo “Appiani” in Monza and at De Amicis Music School in Milan.
Since 2021 she has been artistic director of the SPIRITO DEL TEMPO | Teatri del Suono d’Oggi Festival, which had its debut in Milan with its first edition in June 2022, entitled “Stockhausen in Milan”.
LONG BIO
Eclectic flutist, specialised in contemporary repertoire, Laura Faoro got her Master in Contemporary Flute Performance (contemporary flute techniques and repertoire) cum laude at the Conservatory of Italian Swiss (CH), in 2012, in the class of Mario Caroli. Formerly admitted to the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan after the high school diploma in classical studies, she graduated in five years with honors under the guidance of G. Gallotta and perfected with J.C. Gerard, D. Formisano and M. Marasco, winning several awards and scholarships (Bruno Martinotti scholarship, Assami Conservatory Award together with Mirella Freni, Melzo Giovani International Competition, 2nd Prize; International Flute Competition “Città di Ovada”, 3rd Prize; Syrinx National Competition, Rome 2nd Prize).
Defined by Fabio Francione (“Il Manifesto”) as “one of the most promising Italian flutists” (2015), L. Faoro debuts in May 2019 in KATHINKAs GESANG als LUZIFERs REQUIEM from SAMSTAG aus LICHT by Karlheinz Stockhausen for flute and electronics, for the season of the Art Center of Padua (Auditorium Pollini) in collaboration with SaMPL (Pollini Conservatory Sound and Music Processing Lab) and with Alvise Vidolin as sound director, in a scenic form with video projections, in integral version and, as strictly indicated by the composer, entirely by heart. For the first time an Italian flutist performs this huge masterpiece in this way and under the auspices of the Stockhausen Stiftung, having Laura been working with Kathinka Pasveer on Stockhausen music since 2017.
Kathinkas Gesang – L. Faoro https://www.centrodarte.it/concerti/2019-05-31-stockhausen-spirali/
https://www.centrodarte.it/news/centrodarte19/
In August 2019, selected during the Stockhausen Konzerte und Kurse Kürten 2019 for the last of the three Teilnehmer-Konzerte organized for the interpreters judged most prepared, L. Faoro had the honor to play in concert KATHINKAs GESANG in the electronic version with the entire set original, at the Sülztalhalle in Kürten.
For this interpretation Laura Faoro was awarded the second of the three prestigious Stockhausen Interpretation Prizes offered by the Stockhausen Stiftung fur Müsik, first Italian flutist to achieve such a result.
Stockhausen Foundation Newsletter: https://archive.newsletter2go.com/?n2g=3pcak9h3-vrkii10j-4b1
Le Salon Musical: https://www.lesalonmusical.it/laura-faoro-premiata-dalla-fondazione-stockhausen/
According to the musicologist Ian Parsons, present at the concert and deep expert of Stockhausen music: “So what can you say after a performance like this, other than ‘thank you’? KATHINKAs GESANG als LUZIFERs REQUIEM for flute and electronic music. Sensational performance from Laura Faoro. Really sensational“.
According to him, Laura’s performance was: “another one of those extraordinary highlights of the nine magnificent days of this year’s Stockhausen Courses and Concerts in Kürten. Laura Faoro received second prize for her sensationally immersive performance of KATHINKAs GESANG als LUZIFERs REQUIEM in its superb, though less often-heard, version for solo flute and electronic music (…) Stockhausen wrote the piece originally as the second scene of SAMSTAG aus LICHT where it is performed with six percussionists, and guides the soul of the “apparently” dead Lucifer to enlightenment. Here those six percussionists are replaced with a strange and eerie cosmos of electronics that swirl around the feline, shamanistic flute, which Laura moulded into that electronic soundscape like souls mould into untouchable, immeasurable, uncontainable, space when they float seeking where to go next. It was an incredible performance and no one wanted to stop clapping at the end. These are the sorts of experiences that remind us how full and rich the future of this music is destined to be.”
Laura has gone on stage again with KATHINKAs GESANG als LUZIFERs REQUIEM in the new production of Fondazione I Teatri/ Festival Aperto “K&K ELETRO GESÄNGEN”, in October 2019 at Teatro Valli (Reggio Emilia), for Festival Aperto 2019, in collaboration with Massimiliano Viel (who will perform SPIRAL) and Tempo Reale (sound engineering).
http://www.iteatri.re.it/Sezione.jsp?titolo=kandk-elektro-ges%C3%A4ngen&idSezione=5986
She had her debut as a soloist a few weeks later for Milano Musica Festival 2019 (edition dedicated to Luca Francesconi), playing his Tracce, for solo flute and – by heart – PARADIES for flute and electronics, from the KLANG cycle by K. Stockhausen, with M. Marchi (AGON) (sound engineering).
http://www.milanomusica.org/it/sezione-festival/calendario.html
In the last 7 years she has been strongly focusing on the creation of multimedia shows, as an author and / or performer in various projects aimed at enhancing the contemporary musical language combined with other artistic forms.
In parallel, she dedicated herself to deepening her skills as a musician and – together – as an actress, mime artist, performer and interpreter in electronics, with courses, internships and collaborations with L. Pasetti (Piccolo Teatro di Milano), E. Barba (Odin Teatret), M. Consagra (Paolo Grassi), G. Rossi (Sosta Palmizi), W. Prati (MMT), K. Pasveer (Stockhausen Foundation).
The last and most experimental project was conceived due to Covid-19 emergency: “COMFORT ZONE – home CꜴmera VIDeo performance for 1 solo flutist and 9 live electronic devices“, a short multimedia performance in video form, commissioned for the streaming review “Musica Da Camera” by Centro d’Arte di Padova and created by Laura in full during the quarantine (April 2020). This installation has been selected for Festival Aperto 2020 at Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia (25th-27th September 2020).
Her site-specific sound installation project “Profumi di suono al sapone” was recently awarded the Artistic Director Mention at the First Edition of the International Call “Festival del Tempo” 2020 in Sermoneta, out of 54 artistic / installation applications. It will be carried out in 2021.
Laura made her debut for the prestigious festival Serate Musicali in July 2018 with her multimedia project “BlueTube”, defined by the scholar Valentina Valentini (present at the event) “intermedia concert” (4 dates at the inauguration of the new Water Museum of Milan). The performance dates back to 2016, commissioned by Metropolitana Milanese as a site-specific event for World Water Day 2016 (sold out for all dates), and resumed at LAC in Lugano for the Oggi Musica Festival already in November 2016 .
She regularly performs as a soloist and in ensemble in national and international festivals, with several groups specialized in contemporary music in Italy and abroad (Serate Musicali 2018 and LAC, Lugano 2016 with her multimedia project “BlueTube“; Rassegna di Nuova Musica di Macerata 2018, with Blumine Ensemble; Italian Institute of Culture at the Haus der Musik im Fruchtkasten c / o Landesmuseum Wurttemberg, Stuttgart 2017, with C. Saldicco; Jeunesse Musicale Internationale 2017 with Ensemble Sinestesia, Planetarium of Milan; Festival Sirga 2016, Spain, with Morphosis Ensemble; Schwere Reiter Festival 2016, Munich, with Blaue Ritter Ensemble; Ensemble Champ d’action Festival, Belgium in duo with violinist Takao Yakutome, 2016 supported by GAI association (Young Italian Artists) by the Italian Ministry of Culture.; Festival Liederiadi 2015 with B. Chilcott; Festival “Arte, musica, abbazie 2015”, Milan; with mdi ensemble, Fondazione Cini Venezia; Sala Piatti, Bergamo; Festival ‘900 Presente 2014 RSI Lugano, soloist in the 2nd Concerto for flute by A. Jolivet; soloist in the four Quartets for flute by W.A. Mozart at Villa Litta (Lodi), as closing concert of the River Summer Adda Festival; Italian Institute of Strasbourg, France with Eufonè Trio; Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Germany; Klangspuren Schwatz, Austria with Ensemble Modern; Festival Acanthes Metz, France).
Recently, L. Faoro began working on soundscapes for flute and electronics of her own creation, with particular care for the sound processing and the miking of the flute. (Festival Subsculture 2018 Treviso, with her piece A Gaia – RadioNotturno (dalle fasce di Van Allen) for electronics and sampled flutes, selected in the release From outer space: A leap into the Future by the collective electronicgirls.org; Parade Electronique 2018 – Arsenale Theatre, with Gak Sato, theremin and Sergio Missaglia, interactive environment; Fondazione Milano 2017, Auditorium Lattuada, with Silvia Cignoli, electric guitar; New Made Contemporary Week Festival 2015).
In November 2017 she had her debut in Arianna… il suon de’ bei lamenti drammatizzazione sonora in quattro stazioni – a performance realized for the “Monteverdi 450” Festival 2017 and created together with Silvia Cignoli, electric guitar; Mario Mariotti trumpets; Elia Moretti, percussion – had its debut at the church of San Giovanni in Laterano in Milan. It is an experimental research project from the Lamento d’Arianna by C. Monteverdi, matching contemporary improvisation, sound spatialization and stage performance. It reinvents the sacred place in terms of installation, a labyrinth in which the public is immersed, in close contact with the dramatic action of the performers.
In December 2017 L. Faoro made her debut with Aria Contemporanea, a recital for flute and electronics between baroque and contemporary music in collaboration with Cesare Saldicco (electronics) for the Italian Cultural Institute at the Haus der Musik im Fruchtkasten c / o Landesmuseum Wurttemberg, Stuttgart (DE).
In 2017 she was selected by Eugenio Barba for the Odin Festival Week 2017 with Odin Teatret, also performing in front of Barba during a “Barter” of his company; in the same summer she took part in Stockhausen Kurse und Konzerte in Kürten, organized by the Stockhausen Foundation.
In april 2016 she had her debut at Piccolo Teatro of Milan (Teatro Studio Melato) as a performer (theatre + music) in the contemporary music/theatrical pièce The merry wives of William (director Laura Pasetti, Charioteer Theatre, Edinburgh; music Roberto Andreoni). This is a play in which the musicians are involved at the same time in playing and acting, matching contemporary music with theatrical gags and abstracts from Shakespeare’s plays and Sonnets in original language. The play has been selected by Teatro Pubblico Pugliese national call for the Bari Festival – Mese Shakespeariano. The show was one of the three winners of the 2016 Sonia Bonacina National Award (2nd Prize), out of 115 shows presented.
The show has recently made its debut in Rome at Sala Umberto (February 2018) with excellent feedback from the public (also adolescent) and critics: “The show is a successful experimental work, which manages well to blend the atmosphere of Shakespearean words and magic of classical music. Words and music, these are the protagonists of the show …. “…” The performance of Maria Calvo, Laura Faoro and Firmina Adorno convince, while giving the best of them in the musical parts. The English language (it’s all in the original language) in the dialogues is extremely simple and does not resultas a limitation for the staging “. “The final outcome is that of a well-designed work, where the homage to Shakespeare is evident and extremely stimulating, the acting, in its minimal being, convinces and everything is skilfully linked by the use of classical music. An excellent idea that encourages and surprises, for a cultured operation that marks a trend that should not be underestimated”.
At the end of March 2016 L. Faoro eas performer in “BlueTube“, a multimedia installation of her own creation, commissioned by Metropolitana Milanese for the World Water Day 2016, which combines video projections (by Fabrizio Rosso) and live electronics (by Luca Congedo), with a selection of masterpieces from contemporary repertoire for solo flute and with electronics, ranging from the historical twentieth century repertoire to Minimalism, to Spectralism up to the most prominent young authors.
The project was sold out for all the dates and has been replicated at LAC, Lugano for the Festival Oggi Musica in November 2016. It is replicated four times for Serate Musicali in July 2018 in occasion of the inauguration of the Centrale dell’acqua di Milano, a new museum dedicated to water.
In December L. Faoro had her debut in a solo recital with loop station and electronics, a new performance created by her for the New Made Contemporary Week Festival 2015.
From September 2015 she is a member of Quartetto Lunatico (flute, piano jazz, drums and double bass) involved in jazz/classical music, whose debut achieved a critical and audience success on february 2016 (Cascina Roma, San Donato 2016; Teatro Villoresi, Monza 2016 – 2017 – 2018; Palazzina Liberty, Milano 2016).
With her company Note di Quinta she was on stage for Pacta dei Teatri in Milan in 2014 with Alice: 88 tasti nella storia, pièce dedicated to Shoà, combining acting, mime and romantic repertoire music, winner of the 2013 Fersen Prize (directed by L. Pasetti).
In occasion of her performance in RTSI Auditorium – in presence of Salvatore Sciarrino – Enrico Colombo has written about her: “I want to spend a particolar mention for Faoro, and for the way she has performed the hard articulations of the sounds and – moreover – the existence anxiety which goes across thinking and music of Salvatore Sciarrino. I will remember the concert for the wonderful performance of Canzona di ringraziamento”. (La regione Ticino 17/11/11). Recently, her experiment on Come vengono prodotti gli incantesimi performed by her for the first time on bass flute was very much appreciated by the Maestro.
She has recorded for RAI, ORF and CSR and Radio Festival Gwenstival (music/poetry project “Liturgia Horarum” with Eufonè Trio) produced by Radio Gwendalyn.
In 2006 she graduated in Scienze dei Beni Culturali at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (110/110 cum laude) discussing the thesis “Musical instruments in high-medieval society”.
She is currently Professor at Civica Scuola di Musica “Licitra” in Cinisello Balsamo, at Civico Istituto “Sammartini” in San Donato and at Liceo “Appiani” in Monza.