Francesco Pepicelli, cello
Angelo Pepicelli, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Seven Variations in E-flat major on the theme “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen”
from Mozart’s opera “Die Zauberflöte”, WoO 46
(1801)
Alfredo Casella (1883–1947)
Sonata in C major, Op. 45 (1927)
Preludio. Largo molto e sostenuto
Bourrée. Allegro molto vivace e scherzando
Largo
Rondò. Allegro molto vivace, quasi “giga”
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968)
I Nottambuli. Variazioni fantastiche, Op. 47 (1927)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Sonata in C major, Op. 102 No. 1 (1815)
Andante
Allegro vivace
Adagio
Tempo d’Andante
Allegro vivace
“The craftsmanship of Francesco Pepicelli.” This was the original metaphor used by a journalist and critic to describe his performance of Haydn’s Concerto at the Teatro Grande in Brescia, greeted by the audience of 1,000 with long and enthusiastic applause. Also noteworthy are his performances at Sala Verdi in Milan of Schumann’s Concerto conducted by Daniele Gatti and Saint-Saëns’s Concerto with Stefan Anton Reck on the podium. Another memorable occasion was the moving commemoration of the victims of August 2 in Bologna in 2007, when he performed as soloist in a live RAI television broadcast, giving the world premieres of two pieces with the Orchestra del Comunale di Bologna and the Filarmonica Toscanini, brought together for the occasion before an audience of more than 2,000 people.
Chamber music has always remained his greatest passion: he has forty years of experience with the Duo Pepicelli (now PiCello Bros.) together with his pianist brother Angelo, and almost twenty years with Trio Metamorphosi, with the same pianist and violinist Mauro Loguercio. He has given almost 1,000 performances around the world, from Carnegie Hall in New York to Suntory Hall in Tokyo. From the 1990s to the present day, he has recorded around twenty CDs for various labels, including seven for DECCA, as well as recordings for Naxos, Camerata Tokyo and Amadeus magazine.
His most exciting recent projects include PiCello Bros. and Ensemble Metamorphosi, as well as the show “Beethoven in Vermont”, in which he takes on the role of a musician-actor in a true classical-music musical. Teaching also plays a major role in his musical life, from the hundreds of students he trained at the Perugia Conservatory over thirty years to the many masterclasses he has given throughout Europe and Japan. Since November 2023 he has taught chamber music at the Briccialdi Conservatory in Terni.
Young cellists and chamber ensembles who have studied with him have gone on to distinguish themselves in international competitions and orchestral auditions in both Europe and South America. Important formative experiences at the beginning of his career included encounters with artists such as Paul Tortelier, David Geringas, Antonio Janigro, Rocco Filippini and Mario Brunello. Particularly memorable was the spring of 1989, when he toured as principal solo cellist of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under Claudio Abbado, performing from the Musikverein in Vienna in a worldwide live radio broadcast.
“Dear Pepicelli brothers, you really are excellent. What is more, you have a genuine rapport: not one plus one, but TWO.” With these words, composer Goffredo Petrassi highlighted one of Angelo’s distinctive qualities: his ability to form a true unity with his musical partners. A natural chamber musician, he developed a profound artistic partnership with cellist Francesco, with whom he founded the Duo Pepicelli, winning major international prizes such as the “Gui” Competition in Florence and performing in prestigious halls including Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Salle Gaveau in Paris.
In 2005, together with violinist Mauro Loguercio and his brother Francesco, he founded Trio Modigliani, an ensemble that established itself on the international scene and became Trio Metamorphosi in 2015. Recent successes include those of Ensemble Metamorphosi — expanded to include artists such as Andrea Oliva, Alessandro Carbonare and Fabrice Pierre — and Maria Letizia Compatangelo’s innovative production “Beethoven in Vermont”, in which Angelo made his debut as a musician-actor portraying Rudolf Serkin. His latest projects also include the new PiCello Bros. partnership, once again with his brother Francesco.
His mentors were Bruno Canino and Dario De Rosa, leading figures in Italian chamber music. Encounters with Zecchi and Perticaroli at the Mozarteum in Salzburg marked his development as a soloist and led him to collaborate with orchestras of national importance. Critics have credited him with breathing new life into the Italian chamber repertoire of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and with interpreting the great classics with a freshness that makes them seem new to the listener.
He has released around twenty CDs for prestigious labels including DECCA, Naxos and Dynamic, as well as for Amadeus magazine, many of which have been regarded as reference recordings. Alongside his performing career, he has devoted himself passionately to teaching for more than forty years, teaching piano and chamber music in Terni and giving masterclasses in Italy, Japan, Austria and Poland. For twenty years he has also served as President of the Associazione Filarmonica Umbra, actively contributing to the cultural life of his city.