Cristina Zavalloni
Encyclopedia
Cristina Zavalloni is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) is a contemporary Italian singer and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who focuses primarily on jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
(or avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
) music.
Zavalloni frequently collaborates with the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
composer Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
. In 2002, Andriessen composed a piece, La Passione, specifically for her and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Monica Germino
Monica Germino
Monica Germino is an American violinist based in the Netherlands.She is primarily a soloist, but she sometimes performs as part of an ensemble. She has worked with many composers, including Louis Andriessen, Martin Bresnick, John Cage, Michael Gordon, György Ligeti, and Christian Wolff. She has...
. That song is based on the Canti Orfici by the poet Dino Campana
Dino Campana
Dino Campana was an Italian visionary poet. His fame rests on his only published book of poetry, the Canti orfici , as well as his wild and erratic personality, including his ill-fated love affair with Sibilla Aleramo...
.
Born in Bologna, Italy, Cristina Zavalloni’s musical background is steeped in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, bel canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
and composition. She attended the Conservatorio di Musica “Giovan Battista Martini” and also studied classical and modern dance for several years.
Cristsina Zavalloni has appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival
North Sea Jazz Festival
The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...
, Free Music Jazz Festival (Antwerp), Umbria Jazz, and the London Jazz Festival
London Jazz Festival
The London Jazz Festival is a London-wide music festival held every November. It takes place in a variety of London venues, including larger concert halls—such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall—and smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and Vortex...
. She also has performed at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Lincoln Center, the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
, the Teatro alla Scala, the Palau de la Música Catalana
Palau de la Música Catalana
The Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall in Barcelona. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement...
(Barcelona), the Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
, the Auditorium Parco della Musica (Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
), Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
, and La Biennale di Venezia.
She has sung under the batons of Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins is a British conductor. He studied at Goldsmiths College, London University, and later was a conducting student of Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory....
, Stefan Asbury, Reinbert de Leeuw, Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
, David Robertson, and Georges-Elie Octors. She has performed as a soloist with the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, l’Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI (Torino), Schoenberg Ensemble, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
.
Her repertoire ranges today from Monteverdi to Mozart, and from 20th century music (Cage, Berio, Ravel, Poulenc, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Satie, De Falla, Montsalvatge) to the contemporaries: James MacMillan, Michael Nyman, Cornelis De Bondt, Paolo Castaldi, Gavin Bryars, Carlo Boccadoro, Fabrizio Cassol, Luca Mosca, Emanuele Casale.
In 1993, Ms. Zavalloni began a collaboration with Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
, who wrote several works for her: Passeggiata in tram in America e ritorno; La Passione; Inanna; Letter from Cathy; and Racconto dall’ inferno, the recording of which resulted in her having been awarded a Diapason d’Or in 2008. Mr. Andriessen also composed the role of Dante in La Commedia and the role of Anaïs Nin in his new opera Anaïs—premiered in July 2010—for her.
As a composer and a jazz bandleader, Ms. Zavalloni has conceived several programs. She has also performed with Hamilton De Holanda, Guinga, Uri Caine
Uri Caine
Uri Caine is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer.-Early years:The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, Caine began playing piano at seven and studied with French jazz pianist Bernard Peiffer at 12. He later studied at the University of Pennsylvania where he came...
, Stefano Bollani
Stefano Bollani
Stefano Bollani is an Italian jazz pianist from Milan.He made his professional debut at fifteen and received his diploma in piano from the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence. He performs classical music, smooth jazz, avant-garde jazz, Brazilian jazz, and pop rock...
, Andrea Rebaudengo, Aka Moon Trio, Roy Paci
Roy Paci
Rosario Paci is an Italian trumpeter, singer, composer and arranger.-Music and career:Born in Sicily, Paci started playing the piano as a young child and picked up the trumpet at age 10...
, and many others. She is currently signed with Italian label EGEA
EGEA
The European Geography Association, abbreviated EGEA, is a European network of geography students and young geographers, with the intention of exchanging geographical knowledge. To achieve this, the entities of EGEA organizes congresses, exchanges between the entities, national weekends, excursions...
, for which she recorded IDEA (2006) and Solidago (2009), which includes her new compositions and a selection of Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
covers.