Marina Piccinini

Widely recognized as one of the world’s leading flute virtuosos, flutist MARINA PICCININI combines flawless technical command, profound interpretive instincts, and a charismatic stage presence -- qualities which make each of her performances a memorable event.

Since making her acclaimed debuts in New York’s Town Hall, London’s Southbank Centre, and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Ms. Piccinini has been in demand both as a recitalist and soloist with orchestras in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. She has been soloist with the the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Tokyo Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony , Minnesota Orchestra, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra; the Hannover Symphony in Germany, the Ravenna Chamber Orchestra in Italy and the Vienna Chamber Soloists; as well as the Cincinnati, New World, Toronto, Vancouver, Detroit, Phoenix, and Milwaukee symphony orchestras, and has worked with such conductors as Alan Gilbert, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Peter Oundjian, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Myung-whun Chung, and Gianandrea Noseda.

Ms. Piccinini also performs with great frequency in recitals worldwide, with recent appearances in London’s Wigmore Hall, Tokyo`s Casals Hall , the Seoul Arts Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and the Mozart Saal in Vienna's Konzerthaus. Deeply committed to the music of the present, recent seasons have been highlighted by significant world premiere performances of concerti and solo works by Michael Colgrass, Paquito D’Rivera, Matthew Hindson, Miguel Kertsman, Lukas Foss, Michael Torke, John Harbison, Marc-André Dalbavie, David Ludwig and Roberto Sierra.

A devoted chamber musician, Marina Piccinini has collaborated with the Tokyo, Brentano, Mendelssohn, and Takács string quartets and with the Percussion ensemble Nexus. Ms. Piccinini is a regular participant at the Marlboro Festival, often touring with Musicians From Marlboro. She  has also performed at the Salzburg Festival, Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Santa Fe, Spoleto (Italy), La Jolla, Newport, Davos, Tivoli, Rheingau, Moritzburg, Kuhmo, and Hong Konga Festivals, among others. A frequent guest artist in Japan, Ms. Piccinini performed (by personal invitation of Seiji Ozawa) at the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan, and has appeared with noted pianist Mitsuko Uchida in a series of concerts at the  Suntory Hall in Tokyo and worldwide at Carnegie Hall's  Weill Recital Hall, Zankell Hall. Most recently she completed a  European tour which included such prestigious halls as Amsterdam’s Concertgebow, Cologne’s Philharmonie and the Barbican Centre in London. Ms. Piccinini has also been Guest Principal Flute with both the Boston Symphony and the New York Philharmonic.

Ms. Piccinini's latest recording release is a live Concert DVD from the Salzburg Festival of Schoenberg's "Pierrot Lunaire", along with an accompanying Documentary entiteled "Solar Plexus of Modernism". Other recent recordings include a double CD set of the complete Flute Sonatas of J.S.Bach (including the solo Partita) in collaboration with the Brasil Guitar Duo  and the acclaimed collaboration with pianist Andreas Haefliger of the Sonatas of Prokofiev and Franck (both for the British label AVIE), “Belle Époque (Paris, 1880-1913)”, with pianist Anne Epperson, (Claves)  and a disc with pianist Eva Kupiec  of Sonatas by Bartok, Martinu, Schulhoff, Dohnányi, and Taktakishvili (Claves).

Marina Piccinini’s career was launched when she won First Prize in the CBC Young Performers Competition in Canada, and a year later, First Prize in New York’s Concert Artists Guild International Competition. She was cited by Musical America as a “Young Artist to Watch”, and in 1991 she became the first flutist to win the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant from Lincoln Center. She has been the recepient of numerous awards and grants including twice the NEA‘s Solo Recitalist Grant, the McMeen-Smith Award, the BP Artists Career Award, and various grants from the Canada Council. She was also the winner in the New York Flute Club competition and the National Arts Club Competition.

Ms. Piccinini began her flute studies in Toronto with Jeanne Baxtresser, received her BM and MM degrees from the Juilliard school where she studied with the legendary flutist Julius Baker and worked with Aurele Nicolet in Switzerland. Ms. Piccinini frequently gives master classes around the world and is currently on the faculty of the Peabody Institute.

Ms. Piccinini is married to the pianist Andreas Haefliger; along with their daughter they divide their time between Vienna and New York. Ms. Piccinini  is a 36th generation Shaolin Fighting Monk.