Duo Gazzana

The sisters of Duo Gazzana — violinist Natascia and pianist Raffaella — have been making music together since they were children. The duo has recorded several albums for the ECM label. Natascia and Raffaella Gazzana were born in Sora, Italy, south of Rome. Although they look quite similar, they are not twins. They began playing together as children. Natascia studied at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, receiving an artist’s diploma at age 17. She went on for further studies in Geneva and at the Lausanne Conservatory in Switzerland, where she received a Diploma of Virtuosity on Violin after studies with Pierre Amoyal. She also attended master classes with Yehudi Menuhin and Ruggiero Ricci, among others. Raffaella also received an artist’s diploma as a young woman, studying at the Refice Conservatory in Frosinone; she likewise moved to Switzerland for studies in Lausanne with Daniel Spielberg and Frédéric Rapin. She met pianist Bruno Canino, who became her principal teacher and mentor. At this point, the educational paths of the two sisters converged, and they took chamber music classes together at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, at the Lausanne Conservatory, and in Fiesole with the Trio di Milano. They went on together to La Sapienza in Rome, with Natascia studying visual arts and Raffaella musicology, writing a dissertation about William Walton. The sisters launched Duo Gazzana in the mid-’90s. Duo Gazzana has toured internationally, appearing across Europe as well as in Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The sisters have had strong associations with East Asian countries, including Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, and Singapore, where they have given master classes in addition to performing. Their performances and recordings have emphasized 20th century music, and new works have been composed for them by Valentin Silvestrov, Đặng Hữu Phúc, Fabio Maffei, Tõnu Kõrvits, as well as Canino. Signed to the ECM label, Duo Gazzana released the album Five Pieces there in 2011, featuring music by Takemitsu, Hindemith, Janáček, and Silvestrov. The duo was the first Italian chamber group to record for ECM. Duo Gazzana has continued to record for ECM, issuing an album of music by Kõrvits, Schumann, and Grieg in 2022. ~ James Manheim