Davide de Ascaniis

Violinist/Italy

“Exquisite control” — Baltimore Sun Winner of the AGIMUS Prize in Rome, the Szeryng International Violin Competition in Mexico, and the Grand Prix at the LISMA Foundation in New York City, among other numerous awards, Davide has been concertizing extensively.  Following performances with symphonies and solo appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center in New York, de Ascaniis performed in Taiwan at the Taipei Arena for an audience of 15,000 and played to great media acclaim in concert halls in Tokyo (Suntory Hall), Rome (Auditorium Parco della Musica), Venice (Teatro La Fenice), Milan (Teatro dal Verme) and across America. In the United States, de Ascaniis made his debut with the Gateway Orchestra in May, 2014, prompting a Brooklyn Eagle reviewer to write: “His dazzling finger work, musicality, pizzicato and incredible cadenzas evoked the wizardry of Paganini.”  He also participated and performed in international music festivals including Orford in Canada, Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Nippon Foundation festival in Japan. Davide has been an iPalpiti artist since 2012, performing at iPalpiti festivals in prestigious venues throughout Los Angeles, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Soka Performing Arts Center. Born in Italy in 1991 to a family of pianists, Davide's first professional engagement was in 2000 in France, performing Bruch’s concerto with orchestra.  After earning a Master's Degree cum laude from the Conservatorio in Vicenza at the age of 16, he was awarded a Diploma at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and studied in New York with Albert Markov.  Last September, de Ascaniis toured Mexico playing the Paganini Concerto with Maestro Franz Krager and received press accolades such “...after this memorable performance, the conductor knelt before de Ascaniis, as never seen, and congratulated him… the audience offered him an endless standing ovation.”

Sara De Ascaniis

pianist/Italy

Born in Italy in 1987 into a family of musicians, Sara began to play by ear and improvise on the piano at the age of two. At seven years old she entered the Music Conservatory Arrigo Pedrollo in Vicenza, and two years later she gave her first solo recital. By the time she was eleven, Sara was already appearing as a soloist with orchestras throughout Italy. Her performances of Beethoven Piano Concerto n.3 and Schumann Concerto have been broadcast on the national radio and television with high acclaim. After the Master's Degree summa cum laude at the age of 18, she studied at the Santa Cecilia Music Academy in Bergamo with Konstantin Bogino and at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg under Claudius Tanski and Imre Rohmann. In addition, she has worked with outstanding musicians and pedagogues, such as Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Pavel Gililov, Leonid Margarius, Benedetto Lupo and Lilya Zilberstein. Winner of prestigious awards in Italy and abroad, including the Mozartpreis at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Baden-Württemberg International Piano Competition (Germany), Sara has been performing as a soloist in prestigious venues in Europe. As chamber musician, she performed with various ensembles from Duo up to Quintet, working together with great artists such as Rainer Schmidt, Wolfgang Redik, Igor Ozim, Enrico Bronzi and Alois Brandhofer. Her numerous appearances have included Aurora Chamber Music Festival (Sweden), Internationaler Konzertverein Bodensee (Germany), Salzburger Kammermusikfestival, LeXGiornate in Brescia, La Societá dei Concerti in Milan. During her studies she developed her skills as a teacher, earning the Master's Degree in Piano Pedagogy at the Mozarteum in 2014. She has recently been appointed Piano Professor at the Music Conservatory Cesare Pollini in Padua. Upcoming engagements include concerts in Europe, USA and Mexico, also with her brother, renowned violinist Davide de Ascaniis. Sara and Davide have been performing together in concert halls worldwide since their childhood.