Marina Piccinini

Hailed by Gramophone as “the Heifetz of the flute,” MARINA PICCININI is widely recognized across the world as a daring, dynamic artist with varied musical interests. She is internationally acclaimed for her interpretive skills, intensely communicative performances, technical command, and powerfully magnetic stage presence, with a distinct and global perspective that informs her work as one of the most compelling advocates of both traditional and new works. Much sought after as a soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist, she has garnered special attention for her commitment to the music of our time and for expanding the repertoire of her instrument.

Growing up in a multi-national, multi-lingual household brimming with Italian, Brazilian, and Swiss cultural ties, and having resided in the far-flung locations of São Paulo, Zurich, Newfoundland, Toronto, New York City, and Vienna, she brings the vibrant spirit of her rich heritage to all her artistic endeavors. Ms. Piccinini’s artistic tapestry is also woven with threads both musical and non-musical, ranging from her love of Bachian intricacies and her talents in the visual arts, to her dedication to kung fu and Buddhist thought. As a 36th-generation Shaolin Fighting Monk, she relishes an ideology that inspires self-discovery, discipline, finding joy, and having no limits – all of which she brings to her instrumental artistry.

Ms. Piccinini’s repertoire is among the most diverse of today’s preeminent artists. Collaborating with some of the foremost living composers, she has notably commissioned nearly 40 new works for flute, premiering works by John Harbison, Lukas Foss, Michael Colgrass, Paquito D’Rivera, Michael Torke, David Ludwig, and Roberto Sierra, Toshio Hosokawa, among dozens of others. These projects have taken her across multiple continents, including the premiere and recording of Aaron Jay Kernis’ flute concerto with the Peabody Institute Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin, co-commissioned by the London and Rochester Philharmonics, Chautauqua and Detroit Symphonies; Air for flute and orchestra with the Korean Chamber Orchestra conducted by Patrick Gallois at Seoul Arts Center, and his Siren for solo plus 8 flutes at Seattle Chamber Music Society; performances of Latin American music with Sergio and Clarice Assad including U Chicago Presents and Schubert Club; a tour with her rapturously received flute concerto, The Universe in Ecstatic Motion, written for her by Christopher Theofanidis, which premiered at Grant Park and Aspen Music Festivals, and Buffalo and Erie Philharmonics, with a forthcoming Boston Modern Orchestra Project recording. Other recent premieres include a double concerto by Kalevi Aho for Marina and Vienna Philharmonic Principal Harpist Anneleen Lenaerts premiering with Germany’s Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and Belgium’s Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen; and a concerto by Tebogo Monnakgotla which premiered with Sweden’s Norrköping Symphony Orchestra.

Other highlights include a return engagement with the London Philharmonic conducted by Dennis Russell Davies for a recording of Miguel Kertsman’s Flute Concerto; tours with Musicians from Marlboro, including concerts at Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, The Smithsonian in DC, and Boston’s Gardner Museum; performances with The Bruckner Orchester Linz in Austria and at the Moritzburg Festival in Dresden; a North American recital tour with pianist Andreas Haefliger at the Kennedy Center, Rockefeller University, Dallas’s Nasher Sculpture Center, and Akron Ohio’s Tuesday Musical Association; appearances with guitarist Meng Su in San Francisco’s Herbst Theater; and collaborations with the Brentano, Tokyo, Mendelssohn, Takács, and Pacifica Quartets; Beijing and Brasil Guitar Duos; NEXUS percussion ensemble; harpist Anneleen Lenaerts; keyboardists Mitsuko Uchida, Andreas Haefliger, Justin Taylor, Jean Rondeau, Anton Gerzenberg; and mandolinist Avi Avital. Her trio Tre Voci, with violist Kim Kashkashian and harpist Sivan Magen, have appeared at London’s Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, at other major venues in Boston, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, and in Italy, Mexico, and Canada.

Acclaimed for her “intent, glittering musicianship” (Sunday Times [London]), she is a familiar and much-admired figure at the world’s foremost concert venues. She has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Vienna, Montreal, Vancouver, Tokyo, Saint Louis, Toronto, and National Symphonies; London, Hong Kong, and Rotterdam Philharmonics; and Ravenna Chamber Orchestra; and has worked with some of the world’s most celebrated conductors, including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Seiji Ozawa (performing at Japan’s Saito Kinen Festival at his personal invitation), Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Myung-whun Chung, Gianandrea Noseda, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Alan Gilbert, and Cristian Măcelaru.

A prodigious recording artist, she can be heard on the Avie, Claves, Naxos, and ECM labels, including Tre Voci’s debut CD of works by Tōru Takemitsu, Claude Debussy, and Sofia Gubaidulina; a video of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire from the Salzburg Festival, along with an accompanying documentary entitled Solar Plexus of Modernism; Bach’s complete flute sonatas and solo partitas with the Brasil Guitar Duo; the flute sonatas of Prokofiev and Franck with Andreas Haefliger; and Belle Époque, with pianist Anne Epperson; sonatas by Bartók, Martinů, Schulhoff, Dohnányi, and Taktakishvili; and an acclaimed recording of her dazzling arrangement of the Paganini Caprices (published by Schott Music).

Her intense commitment to education motivated her to create the Marina Piccinini Institute (MPI), which has inspired students for almost two decades. She is currently on the faculty of the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and was formerly Professor at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany. She also regularly gives masterclasses worldwide in conjunction with her performances.

Ms. Piccinini was the first flutist to win the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant. Her career was launched when she won First Prizes in the CBC Young Performers Competition in Canada and the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York City. She began her studies in Toronto with Jeanne Baxtresser, received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Julius Baker, and also worked with renowned musician Aurèle Nicolet.

In 2023, she co-founded the Zauberklang Festival with pianist Andreas Haefliger in Canton Uri, in the heart of Switzerland, where she was also named Cultural Ambassador. Guest artists included Hilary Hahn, Ian Bostridge, and Avi Avital, the Brentano Quartet, and Emanuel Ax among others. Born into a family of distinguished scientists, she lives with her family, splitting her time between Switzerland and Vienna.

Marina Piccinini appears by arrangement with Dworkin & Company.

An authentically modern voice and 21st century visionary, the renowned flutist MARINA PICCININI’s rich artistic tapestry is woven from the multi-national, multi-lingual household in which she grew up, bringing a vibrant spirit and global perspective to all her cultural and personal endeavors. Sought after internationally as soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist, her repertoire is among the most extensive of today’s celebrated artists, and she has commissioned and premiered more than 40 works by some of the foremost composers of our time including John Harbison, Lukas Foss, Michael Colgrass, Paquito D’Rivera, Christopher Theofanidis, and Aaron Jay Kernis. Her appearances as soloist include performances with the Boston, Vienna, Vancouver, Tokyo, Toronto, and National Symphony Orchestras; the London, Rotterdam, and Hong Kong Philharmonics; and Ravenna Chamber Orchestra. She has appeared at many of the world’s leading festivals including the Marlboro, Salzburg, Aspen, and Mostly Mozart Festivals; and performs regularly on major international stages with artists and ensembles such as the Tokyo, Pacifica, Brentano, and Takács string quartets; the Beijing and Brasil Guitar Duos; pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Andreas Haefliger, harpsichordists Jean Rondeau and Justin Taylor; and her trio, Tre Voci with violist Kim Kashkashian and harpist Sivan Magen.

The first flutist to win the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, she is creator and founder of the Marina Piccinini Institute (MPI) and is on the faculty of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. In 2023, she co-founded the Zauberklang Festival with pianist Andreas Haefliger based in Canton Uri, in the heart of Switzerland, where she was also named Cultural Ambassador.