Considered the most popular Italian Chamber Orchestra, “I Solisti Veneti”, celebrated its 60th anniversary in the 2019/2020 concert season, was founded by Claudio Scimone in 1959; under his musical direction and leadership, it quickly rose to the highest international levels of brilliance and gained the unconditional admiration of both audiences and critics, with over 6000 concerts in over 90 countries, participation in the most important International Festivals (over 30 concerts at the Salzburg Festival), recordings of over 350 LPs, CDs and DVDs, and a rich selection of cultural and promotional activities and of musical and historical publications. The fiftieth anniversary of “I Solisti Veneti” in 2010 was celebrated in the Basilica of Saint Anthony, in Padua, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, and later on, in December 2010, with the official Christmas concert at the Italian Senate.
“I Solisti Veneti” and Claudio Scimone have gained the highest awards in the musical field, from the Grammy Award in Los Angeles to several Grand Prix du Disque from the Charles Cros Academy in Paris of the Académie du Disque Lyrique, numerous Music Critics’ Awards in Italy and many others, including winning the modern music contest “Festivalbar”, thanks to the votes of 350.000 youngster.
In 2008, at the La Fenice Theatre in Venice, they received from the Arthur Rubinstein Association the “Una Vita per la Musica” award which in Italy is considered like a Nobel Prize for music.
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary (2008), the European Parliament honored “I Solisti Veneti” with an official plaque where they are praised as “Ambassadors of culture and music across the borders”.
They have starred in several important TV recordings, including a performance of Haydn’s “The Seven Last Words” in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (directed by Ermanno Olmi), the “Vivaldi peintre de la musique” by François Reichenbach and many others.
They have worked with the best singers and soloists of our era, among which Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, José Carreras, June Anderson, Itzhak Perlman, Sviatoslav Richter, Jean Pierre Rampal, James Galway, Salvatore Accardo, to mention only a few.
After the death of Claudio Scimone in 2018, founder and director of “I Solisti Veneti”, Clementine Hoogendoorn Scimone and the new artistic and musical director, Giuliano Carella, continue to perpetuate the Maestro’s spiritual and aesthetic legacy.
