Valentina Nicolai

Valentina Nicolai
Valentina Nicolai, born in Rome, graduated in violin at the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, in Chamber Music at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome and in viola da gamba at the Respighi Conservatory of Latina.

She took part in masterclasses with S. Diatchenko, D. Schwarzberg, S. Accardo, C. Romano, A. Salvatore, L. Kaplan (from Juilliard School) and in viola with M. Minne. In 2003 she paly like concertmaster violin in Uto Ughi‘s youth orchestra. She recorded the virtuoso solo violin repertory (Bach, Paganini, Ernst, Schnittcke…), with piano (De Sarasate, Bazzini, Ravel, Szymanowsky, Brahms, Franck…) and also as a soloist with orchestra (Dvorak, Chausson, Waxmann, Mozart…) and recorded for CPO, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Bongiovanni, Da Vinci Records. She is the winner of several violin competitions and prize. Definitively passes to the historical informed performance on period instruments and took part in masterclasses with baroque violin with Amandine Beyer and Layla Shayegh and chamber music with Ottavio Dantone, and Rinaldo Alessandrini (playing both violin and viola da gamba Bach Sonatas). She also took part in masterclasses in viola da gamba with P. Pandolfo, C. Pasetto, P. Pitzl, W. Kuijken, P. Ross, G. Balestracci, Medieval Music  at the European Study Center Adolfo Broegg  (Micrologus) and historical dance with G. Giordano and B. Sparti. She performed as a soloist and in chamber music ensemble in several most important Festivals in Italy, Germany, Ucraine, Holland, Finland, Croatia, Malta, France, Austria (Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Salzburg Mozarteum, Wien Konzerthaus...) and for RAI TV, RAI radio 3, Rai Radio Classica, SKY, Radio Vaticana, WDR, Canadian, Chinese and Usa Tv. She is co-founder of the ContrArco Consort and period instruments strings quartet Cover Garden.