Biography
Eleonora Testa, born in June 2004, began studying the cello at the age of 5. At the age of 10, she began her studies with Francesco Pepicelli. At just 14 years old, she was the youngest effective student selected by Antonio Meneses at the Stauffer Academy, where she is currently studying. In the same year, she was admitted to the Chigiana Academy, where she is regularly selected for the final concerts. She was recently invited to play in the concerts of the Academy concert season in the summer of 2022.
At the age of 12, as part of the Ravenna Festival, she was invited by Giovanni Sollima to perform Haydn Concerto in C Major in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. On many other occasions she performed with the orchestra, in Festivals, concert seasons and final concerts of masterclasses playing Haydn Concertos in C and D Major, Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 1, Boccherini Concerto No. 7 in G Major, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations and Pezzo Capriccioso, Schubert Arpeggione Sonata in A Minor with a transcription for cello and chamber orchestra, and recently, Une Larme by Rossini.
Last July, she performed Schumann Concerto in A minor with Budweis Orchestra in Biel, Switzerland.
In September 2019 Eleonora inaugurated the XIV edition of the prestigious “Alfredo Piatti” International Cello Festival of Bergamo in recital with the piano. In February 2020 she opened the concert of the Trio di Parma with a short recital in a project promoted by the Filarmonica Umbra at the Secci Theatre in Terni. In June 2021 Eleonora was invited to inaugurate, with a recital for solo cello, the first edition of the "Antonio Janigro Festival", in Montagano. The festival was closed by Antonio Meneses.
Eleonora recently performed for the Società Amici della Musica "Guido Michelli" of Ancona, selected by Mario Brunello as the best student of the Masterclass he held in San Ginesio.
She won many national and international competitions in which she took part: in February 2020 she won the first prize in the prestigious “Janigro Junior Competition” in Croatia with a special prize “Award of the International Cultural Center HGM in Grožnjan”.
Among other important competitions, she won "Marco dall’Aquila" and "Chroma" in 2015, "Riviera Etrusca" and "Anemos" in 2016, "Città di Isola del Liri", "Dinu Lipatti" and "Melos" in 2017, "Città di Latina" with special prize "Gianni Proietti" to the best cellist, "Luigi Zanuccoli" in 2018, Crescendo Prize “Città di Firenze” in 2019.
From a very young age, she attended masterclasses held by Giovanni Sollima, Giovanni Gnocchi, Umberto Clerici, Luigi Piovano, Enrico Bronzi, Enrico Dindo, Mischa Maisky, Nicolas Altstaedt, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Mario Brunello, David Geringas
Her studies include an important chamber music project in duo and trio with piano, which has led her to perform in highly prestigious contexts. In May 2019 she performed Dvorak's Dumky trio at the Gonfalone Theatre in Rome, opening Ilya Grubert’s recital.
Since 2020, Eleonora has been performing in a duo with the pianist Francesco Navelli. The duo was invited by important associations, including the Agimus of Perugia and Rome, the "William Walton" Foundation and "Bastia Classica" Association. In 2021, the duo won a scholarship awarded by the Salerno Rotary Club.
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