ClassicheFORME per Fondazione Sylva

Brannon Cho is the First Prize winner of the prestigious 6th International Paulo Cello Competition, and is also a top prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth, Naumburg, and Cassadó International Cello Competitions. 

Most recently, Brannon Cho is the recipient of the 2020 Janos Starker Foundation Award, the Landgraf von Hessen Prize from Kronberg Academy, the 2019 Ivan Galamian Award previously held by James Ehnes, and is a scholarship holder in the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. 

Brannon Cho has appeared as a soloist with many of the top orchestras around the world, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Belgian National Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Brussels Philharmonic. Born in New Jersey, Brannon Cho received his Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music under Hans Jørgen Jensen. He was awarded the Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser. He also completed the Professional Studies program at the Kronberg Academy, under the tutelage of Frans Helmerson. Brannon Cho performs on a rare cello made by Antonio Casini in 1668 in Modena, Italy, and is sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld.

Ettore Pagano is the winner of the prestigious Abbiati Prize as ‘best soloist’ awarded by the Italian Music Critics, and of the authoritative Classeek Award at the ICMA (International Classical Music Awards). Born in Rome in 2003, he began studying the cello at the age of nine. A pupil of the Accademia Chigiana under the guidance of Antonio Meneses and David Geringas, he attended the Accademia W.Stauffer in Cremona, graduating from the Conservatorio di S.Cecilia in Rome with top marks, honours and mention. He currently attends Jens Peter Maintz's courses at the Universitaet der Kuenste in Berlin.

Since 2013 he has been awarded first prize in over 40 national and international competitions, including first prize at the Khachaturian Cello Competition 2022 in Yerevan, and second prize (as well as two special jury prizes) at the Enescu Cello Competition 2024 in Bucharest. He has already been invited to play on major international stages in recitals and as a soloist with orchestras in Europe, Asia and the USA. Particularly noteworthy are his debut in March 2025 in the season of the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia at the Parco della Musica in Rome, and the invitations from the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI as soloist on three singular occasions: at the Auditorium Toscanini in Turin with live coverage on Radio3 and Raicultura video, at the Royal Opera House in Muscat (Oman) and at the Republic Day Concert at the Quirinale in the presence of the Head of State with live coverage on Raiuno TV.

Also during 2025, the invitations to the concert festivals ‘Stars & Rising Stars’ in Munich and ‘Stars von Morgen’ at the Brucknerhaus in Linz are of considerable international importance. Ettore Pagano plays an Ignazio Ongaro cello (Venice-1777) entrusted to him by Setaro Fine Instruments.

Beatrice Rana performs at the world’s most esteemed concert halls and festivals including the Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, Barbican Centre, Royal Albert Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, KKL Lucerne, Cologne Philharmonie, Munich’s Isarphilharmonie, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Tonhalle Zurich, Philharmonie de Luxembourg, Teatro alla Scala, BBC Proms.

She collaborates with conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Antonio Pappano, Klaus Mäkelä, Lahav Shani, Manfred Honeck, Riccardo Chailly, Gianandrea Noseda, Jaap van Zweden, Jakub Hrusa, Paavo Järvi, Elim Chan, Gustavo Gimeno, Fabio Luisi, Vladimir Jurowski, Dima Slobodeniouk, James Gaffigan, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Susanna Mälkki and Zubin Mehta.

Beatrice is the guest of such orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Bayerische Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestre de Paris, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI, Filarmonica della Scala, Seoul Philharmonic among many other top orchestras.

In the 2024/25 season, Beatrice is artist in residence at Paris’ Radio-France. The residency will involve a recital at the Auditorium de Radio France and several concerts and tours with both in-house orchestras, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Orchestre National de France and their music directors Mikko Frank and Cristian Macelaru. She will also return to the New York Philharmonic with Marek Janowski, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Gianandrea Noseda, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck and debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Beatrice Rana records exclusively for Warner Classics. She released 6 albums receiving critical acclaim and several prizes including “Young Artist of the Year” at the Gramophone Awards and “Discovery of the year” at the Edison Awards in 2017. In June 2018, she was chosen as Female Artist of the Year at the Classic BRIT Awards at the Royal Albert Hall.

Beatrice Rana won Silver (2nd Prize) and the Audience Award at the prestigious Van Cliburn competition in 2013. She had attracted international attention at 18, winning 1st Prize and all special prizes at the Montreal International Competition in 2011. Born into a family of musicians Beatrice began her musical studies at four and achieved her Piano Degree under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo at the Nino Rota Conservatory of Music in Monopoli, where she also studied composition with Marco della Sciucca. She then studied with Arie Vardi in Hannover and again with Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia.

In 2017, Beatrice started her own chamber music festival « Classiche Forme » in her native town of Lecce, Puglia. The festival has become one of Italy’s major summer events.

Arianna Di Martino performs for numerous associations and renowned festivals in France, Switzerland, Portugal, Turkey, Mexico and Italy, including: Garda Lake Music Festival, Unione Musicale, 900 Presente (Lugano, Switzerland), Accademia dei Cameristi di Bari, Ravello Festival, Italian Cultural Institute in Lisbon and Istanbul, thanks to which she has had the opportunity to perform in various prestigious venues. In 2025, she made his debut in the season of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia as a soloist, playing a world premiere piece by Matteo D'Amico for choir, cello and four-hand piano at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, broadcast live on RaiRadio3.  He has had the pleasure of collaborating in chamber ensembles with renowned musicians such as Anna Tifu, Luigi Piovano, Giacomo Fuga, Pablo Ziegler, Gloria Campaner and Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi. 

As principal cellist, she plays with the Accademia di Santa Sofia, Camerata Ducale, Nuova Orchestra Scarlatti and Turin Philharmonic Orchestras.  

She graduated with honours from the G. Verdi Conservatory in Turin under the guidance of Maestro Dario Destefano. She gained a master a of Arts in Music Performance with Johannes Goritzki and Asier Polo at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano. She perfected his skills with Antonio Meneses and Giovanni Sollima at prestigious institutions such as the Stauffer Academy in Cremona, the Chigiana Academy in Siena and the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome. She took part in advanced courses and masterclasses with Mischa Maisky, Sol Gabetta, Enrico Dindo, Daniel Grosgurin, Thomas Demenga, Enrico Bronzi and Mario Brunello.  

In 2021, she founded the Elixir String Ensemble, with which he explores various musical styles and genres. They perform regularly in numerous cities such as Geneva, Grenoble, Toulouse, Zurich, Strasbourg, Milan, Venice, Turin, Genoa, and Mexicali (Mexico).

Daniele Ferraro began studying the cello at the tender age of four with Fausto Castiglione. From a very young age, Daniele took part in various music competitions, in which he performed in front of renowned musicians such as conductor Simone Ori, Ilie Ionescu and Luca Signorini, establishing himself for his musical and technical skills. In Viterbo in 2017, he participated in the “Suono con l'orchestra” selection and was chosen to play as soloist Vivaldi's concerto for 2 cellos and orchestra. He studied with Stefano Cerrato; he is currently a student of Luigi Piovano, first cello of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He is attending the third year of the three-year course at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Nocera Terinese with Francesco Mariozzi. He collaborates as a string cello with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria. He recently arranged Popper's “Helfentanz op. 39” for cello and cello quintet published by Ed. Mus. Studiomusicalicata.

Born in Turin in 1999, Francesco Massimino began playing the cello at the age of four. He studied at the Conservatorio “G. Verdi” in Turin and at the Stauffer Center for Strings with Maestro Antonio Meneses. In 2021, he moved to Basel, where he obtained a Master's degree in Performance with honours from the Hochschule für Musik, under the guidance of Maestro Thomas Demenga.

He made his debut as a soloist in 2018 with the Turin Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto. Since then he has performed as a soloist and in chamber ensembles in major concert halls. Recent engagements include Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with the Sinfonieorchester Basel at the Stadtcasino in Basel (2023) and Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra in Taipei (2024).

A passionate chamber musician, Francesco is a founding member of Trio Concept (formerly Trio Chagall), considered one of the most promising trios of his generation. With the Trio, he won 2nd Prize and three special prizes at the Trio di Trieste Competition in 2019, 1st Prize at the Schoenfeld Competition in Harbin in 2023, and the Prix Paternot at the Verbier Festival in 2024. In 2025–2026, the trio is ECHO Rising Stars, touring major European concert halls, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Konzerthaus Berlin.

He plays a cello by Gaetano Sgarabotto, “L'Oro del Reno”.

Giorgio Lucchini is currently considered one of the most promising young cellists on the Italian scene.  After graduating at the age of 16, he continued his studies with A. Meneses at the Hochschule in Bern, where he graduated with  top marks and honours; he specialised with E. Dindo, G. Sollima, F. Helmerson, J.P. Maintz and M. Maisky.  

From a young age, he collaborated with internationally renowned musicians, including Lilya Zilberstein, Antonio Meneses, Avi Avital, David Krakauer and Marc Bouchkov.  

He performs regularly for the most important Italian concert societies and seasons, including: Società del Quartetto di Milano, Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto, I Concerti della Normale, Festival delle Nazioni, I Teatri di Reggio Emilia, Associazione Scarlatti di Napoli. For the 23/24 season, he was “Artist in Residence” at the Società dei Concerti di Milano.  He is the founder of the Trio Chimera, with which he tours the world giving concerts in the USA, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Hungary and Denmark.

Born in 1995 in a family of musicians, Ludovica started her soloist career at a young age, performing in recitals for prestigious concert societies, including Società dei Concerti di Milano, Cremona Mondo Musica, Fazioli Concert Hall, Accademia Filarmonica di Messina, Varignana Music Festival, I concerti del Quirinale, Festival Classiche Forme, as well as a soloist with many orchestras, such as Orchestra ICO di Lecce, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana. 

As a chamber musician, she had numerous collaborations with the sister Beatrice Rana, Enrico Dindo, Pablo Ferràndez, Giovanni Sollima, Bruno Giuranna, Oleg Kaskiv, Francesco Libetta, Massimo Quarta, Danilo Rossi, Alessandro Taverna, Pavel Vernikov.

After graduating with honors in 2014 at the Istituto Musicale “Giovanni Paisiello” in Taranto, in the class of Andrea Agostinelli, Ludovica continued her studies with Enrico Dindo at the Pavia Cello Academy and at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, where she achieved her Master in Music Performance, and with Giovanni Sollima at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, where she graduated with honours. At the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia she also completed with honours the Chamber Music course with Carlo Fabiano.

She also studied with renowned cellists, such as Michael Flaksman, Johannes Goritzki, Antonio Meneses, Frans Helmerson, Antonio Mosca, Asier Polo, Troels Svane, Rafael Wallfish. 

Since 2024 she is the Artistic Director Festival di Pasqua in Lecce. She is Chamber Music professor at the Conservatoire “Niccolò Piccinni” in Bari.

Born in November 2000, he graduated with top marks and honours from the N. Piccinni Conservatory in Bari under the guidance of Maestro Fiorino. For three consecutive years from 2014, he was named conservatory excellence. He attended masterclasses with Gustav Rivinius, Julian Steckel, Jerome Pernoo, Giovanni Gnocchi, Massimo Polidori, Mario Brunello, Enrico Bronzi, and Johannes Goritzky. He is currently continuing his studies at the Hochschule der Künste in Zurich with Orfeo Mandozzi. Until June 2024, he studied at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Giovanni Sollima; until 2023 at the Stauffer Center for Strings with Antonio Meneses; and until 2020 at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole with Giovanni Gnocchi. In 2017, he won the “Premio delle Arti” (1st Prize) at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Turin. In December 2017, he performed in Russia in the city of Dmitrov and at the Moscow Conservatory, receiving unanimous acclaim from the audience and the Director of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In July 2019, invited by Beatrice Rana to the Classiche Forme festival, he performed in a trio in a chamber music concert. In 2018, he performed P. Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations and Thais from J. Massenet's opera in four concerts with the Orchestra della Città Metropolitana di Bari conducted by his father, and in 2019, Haydn's Concerto in C major with the ICOM Orchestra of Monopoli. In July 2018, he performed in a duo with pianist Erica Sette, his sister, at the Concerti di Mezzogiorno in the 2018 edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, where he was awarded a scholarship. In September 2022, he performed at the Emilia Romagna Festival, where he had the honour of sharing the stage with electronic music composer Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of the great composer Sergei Prokofiev.