Benito Flores, piano Sat Aug 1 @ 12 pm

The rising star of the Italian piano keyboard returns to the Music Island stage in support of the Peace Festival (additional Peace Festival events will be happening at Music Island, throughout the Cedar Island region and across Second Life)

About the Artist:

ALESSANDRO MARANGONI pianoforte (Benito Flores in Second Life)

Alessandro Marangoni was born in Italy, in 1979. He studied piano with Marco Vincenzi, obtaining a diploma with honours (summa cum laude) and he studied with Maria Tipo and Pietro De Maria at Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.

He is graduated with honours in Philosophy at Università di Pavia , with a thesis about the philosophy of music by Fernando Liuzzi, as a merit scholar of Almo Collegio Borromeo, one of the most ancient and important italian colleges.

After several national and international awards, he has appeared in many recitals, chamber music concerts and concerts with orchestra in different important musical centres and associations throughout Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Great Britain: recently he played with Orchestra Filarmonica of Turin, Associazione Musicale Lucchese, Fondazione Walton in Ischia, Cittadella in Assisi, Engadiner Internationale Kammermusik-Festspiele, Sagra Musicale Umbra, Italian Cultural Institute in London, Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Saint John’s College in Cambridge etc. achieving both critical and popular success.


He has always dedicated substantial time to chamber music: with the cellist Vittorio Ceccanti, with Nuovo Quartetto Italiano, with the flutists Mario Ancillotti and Stefano Parrino, with the singers Daria Masiero and Carlo Zardo. He played Mozart’s Concertos K 449 & K 271 on tour with Amadeus Kammerorchester Salzburg (Mozarteum), conducted by Simone Fontanelli.

He playedwith great critical acclaim in Spain with Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra and in Bratislava with Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the great Italian conductor Aldo Ceccato. He has recently started an artistic cooperation with the actress Valentina Cortese for future projects.

Since 2006 Alessandro has been the pianist of Trio Albatros Ensemble who perform the works of many Italian composers such as Bettinelli, Chailly, Mosca, Gaslini, Solbiati, Festa etc. who have also written some original works for this ensemble. Alessandro has recorded all the "Peches de vieillesse" by Rossini (on Naxos) and previously released a CD of the piano works by Victor de Sabata (La Bottega Discantica), for the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his death.