A quickly rising presence in the musical world in Europe and in the United States, violinist Andrea Cicalese was born in Naples, Italy, in 2005. Despite his young age, Andrea possesses a “musical maturity that most artists cannot achieve even after decades” (SZ) and a “technical fluency that makes an impression” (AZ). He regularly performs in some of the most renowned concert halls in Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and the U.S., such as the Philharmonie Berline, Tonhalle Zürich, and Munich’s Gasteig, Herkulessaal, and Prinzregententheater, among others.

Andrea has become a regular guest artist at prestigious festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, and Italy’s most iconic Ravello Festival. He performs in many of today’s most established concert series (including “I Concerti Del Quirinale” in Rome and “Série jeunes” of Tonhalle Zürich) alongside star pianists Alexander Malofeev, Eric Lu, and Filippo Gorini, among others. He collaborates with orchestras like the Munich Symphony and Filarmonica Toscanini, and conductors such as Jaume Santonja and Joseph Bastian, in addition to JoAnn Falletta.

Following the success of his “legendary duo debut” with pianist Alexander Malofeev at the Community Music School of Buffalo, Andrea returns to the U.S. for three separate trips: one as the soloist for these performances with the BPO, thanks to the invitation of conductor JoAnn Falletta and the orchestra; and the others as a recitalist in New York City at the Aspect Chamber Series with pianist Zsolt Bognár, moderated by Jan Swafford, and in Buffalo for a week-long residency, giving several recitals and two masterclasses for students from the Eastman School of Music and local conservatory students. His teaching was previously described as “superb, humbling and stunning.”

Andrea is also the youngest guest in the history of the film series Living the Classical Life with two appearances on the program, in 2021 and 2023. Andrea further became the first violinist in decades to play a public concert on the ex-Menuhin ‘Prince Khevenhüller Stradivarius’ (Cremona, 1733). Currently he performs on a violin built by Guarneri “Del Gesù” (Cremona, 1731), the loan of which was made possible thanks to Music Masterpieces SA – Lugano (CH).

Previous notable concerts include his solo debut with the Prague Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Heiko Mathias Förster, which opened the Proms 2023 summer season in Munich, and his debut as soloist in Plzeň with Glazunov’s violin concerto. He has also played several times with the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, performing violin concerti by Jean Sibelius and Felix Mendelssohn. He began studying the violin at the age of seven with Rudens Turku in Munich, and at the age of eleven was the youngest student of the Perosi Academy of Music in Biella, where he attended masterclasses with Ana Chumachenco. Since 2020 he has been studying with Josef Rissin at the Karlsruhe Conservatory of Music.