How I met Puccini®
www.howimetpuccini.com

Everything started with a composer and a musica instrument: Giacomo Puccini and the double bass.
Valentina Ciardelli’s creation, How I met Puccini is a multi-disciplinary project born as a 2020 YouTube series , in collaboration with important institutions such as Il Teatro del Giglio in Lucca and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. It’s a registered trademark and the first project to transform the music of Giacomo Puccini into chamber music virtuoso repertoire.

What is How I met Puccini?
Adapting Puccini's poetics to modern language without betraying its essence, How I Met Puccini wants to amuse and excite opera and classical music audience as well as bring new generations closer to the classical music stage. How I Met Puccini is a unique 360-degree project that combines different forms of art and communication like illustration, performance, and augmented reality. It has been on stage since December 2021 with the official launch of chamber music season in the Puccini Days in Lucca.

Why Giacomo Puccini? 

Valentina Ciardelli wanted to pay homage to her fellow citizen Giacomo Puccini, the second most performed Italian composer in the world, the first being Giuseppe Verdi. Furthermore, Puccini comes from a 5-generation family of musicians and has played a role as a musical innovator by opening the doors to musical genres such as film music, musicals and even Pop singles, the first true crossover composer.


Why Double bass?

Valentina is a virtuoso double bassist double bass it’s her expression tool, her instrument. On top of that the double bass is a young instrument in every sense. It has a very recent history in terms of repertoire and his many tonal possibilities are yet to be explored and exploited. It is the synthesiser of the strings family; with its four and a half octaves of extension it manages to make us hear both the darkest and most threatening sounds as well as the sweet, tearjerking melodies; it can be a distorted electric guitar and muted French horn.
 In the chamber music proposals it’s quite often protagonist with another amazing instrument: the Harp. It’s a balanced, modern and perfect instrumental match that explores in a 360 degrees orchestral, vocal and symphonic sonorities in a smart and charming chamber duo combination.

Dulcis in fundo, the double bass has been going hand in hand with opera for several centuries: the double bass player and composer Giovanni Bottesini devoted almost all of his virtuosic repertoire to operatic paraphrases and was a proofreader, conductor and a great friend of Giuseppe Verdi.

Co workers:
Stefano Teani: Piano
Costantino Buttitta: Actor
Benjamin Balthazar Lebigre: Actor

Anna Astesano: Harp
Manuel dell’Oglio: Double bass
Helena Svigelj: Cello
Alvaro Siculiana: Piano
Gabriella Dell’ Olio: Harp

ルーツ [ Ruutsu ]

This is the first CD ever recorded for contemporary double bass and harp chamber duo ensemble in EU. Ruutsu (which means roots in Japanese), is an album dedicated to the deep connection and mutual influence between Japan and Western Europe music culture. A journey that testifies, after the opening from the Japanese Edo period to the deep influence that European cultured music has brought to Japanese cultured music and vice versa... starting from the Japanese composer of the 900; Miaygi we will pass by Ravel, Stravinsky and Puccini to arrive at contemporary Japanese music with the living Japanese composer Maestro Yoshihida Hirano who wrote a beautiful elegy for the duo the Girls in The Magnesium Dress.

Anna and Valentina are presenting a cultural contribution and a turning point in contemporary chamber music. The duo decided to focus on Japanese culture that is incredibly colorful, elegant, and mystic. The repertoire of this CD will explore how Western and Japanese Music developed in a parallel way between the 19th and 20th centuries.

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Quite Frankly
Ciardelli - Drago - Strano

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A fascinating journey in chamber music exploring classical, jazz and rock composers in a new performance concept. Valentina and Anais met in 2023 to merge their chamber classical and jazz experience and create a brand-new repertoire focused on modern violin, double bass, and voice ensemble. In June 2023, the countertenor Riccardo Strano joined the project, bringing his wide baroque experience to the repertoire. Valentina and Anais carefully chose the repertoire to work on the irreverent side of classical music. Mozart, Scarlatti, Purcell are not far from Frank Zappa's artistic concept; they are just from a different historical period. Quite Frankly is a thrilling journey into the most amazing sound experience that combines the classical chamber music experience with the most catchy and groovy repertoire from Baroque to Frank Zappa, attracting the widest audience you can ever imagine in a chamber concert, breaking down borders of musical genres. The first album, Quite Frankly will be released as record in May 2024 produced by Parco della Musica, Roma.

Backwards

Backwards is a project developed during the second lockdown and entirely dedicated to virtuoso instrumental soloism. This is my composer proposal for 2021. It includes musical portraits written and dedicated to great internationally renowned soloists such as Gloria Campaner or Anais Drago are part of this project. It’s called Backwards because of the combination of sounds and instruments coming from a past tradition with the addition of extended techniques reminiscent of electronic sampling.

Musicians: Anna Astesano Harp, Gloria Campaner Piano, Alessandro Viale Piano, Veronica Granatiero Soprano, Anais Drago Violin.

Valentina’s Lounge

This is an online platform where artists can share and talk in a chilled way about their career, projects and hopes... No filters involved!

Painting activity

My Bottesini Portrait has been chosen for the officials magazine cover in 2022!

Teaching

I am proactively involved in different teaching activities in London and abroad. I am double bass professor at The Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Private teaching

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