Highly educated and pioneering Italian accordionist.
Francesco Moretti is an Italian classical musician based in Skåne, Sweden.
With his concert accordion, he has a diversified performing experience:
from playing Brazilian choro at high altitude next to a glacier in the middle of the Alps to premiering
Henri Dutilleux’s Correspondances with orchestra at the Universitetsaula in Uppsala;
from leading a music and theatrical improvisation in the remote Icelandic village Stykkishólmur
to playing tango in the working-class-milongas of Milan; from supporting his pupils in the theatre
representation of Pinocchio at the prestigious Teatro Strehler, to performing Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuge in the
streets of Milan’s Quadrilatero della moda. Furthermore, in collaboration with several composers,
he has contributed to the extension to the repertoire for accordion.
He shares his art as much as possible to contribute to a healthy artistic environment.
You can enjoy some of his projects on multiple platforms,
listen
and read his
latest master thesis
on improvisation in classical music and discover new music and arrangements in his
publications.
In the three repertoire sections (Contemporary,
Classical, World),
roughly subdivided by genre,
you will find more about his formative experiences and collaborations.
In the
credentials
section there are more recognitions listed and specific
information about his education. Further information about Francesco Moretti are in
an interview
by the celebrated concert organist Matteo Imbruno, and in
a presentation to his first music album
recorded at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
Contemporary Repertoire
Francesco Moretti's experiences in and contribution to the contemporary music.
Chamber Ensemble
Francesco Moretti won in 2013 the prize Rotary Milan for chamber music and the special prize Arnaldo Rancati
for contemporary music in duo with Elena Imparato, violinist at the Malta Philharmonic orchestra.
They performed the transcription for violin by the author of
In Die Tiefe der Zeit
by the internationally celebrated Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa and
Diario di Viaggio
by Giorgio Colombo Taccani.
In 2014, Francesco Moretti premiered in Stockholm the short operas by Andreas Zhibaj,
Jesper Nielsen, Sandra Broström and Petter Ekman as a member of the Futurum ensemble.
With the American-Swedish soprano Kristine Nowlain,
actively working for Malmö Opera, he performed Martin Q Larsson’s theatrical piece for
Svensk Musikvår 2017.
Francesco’s debut in contemporary music happened in the first years of his studies in Conservatoire
when he performed the solo piece
Princesse Sophie
by Irlando Danieli, celebrated composition’s professor at the same academy.
Since then Francesco’s continuous collaboration with the professor and with many other composers has contributed
to enriching the instrument’s literature, for example his very first chamber music premiere of Mauro Di Vincenzo’s
Divertimento,
later published by Physa Edizioni Musicali.
In particular, two projects with the guitarist
Michael Barletta
in 2015 and Två Accordeon som Vandrar with Anita Agnas, professor of accordion at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2016.
The collaboration premiered music by Christofer Elgh, Martin Q Larsson, Kristin Boussard, Gustav Lindsten,
Nemanja Lakicevic, Mauro Di Vincenzo, Patrik Ohlsson and Francesco Moretti himself. The scores became
published in 2022
thanks to the invaluable revision help of the composer Saverio Santoni,
who’s been twice awarded Antonín Dvořák price.
At the moment, a similar project with calls for new compositions is happening in the form of the
duo Nära,
in collaboration with the Norwegian guitarist and composer Astrid Nyborg Berg.
With ensembles including Giovanni Pistis, principal oboe at Teatro Opera Roma,
Francesco premiered in Italy
Eclat de Larme,
by The Grawemeyer awarded Serbian-Swedish composer Djuro Zivkovic.
Large Ensemble
Important collaborations he had with real symphonic orchestras were the Swedish premiere of Henri Dutilleux’s Correspondances
with Akademiska Kapellet directed by Stefan Karpe and the live soundtrack music for the Golden Rush by Charlie Chaplin
with Milan Classica orchestra, project and direction by Timothy Brock.
Under the direction of the talented Sofia Ågren, the choir
Uppsala Vokaensemble
toured in Sweden and Italy with Francesco Moretti as soloist.
That has been an occasion to commission compositions of new music by Irlando Danieli, Mauro di Vincenzo e Filippo Manini.
The Finnish director Markus Luomala conducted the premiere of the string orchestra realization of Jaromír Bažant’s
Concertino
for Accordion with Francesco Moretti as soloist.
Also in combination with
wind band
he has performed as soloist.
In 2011, he also took part in the massive performance recording at the Italian RAI
national tv studios of Yuval Avital’s
Mise en Abîme.
As part of the Fisorchestra Italiana accordion and brass orchestra, Francesco has played in Italy and
France symphonic and swing music since a young age.
Solo
The solo repertoire of Francesco Moretti includes the mysterious Salvatore Sciarrino’s Vagabonde Blue, Staffan Mossenmark’s Skogsväsen, Toshio Hosokawa’s Melodia, John Cage’s Souvenir and Sergio Scappini’s Per Esempio; the accordion classics Ole Schmidt’s Toccata N.1, Ettore Pozzoli’s Danza Fantastica, Hans Brehme’s Paganiniana, Krzysztof Olczak’s Berceuse. ; In addition to that he has premiered the accordion version of Manini’s organ piece Tango, Fuga y Coral which enchanted the audience at Höstfestival Vänersborg 2014 Aurora; Lindsten’s Serenata; Mauro di Vincenzo’s dodecaphonic Discontinuum; published with Physa Edizioni Musicali; Giovanni Pavesi’s De Bruna Löven which received recognition by the publisher Berben and many more.
Dance
Francesco Moretti has a special interest and relation with the freedom and the intensity of the contemporary dance performances. He is constantly performing with the dance company Carnematta directed by Cristina Bucci. In their shows, Francesco blends his classical and improvisational skills for a full crossover result. Francesco Moretti has also recorded visual projects with dancers such as Daphne Giannikopoulou, Izabella Tancredi, and performed for Compagnia Xe directed by Julie Ann Anzilotti.
Classical Repertoire
Francesco Moretti has continuously transcribed or arranged classical composition,
by composers from every historical period, especially Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic such as
Francesco da Milano, Giovanni Gabrieli, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell,
Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, Max Reger and many more.
Some of his most famous adaptations have been
published,
in a collection by Da Vinci publishing.
He performed baroque music mostly in duo with eclectic artists like the saxophonist
Andra Mocci;
Andra Favalessa,
principal cellist of the orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali; baroque experts such as the oboist Arianna Zambon,
the sopranos
Beatrice Palumbo
and
Giulia Miscioscia;
the soprano and composer
Silvia Pepe;
the celebrated sopranos Ingrid Berg from Göteborg, Sweden, and Mariachiara Cavinato.
Francesco Moretti has been the first to transcribe and share certain famous compositions for the harmonium,
an instrument closely related to the accordion. His interpretation of the Romantic composition
Prélude, Fugue et Variation
by César Franck,
performed with the pianist Marco Ragazzi, has been widely appreciated and replicated in Stockholm with the harpist
Justyna Krzyzanowska.
Other two classical compositions for harmonium performed by Francesco Moretti are Antonín Dvořák’s Bagatelle Op. 47
and Arnold Schoenberg’s chamber ensemble arrangements of Debussy’s
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.
World Music Repertoire
In the field of world music, Francesco Moretti performed in duo with the Swedish riksspelman
Josefina Paulson
during the Italian tour with Uppsala Vokalensemble and took part in the execution and composition of
Economy
by Guto Lucena in 2013 for an art exhibition at Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm.
The latin genre he mostly performs are Brazilian Choro and
Tango.
He founded and directed the Quintetto and
Trio Piazzolla
which performed the Argentinian composer based on his few originally handwritten scores
with the same contextualization and attention musicians perform classical or baroque repertoire.
An important part of the group have been the Mexican guitarist Humberto Beto Flores
and the Teatro alla Scala violinist Leila Negro. The tango maestro Alejandro Ferrante takes part in their show.
Furthermore, Francesco Moretti performed jazz standards with the bassist Martina Milzoni
as well as music by Chick Corea and
Richard Galliano.
Multiple are the chamber ensemble arrangements that Francesco Moretti created and
performances that he directed for Anteo Spazio Cinema. Two examples are
Amélie Fantasie
on the soundtracks of the French movie Amélie and
Pirati
inspired by the famous Hans Zimmer soundtrack.
Credentials
Prizes awarded:
2014, 2015 Nationellt Stipendium, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademiens in Stockholm;
2013 special prize Rancati in Milan for the best contemporary music execution;
2013 Rotary Club Milan prize for chamber music.
Studies completed:
Master degree in accordion with Sergio Scappini and master degree in chamber music
with Emanuela Piemonti at Conservatoire Verdi in Milan and with Ola Karlsson,
principal cello at the Radio Orchestra, in Stockholm;
Soloist specialization and the international master degree in New Audience Innovative Practice
at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. Master degree in physics at Stockholm university.
Music Masterclasses attended:
2017 Organ Interpretation in Milan by the celebrated concert organist Matteo Imbruno;
2015 DKDM Summer Campus in Copenhagen by the legendary accordionist Geir Draugsvoll;
2014 and 2015 Aurora Chamber Music Festival in Vänersborg; 2013 Leading and Guiding in Stockholm by Guy Wood,
2010 and 2011 Improvisation in jazz and contemporary Music in Jesi by the pioneer jazz accordionist Simone Zanchini;
in Cingoli with the early music expert Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini;
Didactic projects in music:
2011-2013 Performative arts academy Oliver Twist in Milan created to encourage children to participate,
to cultivate a passion, to maintain a commitment and achieve their pre-established objectives through
music, dance, theatre and singing; 2010-2012 Progetto Rom at Conservatoire Verdi in Milan for the
social integration of children and youngsters belonging to ethnic minority such as Roma; 2003-2013
accordion teacher at Scuola Civica di Desio.