Docente

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Riccardo Donati was born in Fucecchio (Florence) on September 24, 1972. At the age of 14, he began studying double bass at the “L. Cherubini” Conservatory of Music in Florence, where he graduated with the highest honors under the guidance of M° Alfredo Brandi. He later refined his skills with M° Salvatore Villani and M° Franco Petracchi. In 1995, he also graduated brilliantly in piano under M° Amleto Manetti.

He has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, the “Santa Cecilia” Chamber Orchestra of Rome, the Marchigiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the “Solisti Fiorentini,” the Westdeutsche Symphoniker Orchestra, and the “Guido Cantelli” Orchestra of Milan.

In 2001, he became the first double bassist in the history of the Teatro Comunale di Firenze to perform the Concerto No. 2 in B minor by Giovanni Bottesini with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, in the presence of numerous national and international political figures.

A winner of numerous “First Absolute Prizes” in various National and International Competitions, in 2005 he won the 1st Absolute Prize at the 28th edition of the International “Valentino Bucchi” Prize in Rome, earning the additional recognition of the “Silver Medal” from the Quirinale. In 1997, he won the “2nd Prize” at the National Double Bass Competition “Vittorio Pitzianti” in Venice. In 1999, he won the 2nd Prize at the prestigious International “Giovanni Bottesini” Competition in Crema.

He has won International Competitions for “First Double Bass” with:

• The Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo Orchestra (Monaco, France)
• The “G. Verdi” Municipal Theatre Orchestra of Trieste
• The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra of Florence
• The Teatro alla Scala Orchestra of Milan

In addition to collaborating with Italy’s top symphonic and chamber orchestras, he is actively involved in teaching at Masterclasses and Advanced Courses throughout Italy and abroad.

In 1999, he taught at the “N. Paganini” Conservatory of Music in Genoa, in 2003 at the “G. Rossini” Conservatory of Music in Pesaro, from 2004 to 2008 at the “L. Campiani” Conservatory of Music in Mantua, and since 2009, he has been teaching at the “G. Puccini” Conservatory of Music in La Spezia.

Since 1995, he has been the Principal Double Bass of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, working with the greatest conductors such as Z. Mehta, R. Muti, G. Prêtre, C. Abbado, S. Ozawa, L. Maazel, W. Sawallisch, S. Bychkov, and G. Sinopoli, participating in numerous tours conducted by the Principal Conductor M° Zubin Mehta.

In 2001, he recorded a double bass and piano album titled “Miniature,” and in 2004 “La Contrabbassata” with the “The Bass Gang” quartet and Franco Petracchi. In 2006, he recorded with the “Klezmerata Fiorentina” quartet “Fifteen Variations on the Theme of Life,” an album of Ukrainian music, all released under the NBBrecords label. In 2010, with the Reffrain Quartet, he recorded “Live,” featuring tango music. In 2013, he recorded in the Donati-Bruno Duo, with music by P. Hindemith, F. Schubert, and A. Misék, for the Officina della Musica label, and in 2014 with Klezmerata Fiorentina “18 Tales of a Hidden Zaddik” for the Columna Música label in Barcelona (Spain).

Since 2005, he has been the double bassist of the “Klezmerata Fiorentina” quartet, performing in prestigious venues such as the Philharmonic Hall of St. Petersburg (Russia), the Rachmaninoff Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Milan Quartet Society, Amici della Musica in Florence, the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, the Martha Argerich Project in Lugano, the Verbier Festival, and many other important festivals around the world.