Crossing Over, Towner, D'Angelo, Sidney, Piazzolla

This production is a fusion of different musical genres. The four composers presented here (Ralph Towner, Nuccio D’Angelo, Anthony Sidney and Astor Piazzolla) are atypical for classical repertoire and all hold a borderline position between written and improvised music. Flavio Cucchi gave his first classical guitar concert at the age of eight. During his school years he enjoyed various musical experiences, from ethnic music to jazz, and recorded several albums and TV shows. After high school he returned to classical music and studied with Alvaro Company at the Conservatorio "Cherubini" in Florence, gaining his diploma cum laude. Later he received a scholarship to study with Oscar Ghiglia at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, where he was awarded the "Diploma of Merit." A winner in national and international competitions, Flavio Cucchi has performed in Europe (Germany, Austria, France, England, Scandinavian countries, Spain, The Czech Republic, Ukraine), America (USA, Mexico, Cuba, Central America) and Asia (India, Malaysia, Singapore) invited by important international festivals. As a soloist he has performed in more than 30 European towns playing with several orchestras including Orchestra della Toscana, English Chamber Orchestra, Radio Brno Chamber Orchestra, Guitar Symphonietta, Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, Orchestra Toscanini, etc. In recent years Flavio Cucchi recorded a series of 16 television shows called "The Art of the Guitar" for a national Italian network and recorded also for "TELEVISA' - Mexico' 'ZDR - Germany; 'BBC' - England; RAI 1, RAI 2, RAI 3 - Italy; 'Radio Prague' - Czech Republic; 'Bayerischer Rundfunk' - Germany; 'All India Radio', TV Corporation of Singapore and 'Radio Singapore International'. A specialist in contemporary music, Flavio Cucchi gave the world premiere of Petrassi's "Sestina d'Autunno", and has performed many chamber works by Henze, Berio, Boulez, Bussotti and Brouwer. Many composers have dedicated music to him.