FRANCESCA BONAITA

Francesca Bonaita, a solo and chamber violinist, has been described as possessing extraordinary technique and intensity, ranking among the finest young concert artists, with a future of an increasingly brilliant international career. She is praised for her remarkable artistic maturity, virtuoso technique, mastery of sound, intensity, and passion, combined with fluidity and lightness.

Following her debut at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York with a solo violin recital, and with the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, she embarked on an intense solo and chamber music career, receiving critical and public acclaim. She has a keen interest in a broad repertoire, ranging from the 20th century to contemporary music.

Among her prestigious international collaborations are solo debuts with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana at the LAC in Lugano, performing B. A. Zimmermann’s Violin Concerto for Large Orchestra under the baton of Arturo Tamayo, and A. Schnittke’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and String Orchestra conducted by Kevin Griffiths. She has performed recitals with pianists Itamar Golan and Mikhail Mordvinov and has appeared in concerts with the Savaria Symphony Orchestra of Budapest in Bottesini’s Gran Duo Concertante, with the Filharmonie Orchestra performing Barber’s Concerto under Nima Keshavarzi, with the Italian Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, and with the Pozzoli Philharmonic Orchestra in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, conducted by Roman Brogli-Sacher.

She recorded for Brilliant Classics the album Karol Szymanowski: Works for Violin and Piano in duo with pianist Saskia Giorgini, receiving widespread critical acclaim. “Francesca Bonaita’s violin is a mature combination of technique and expressivity, of virtuosity and poetry,” Classic Voice, January 2025.

She has been invited to perform for Unione Musicale in Turin, MITO, Serate Musicali in Milan, Amici della Musica in Padua, MantovaMusica, Bologna Festival, Emilia Romagna Festival, I Concerti della Normale in Pisa, and Accademia dei Cameristi in Bari—debuting at Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, Sala Verdi of the Conservatory, Auditorium Fondazione Cariplo, Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Teatro Filodrammatici, Teatro Gerolamo, and Palazzina Liberty in Milan, as well as Palazzo Barolo in Turin, Teatro Grande in Brescia, Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Palazzo Pisani in Venice, Sala dei Giganti at Palazzo Liviano in Padua, Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, Teatro Bibiena in Mantua, Palazzo Chigi Saracini in Siena, and Cappella Palatina of the Royal Palace of Caserta. Internationally, she has performed in Germany, Austria—including Musikverein and Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna—Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Norway, Greece, Romania, Hungary, and the USA.

A winner of multiple First Prizes in international violin competitions, she was a finalist at the Anton Rubinstein International Violin Competition and distinguished herself in competitions within the WFIMC global circuit, including the Grumiaux Competition, George Enescu Violin Competition in Bucharest, Kloster Schöntal, and the Béla Bartók Violin Competition in Budapest.

Graduating with honors from the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan, she was awarded the Umberto Micheli Prize and the Pina Carmirelli Prize as the best violinist of the academic year. She studied under violinist Sergej Krylov and earned two postgraduate Master of Arts degrees with top marks and honors in Music Performance (2018) and Specialized Music Performance (2020) for soloists (Soloist Diploma) at the University of Music Conservatory of Italian Switzerland.

Since 2017, she has been refining her skills with Aleksey Semenenko and graduated with the highest honors in 2024 from the prestigious Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen (Germany) with a Master of Music in Professional Performance.

She was admitted to the Advanced Training Courses at the Stauffer Academy in Cremona and the Chigiana Academy in Siena, studying with Salvatore Accardo (2014-2019), and has attended masterclasses with renowned international artists such as Andrey Baranov, Dmitri Chichlov, Mihaela Martin, Jonian Kadesha, Natalia Prishepenko, Sergey Khachatryan, Ilya Grubert, Atos Trio, and Trio di Parma.

After obtaining a classical high school diploma with top honors from Liceo G. Parini in Milan, she was awarded several prestigious honors for her artistic achievements, including the Premio Italia Giovane, under the patronage of the Italian Parliament, Senate, and Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Grandi Guglie della Grande Milano Award, and the Montale Award Fuori di Casa Montal/Arte Giovani 2024.